Cape to Cape..(probably go right ‘round…)….Again…

[Huzo]

Gotta say I'm impressed with your adventure and agree option 2 has merits. You must have some serious miles or these bikes with your mail route, it's good to be so familiar with your ride.

Once upon a time in a previous life, as you know I was a postie. One day at work it was decided that we should calculate how many k’s we’d  done on these things.
I started in May ‘78 and ended in June 2013, so that’s 35 years.
Now...40 km per day x 5 days per week x 48 weeks per year x 35 years = Ummmm....(a lot..)
That’s of course not counting overtime...

[pete mcgee]

336,000km not counting overtime.
336,000, thats what Ive done on my lemans 3.
You hard arse you.

[Huzo]

336,000km not counting overtime.
336,000, thats what Ive done on my lemans 3.
You hard arse you.

Well possibly Pete.
Posties mostly operate on footpaths in first and second gear at 0-15 kph.
 336,000 k doesn’t sound much, only about 9 times around the world...
Anywayyy..
In the interests of keeping the info on the prep up to date. Today I fitted a crash bar, but my 15 tooth front sprocket hasn’t arrived so I can’t fit the chain, maybe tomorrow.
Here’s a funny thing though.
The lines from the standard tank are dedicated one for normal and one for reserve, when the tap is “off”, the two lines are communicated which is not a problem......(normally..)
However here’s the thing..
I have fitted a 13 litre tank onto the bike as you see.



When you refill you have to have the taps in the correct configuration, or the top 13 litre tank will empty into the bottom 5 litre tank...
The good news is that with 18 litres on board I’ll possibly go all day on full tanks, so I only have to monitor the situation once a day..

[Jorg66]

Clever !

[PJPR01]

There must be something special about Cairns...

I had a Land Rover in Cairns Blue for 12 years before selling it to a friend a few years, ago, was a lovely blue (not quite the same as the Norwegian Blue plumage of a dead parrot...but close!) 

Definitely share lots of pics from this wonderful adventure, even ones that seem "normal" to you, will be entertaining for those of us not used to the terrain.

All the best on the shoulder surgery, stay away from the ping pong table for a while to let it rest up!

[Huzo]

 
I spent a fair bit of time researching a suitable unit to step the 6V system on the CT110 up to 12V so as to be able to charge everything on the run...
Good so far.
So 33 odd dollars later I’d finished the purchase on e bay for a lovely simple unit to do the job.



I thought I’d check the state of the battery before tucking it away and whacked the multimeter on it to see how close to 6V it was.
Turns out it was a long way off 6V....6.5V off to be exact, the darn thing is a 12V system.....
Welllallrrrighhhtyy y then......

[Muzz]

Huzo, the son has one of those 50cc mini choppers.  I was given the job of getting it running.  Turned out it has a 110cc Chinese knockoff engines it it, fitted with the most outlandish electrical system ever.  I ended up getting a new flywheel with of course new magnets, a new 6 pole coil  set of charging coils with hall effect sensor, and a full wave 12 volt rectifier.  I think the whole lot came to a bit over $40NZ.  A lot came from Thumpster, don't know whether you have them in Oz.  Also fitted a new 12v electric start.

The spark would blow the head off an elephant at 20 paces and there are no problems with a flat battery.

[Huzo]

Huzo, the son has one of those 50cc mini choppers.  I was given the job of getting it running.  Turned out it has a 110cc Chinese knockoff engines it it, fitted with the most outlandish electrical system ever.  I ended up getting a new flywheel with of course new magnets, a new 6 pole coil  set of charging coils with hall effect sensor, and a full wave 12 volt rectifier.  I think the whole lot came to a bit over $40NZ.  A lot came from Thumpster, don't know whether you have them in Oz.  Also fitted a new 12v electric start.

The spark would blow the head off an elephant at 20 paces and there are no problems with a flat battery.

The whole thing is Muzz that all along it was a 12 volt system and all the buggerising around wasn’t necessary.
Just part of the journey I guess..

[Huzo]

Well, I’m at the stage that if I loaded the bike with the gear and provisions that I intend to take, I could be gone in a couple of days.
I think the Honda is basically ready..
I must admit, I am considering lifting the head and cleaning the piston crown. In a previous life, these things would begin to pre ignite under sustained load, the symptoms felt exactly like the motor was seizing or running out of fuel, but rolling back the throttle would restore some performance.
The point was that there was an excess of carbon on the piston crown and removing it would solve the problem and the bike went a bit better.
I really think I should.
Anyway, here’s the finished article...

[tazio]

I think the Honda is basically ready..



That thing is WACK!
I Love It !!

[nick949]

I just caught up with this thread (how did I miss it?). It sounds like a wonderful, Quixotic adventure.
Good luck with your surgery, and very much looking forward to the road reports.

Nick

[Huzo]

I just caught up with this thread (how did I miss it?). It sounds like a wonderful, Quixotic adventure.
Good luck with your surgery, and very much looking forward to the road reports.

Nick

Thanks Nick.
My speaking voice does not have your dulcet tone and never will, but I’m wondering do you use a Go Pro for your video or something more hi tech ?
On the topic of the Quixotic nature of this jaunt..
When here or abroad on the Norge, I find that a lot of the nuances of the ride can be passed over or inadvertently missed, due to the target fixation that can creep into the day’s planning.
I can be guilty of deciding where I want to be by day’s end and missing a lot of the experiences that are available.
This trip is so large, that I will be constrained to immerse myself in it more than normal and be carried by the experience.
To attempt to enforce my will onto the venture, will most likely prove counterproductive.

[Roebling3]

I used to carry 5L of fuel in a soft tank, inside the tank bag. I pressurized it w/my laptop. 'Valved' it with a Hemostat. Nearly every truck driver, seeing the hemostat, hoped I was a physician.

Don't ask me about a court house full of orange one-zee's. 

Further to your travel plans, Huzo. I forgot the formula (Pi day nears ~). The correlation of complexity vs failure rates come to mind. 

      The long shadow from the setting sun is WGC members keeping an eye out for you.    Good fortune, Huzo.  R3~

[Huzo]

  The long shadow from the setting sun is WGC members keeping an eye out for you.    Good fortune, Huzo.  R3~

Well R, I’m sure there’ll be a couple that come to mind that may not..
But I think in the main, most folk wish the best for those who strike out...

[nick949]

Thanks Nick.
My speaking voice does not have your dulcet tone and never will, but I’m wondering do you use a Go Pro for your video or something more hi tech ?
On the topic of the Quixotic nature of this jaunt..
When here or abroad on the Norge, I find that a lot of the nuances of the ride can be passed over or inadvertently missed, due to the target fixation that can creep into the day’s planning.
I can be guilty of deciding where I want to be by day’s end and missing a lot of the experiences that are available.
This trip is so large, that I will be constrained to immerse myself in it more than normal and be carried by the experience.
To attempt to enforce my will onto the venture, will most likely prove counterproductive.

Hi Huzo, older GoPros for the video but I generally do the voice overs in my audio studio (basically a closet hung with curtains) .I also use my phone and digital camera for some stuff. Very low tech. I have found I have to bully myself into stopping to take pictures, record thoughts etc. otherwise the moment passes and is soon forgotten. I too suffer from target fixation, but try to fight it. I'm always slightly dissatisfied with what I've managed to record when I get home.

[Huzo]

Hi Huzo, older GoPros for the video but I generally do the voice overs in my audio studio (basically a closet hung with curtains) .I also use my phone and digital camera for some stuff. Very low tech. I have found I have to bully myself into stopping to take pictures, record thoughts etc. otherwise the moment passes and is soon forgotten. I too suffer from target fixation, but try to fight it. I'm always slightly dissatisfied with what I've managed to record when I get home.

Ok mate, I will keep in mind what you say..

[Huzo]

Yesterday I got the roadworthy done on the little bike, it goes for registration on Wednesday. I converted it back to standard for the test.


I rode it down to the testing station...(jeez, it felt small..).

[chuck peterson]

Just thinking here, and that’s dangerous..

Have you ever considered panniers on the front wheel...I know the bicycle touring world uses a neat trick of putting them down low in the front, so that the weight is centered around the front axle...I’ll go look for a foto

Like these..it’s neat your right at the crossroads of motorcycle and bicycle touring. Bits of both work real well..I LIKE IT!

[Huzo]

There’s a bit to be said in favour of that Chuck.

[s1120]

What a cool plan, and sounds like it will be a blast!!  Ive ridden a few of those bikes over the years, and even more with that engine.. My first powered ride was a ATC90 that I rode the wheels off of just about every day for a good decade! I will jump in to say that while I have heard of them referred to as "posties" forever, I always thought it referend to the drop tube design of the frame with that tube ie.post..... not that they were used in many countries to deliver mail. It wasn't till a handful of years ago that I learned that.

[Huzo]

What a cool plan, and sounds like it will be a blast!!  Ive ridden a few of those bikes over the years, and even more with that engine.. My first powered ride was a ATC90 that I rode the wheels off of just about every day for a good decade! I will jump in to say that while I have heard of them referred to as "posties" forever, I always thought it referend to the drop tube design of the frame with that tube ie.post..... not that they were used in many countries to deliver mail. It wasn't till a handful of years ago that I learned that.

Yep..
For me 1978-2013...

[PJPR01]

Yes Tris. That’s the form it’s beginning to take in my mind also. I sort of hope the whole thing is postponed until 2022. Wouldn’t it be just like the Italians to have the 100 th at 101.
I’ll get back then if it’s on.
Actually Ncdan has made me an awwffer I can’t refuse, so thinking to ship the Norge to U.K. as usual, tour for 5 weeks then fly it to the East Coast of the U.S.
Tour around there and leave it at the depot in the U.S. for shipping home.

If this plan comes true Huzo...you must make it down to Houston or within 500 miles so we can have a gathering of the Guzzisti and welcome you in style.  I’m sure we could even arrange for Dusty to ride down too!  Goes without saying that you are welcome to stay with us, plenty of room!

[Huzo]

If this plan comes true Huzo...you must make it down to Houston or within 500 miles so we can have a gathering of the Guzzisti and welcome you in style.  I’m sure we could even arrange for Dusty to ride down too!  Goes without saying that you are welcome to stay with us, plenty of room!

Well thank you mate.
It seems Qantas are resuming flights out of here very soon. I have checked and the seats are filling fast. Today I will ring my shipping guy and see what he is doing for September - November.

[Huzo]

Well it’s now 8 weeks away..
I find I am applying myself whenever it occurs to me, to practicing mentally slowing down to interface with the speed I am going or the vastness of the journey that I’m in. I find I can knock over 12 hour days end on end, in the truck and not feel overawed by it. Also when your head is 9’ above the road surface, even 100 k’s feels slow, I think it’s not how fast you’re going, it’s how fast you FEEL like you’re going.
You see there’s a plan afoot...
I have another WG member who does not post these days and he has also prepared a little Honda to come along, his mechanical advice may well prove invaluable....
I am gripped with the feeling that it would be a waste to come back South from Cape York and not turn right to head off to the West coast and go around..


I was thinking yesterday on my way back from Sydney, that when on a big bike, I force the bike to do what I want because I have a pre formed expectation and list of demands that I enforce onto the Norge.
This I believe is a thing I simply must not do, on the little bike..
On the Norge I am the boss and the bike will do what I command of it, but on the Honda I will need to bring myself back to a more 50/50 approach with regards to my expectation level.
The little bike will serve me well, of that I have no doubt, but I must treat it with respect and enforced restraint because it simply cannot do what I have come to expect of a touring motorbike, so I will adjust my expectations.
I think a big trip (and this is a BIG one..), is a bit of a metaphor for life..
You know where it started and you think you know how far through the journey you are percentage wise, but really...You do not.
 The end can be further or closer than you think.
I was looking to the side out the window yesterday at the edge of the road and it looked like 100 kph, 500 metres away it looked like 50 kph and 1 km away it looked like I was standing still.... Time is like distance and distance is like time....
Look at a mountain way ahead and it seems to sit there and not move, yet the road kill in your path whizzes under your foot peg at a massive rate, the speed is the same but the perception of it is worlds apart.
When you crave something that’s a long way off, it seems to sit up ahead and never gets any closer, but the spectre of something bad seems to rush towards you at an unwelcome rate, the passing of time/distance is a function of your mental acceptance of your situation.
This trip will be like my life..
Each day has an end, I just don’t know how many of them there will be....

[Huzo]

Oh BTW..
That graphic shows the distance as about 12,000 k.
That’s not actually right I must admit. If you join the towns together, it’s more like 13,000...

[v85lover]

Oh BTW..
That graphic shows the distance as about 12,000 k.
That’s not actually right I must admit. If you join the towns together, it’s more like 18,000....

your a crazy prick it has to be said!

[Huzo]

your a crazy prick it has to be said!

Ahhh...
Perhaps a little....

[reidy]

I have read a number of books about people walking vast distances. As V85 said, your a crazy prick. He might be right. On the other hand you may be the most sane one here. A definition of sanity is "A person is sane if they are rational."

What you are doing may seem irrational to some, but may be the ultimate in rational thinking. I know that I could not do this at this point in my life.
If you have the ability to be happy with your achievements each day. Have enough mind control to set rational goals and are happy to undertake the challenge you will succeed. I for one hope you do.

I suspect at the end of this you will have overcome greater mental challenges than physical challenges. You will also learn even more about yourself than you know now.

I wish you every success.

Steve   

[Huzo]

I have read a number of books about people walking vast distances. As V85 said, your a crazy prick. He might be right. On the other hand you may be the most sane one here. A definition of sanity is "A person is sane if they are rational."

What you are doing may seem irrational to some, but may be the ultimate in rational thinking. I know that I could not do this at this point in my life.
If you have the ability to be happy with your achievements each day. Have enough mind control to set rational goals and are happy to undertake the challenge you will succeed. I for one hope you do.

I suspect at the end of this you will have overcome greater mental challenges than physical challenges. You will also learn even more about yourself than you know now.

I wish you every success.

Steve   

That’s a really beautiful sentiment Reidy, thank you for your moral support.
Really when you look at it, there isn’t much difference in sitting on a little Honda for 8 hours a day for 20 days. Than sitting at a computer in a city high rise with no outside view, 8 hours a day for 20 days, to make enough money to go for a ride like mine...
What I am setting out to do is the embodiment of what a lot of people look to as the ultimate manifestation of their greatest motorbike fantasy...
I don’t think it will be that hard.
If I add up conservatively the amount of k’s I’ve done on these little Honda’s, it cannot be less than 370,000 and probably closer to 400,000. It’s just getting up in the morning at 4:45 for 37 years at being a Postie.
Now I’m doing it for fun and reflection....(At least I THINK that’s the reason...).
It actually defies reason, that’s the charm of it...

[DougG]

Huzo,                                                                                       5-5-21

The best of the best of luck to you, Huzo.  May the wind be fair and always at your back.

Be well, stay well,

DougG

Take notes often...written or recorded.  I believe there is a chronicle in your future.