Tuesday 26 December 2006

Some nice roads within Brisbane suburbs

Not everyone is experienced to ride a long distance, new riders may enjoy something close by to ride.There are a few nice little roads for riding scattered about the suburbs. I dont know alot however I will post up some and ask for further suggestions to be made. So feel free to add some comments.The most obvious that springs to mind is Mt Gravatt Lookout. A short but fun little climb up the

Thursday 21 December 2006

Suggested one day rides # 4

North - WestThe most popular ride from Brisbane is Mt Glorious that lies to the west of the city. The roads north and further west are often combined so I will make a couple of suggestions along these lines.First of all I dont ride Mt Glorious on a weekend as I dont want to be harrased by police - so ride at your own risk if you have a aftermarket muffler or under seat number plate etc.A short

Thursday 14 December 2006

Suggested one day rides #3 - North.

Northern HinterlandA great selection of very enjoyable motorbike roads lies within easy reach north of Brisbane.Many riders talk of rides on the northside from Dayboro. To get there I prefer to exit the city via Clear Mtn but there are other options and also depends where you are coming from.Look up the individual roads/areas in my other posts for maps or more exact details.Short ride options:To

Monday 11 December 2006

Earplug Winner

The winners round one on the road were the Moldex Rockets. (see my earlier article for more info)The QB200's were by far more comfortable but would become dis-lodged when I put the helmet on or with movement of the helmet on the road. They may work fine with a firmer fit helmet, and I have just such a item sitting around so will try them both again but at this stage the Rockets so far are the

Sunday 10 December 2006

Federal - Clunes NSW

Federal - Clunes


Continues from the previous article Billinudgel to Federal 


From Mullumbimby you can ride a second route to Federal as follows:



Federal route 2

Share your motorbike routes @ MotoWhere.com

This follows a very twisty route that is under the canopy of trees for much of the ride before you burst out in the middle of some spectacular rolling hills that the area is so famous

Great motorbike roads #26

Stokers SidingThis needs a post by itself. I had mentioned the village of Stokers Siding before in my post about Burringbah but this little town offers a good ride in 3 directions.From Murwillumbah ride towards Uki, and just before you enter the township turn left towards the saw mill and there is a great scenic ride on this back road over to Stokers.Also from Murwillumbah you can ride south on

Monday 4 December 2006

Suggested Rides #2 - South/West Loop.

The scenic and twisty Mt Lindsey road.From Brisbane there is a superb day ride south/west that you can do in two directions - does that make it two rides? - almost as its very different but equally great each way.Most common southern loop:Brisbane-Beaudesert-Mt Lindsey-Summerland Way-Kyogle-Uki-Muwillumbah-Currumbin Valley-Brisbane.This would be the quickest route. You can come back via Numinbah

Sunday 3 December 2006

Ear Plug Shootout

The purple/yellow Moldex Rocket plugs, then clockwise, yellow generic plugs, orange 1110 plugs from 3M, then the pink/yellow Lazer Lite plugs, QB200HYG orange/grey plug - both from Howard Leight, next is Air Soft blue/red rocket type plug and Max orange plug also both from Howard Leight, and last in the middle is yellow super soft plug made by Uvex.Ever noticed some old bikers seem to talk

Thursday 23 November 2006

Great motorcycle roads # 24 (repost)

View from Bald Knob RoadBald Knob Rd and Peachester. (repost)Blogger didnt like this post last time - lets try againI spoke about the road near Peachester previously but have now split it from that post where it was a bit confusing and added the scenic Bald Knob Rd to make a new post.Just east of the township of Peachester is a superb twisty section of road popular with riders. Its quite intense

Sunday 12 November 2006

Great motorcycle roads # 25

 Obi ObiThats Kenilworth to Mapelton not some Star Wars character.There is a great ride to be had over the Obi Obi Rd that runs between Mapelton and Kenilworth. Basically at this stage you really are best to only ride it in the other direction - Maleny to Kenilworth and on up to Mapelton as a large part of the downhill section of Obi Obi rd is gravel - the road is split into two one lane roads

Great bike roads # 24



Bald Knob Rd and Peachester.


Just east of the township of Peachester is a superb twisty section of road popular with riders. Its quite intense and smooth nice hotmix - but also a busy section of rd so you may need to time your ride to get some kind of run over it.

Above - Peachester.

Just west of the township of Peachester is a road called Bald Knob Rd that runs over to the Landsborough -

Tuesday 7 November 2006

Suggested Rides #1 - Gold Coast Hinterland.

Suggested rides #1 Gold Coast Hinterland.I will start by suggesting a few rides in a area I like alot.I ride south straight down the M1, its boring but gets you right to where you want to be in around 45 minutes - you can ride the backways to get there but I prefer to simply go straight and use the ride south on M1 to clear the head. Whatever you do dont be tempted to open it up on the M1, save

Sunday 5 November 2006

Great minds think alike ... :-)

It was raining heavy yesterday and last night but I woke early with the thourght that it would clear, then this morning it looked bad with little visibility but closer inspection showed just heavy fog blanketing the city and I just knew it would burn off and clear into a nice day.So I got ready and decided to head down south the my favourite border ranges area and take a few photos if the air was

Friday 27 October 2006

Week day ride.

Split yardMt G accent Northbrook parkway sidePolice have organised a free BBQ and safety discussion with riders - free defect notice for anyone stupid enought to callin also included presumably - is anyone actually still riding Mt G on a Sunday?Week day ride...Theres something to be said for a weekday ride - with the forecast of rain sunday and a day off today Friday I decided to go out for a

Sunday 8 October 2006

Great motorcycle roads # 23

Revised Feb 2008 From Esk follow the sign to Crows Nest. This road has alot of open easy flowing corners - something not so easy to find around Brisbane which has more tight mountain roads. There is a small section of tighter corners mid way up/down however even these flow easy on any sort of motorbike.I really like this road, for the simple fact that its a nice change with some great scenic

Great motorcycle roads # 22

From Kilcoy you cant miss the sign post at the clock roundabout to Jimna. This road starts off quite open and flowing with lots of gentle sweeping corners taking you through some nice countryside, then after about 30 k you have this nice little range to climb with lots of tight corners and some faster flowing stuff all mixed in - right in the middle of nowhere with hardly any traffic whatsover.

Great motorcycle roads # 21






Somerset Dam is a popular part of a loop north from Brisbane or a turnaround
point for riders who have ridden Mt Glorious. There is petrol and small store
near the dam and the ride from Northbrook parkway is open fast flowing road
popular with the sports bike rider.



The ride along side the Wivenhoe dam is the other extension riders of Mt
Glorious often take and is also open and fast

Friday 6 October 2006

Back in paradise

I'm back out riding again - with the new exhaust fitted - thats it nice and shiney on my Buell and me with my shirt hanging out next to it and my mates MT-01. Bike now runs great, the exhaust was the item holding back the engine all this time.I actually had tried a number of things rumoured to fix the throttle response on 900cc engined Buells but none worked. I wish the truth had been more widely

Sunday 3 September 2006

Todays ride

Went for a ride up the northern roads today.I didnt post the ride up on any forums - just didnt think to do it until too late as the weather was still raining Saturday I was very unsure if I would be able to ride - but was a fine a hot day.I basically did my usually north ride of Clear Mt, Mt Mee, Hidden rd, Mapelton, Dulong Rd and back. All are posted allready on the blog (and now revised) I

Wednesday 30 August 2006

Snowy Mtns tour

I did a tour to the Snowy Mountains early this year, was a great trip but tiring due to the pace/time limit set of 5 days! I would very much like to do the trip again with say 7 days and some slight alterations to the route, mainly the same roads but in different directions of travel on some parts and an extra day in the snowys area itself and the dailey Km's reduced with the other extra day.

Thursday 24 August 2006

Great motorcycle roads # 19

Lions RdFrom Rathdowney to the Summerland way runs the Mt Lindsey h-way which I have already posted and is a great ride. If you were not going on to Uki from Kyogle then you could allways ride back over this route, the Lions Rd. Or you might aproach this from the Gold Coast side having gone down to Kyogle via any of the numerous good rides on that side of the ranges.Like most rides I post this

Wednesday 23 August 2006

Review - KBC VR2 Helmet

I bought a new helmet start of 2006, however its turned out to be a disappointment.This is the best looking helmet I have ever seen and I had to have it when I saw them on the net. Great graphics design and everyone says they love the look however the helmet is unfortunately rubbish. The blue visor lasted 2 weeks before scratched beyond use. The liner which was a bit cheap feeling to begin with

Monday 21 August 2006

Billinudgel - Mullumbimby - Federal



Billinudgel - Mullumbimby - Federal


This is quite a way south so most Brisbane people have not ridden on these roads much, but its really not so hard to do, even from Brisbane northern suburbs this ride is still only a day trip if you leave early-ish.

From Murwillumbah follow the old highway (Tweed Valley Way) until the new highway then ride the service roads to past Biilinudgel where you

Sunday 20 August 2006

Great motorcycle roads # 17


O'Reilly's Mountain

Yes there is yet another mountain range in the hinterland to ride! This is a ride not so well known as the road surface in the past has been poor - even by aussie standards - but it has been resurfaced and widened in many places and some parts are now excellent.

The road out from Canungra is new, and alot of bits have been resurfaced on the hill itself.



From the coast

Top ride

Huge ride today - phew I am tired, covered about 600 km and just made it back home before dark at about 5.30pm.I met my regular ride partner about 9.00am at Mudgeeraba and we went south and did some roads we knew and some we didnt (well some I didnt know anyway) I have a new variation on a couple of roads I allready knew. From Chillingham to Uki via Tyalgum which seemed a bit bumpy first time I

Friday 18 August 2006

Chefs cafe or coffee suggestions

Alot of posts get lost in the archive and some belong there I guess but good places to stop for lunch are more important. Here then is the collection so far in no particular order.Uki Pub. Oddly no pictures yet, but one of the best pubs as far as food and location.Kunghur Sphinx Cafe. Great food and coffee and many motorcycle mags to read while you wait.Graze cafe, Mooloola Valley. Tasty food and

Tuesday 15 August 2006

Japan motorcycle tour # 4

I'm starting to have 2nd thourghts about this idea.I'm reluctant to quit the dream despite things not really adding up on it. I am still doing my japanese class and this is seperate to the tour anyway as I have other reasons to learn the language. But problems are many with weather and navigation and language barriers.Big problem is if I go it will be alone - so not sure how much fun I will

Great motorcycle roads # 16


Burringbah Range via Tweed Valley Way

From Murwillumbah head south on the old pacific h-way to Burringbah range. This is a well known favourite of bikers, wide cambered hotmix mountain range that was the main highway 1 Brisbane to Sydney before being by-passed and is a very fast addictive set of curves.


There is one fix mounted speed camera that you need to be aware of travelling south -

Monday 7 August 2006

Japan motorcycle tour # 3

Well my Japanese school hasnt folded yet so am now enrolled in Advanced A class. Would like to continue to the end which is advanced E but they still dont know if they will continue beyond this term. Talk of moving to another area to reduce overheads but rents are expensive anywhere close to the city regardless and their problem is they dont have alot of students as they dont advertise and rely

Sunday 6 August 2006

Good motorcycle rides # 15 - Mt Tamborine.



Mt Tamborine

Update 2011. The northern ascent is being resurfaced and should be much improved once finished. The road to Tamborine village via Logan Village has been resurfaced on the 2nd half and is much improved on it's previous condition.

This is not one of my favourites but unfortunately it seems to be the place on the south side people mention if you were to be talking about riding a

Best motorcycle rides around Brisbane




Best Motorcycle rides around Brisbane

Northern Suburbs

Friday 4 August 2006

Great motorcycle roads # 14 Summerland Way


Summerland way
This road starts near Woodenbong in the middle of nowhere from the north and many people miss out on it's best section by riding down the over rated Lions Road. There is a new section of road where the rough section once was and then you have excellent quality tar all the way to Kyogle.

Not really close to Brisbane or the Gold Coast you ride this as part of a day out. After the

Monday 24 July 2006

Good motorcycle roads # 13 Mt Lindsey

Mt LindseyUpdate 2011. Since I first posted this road has become much more popular. There has been some much needed resurfacing of the QLD side and this year some resurfacing of the NSW section as well even though it was not in bad shape.  From Beaudesert go on to Rathdowney (or you may want to go across the Boonah and then back to Rathdowney) then on to Mt Lindsey highway to the border. This

Sunday 23 July 2006

Good motorcycle roads # 12 Boonah

 Beaudesert - Boonah RdFrom Brisbane take the Beaudesert Rd all the way to Beaudesert, about 45 mins ride. Riding through town turn right at the lights where sign posted to Boonah and continue slightly out of town before turning right again.A mostly open road with a few mild changes of direction and a few gentle corners before a few high speed sweepers, this road has become very popular in recent

Good motorcycle roads #11 Palmwoods

From Maleny if you ride to Mapelton there are some enjoyable roads down the valley below.From Mapelton decend down towards Nambour and turn off to the right into Dulong road half way down. Its on a left hand bend with a sign post to Dulong lookout, you might want to ride the few nice corners that lay just after this turnoff (pictured below) and then return back to it.This road is a really fun

Saturday 22 July 2006

Good motorcycle roads # 10 Currumbin




Currumbin Range

This is always a good ride and I enjoy this road much more then Numinbah Valley now.

From Murwillumbah you can return to the M1 via this or Numbinbah Valley, simply follow signs on road north from town centre past showgrounds or from Brisbane side you travel past Robina on the M1 and follow the exit signs before Coolangatta to Currumbin valley.

Or if you might look at my

Good motorcycle roads # 9 Uki


Murwillumbah to Kyogle via Uki

Update 2011: The road has been flooded a couple of times in recent years and this has damaged some parts next to river south of Uki, as of writing they are also straightening the road there and while it will loose some curves the new road is going to flow rather nice and should offer riders a good experience still.The rest of the road has also had some work, a new

Friday 21 July 2006

Good motorcycle roads # 8 Numibah






Numinbah Valley & Tyalgum



Update 2011. Been some time since I posted this. The northern approach to Tyalgum has seen some resurfacing and is now much improved. The road from Murwillumbah has been under water a couple of times in floods and has some patches however they are mending this gradually.




Now whenever I ride the border ranges or northern NSW I return via Numinbah Valley. The

Good motorcycle roads # 7 Kenilworth

Follow the signs west out of Maleny and after a spell you will come to the edge of the range that you have been riding along and descend down. Nice hotmix and on most of road down the range with some good corners and esses to enjoy.Lower section of range from Conondale to Maleny.Beyond the village of Conondale the road has some mixed patches of one lane still as the road is slowly being widened.

Good motorcycle roads # 6 Maleny

MalenyActually the road I want to talk about is called Booroobin Rd which then becomes Maleny-Stanley River Rd. Someone once told me some bikers referred to this as a hidden road. Apparently it was unsealed for long time so people didn't know about it as much as other routes.After Mt Mee turn to Woodford and go through town, stop for a coffee if you want, then just past Woodford you there turn

Good motorcycle roads # 5 Mt Glorious

Mt Glorious (Mt Nebo)Brisbane most popular bike ride is a gem, however its not been without its problems in recent years.Update 2011. Wow time flys. Look at the age of the bikes in the photos.  Righto well most of what I wrote before still applies today. Still a great road to ride with hazards. The hazards are not just other bikes that can't stay in their lane, now the fast and furious scene has

Good motorcycle roads # 4 Mt Mee

Update 2011: Long time since I wrote this, I rarely ride this road now days, the surface has seen some deterioration due to lots of rain and no major road work but that may have already been mended. Southern climb was a mess after the 2011 floods and the top seems more bumpy than it already was. The northern ascent however is excellent still. For me too many bikes and too much police attention

Monday 17 July 2006

Good motorcycle roads # 3 Beechmont.


Beechmont Mountain


Update 2011: Been a long time since I first wrote about this road so time for an update. The western side has seen extensive resurfacing and is now almost all good surface. The section between Lower Beechmont general store and the old Bavarian Hut has been resurfaced with some new survey work and the lower eastern side was resurfaced some time back and remains good. This is

Friday 14 July 2006

Japan motorcycle tour # 2

Well I got a shock this week when told my Japanese language school might be closing soon.Its the only Japanese school in Brisbane so this would be a set back to my plan to achieve a reasonable proficiency in the language before the tour.I want to try and continue my studies at home and hope that this will work resaonably well now that I have reached roughly the half way point to where I want to

Thursday 13 July 2006

Good motorcycle rides #2 - Hinze Raceway






Nerang-Murwillumbah Rd, Advancetown , Qld.


Update 2011. Wrote this long ago, road has had some resurfacing in couple of spots and new road markers and remains excellent road surface. Known to attract the fast and the furious still and occasional unmarked patrol but mostly quiet these days.

(AKA - Hinze Raceway)

To follow on from my last road I will stay in the same area and add another

Wednesday 12 July 2006

Japan motorcycle tour

I have been planning a tour of Japan by motorcycle for around a year now.This is to be my first overseas bike ride.I picked Japan first up for a few reasons. There are no organised tours there so it will possibly be the hardest of the places overseas I want to ride and I think therefore it's something I simply would not do later on in life as the difficulty of it would beat me, where as Europe or

Tuesday 11 July 2006

Good motorcycle rides #1 - Springbrook














1. Springbrook Mountain, Queensland.


Update 2011. It has been some years now since I first wrote this so a quick update is in order.
The eastern side has seen some resurfacing and the lower half is in good shape. Past Pine Crk road is still a bit rough but then after Purlingbrook the road has again since some resurfacing and is rather good. 


A firm favourite of mine - from

Introduction

Hello there. Welcome to a blog called Motorcycle Paradise.

My idea when starting this blog was to simply post a few places for Brisbane motorcycle riders to go besides the tired old local scene at Mt Glorious. I previously had a personal web page in the 90's with some content but updating it manually writing HTML was too much work. (think pre web page software and pre blogging) I went looking