July 26th 2011
This was a test ride from Sydney to Canberra.
I had my bike all geared up, spare fuel, sleeping bag, tent, plus all the gear I would need for my round Australia trip. All up I did 652km in a 9hr. day. My trip down to Canberra started at 7:30am on a working day. I experienced heavy traffic from Collaroy (home) to Campbelltown (about 70km), then easy all the way to Canberra. I had head wind most of the way and very cold conditions. No problems with the bike, or my comfort. I did a 40 min stop in Canberra, and then headed back home.
I did an average of 22km per litre on the trip, which I thought was pretty good. My SPOT tracker worked great, and my wife was able to track me all the way.
I did the customary thing of taking pictures in Canbera and of course the Big Merino in Goulburn.
Lessons learnt.
I will need a full face helmet, the current half face was not all that confortable and very noisy for long rides. I also needed a cruise control to stop my throttle hand from tiring. I have since installed a Breakaway Cruise Control for my Burgman, but have yet to try it out on long runs. I also learnt that packing is very important and to place all items I need on the ride in an easy to access compartment.
I plan to do a couple more rides before I head off on my trip, just to make sure that everything works and also to test a few options to listen to music while riding.
All in all, a great and comfortable ride on the Burger.
