AUSTRALIA BOUND

It was a sunny May day in Sydney, Australia, when my fingers stopped on an advert in the local newspaper I was reading: “1982 Yamaha XV1000. Racks, bag, stainless pipes, new tires, $1,750 OBO.” That’s the one for us I told Karen, and a few hours later our friend Dave Peach was driving us out of the city to see the bike and take a test ride.

As soon as I saw it I knew it was the right bike, and after parting with $1,550 cash we were heading back to Sydney on the motorcycle that would end up taking us around Australia. Having landed six months earlier in Darwin on one-way tickets from Indonesia with just $22 to our names, it was hard to contain our excitement knowing the next adventure was about to begin.

Gearing up

With a total investment of $50 in plastic bags, bungee cords and waterproof gear, we headed off, rumbling out of Sydney on Australia’s southeast coast bound for North Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef. The road out of Sydney is motorcycling perfection — or at least it was then — weaving and winding through the hilly countryside, passing the Blue Mountains