Cruising local roads

[Meddy]

Since getting my bike back on the road I have been just cruising around some of the local back roads whilst running it in and getting used to the old girl again.
Today was a lovely day so besides checking out the old garages for the "Old Garage" thread I kept going for a bit and took a few pics.
This is the highway through town and sharing it with these monsters is not fun.

A bit further down the road I spy this unassuming SUV parked on the side of the road, not the best pic but about middle of the pic on the left side of the road. No big deal you may say, but here in Victoria we have mobile speed cameras and this bloke sits here quite often, it's a downhill run here and they will ping you if you are over 103kmh.

Time to take the back way home, not overly warm today only around 20 degrees C but the snakes are out.
This fella got cleaned up by a car in front so I stopped to remove him from the road and take a couple of pics.

I've put over 200k's on the bike now and I'm really happy with the way it's going I still keep looking for another gear though and I'm finding the clutch adjustment is very sensitive, does not need much movement at the handlebar adjuster to make a difference.
Time for me to head home for lunch.
Mick.

 

[Ozboy]

Tiger snakes still creep the shit out of me dead!!
We have tripple trains on our main roads here in West Australia. I remember our trucks heading east always had to take a trailer off for Victoria as only doubles on your roads Not sure if that the case now tho.
Still creeped out with the photo ha ha ha

 

[Meddy]

Tiger snakes still creep the shit out of me dead!!
We have tripple trains on our main roads here in West Australia. I remember our trucks heading east always had to take a trailer off for Victoria as only doubles on your roads Not sure if that the case now tho.
Still creeped out with the photo ha ha ha

No triples here yet Ozboy, those in the above pic are about the biggest, mind you they still destroy the roads they gross around 80 tonnes but our roads were never designed to take that sort of weight.
Sorry to freak you out.

 

[Mailman]

Nice photos Meddy! Happy to hear you are out and about, enjoying your bike! I just love exploring small two lane roads!

 

[FLEA]

Since getting my bike back on the road I have been just cruising around some of the local back roads whilst running it in and getting used to the old girl again.
Today was a lovely day so besides checking out the old garages for the "Old Garage" thread I kept going for a bit and took a few pics.
This is the highway through town and sharing it with these monsters is not fun.
View attachment 131246
A bit further down the road I spy this unassuming SUV parked on the side of the road, not the best pic but about middle of the pic on the left side of the road. No big deal you may say, but here in Victoria we have mobile speed cameras and this bloke sits here quite often, it's a downhill run here and they will ping you if you are over 103kmh.
View attachment 131247
Time to take the back way home, not overly warm today only around 20 degrees C but the snakes are out.
This fella got cleaned up by a car in front so I stopped to remove him from the road and take a couple of pics.
View attachment 131248
View attachment 131249
I've put over 200k's on the bike now and I'm really happy with the way it's going I still keep looking for another gear though and I'm finding the clutch adjustment is very sensitive, does not need much movement at the handlebar adjuster to make a difference.
Time for me to head home for lunch.
Mick.

have you thought about the high ratio gear , had one on mine and will be putting it back on , takes care of that looking for another gear prob , also at 100 kls a lot less vibration .. good thing the car in front got the snake .. no fun having the front wheel flipping the snake up at you

 

[Meddy]

Nice photos Meddy! Happy to hear you are out and about, enjoying your bike! I just love exploring small two lane roads!

Thanks Bob, I'm really lucky where I live lots of single lane bitumen roads that are usually quiet, just farm traffic, and the XS is just perfect for tootling around them enjoying the sights.

have you thought about the high ratio gear , had one on mine and will be putting it back on , takes care of that looking for another gear prob , also at 100 kls a lot less vibration .. good thing the car in front got the snake .. no fun having the front wheel flipping the snake up at you

Yeah Flea, it's something I should have looked into whilst I had the engine apart, I will probably look at changing the sprockets in the meantime, maybe a winter job, I'm enjoying riding it too much now.
I'm always wary of snakes on the road and avoid them when I can.

 

[FLEA]

Thanks Bob, I'm really lucky where I live lots of single lane bitumen roads that are usually quiet, just farm traffic, and the XS is just perfect for tootling around them enjoying the sights.



Yeah Flea, it's something I should have looked into whilst I had the engine apart, I will probably look at changing the sprockets in the meantime, maybe a winter job, I'm enjoying riding it too much now.
I'm always wary of snakes on the road and avoid them when I can.

you don't need the engine apart or out of the bike for the high ratio gears , you might be thinking of mikes 5th gear ,high ratio gearing goes behind the clutch basket cover

 

[FLEA]

you don't need the engine apart or out of the bike for the high ratio gears , you might be thinking of mikes 5th gear ,high ratio gearing goes behind the clutch basket cover

was only part joking about the snake BUT a mate yrs ago was riding through the bush on a dirt bike (knobby tyres) with the girl friend on the back when he ran over a taipan , tossed it up on his lap , said he immediately dropped the bike and took off running , looked back and there was the girlfriend on the ground under the bike , luckily with no snake in sight .. needless to say she was not happy

 

[Meddy]

you don't need the engine apart or out of the bike for the high ratio gears , you might be thinking of mikes 5th gear ,high ratio gearing goes behind the clutch basket cover

Your right Flea, that is what I was thinking, what prey tell is this high ratio gear that you speak of?

was only part joking about the snake BUT a mate yrs ago was riding through the bush on a dirt bike (knobby tyres) with the girl friend on the back when he ran over a taipan , tossed it up on his lap , said he immediately dropped the bike and took off running , looked back and there was the girlfriend on the ground under the bike , luckily with no snake in sight .. needless to say she was not happy

That is scary in so many ways.

 

[MaxPete]

Gawd - all we’ve got to contend with are wolves, bears, bugs and 6 months of sh!tty weather.

We do have snakes here in Canada but few of them bite and only one is poisonous - the Massasauga Rattler and even though they live right in my county, I have never seen one.

But the spiders and snakes you guys have Down Under scare the crap out of me too. I think you folks definitely got the better end of the deal on weather when they split up the British Empire though....

 

[FLEA]

Your right Flea, that is what I was thinking, what prey tell is this high ratio gear that you speak of?



That is scary in so many ways.

lol , scary , the snake or the girlfriend , think I might have opted for the snake ,safer … high ratio primary gears are mentioned here on the forum a fair bit , in aust the xs650 site has them on the traders page , ivan sells them and their also on the clubs race bike , ring ivan and he will be happy to give you all the info

 

[FLEA]

Gawd - all we’ve got to contend with are wolves, bears, bugs and 6 months of sh!tty weather.

We do have snakes here in Canada but few of them bite and only one is poisonous - the Massasauga Rattler and even though they live right in my county, I have never seen one.

View attachment 131390

But the spiders and snakes you guys have Down Under scare the crap out of me too. I think you folks definitely got the better end of the deal on weather when they split up the British Empire though....

arr.. they are not that bad , most snakes don't want to have anything to do with humans , more people get bit trying to catch or kill them … bears now that's another thing .. at least our bears only drop on you out of trees , they don't go hunting or chasing you , now the weathers another thing , suffer you poor basteds

 

[Meddy]

in aust the xs650 site has them on the traders page , ivan sells them and their also on the clubs race bike , ring ivan and he will be happy to give you all the info

OK, thanks Flea.

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

Since getting my bike back on the road I have been just cruising around some of the local back roads whilst running it in and getting used to the old girl again.
Today was a lovely day so besides checking out the old garages for the "Old Garage" thread I kept going for a bit and took a few pics.
This is the highway through town and sharing it with these monsters is not fun.
View attachment 131246
A bit further down the road I spy this unassuming SUV parked on the side of the road, not the best pic but about middle of the pic on the left side of the road. No big deal you may say, but here in Victoria we have mobile speed cameras and this bloke sits here quite often, it's a downhill run here and they will ping you if you are over 103kmh.
View attachment 131247
Time to take the back way home, not overly warm today only around 20 degrees C but the snakes are out.
This fella got cleaned up by a car in front so I stopped to remove him from the road and take a couple of pics.
View attachment 131248
View attachment 131249
I've put over 200k's on the bike now and I'm really happy with the way it's going I still keep looking for another gear though and I'm finding the clutch adjustment is very sensitive, does not need much movement at the handlebar adjuster to make a difference.
Time for me to head home for lunch.
Mick.

Mick,
I'm enjoying your two-wheeled adventures.

 

[59Tebo]

I'm enjoying your two-wheeled adventures.

What Yamadude said, Mick. We like pictures (did anybody mention that?), and different places where the XS is found. And any wildlife crossing the road is a hazard... Snakes, squirrels, or anything else (we get all manner of woodland 'critters') can ruin your day. Keep the pictures of your adventures coming!

 

[MaxPete]

arr.. they are not that bad , most snakes don't want to have anything to do with humans , more people get bit trying to catch or kill them … bears now that's another thing .. at least our bears only drop on you out of trees , they don't go hunting or chasing you , now the weathers another thing , suffer you poor basteds

Actually, our bears are pretty much like your snakes, I'd say (but not as "icky"). They really don't want to mess with humans unless you get between a mama and her cub or try to feed them - which is truly one of the stupidest things I can think of doing outdoors. Also - bears are omnivorous but most of their diet consists of insects and fish. They very seldom go after a mammal of their own size unless provoked.

If you are walking through the bush, the best thing to do is make noise (by carrying a dingle-bell etc.) as you go along - and if you do that, you'll likely never even see a bear because they will have cleared off the trail as you approach. If a bear does come near you - don't try to run away (you WILL loose the race) and don't bother trying to climb a tree (they're better at that too - except grizzly/brown bears which cannot climb).

The best thing to do is to walk in the opposite direction not trying to be quiet so that the bear definitely knows you are there (they don't like being startled).

If he persists in following you, stay quiet, drop to the ground and roll up in a ball and protect your head and neck. Bears don't eat carrion (dead stuff) and so it will likely just sniff around you and maybe roll you around a bit - but if you stay still and quiet, they'll loose interest and wander off.

As for the weather - yeah - we basteds really took one in the shorts in that department.

Sorry for the hijack, but I have been asked about the dangers of bears in Canada by people from all over the world and the fact is - bear attacks are extremely rare and usually provoked by humans.

 

[Meddy]

Mick,
I'm enjoying your two-wheeled adventures.

What Yamadude said, Mick. We like pictures (did anybody mention that?), and different places where the XS is found. And any wildlife crossing the road is a hazard... Snakes, squirrels, or anything else (we get all manner of woodland 'critters') can ruin your day. Keep the pictures of your adventures coming!

Thanks fellas, hope to be able to bring you lots more, lots to discover in this part of the world.

Sorry for the hijack, but I have been asked about the dangers of bears in Canada by people from all over the world and the fact is - bear attacks are extremely rare and usually provoked by humans.

No worries Pete, Visitors to Australia are always concerned about sharks, snakes and spiders but apparently our most deadly animals, as in kill the most people are horses closely followed by cows, sharks and snakes are way down the list.

 

[Meddy]

Nice day for a little ride this arvo, just went cruising round some of the back roads, too many trucks on the main roads during the week.
First stop was to take a pic of this little old pretty well abandoned Anglican church, sits on a crossroads with nothing else around for miles, seems such a waste.

Further down the road an abandoned farm house, seeing a lot more of these around now, swallowed up by neigbours and then just left to the elements.

This next section of road is a favourite of mine for a quick spin, runs through an old soldier settlement area which was land sold to returned soldiers after WW1. Most of it now sold off to Blue Gum plantations.

The road roughly follows the old Heywood to Mt Gambier rail line which was closed down 20 odd years ago when the main North/South line was changed to standard gauge and this branch line was left at broad gauge.
I don't think they will be opening it up again soon!

I do find the XS just perfect for this type of cruising around, much more suited to these roads than my Street Glide.
Mick.

 

[motormike]

Everyone on this site.... no matter where we hang our hats.. have roads..adventures…. for myself, across the river in the land of cheese... Wisconsin... has roads purposely build for motorcycles....we just let the farmers use them dur'n the week...... my profile photo has me and the wifey on our Xs1 next to a Amish farm.... the Xs1 is nice but with two up...you don't get " carried away ".... the drum brakes and hinged frame demands considerations. Our 82' XS offers a little more handling and stop'n ….
sights... scenery …… where else can you find yourself out in the boonies.. off the beaten path and discover a dairy barn converted into a ice cream spot with THE greatest pizza's.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Nice pics.
I love backroads exploring...