The Big Lap

[Tony Nitrous]

This has interested me for a while.
A lap of Australia.

Just using Highway 1 it's roughly 14,500K's / 9,000 Miles.

[Tony Nitrous]

The record stands at 5 days 13 hours and 43 minutes. A team of drivers in a new Landcruiser.
https://www.caradvice.com.au/560245/around-australia-speed-record-broken/



I know a guy who did it in just under 3 weeks.
He said he regretted passing so many places and not stopping.

It's quite common to see folk doing a lap and taking a year or 18 months.
Often more mature couples who have sold up or rented out the home and taken off in a motor home or with a caravan. Grey Nomads.

I know a coupe of folk who have done it on Hayabusa's.

I reckon id need at least a month to make it enjoyable.

I've gone up as far as Daintree (past Cairns) and down as far as Melbourne but in two separate rides.

Wife likes the idea but in a car or 4x4.

[KiwiCol]

That's us Tony, missus & I want to do the big lap when we retire.  We'll do it in a camper or 4x4 & caravan.  We're planning on taking at least a year to go round, no hurry, stop somewhere you like & stay a while.  Move on when you're ready.

I'd like to do it with a toy hauler, so I can get a bike or 2 in the back, but we'll see how I go on that.  She's not against it, but we'd also like to have some sort of boat as well, prob a sml tinny n motor, bung it on the roof of the 4x4.

[Tony Nitrous]

http://amcn.com.au/editorial/a-lap-of-the-map/

[Tony Nitrous]

http://amcn.com.au/editorial/lap-map-race-around-australia/

[KiwiCol]

Thx Tony, both of those links are a great read.   Reading what the riders endured in their quest to be the fastest round Aussie, really makes you appreciate how hard it must be.   

[grog]

Col, its big. lots of nothing between great places. WA is huge. lived there 2 yrs. 3 of us mates have discussed a bike trip. KLR Kawas our choice. my best mate goes all the time, this year will be number 6. colorado, van, boat. every accs you can think of. takes satellite dish to get tv. boat loads itself onto roof, lays on lines, works with cordless drill, just rolls onto car roof. 4 good trips, one bad. hes invested around 125 g for his set up. my way, id just take a good car, landcruiser etc, book accomodation ahead. can rent boats etc. just my way. i hate caravans and caravan parks. yrs ago spent 2 weeks on old ducati to cairns n back, took every back road. unreal trip. did bris to melbourne in 2 days, middle of winter, xs650 yam. cold, lots happened but great memories. fell off in middle of melb. skidded on tram track.

[VladTepes]

You could even do it on a Harley... in 1929.. if you were keen.

This is just about one of the best books ever.


Here is a true adventure story about two young men from Sydney who, in 1929, decided to take a holiday with a difference and ride right round Australia on a motorcycle. This was a feat that had never been done before, which was not surprising as travelling conditions in the outback in those days were often hard and hazardous. It was not an expedition to be undertaken lightly.

With the boundless optimism of youth they bought a 7/9hp FD magneto model Harley-Davidson motorcycle - the grandfather of today's big twins - fitted a stout wooden box on the sidecar chassis to house their gear and the relief rider, and set out to conquer the continent with just sixty pounds in the kitty and neither a watch nor compass between them.

As the Depression was already looming, they were unable to interest any sponsors in their venture and the only support they received was a jumper apiece from the Harley-Davidson agents.

Seven weeks and over 15,000 km later they returned travel-strained and triumphant. Not only had they achieved their goal and been the first to circumnavigate the continent by motorcycle but they had done so in record time for any motorised vehicle. On the way the two young pioneers had endured just about every imaginable hardship and danger and survived through sheer guts and resourcefulness. A great tale of men and their machine: of courage and mateship in Australia nearly 70 years ago. It makes fascinating reading today.

https://www.qbd.com.au/around-australia-the-hard-way-in-1929/jack-l-bowers/9780864176820/

[Batkwaka]

I've done Perth to Adelaide & back for the 1986 F1GP, Perth to Darwin twice '87 & '91 and Perth to Melbourne & back in 2015 for the MotoGP. The full circle is definitely on my to do list, I'm not looking to set any records though.

[Tony Nitrous]

A few numbers for our UK members...

Rides up to Cairns are 1,700K's (1056 miles), down to Sydney are 990K's (615 miles), thats up and down the East Coast on "our side" of the country, both I've done previously on naked bikes.

Wife has family in Ayr / Home Hill which is 1340K's (830 miles) North.
Her best friend is in Canberra, which is 1,200K's (745 miles) away.
Again, both over our side of the country.

My old boss bought a vehicle in Perth (West Coast),
It was over 4,300K's (2,670 mies) to drive it home.

I went down to a wedding in Bathurst, 1000K's (621 miles) away.

[Tony Nitrous]

It go's against everything's say and like, but I've seen a couple of these monsters (1800cc flat-6 F6B) and think about eating up huge miles of highway...

[owen426]

Well after some quick calculations I've done 12657km. Some fast, some slow. If you're planning on doing a lap you need to consider the goal of the trip when deciding on a timeframe. If you want to see absolutely everything it will take literally years. If you just want to do it for the fun of the drive you can do it in a few weeks. Both are valid reasons as far as I'm concerned, just don't get the timeframes mixed up!

[grog]

ive spoken b4 about Wally. 10 yrs back he turned 74. bought a 6 cyl Gold Wing. now at just under 300 th ks. revererse failed, honda fixed free. he once went to shop to get milk, he slept that night 1th ks away. been all thru oz, plays opera music full bore. his stories blow me away, could listen all day. i hope thats me one day, without the opera, pink floyd, SRV or mr. Buffett ill have. his son, brad, did 200th ks on first model 14. guess it runs in family. only prob with 14 was fuel tank went rusty, on his way to melb gp. dumped it all. 1200 for new tank.

[Hooli]

Now he sounds like he knows how to enjoy life 

[ARH]

Hard for us Europeans to imagine how big Australia actually is!  Especially given huge areas of it are unpopulated ....