Solo motorcycle ride.

Melbourne, Whittlesea, Yea, Eildon, Jasmison, Mt Buller & return. 400kms approx.
My first opportunity for decent blat on the Hornet 900 since I first bought it 2nd hand in April 07.I wanted to get some ‘getting to know you’ time on some familiar roads, which is best done on my own.

Even though I did replace the mufflers with Madaz ‘cans’ & replaced the handlebars for Renthal ‘low rise’ road ‘bars, I wanted to sort myself out on the Hornet. I actually went for the Hornet 900 over more full-on bikes like the Aprilia Tuono & the KTM Superduke because I knew that I would be spending less time doing track & ‘fast’ rides out & more A to B sort of stuff. The Honda 900 was a far more flexible bike for that sort of thing. Also being a naked, sitting on ‘demerit point’ speeds (over 110kms/hr) wasn’t the most comfortable experience what with the wind blast. Still , I must admit, this detuned 900 Fireblade engine still knows how to pick up it’s skirt for overtaking, going from 80kms/hr to 160kms/hr in a few seconds with a simple roll-on in top gear (gotta watch that).

Best day for a ride, took the freeways out of Melbourne out north to Whittlesea. From there it was north/east through Kinglake West, Flowerdale & Yea. This road is gold for anyone who’s new to motorcycles & looking for a pretty straightforward, but interesting country run. Nice open flowing corners around here, good road surface & low traffic. You can top it off with a loop back through Strath Creek & back to Flowerdale which has some wide open corners which see some pretty big numbers on your dials.

I continued on east out of Yea along the Goulburn Valley h’way, it’s good to keep the speed in check here as there have been camera cars seen lurking about. Into Molesworth I hook a right into a small side road which takes you alongside some farmland. Just at the start of this road there is a very deceptive left hand corner as you chest a rise, that comes up on you tighter then you think. Your bike goes light up over on this corner & it has an off camber that just brings you over to the wrong side of the road – or worse. But after this it is a great balls-to-the-wall run with open sweeping corners. Just as long as there aren’t any ‘Stock crossing’ .

Into Alexandra I juice up as I couldn’t remember if I could make Mt Buller with what I had left after clocking 150kms (my reserve lights up @ about 250kms). From here it’s the back way into Eildon through Fraser Park & then Jamison. The road long Fraser park skirts the high rim of Lake Eildon with some massive views, but it’s also the sight of one of my fews offs where I lowsided the Ducati 748 on gravel strewn across the road. The road surface here is OK, but they used light colour hotmix that is difficult to distinguish if there is actually loose dirt or gravel on the road – take it easy the first time, open her up on return I would recommend.

The road south of Lake Eildon through the National park is sealed for about 70% of it, with a bit in the middle of graded gravel. It’s usually pretty good along here, the surface is OK & there are a lot of corners to keep you honest. Although there is no centerline-marking which leaves things open to the imagination for oncoming campers. This time round this road was littered with leaves & small branches as if no one had been down here in a month, which really bought the speed down. Top it off the gravel section was real dry & loose, which had my knees clamped to the sides of the tank & my elbows out, tense as a hen is a foxhole. The front felt real skitterish on this sort of loose gravel, it was a relief to roll onto the bitumen at the Jamison end.

The road through Howqua & Piries was a ball, then a right turn towards Mt Buller.
I always look forward to riding the road up Mt Buller. As soon at the road markings turn from white to yellow & the road pegs go to orange it engrosses you to push on, corner after corner. Steadily it builds to tighter corners & greater gradients, it’s almost like a video game that gradually gets harder as you through the ‘stages’.
You do have to pick the time of year to best enjoy this road, too late into autumn or too soon after winter & its covered in damp rubbish & dirt. January is the best time, summer the best season.
Coming up to the top at the Village, I ride up through onto the little dirt road to leads right up to the carpark near the summit. It’s a great place to chill right up top near the Fire wardens watch-post. 360degree views are worth bottling.
Ride back was through Mansfield, Yea, Strath Creek & then the Hume H’way home.

I found the Hornet had a real easy to get along with, bouncy sort of ride. I don’t think I ever felt out of control, it just swallowed the harshness that would otherwise be there on a more narrowly focused sportsbike. Although I didn’t have ‘more’ confidence on gravel than a sportsbike. Up Buller & back through Strath Creek when I was really laying into the corners, the front did want to push out & I flet like I was a million miles away from what the front tyre was doing. I might lower the forks in the triple clamps a couple of mm’s & try that again. I don’t want to firm up the forks – preload or heavier oil – just yet. Might be too drastic.
Power was spot on, nice fat midrange, roll-on overtaking from 110kms/hr in top gear was a 2 second affair. Down low it was very manageable, even on the loose gravel roads.

Bikely route : http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Motorcycle-solo