I'm exhausted just watching. A master class in grit and determination. Thanks Steve.... as they used to say in the old days... "Time for a Bex and a lie down" 😁
Been along this, parts of it, on a bicycle. Dry of course. Not all of it, some in the following support van. Loved it. Miss it , miss the real outback!
I got caught in January 2000, after rain. Stayed at Tjirrkarli overnight with my wife and 11 month old son. Rained overnight, the young fella was up a 5am so we left, road was closed at 6am. Travel was slow in the Forester, sometimes with full opposite lock to the left. A number of roadtrains were stopped. Got to the mines near Laverton and the road was covered in 200mm of water. Little Forester made it and I still have the photos.
Tough going lads, love ya videos Steve, they’re awesome and so great to meet you today and the lads you’re travelling with, it made my day! Legends!! Safe travels for the rest of your trip and can’t wait for the next instalment on your adventures.
@@RickDarlow Hi Rick, I’m always humbled when guys like yourself come up, introduce themselves, and mention that they enjoy the Channel content. I may not have the most Subscribers on RU-vid but I know I have a supportive small group who are entertained by what they watch. Enjoy the remainder of your journey, stay upright, grab ya gear; let’s go! 😀
Stand up and get into it. One big problem with those adventure bikes is the front guard. They don’t seem to give a high guard option. This winter was not a good one to be out there. The Great Central is about 1200 km of that.
It was a pleasure hosting you boys for a night. I said it then and I'll say it again. "y'all are crazy riding in those conditions." But it may just be the right sort of crazy. Look forward to catching up again in the future.
Hi DJ, thanks for hosting us and allowing the use of your facilities...good ol' country hospitality. Kots never ended up rejoining us even though he managed to get one bike (DR650) back on the road. The longer versions of all the vids is a work in progress (some were uploaded while on the fly). Once again, thanks for all your help. 😀
Nice going Steve. I’ve just had a similar experience on the Norseman - Hyden road. Had a massive tank slapper and then it was a lot of paddling and crawling at a snails pace for ages. I hope you got a beer after it. You guys deserved it.
That Volvo truck was still there on the 5th, even though the road had dried a lot. Waiting for a grader to tow it out I'd guess? I rode the Great Central Road as part of a 16,700km trip on my trusty DR650 (it was faultless) The road was still crappy on the NT side of the border. The road to Victory Downs, the Oodnadatta and the Yunta Rd were much much better! Thanks for your videos. They certainly inspired me to do the trip i just did!
Amazing, I drove east to west along that road two and a half weeks ago it was like a highway the whole way through. Its amazing what a little bit of rain can do.
Steve ,I had an idea that might work on this type of mud. I've seen removable ice spikes for motorcycles, that you just buckle around the tire. It might give you just enough traction to get through, and you could just take them off under normal conditions.
Just been up in the Pilbara trying not to bounce off the windrows. Unfortunately these days everything is tracked by various systems so have to be a bit careful. Back in the day it was opposite lock all day 🤫
Interesting the side was as hard as it was, my recent and only experience on the Munjina-Roy Hill Rd it was the opposite, thought I was doing the right thing and was avoiding some big puddles got bogged in stuff that looked hard but was like wet concrete, luckily managed to reverse out and get back onto the road so thought that was were I'd travel from now on guess I'll just role the dice from now on. Good vid
Some Riders get all wound up about the romance of the idea to travel this wide brown land but they lack the skill set needed to pull it off. Great Central Road can be very testing for the uninitiated. Thanks for watching.
Hi Steve, A couple of videos you talked about standing up to lower the centre of gravity on the bike , can you explain further. Another question , is it not possibly to pick your way through the bush on the grass, looking out for anything that may bugger a tyre. Bruce
@@BruceMorley-w2u Hi Bruce, as soon as you stand up on the pegs your weight is transferred lower down making the bike more stable. Going off the roads is not an option…the sand is so much thicker and deep and there is a greater chance of staking a tyre. Thanks for watching.
Standing up gives you much more control, it is also more comfortable than sitting down on dirt. When you see a dirt bike rider standing up on the tar you know his balls have gone to sleep. Very not good. Caused by not being used to tar and the knobby tyre on the back causing it all. Ask me how I know.
The other thing about standing up is your knees then become part of the suspension. Instead of your body being like a bag of potatoes on the bike, it is carried by your knees and the bike suspension can work as it should. Also you can steer wth the pegs as well by putting more weight on one or the other.
Standing up raises your centre of gravity, that is what it’s all about. You can move your weight sitting down too but that is hard when the seat and tank are half covered with luggage. More on the front and the bike steers better in corners, move your weight back in sand and the front rides over the sand instead on digging in and causing problems. Some times in really steep stuff you have to be standing up leaning right over the front wheel, and steep down standing up right back over the rear guard to stop the rear brake from locking up which means you are out of control. None of that is possible on an overloaded adventure bike.
When was this ride Steve ? We're out of Alice currently in FNQ (Mission Beach), back next week..i hope the mud is cleared up as Ive got a job to do in Docker River..
@@mongreldogproductions geeze mate, a GS would be a real challenge in that mud. Checking forecast for Alice, it should all dry nicely. Safe travels mate 👍
I’m sitting in a hotel room in North Battleford Saskatchewan working 12 to 18 hours a day. I would gladly give it all up including the money to be on this road with you….. ya I’m not right in the head 🤯
@@mongreldogproductions I can imagine/relate to that reaction. I'd be interested in more of your e-bike adventures in the future. Loved your South Australia ones.
Ah,, at long last my RU-vid watching of the top end videos has gone back to reality. Well done mate,,,got sick and tired of watching woke yuppies doing all the top end roads. Please more real content.
The ole red dirt. The minute particles are smaller than the water molecules (or something like that) they mix together and cant be beaten for causing chaos.
