a wobbly start…
Moon and I are finally on our way to the desert but it’s been a wobbly start. Yesterday we’d packed the bike by 7am and were ready to go, when my paramour Ben said “hey what’s going on with your tyre?” Turns out that the rear Dunlop 606, less than 24 hours old, was too close to the swing arm which had left huge gouges in the tread. And, of course, it was a Sunday!
Unwilling to risk the highway with a damaged tyre, I spent the rest of the day finding chips and gin with my friend Greer, then building a new and amazing shade tunnel to shield Moon from the desert sun. I made it out of rubber matting curved into an arch, then mounted on the K9 Moto Cockpit. It was the perfect way to keep Moon cool, contained and dry.
First thing this morning my friend Greg put a longer chain on the sprocket, moving the wheel back so we could replace the destroyed rear tyre. A quick stop off at Charlie’s dingo rescue to collect valium (in case of 1080 baits) and vitamin C (in case of snake bite), and we’re ready to go… or at least that’s what I thought.
Turns out Moon wasn’t as enthusiastic about the shade tunnel as I was. When I lifted him onto the bike he took one look at the shade tunnel and did the angry starfish — sticking all four legs out straight and refusing to budge. After a short stand off, he began to growl at the tunnel and it became clear I wasn’t going to win this argument. Another half an hour to dismantle the thing, then Moon jumped into his K9 Moto Cockpit and we hit the road… sort of.
The motorcycle was driving brilliantly until we hit around 80kph. Between 80kph and 90kph it began to wobble. At first it just felt a bit twitchy, but soon enough it was the whole terrifying death wobble cycle. At 85kph the wobble would start and only slowing down would stop it. So we crept along the highway, with trucks overtaking us and Moon barking at them.
A couple of minor disasters. The tarp fell off the bike near Cowra and I lost a pair of gloves in Canowindra (took them off to check my damned phone and forgot them). But we arrived safely in Wellington and set up the tent. I’m writing this to the soothing background music of fighting brushtail possums… but Moon is curled in a happy ball at the bottom of the tent and the stars are beautiful. Ok we only managed 400km or so, in two days, but we’re on our way.
Everything I’ve done regarding motorcycles, in the 18 months that I’ve been riding them, has been leading to this trip — to taking Moon back to visit his homelands. It feels utterly surreal that we’ve begun that journey now…
Tomorrow we’ll get up with the sparrows then head into Dubbo to find a Suzuki mechanic. Once the bike isn’t quite so wobbly, we’ll head toward Broken Hill. It’s probably too far for us to make it there by nightfall, but we’ll try anyway…
