Advice from the Aussies?

snakebitten

Well-Known Member
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 6, 2011
Messages
5,681
Location
Coastal Texas
Heading over to Melbourne for a couple of weeks. (early May)

I'm actually tagging along on the wifes business trip. And since it is on such short notice, I really haven't gotten a chance to do any thorough planning.

I actually don't mind just "winging it". It is far more fun for me when I do.

Anyways, I am thinking maybe I could rent a bike and enjoy some day traveling. However, I can't get away with getting "off the grid" (network engineer and this is NOT a vacation for me) I must have cellular\WiFi.

So just looking for advice from the locals. Where to rent possibly? Google brought up a few choioces, but I am hoping those that are in-the-know can point me in the right direction.

Oh, and it might be my chance to actually experience a GS. So I will have my own comparison to my beloved ST.

Thanks for any advice in advance.

Cheers
 

Karson

Active Member
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Feb 26, 2012
Messages
2,001
Location
IOWA
No real advice here, sounds like a blast. Hopefully you have one hell of a WAN link between Melbourne and home...our VPN pipe where I work would craaaawl with response latency that far away.

Good luck finding a GS...maybe do a ride report if you find one and you have some down time. And, as always, post PICS!!
 

snakebitten

Well-Known Member
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 6, 2011
Messages
5,681
Location
Coastal Texas
I manage 32 locations with an IPad and Remote Desktop (RDP into datacenter management machines). It would suck to need a VPN, I agree.

And I promise I will post PICS if I can manage a few day adventures!
 

GrahamD

Active Member
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
Joined
Oct 9, 2010
Messages
2,149
Location
Blue Mnts - OzStralia

snakebitten

Well-Known Member
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 6, 2011
Messages
5,681
Location
Coastal Texas
Thanks GrahamD.
Sorry for the slow response. Been buried at work. :(

Gonna fly outta here Thursaday. Will report what I find and what I get to do on 2 wheels in Oz!
 

snakebitten

Well-Known Member
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 6, 2011
Messages
5,681
Location
Coastal Texas
Fixin to board. Land on May 5th. So I completely lose a day of my life in the air. (4th)

Been thinking about trying a GS for the first time in my life. But if that new ST is not rented out, I'm grabbing it!

Figure I am guaranteed to have a great trip if I'm on the same mount that has given me great trips already!

Thanks again for the link. Sounds like a great selection.
 

OX-34

Active Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2011
Messages
378
Late into the discussion......

I hired a Tenere from Garners in Melbourne, then flew back home and bought mine ::012::

Last week I flew down to Melbourne again, but this time took a GSA for an 1800km day ride ::26:: - hired from the BMW dealer Southbank Motorcycles. The bike did well. At 200am after 1500km or so the feel and view is much like the Tenere......except for the very poor lights.

The next day I bought an FJR..... ???
 

snakebitten

Well-Known Member
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 6, 2011
Messages
5,681
Location
Coastal Texas
So the OZ version has flash-to-pass trigger AND hazard button. Why is that not spec worldwide?

Also, there is a small bulb in the tack with a small key emblem below it. It blinks red occasionally if I leave the key in it while the ignition is off. What does it mean?

By the way, at my first gas stop I had to ask a fella filling up next to me "how do you turn this pump on?"
He started laughing and said " you aren't from here, are you?"
Nope.

I explained in the states first you slide your gas card through the card reader. Then you push a button for the grade selection. And finally you pull the trigger on the single dispenser that serves for all 3 grades.

This pump you have 3 different nozzles for the 3 grades. And stupid me, you don't do any kind of prep. You just pull the appropriate dispenser and squeeze. Then you actually go into the store and pay! A bit embarrassing.
 

GrahamD

Active Member
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
Joined
Oct 9, 2010
Messages
2,149
Location
Blue Mnts - OzStralia
snakebitten said:
So the OZ version has flash-to-pass trigger AND hazard button. Why is that not spec worldwide?
::012::

snakebitten said:
Also, there is a small bulb in the tack with a small key emblem below it. It blinks red occasionally if I leave the key in it while the ignition is off. What does it mean?
Anti GS thought activated grenades are armed and ready (it's an immobilizer really)

snakebitten said:
This pump you have 3 different nozzles for the 3 grades. And stupid me, you don't do any kind of prep. You just pull the appropriate dispenser and squeeze. Then you actually go into the store and pay! A bit embarrassing.
We don't have that much theft in this country. YET. A few "petrol stations" umm "servos" did try it once but they got a collective "get F^&*ed" and stopped.

Having fun? ::022::

The big question in everyone's lips is....

Is the seat the same?
 

snakebitten

Well-Known Member
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 6, 2011
Messages
5,681
Location
Coastal Texas
"Trust at the pump" says a lot. To me anyways. I like it!
So that whole Mad Max thing wasn't for real? ???

Ok, the seat thing. Now it has only been one day. Slightly more than a tankful. And I wasn't actually "measuring" seat comparisons.

But since you ask......the very first impression I got when I sat on the bike was that it felt shorter. I suspected the seat was set in the lower position and I immediately removed it to set it higher. But it was already set high. So I got back on it and gave myself a second chance to judge it.

Nope, it is shorter. I'm way more flatfooted on this thing.

Also, most times when I stop and dismount, I go to center-stand before getting back on. It is far easier to "climb back on" than to swing my boot up over that seat. (I'm a fat man in his mid fifties) But I noticed I could get my foot up over this seat with less effort. Again, I think it's closer to the ground.

And finally, when it is on the center stand, and I am on the bike and ready to rock it forward to bring her down, there is far more teeter-totter range forward to back, if you know what I mean. ......like the wheels are farther off the ground.

Now that I am writing all this it is becoming clear that this bike might be lowered? Wasp probably sent them some of his dog bones so they could rent it to the shorties. :)

I'll investigate further when the sun comes up. (still find myself waking at 2-3 AM)

But if you were originally asking about "comfort" comparison of the 2 seats, I'm the wrong fella. I have a spinal chord injury that dates back to 1981. My butt is almost completely numb. I wouldn't likely pick up on any subtle differences in foam density or contour. But I have stared at and messed with my Yankee version. I will look at this silver sided version and see if I notice anything.

And yes, I am having fun!
 

elizilla

Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
Joined
Mar 22, 2011
Messages
544
Location
Michigan, USA
snakebitten said:
This pump you have 3 different nozzles for the 3 grades. And stupid me, you don't do any kind of prep. You just pull the appropriate dispenser and squeeze. Then you actually go into the store and pay! A bit embarrassing.
You didn't do this here in the USA until, what, ten, maybe fifteen years ago? You're older than me, and I am old enough to have worked in a gas station with pumps like this.

I was buying gas in a small Michigan town, not that long ago, and they still had this old style of pump. While I was putting gas in the bike, a car pulled up on the other side, and the kid driving it stood staring at it for a while, then came around and said to me, "What do I do? There's no card slot!" Funny how quickly something like this becomes the norm.
 

snakebitten

Well-Known Member
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 6, 2011
Messages
5,681
Location
Coastal Texas
elizilla said:
You didn't do this here in the USA until, what, ten, maybe fifteen years ago? You're older than me, and I am old enough to have worked in a gas station with pumps like this.

I was buying gas in a small Michigan town, not that long ago, and they still had this old style of pump. While I was putting gas in the bike, a car pulled up on the other side, and the kid driving it stood staring at it for a while, then came around and said to me, "What do I do? There's no card slot!" Funny how quickly something like this becomes the norm.
Well, I AM old and have forgotten a lot of things. But I do remember pre-ccReader pumps. I remember them as having one pump handle on each side....actually nested in the edge. The fuel type would be listed for each side. You would have to park near enough to the actual grade you wanted. And upon lifting the pump handle, you had to crank a lever down to zero the pump out.

This OZ pump is like nothing I have ever seen. I let it throw me. I thought I had to do SOMETHING. ;)
 

OX-34

Active Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2011
Messages
378
snakebitten said:
...............................................

By the way, at my first gas stop I had to ask a fella filling up next to me "how do you turn this pump on?"
He started laughing and said " you aren't from here, are you?"
Nope.

I explained in the states first you slide your gas card through the card reader. Then you push a button for the grade selection. And finally you pull the trigger on the single dispenser that serves for all 3 grades.

This pump you have 3 different nozzles for the 3 grades. And stupid me, you don't do any kind of prep. You just pull the appropriate dispenser and squeeze. Then you actually go into the store and pay! A bit embarrassing.
Had to laugh at this......

In the states for an Iron Butt Coast to Coast to Coast in under 100 hours last year, I was well and truly on the clock and mindful of delays. Fast fuel stops are the goal and under 5minutes is normal with pay-at-the-pump fills even quicker.

But I couldn't get the US pump to work and asked a guy "What do I do?". He said as snakebitten explains here, that I should put my credit card in and yada yada yada. Unfortunately the US pump would not take my PIN number/zip/postcode or anything else.

So the fill process was: pull up next to the pump, gloves off, helmet off, ear plugs out, cash out of wallet, walk into gas station, line up, answer the question "How much gas do you want" with "I don't know, I just want to fill up" "Hey, y'all talk furny - you're not from round here are you honey?", hand over $100, back to the pump, fill up, back inside, line up, get to the cashier, remind them that I'm the guy whos "not from round here who just pre-paid $100", get change and reciept, back out to bike, plugs in, helmet on, gloves on and ride away.

No 5 minute stops on that trip ::025:: ::025:: ::025::
 

AVGeek

Well-Known Member
Founding Member
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Sep 5, 2010
Messages
2,780
Location
Boulder City, NV 89005
I think you could make a couple of bucks picking up a few of the switch clusters from an Aussie dealer...
 

GrahamD

Active Member
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
Joined
Oct 9, 2010
Messages
2,149
Location
Blue Mnts - OzStralia
AVGeek said:
I think you could make a couple of bucks picking up a few of the switch clusters from an Aussie dealer...
Until people see the parts prices we pay ::025::
 

Glenn C

Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2011
Messages
43
Location
Sydney, Australia
::026:: what he said! Yamaha Aus prices are CRIMINAL. I just purchased a genuine set of winglets from the US and including freight to Aus was about half what the local price is!!

Anyway Snakebitten, you'll LOVE the Alpine Way (unless it snows but I think it's too early in the season for that). Appreciate that scenery cause that's the ONLY alpine area we have in Aus :)

Cheers
Glenn
 
Top