Words: Mike Dodd
Photography: Mike Dodd, Nichola Roberts, Cameron Elkins
Feeling deflated as I contemplated my stupidity, I called around all the car hire companies in Melbourne, Australia looking for a fun car to rent for a road trip along the Great Ocean Road. Even that wasn’t working out because I wanted a convertible, and of course everything over there is air conditioned so very few convertibles were available. Ok, the reason for my discontent? Well I was here in Melbourne just a couple of hours drive from Philip Island where they were running track days that week! I’d known this for months, yet chose to leave it until the last minute and now there was no places left. Being on the waiting list for the last few days was to no avail, and my consolation was going to have to be a PT Cruiser convertible instead.
Then, it came to me in a flash. I quickly looked up bike hire companies and called Garners Motorcycles. Yes, they had a shop full of Harleys if I cared to come down and take a look! Promptly abandoning my mates to go off and pick up the roofless tin box, I headed off to their shop on Peel Street in North Melbourne.
Nerves tickled me a little as I walked in. I'd never even sat on a Harley before let alone ridden one! I was so excited but thought I would look a bit of a plum as I fumbled with unfamiliar levers and switches. In the past I have always given the nonchalant air in these kind of situations and then come unstuck, so this time I thought I would be right up front explaining I’d not ridden one of these before, and that I was a tad nervous that I might drop one of their precious machines! The guys in there were great and super relaxed saying I was going to have the best time. They were excited for me! They showed me 'how to ride' this gorgeous black 800 Softail, for which I was very thankful, then left me to it. I stowed the little gear I’d bought in the studded bags and I sat on the bike.
Taking a quick glance over my shoulder I made sure they weren't looking and therefore wouldn't see me stalling it several times before wobbling up the road on this strange and ungainly machine. I pressed the starter. Suddenly, I was Jack Nicholson… I was, Easy Rider!! What a noise, what a lovely noise! The way the engine and bike shook and bubbled felt so exciting, I could hardly contain myself and I hadn’t even left the curbside yet! Quickly remembering the fact I wasn't in a movie and was in fact just a skinny white pommy tourist on a bike I’d never ridden before, I collected my thoughts as I gently let out the clutch and pulled away. Turning the corner and heading off down the street I realised this wasn't the nasty clumsy lump so many people had talked about, in fact it was very friendly and easy to ride. The gearbox had a lovely satisfying mechanical clunkyness to it, the clutch was easy and light and it was so comfortable. American rock music began playing in my head. I was the man… Bring on the Great Ocean Road!
Years ago I had done a few seasons snowboarding and thought I was pretty good, until the day I went heliboarding in the Chugash range in Alaska. It was like a light shining out of the heavens. Being dropped off at the very peak of huge mountains, riding the gigantic snow sculptures of planet earths enormous white wilderness made me realise THIS is what snowboarding is all about! THIS is why we do it! A legal (and very expensive!) high that I have yet to match, this was the feeling I got when I was heading along the Great Ocean Road. This was what it should feel like, and another reason why I had done my CBT so many years ago. I’ve seen so many Harleys cruising the highway and now I knew what it felt like. This really was the place to be riding such a machine, I felt like I was taking a big dog for a walk out in the open fields. The town was no place for this hound, but the wide-open roads, the sweeping bends and the long straights with clear skies and warm winds were...
Being used to a sports bike, it was a while before I understood that all the power was so low down. Once this gem of understanding had settled into my tiny mind I was really able to enjoy the bike. Although the Great Ocean Road has many good long straights where the legs of a bike can really be stretched it is also full of tight twists and turns. Once I'd settled into a good flow, it was just like being on a rollercoaster but with the most fantastic scenery in the world, and the thunder from the exhausts to serenade! All my fears of not being able to handle the weight of the machine and the worries regarding it's ungainly reputation evaporated as it ate up the bends with ease. In fact I would say more than with just with ease; it seemed eager for more! The first few times the footplates scraped I jumped a little in surprise. It was very easy to do and the machine felt stable and strong. By the time the 12 Apostles came into sight my face ached from the constant grin. What a great bike! The noise was poetry and turned heads everywhere. Although I discovered it wasn’t a noise favored by the cattle!! Sometime I would just get disapproving glares, but if I was gunning it up a hill they would be scattering in all directions! I have to confess this became a bit of a game. I hope none of them had a weak heart.
Although Melbourne was warm it did nothing to prepare my girlfriend and I for the tropical temperatures further north in Cairns. With five days to kill before our flight home we wanted to cruise about and take in some of the scenery and further north to Cape Tribulation. We could hire a car or a camper van but quite honestly is this not the place to be sat astride a Harley? We dropped into Choppers Motorcycles on Sheridan Street to see what they had to offer. Stupidly we didn't book in advance, but that day the gods were kind and they had their 1400 fuel injected Road King sitting there in the showroom. I was like a fat boy in a sweet shop! As I write this I still get tingly fingers. Seeing it sat there sparkling and knowing I was soon going to being cruising the countryside astride its thumping engine was such an exciting feeling!
This bike was even more comfy than the soft tail I had rented down in Melbourne, and Nic felt like she was in an armchair sat on the back. She’s used to being perched on the back of my CBR, so for her this was pure luxury! Oh and of course we felt like the dogs nuts on this machine! Whenever we stopped and parked up people would look at it. From across the road old and young would just stare. It's amazing the presence a Harley has and it’s effect on passers by. After a while we got used to comments like "nice bike mate". Oh, how I’d wished it was mine. Still none of them needed to know it wasn't!
Getting out onto highway 44 we headed north with the aim of getting to Cape Tribulation for the evening. The road rolled along the coastline bringing up one spectacular scene after the other. Legs either side of this big shiny bike, the hot wind, stunning scenery and a hot chick on the back, I felt like, well the bikes name - King of the Road! I have to admit though the bulbous round helmets that we had to hire were a tad goofy but I think we got away with it as $10 gas station sunglasses made us look like true Hells Angels. Although this bike didn't appear to be any bigger than the soft tail in dimensions, I found it was a far bigger bike to ride. Suddenly I now understood all the stories of how ungainly this big brute can be. Unlike the soft tail it really didn't enjoy the tight twisting bends to the same degree. It took all my concentration to get a nice flow and it was always a relief to get back on a nice open stretch. The massive weight of this beautiful creature came as quite a shock. But what a ride! Even with two up and it being so heavy this bike was seriously fast when you tickled it. And the noise, like I said earlier, it was just poetry.
The East Coast up by Cairns is all rain forest, and surprisingly very green and lush, but a short distance inland and it's hot dry desert. The reason for this is the very high ridge of land along the coast that forces the clouds to drop their contents on the coastal regions and leave nothing for further inland. Therefore in a very short distance the terrain will change from warm, damp green rainforest to hot dry desert. As we headed south from Cape Tribulation we turned off highway 44 and got onto the Mossman Mt Molloy Road. This took us high up into the rainforests the road zig zagging it's way very steeply up the mountainside. Here the power of that fuel injected 1400cc beast really showed, although cornering was still a little shaky, the power delivery was effortless. Passing several teams of workman they would always stop what they were doing and watch us pass. On reaching the highest point our ears stopped popping the road began to descend. Very quickly the atmosphere become very dry, the temperature seemed to increase and the greenness turned to brown. Rather than lush rain forests it was now sand and termite mounds. I pushed out the extended foot pegs, stretched out by legs, relaxed and watched the now long straight miles just get eaten up by this stunning blue machine with the most amazing sound track. Although now, it was like sitting in front of a hair dryer turned up to full heat with the skin on my arms almost sizzling, this really was the best feeling in the world!
In the green rainforests there always seemed to be plenty of petrol stations so the fact we were getting low on fuel when we descended into the hotter desert area didn't bother me. My concern began to increase though as we covered mile after hot sticky mile with nothing but termite mounds for company, not a fuel station or town in sight. This would be so typical, a couple of tourists with nothing but a small bottle of water to drink stuck out in the desert area with no fuel and a bottle of sunscreen to protect them. Idiots! Then a few huts did come into sight and sure enough there was a petrol sign. As we drew closer the complete lack of human beings and the fact it looked like the scene of an Australian horror movie made me keep the throttle twisted hoping for something further ahead. At last we reached Mareeba. It was quite redneck, but it was good to see a 'normal' town without the tourists, local people just living their lives. I always like to think 'When in Rome etc....' and have contempt for those that head for the Irish bar or the English restaurant when abroad, yet I couldn't help feeling happy pulling onto the familiar forecourt of a newly built Shell petrol station that looked identical to any in London. I'm such a hypocrite!
We based ourselves in Yungaburra for a few days and spent the time cruising the Tablelands, riding from one beautiful waterfall to another and, even more beautiful waterfall stopping to take a dip in the cool freshwater. Tying the swimming trunks and bikini on the back of the bike meant they were pretty much dry as we arrived at each new destination. Looking on the map we saw a very wiggly road that headed back in the direction of Cairns where we needed to be. That was far to tempting to miss so we set off for the Gordonvale Atherton Road. For numerous miles we turned switchback after switchback descending all the way from the highlands down to the coast. This is where I did find the bike a bit of a handful. Steep, tight downhill hairpins were quite a challenge on such a huge bike especially for someone who had ridden it for only a few days. I found it almost impossible to get a good smooth flow. But what a road! At one point a group of at least 150 Harleys and other bikes came storming up the hill in the opposite direction. A fantastic sight! We later learned this is a famous road to ride and people will often just ride up and down it. When you got to know it, it would be brilliant ride, especially on a sports bike.
Sadly the time came to give the bike back to the guys at Chopper Motorcycles. Although we'd only had it for a few days it already felt part of the family! Seriously though, it was sad to have to leave it. One minute we were Kings of the Road, turning heads wherever we went, then suddenly just backpackers again struggling under the weight of our rucksacks as we walked back to our hostel.
I really, really, REALLY want a Harley now. But then I also want the big Australian roads to ride it on.
Related Links:
www.phillipislandridedays.com.au
www.garnersmotorcycles.com.au
www.choppersmotorcycles.com.au
Related Photo Galleries:
Australia On A Harley
