Home three months later.

Well I have nearly clocked up three thousand kilometers on the triumph. The only thing I am going to change on it is the seat. I am about to splash out on a gel seat tomorrow. That should give my a bit more padding. I think a wind screen and a rack will be all that is required to turn the Bonny into a touring machine. I love the way the Triumph handles and I wouldn't swap it for any other bike.By the way the Spyder is still sitting in the bike shop....My next big trip will be in early December after uni finishes...

The New Ride

Well I rode down to my sister's in Kallangur on my new bike, and I must say what a comfortable ride. At the moment I am restricted at what speed I can ride at however the engine and gearing of the triumph is very responsive and the seat is quite comfortable as well, now I need some cash so I can continue my ride around OZ.

The task now is to find a job and so I can save up the required cash to finish the journey. I have been home a week now and I am getting itchy feet so I am planing a trip for the December period, I would like to spend some more time down in the snowy mountains as there are some roads I would like to check out, if there is anyone in blog land that is interested on a trip give me a yell, the more the merrier, all riders and bikes welecome, even Spyder riders.

the saga Continues

Well I am not having good luck at the moment that's for sure, I took the Spyder in this morning for the swap over and when I was doing the paper work and talking to the spares department the sales guy said that their mechanic found an oil leak.

Apparently when the valves where checked back in Melbourne the Mechanic had failed to tighten up the tappet cover. This was made worse by the clowns at extreme motorycycles at Atherton who didn't notice the oil leak.
fools and incompetents surround me, also folks don't expect a good price for your 2009 Spyders in my area alone there are three second hand ones for sale, the problem is they are not selling , I lost a lot of money on my deal.
Oh well shit happens.

Bye Bye Spyder

I decided to get rid of the Spyder the problems with the dealer support is to much for me to deal with. I went to get replacement Brake pads for the rear brakes and was met with the answer that Can-Am hasn't got any in Australia. However there was some at townsville and I could have them in a few days. It was the last straw that broke the camels or should I say Spyder owners back.

I went into my local Triumph dealer and have decided on a Triumph Bonerville, I am loosing a significant amount on the changeover howver have decided that it will be for the best in the long run. I checked Bike point and there are three 2009 Spyder's on sale in my local area, it seemes a lot of people are buying them and getting rid of them soon after they buy them. I wonder if it is because they are having support issues as well.

Unfortunately because there are so many secondhand Spyders on the market It makes it difficult to get a fair price when dealing with Motor bike companies. I wouldn't call the Spyder a lemon they are not however white elephant would be a good name.

In retrospect

The picture on the left where taken after my polish the bike meditation. I reckon the bike looks pretty good considering where it has been over the last three months.

I decided to take this next few days to adjust to not being on the road. I have discovered on this trip that I like to keep moving, rest is rust as an old mate of my dad used to say.

Its been 25 years since I did my last big trip, as many know I rode a push bike from Vancover to LA it took me four weeks and I travelled aprox 3000 km. I was looking at my old Passport and I returned from that trip on the 4th of may 1985. I seemed like it was only yesterday how quickly the years go by. Well I am so glad I did that trip and I am proud of my achievement and this trip was an achievement as well.

Interestingly enough I probably am the first person in the world to cover the distance I have on this trip in a Can-AM Spyder so I have made a first...

Yesterday i practised a technique that I learned from a monk, it's called the Zen of motor bike polishing, one can adapt this technique to any mundane situation, for example the Zen of Mowing the lawn.

The technique involves bringing the attention to the task in hand by focusing fully and when the mind wanders you guide it gently back to the task.

Our mind then becomes like the sky clear and infinite for me the moments of clarity are very fleeting, however the practice does help me focus.
I needed to find some peace as I was over focusing on the negative things that happened on the trip.

In reality the bad things would have only made up 1 percent of the whole picture and only after letting it play on my mind did it become overwhelming.
So now I am focusing on the other 99 percent that were positive, sometimes I think to much so some focused meditation is good to slow the monkey chatter of the mind.

I will continue writing this blog for the next few weeks as a retrospect of the trip

Well Until Tomorrow Night
Bye

Almost done

It's hard to believe that I have been on the road for close to three months. I road about 450 km today and tonight I am staying in Mackay, my Gps tells me that I have 687 Km to travel and will most likely do that in one day. It seems like a lot of riding to do in one day however I have ridden 15735 km since I left home on the 12Th of Feb.

It has been the greatest adventure for me and apart from a few minor problems with service issues it has been very enjoyable. If you are thinking of doing a similar trip all I can say is go for it.

In regards to Can-Am I am sure their service will improve, the Spyder is a safe and so far reliable machine and Rotax engines can handle the Australian climate, for me however I think I prefer a traditional Motor bike, having said that the Spyder was certainly a lot of fun to ride, if I was earning better money I would most likely keep the Spyder and buy a motorbike as well, best of both worlds.

I plan to do the Nullabour and over to Perth as my next adventure hopefully in the not to distant future.
Well for those of you that have been following my journey thank you and if you want keep in contact via my email steve.dove59@gmail.com if you are ever up in Queensland drop me a line and we will go for a ride.

Check this blog I will be doing weekend rides and bushwalks more often now I have rediscovered the joys of camping and hiking.

Stay safe, God Bless
Regards
Steve d. (old leather arse)

Ingham

Well what a difference a day makes, I woke up to the sunshine today and the ride to Mossman was a pleasant ride with interesting scenery and a good quality road. I had intended stopping at port Douglas tonight however once I had the wind in my face I felt like going for a ride.

The road from Mossman to Cairns is brilliant it skirts the seaside and it reminds me a little of the Great Ocean Road, when I got to cairns I kept riding and I ended up doing approx 450 km in total today just 110 km short of townsville.

I am going to set out early tomorrow and will attempt a further 500km tomorrow I should be back in Howard early next week, and then I will go motorbike hunting as me and the Spyder are about to part ways.

Five people asked me about the Spyder today I told them that the after sales support leaves a lot to be desired and if you like riding a three wheeled car then buy one however if you are looking for the responsivness and ride of a motor bike then the Spyder is not for you and I have realised also not for me.
Until tomorrow take care
Regards
Steve