Springbrook mountain

Took a spin up Mt Springbrook this morning. Took the car and that was the right choice as the roads were covered in fallen branches and leaves and twigs. The few motorbikes I saw up there needed to go very easy with the loose road surface.There has been so much rain this week I thought the waterfalls that are often dry would be putting on a good show and I was not disappointed.Just after the

HDR photography

Looks like another mixed weekend for weather here ...In the meantime here is my first attempt at HDR photography. HDR or High Dynamic Range is a technique where you take a number of photos at different exposures and using special software combine 3 or more to create a photo that has a greater contrast range than can be captured in a single exposure.This was Brisbane last night from my balcony.

Tokyo Highways

Being this is a blog about the places to ride I thought I might show some amazing road photos I came across on the Web recently. The following are highway junctions or overpasses by night...Click to see a larger version.

Buell Muster '08

I went along to this years Buell Muster on Saturday.The once a year ride and meet of Buell owners and enthusiasts of the brand was held this year in the Northern Rivers area of NSW with the attendees staying in Tyalgum - right smack in the middle of the area I like to call motorcycle paradise.I have not owned a Buell for 18 months but have remained a fan of the XB series and thought more than

Cortech HRX jacket review part two. Ride report.

It was a very hot day today - perfect chance to put the Cortech HRX to test.It is very heavy for a summer jacket but comfortable once on and has a solid feel to it. Cooling ability is ok however not as much as a full mesh lightweight jacket. The cuffs work great - what I meant to say in my last post is they are hemmed like a regular jacket so stay in place when riding. Zips also good enough

Cortech HRX Jacket Review

Part one.I usually don't review lots of items on this blog as I am limited to what I purchase myself however I am going make you think I went on a spending spree and present another item to look at.Main reason I have purchased two new things in rapid succession is the value of the aussie dollar is starting to fall which makes buying items from overseas less attractive.  My old Summer jacket is

Northern Adventure - Ride report

Beautiful day today. I woke up about 7.00 and had a long breakfast and was not sure if I would go anywhere. My southern state ride partner was adamant the weather was going to turn to shite however here it was warm with a clear blue Spring sky outside so I grabbed my gear and headed north.I think everyone else must have had the same idea - there were literally 100's of motorbikes out. It was

Good Motorcycle rides #41 - Campbells Pocket

Been awhile since I posted any new roads around Brisbane however I do have a few new places to suggest riding and some others I have mentioned in passing on my ride reports and will update further.To start though here is a little back road that can be fun.Campbells Pocket lies between Mt Mee and Wamuran. The road to ride is of the same name - Campbells Pocket Road and it while quite narrow in a

Japan Motorcycle ride post archive

Japan Motorcycle post archiveI am going to make a sticky link of this post in the archive so people can find the Japan ride reports easy on one page.Japan Ride ReportPre Ride post 3Pre Ride post 2Pre Ride post 1In other news I have altered a few things on the main page to hopefully make it present a little better and quicker although that is difficult due to all the photos. Anyhow the removal of

Winters over - Spring ride report

So much for winter - 2 months and we are back to warm days.I ordered a winter riders jersey from the UK but I will have to wait 12 months to test it if Sunday is anything to go by, beautiful warm spring day. I had to go for a ride.I headed off south with no firm plan other that to look about more in the area around Mullumbimby. I started by riding up Mt Springbrook then through the Numinbah

Mid Winter Ride Report

Saturday of this weekend was very mild, actually by midday it was warm enough for just a T-shirt and jeans so I decided I would go out for a ride Sunday with weather like that.Today of course was not quite as warm ... I wanted to go south-west which I suppose did not assist matters temperature wise. Riding out west I could feel the temperature dropping and then from Yamanto out to Aratula via

Australias best motorcycle roads - Alpine National park

Whilst most riders know of the Great Alpine Road that runs more or less from Bright to Omeo Victoria there are some notable good roads to ride in the areas adjacent.The Great Alpine Road is a superb ride and the valleys that lie to the south of Omeo are every bit as enjoyable to ride as the mountains north. However to the north and east of the top of the Great Alpine Road lie three other good

Helmet testing

The UK government recently completed the first round of testing motorcycle helmets and some of the results may surprise you. They give a 1 to 5 star rating to each helmet and thankfully none were only 1 star, however a few were only awarded 2 stars and there are some big brand name helmets that don't fare much better. Only 5 helmets make it to 5 stars (as of this posts date) and I was delighted

Soft Silicon Ear Plugs

Readers of this blog may recall I have been trying out every sort of ear plug I could obtain and after testing many settled on soft silicon ear plugs as the best earplug solution. (see archives for more)The main reason I like this type of ear plug is they are so very comfortable. Seriously if you are one of the many riders who doesn't wear ear plugs because of discomfort or the isolation effect

Sunday Ride Report

Currumbin to Kyogle via Nunderi.Looking south west to Mt Warning from Farrants Hill, Tweed Valley NSWFirst opportunity to ride the Agusta since getting new tyres on it nearly two months ago. Of course we had a few wet weekends and then I went on holidays so despite it being mid winter I was keen to get out today. Don't laugh it does get cold early morning in Qld - albeit briefly. I rugged up as

Japan Motorcycle Ride Report

Riding a motorcycle in Japan was something I had wanted to try for some years and now am very happy to have succeeded in doing.

The roads were as I had thought - fantastic for riding and actually beyond my expectations. Despite some rain I have to rate it as some of the best riding I have ever experienced.

But I am getting ahead of myself, I shall try and give a overview and hopefully some

Japan Motorcycle tour reloaded #3

Raining here this holiday long weekend so no riding again.I have been working on my ride plans for Japan and want to share some sites that may be of some assistance to anyone else thinking of doing a ride in Japan...There are two motorcycle forums in Japan run by and for the english speaking riders however they are both of limited assistance. Tokyo Riders which I have no longer kept a link to is

Japan Motorcycle tour reloaded #2

Two and 1/2 weeks until I leave now so spent some time further researching this weekend.Found another motorcycle rental shop, actually there are many however found one close to where I will be staying in the western suburbs of Tokyo that rents Buells and BMWs.A BMW would make a good choice so have asked re price and insurance and if they rent helmets and luggage which the shop in Shinjuku with

TourMaster 2 piece rain suit review

My rain suit I ordered from NewEnough in the USA has arrived. Shipping from NewEnough was only available via USPS express which added a little extra to the cost and may put me off shopping with them again since motorcycle apparel isnt something you would normally require urgently. Certainly have it as an option but not the only choice. My items ended up sitting at the post office for a week

Motorcycle books

I have read a number of motorcycle publications and there are three books I can highly recommend.Firstly the book that needs no introduction, the famous Twist of the Wrist (vol 2) from Keith Code. A performance riding handbook that explains in everyday terms what is happening when you brake, corner and accelerate on a motorcycle which has helped many people. A easy to read book that you can

Japan Motorcycle Tour - reloaded

I find myself somewhat unexpectedly heading off to Japan next month so I have decided to revisit my plans to do some riding there that I had shelved from last year.Previously I had a rather grand plan for a two week tour however this was canceled when I changed jobs and found myself unable to go. Since then I have forgotten much of the Japanese I had studied and have been so busy with this new

Far West ride report.

I decided to try another ride west today. I had briefly considered north however with the exception of a couple of sections mostly find the northern roads uninspiring so west it was.I had no plan to begin with, just wanted to turn some wheels and try take my mind off work and the selfish people that have been zapping my spirit of late. And so with a small spark of an idea that winter will soon

Australia's best motorcycle roads. Wisemans ferry and Bucketty to Woolombi

Wisemans Ferry and Bucketty to Wollombi.It has been a while since I posted any roads from my Moto-GP tour last year, however I still have a few left to show you and talk about. The rides here north of Sydney are no doubt well known and popular for Sydney based riders who would have alot more information on them, however I come from Brisbane so I will be speaking from a touring point of view. I

Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Centre

I recently came across an organisation in the the USA that has halved the number of motorcycle crashes in their state with a comprehensive approach to motorcycle safety, training, public education and licensing.Here is sample of some of their campaigns.Nice to see something not just about speed. Our politicians continue to skew data so they can ignore the facts that the majority of accidents are

Tweed Valley Super Loop

I had a good day out riding today. First I completed what my mate calls 'A Big Loop' from Mudgeeraba. Its a top ride and I think its much better than that simple name suggests so I shall describe it in detail for you and include links to my posts on some of the roads.Edit: added route map here as gets a bit complex if you don't know the area.The Gold Coast & Tweed Valley super loop.From

Squids go wild

Crazy Supermotard action - keep watching it gets mighty wild - just wish they had some protective riding gear.10.07 montee ospédaleUploaded by bartoxxI keep thinking about supermoto's... they probably are the most fun type of bike to ride. I have always had my concerns however about doing any distance on one. This is something I can compromise from the point that I don't want or need a proper

Twist the Throttle

Discovery Channel have made a series about each of the major motorcycle manufacturers. This includes company histories, tours of the factories, interviews with senior company members and (basic) test ride reviews of two models from each maker - mostly on location in Italy, Germany, Japan.While I have seen some good documentaries about Japanese companies on NHK and Fuji TV in Japan (eg how Casio

Australia's best motorcycle roads. Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric

Did you know the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme took 100,000 people from 30 countries 25 years to build? and that it has 145kms of tunnels, 80kms of aqueducts, 16 dams and 7 power stations and has been called one of the modern engineering wonders of the world? Its an impressive achievement.There are 3 main sealed routes that run across Mt Kosciuskzo that are part of the network of original service

Last ride of summer

Ride report - The Scenic Rim.I was heading south but at the last possible moment I turned west. Glad I did too.I think we may be approaching the end of the really hot days of summer already, not that autumn in the sub tropics is cold however it was a bit cool this morning out and positively chilly in the mountains with just the summer mesh jacket. Time to get the leather back out.I am not sure

Currumbin Rock Pool

I went for a short ride to Murwillumbah on Sunday via the Currumbin valley. My route included Tumbulgum, Nunderi and over to the coast for a change to take a look at what recent development has occurred in Cabarita, Hasting Point and Pottsville.After this I returned to Mooball and dropped in to the village of Burrinbar then over the range of the same name, and noticed one of the fixed speed

Australia's best motorcycle roads. Bucketts and backroads

Bucketts way and Dungog, NSWAfter or before the Thunderbolts way, depending on your direction of travel, is Bucketts way.To me the section between Gloucester and Nabiac is great, the other section of road called the Bucketts way lies south to Raymond Terrace and is bumpy in a few parts but is in the process of being resealed as is the Thunderbolts way north.Nabiac to Gloucester.So first heading

Big Western Loop

Ride report - Big Western Loop.A fine and mild summer's day after all the rain made for a perfect Sunday to go for a ride.I had been wanting to explore some roads west from Boonah, on the way there I turned off to the township of RoadVale and then to Kalbar to enjoy some magnificent morning views of what is referred to as the Scenic Rim.Click to enlargeAfter this I tried to ride around the back

Australia's best motorcycle roads. Clyde Mountain.

Clyde Mountain - Kings Highway.Batemans Bay to Braidwood. NSW.What a fantastic land we live in for riding motorcycles. Warm most of the time and processing a series of mountains from Nambour to Melbourne near to the coast that we have build roads up and over.This road is a real gem, very smooth and easy to ride. Superb surveying with lots of flowing corners, the ride to the base of the mountain

Australia's best motorcycle roads. Snowy Mtns Highway

Snowy Mountains Highway. NSWHere is a major mountain road with countless excellent sweepers that for some strange reason is not listed in the Hema motorcycle atlas. I actually skipped it the first time I rode the Snowy mtns area thinking it must be no good - don't make the same mistake, this is a terrific bit of tar!The Hema atlas gives the alternative of Corryong to Tumut via Tumbarumba a

Australia's best motorcycle roads. Murray River Rd

Murray River Road, VIC.Of the many great rides I enjoyed in Victoria on recent my moto-gp tour, this one certainly stood out.I had faint memories of this road in my mind before riding it. I remember this road from when I was very young on holiday with my parents, caravan in tow. The water level is much lower than I recall and no doubt like alot of Australia's water ways is suffering from a lack

Australia's best motorcycle roads. Gwydir h-way

The Gwydir highway. NSW.This is one of those roads I always seem to skip. Not cause it isnt a great ride but simply because it is competing with so many other good roads in the same area.From Grafton you are always going to be tempted to ride towards Nymboida. The road to Armidale via Ebor is one of the most enjoyable rides you will find anywhere and thats even without the Waterfall way. However