DAY THREE
This was a long one. Almost 500km of tarmac
and gravel from Deepwater to Tamworth. The
day took us through some heart-breaking
draught country. However, I was heartened
to see what stock remaining mainly looked in
good condition – there was obviously a massive
supplementary feeding program going on.
At one stage we rode through a very red
soil/rock farm landscape with green gum
trees, it was amazingly attractive despite the
harsh environment. By now the Tenere was
like a second home. I hadn’t touched the
suspension clickers but had gone six turns
harder on the preload adjuster. This just sat
the rear up a bit for my size and gave the
front a little more bite in the dirt. I discovered
that I didn’t need the suspension any harder
for most riding other than the odd jump,
and frankly it was better to simply back-off a
little momentarily and enjoy the comfort all
the rest of the time as the days were long.
I tried a few bikes with various additions like
the rally seat, which I really liked because it was
higher, and the Akrapovic muffler. All the media
bikes had a radiator protector and a proper
lower chain guide fitted. I think these would
be sensible minimum additions for all Kiwi
adventure riders. Also, there were hard panniers,
decent bash plates, lower seats, crash bars and
rear carriers spread over the machines. All of
which looked well thought out and effective.
DAY FOUR
My favourite day. 320km from Tamworth to Gloucester with lunch at Moonan Flat
Hotel. Soon after Nundle we rode past Hanging Rock… and then on to Barrington Tops
National park – this was my sort of riding. Very high up, a littler cooler and awesome
offroad trails, I had a ball and the Yamaha just lapped it all up. When we left the National
Park, we seemed to be riding steeply downhill for miles and miles giving us a real
appreciation for how high we had climbed over the week after leaving the coast.
KIWI RIDER 39