[sanpedro]

hey all

am the proud owner of a 650 abs wee - second hand with 11K on it (now 13 after 2 months). i've bought this with the grand plan of saving my money up over the next year, chucking some luggage and my partner and the back and seeing if we can make it from sydney to england overland.

we both work for non-profits, so the saving phase may take some time, but we're aiming for july-aug of next year

i've had a few bikes before - i learned to ride on a step through when i lived in vietnam, then learned how to use a clutch (i've never had a car license) on a honda baja which i rode across NW laos, bought a gn250 when i got back to new zealand (and made it from auckland and dunedin and back), still own a bmw r65 (which almost goes) and recently toured NZ on an xj750

my partner is just learning to ride - she's a very old and loud gsx250 at the moment

reasonably comfy 2up
good on tarmac
good off tarmac
within our budget

i've had a few long rides already and had it on the gravel, with a trip to wombeyan caves (in the rain on the way back) and have found it a dream. we settled on the strom as it seemed:

my first big trip in australia is coming up - i'm bringing my little brother over from NZ in november and we're going to ride from sydney to ularu and back. we'll follow the tarmac on the way there, then intend to swing past broken hill and head on to the dirt roads.

i'm very keen to see what recommendations australian riders might have for tyres for such a trip? 5000 odd k on tarmac and 2000 on outback roads....

i'm also looking at what side cases to put on it. one of the biggest questions that i have is around the safety of hard cases when 2-up - a trip as big as we are planning will involve us falling off either a) lots or b) often (i'm hoping for a). anyone have any thoughts as to whether there is any reasonable chance of destroying my partners ankle when i put the bike down with her on the back if we have hard cases on it? or am i being overly paranoid?

any thoughts folk might have on tyres and cases will be warmly met!

 

[wizzer]

hey all



my partner is just learning to ride - she's a very old and loud gsx250 at the moment

Hi and welcome.

Interesting way of describing your partner lol

I use soft throw over bags from rjays, a rjays top box and run metzler tourance tyres. The throw over bags may not hold enough luggage for 2 tho and i don't think the life span of the tourances are good when touring but they are ok around the town and on gravel roads.

cheers
wizzer

 

[DLicious]

First off welcome to the forum :mrgreen:

Secondly it depends I guess on whether your going to keep the bike long term or sell it once your trip is done.
Short term, soft throw overs would do for the panniers.
Long term, you could look at any number of hard case setups, there have been many threads on this subject here for you to search, there a lot of suppliers of them, and they would last for years, and take the knocks better IMHO.

For the type of riding you'll be doing, tar and gravel roads, Metzler Tourances, good grip, tar and dirt, good wear, good handling wet and dry..........done!

 

[OZ STROM]

Hi Sanpedro , WELCOME and congratulations on getting your strom, your upcomming trip sounds awesome,Ride safe Paul .