It seemed like such a great idea for a story at the time. It was way back in my TrailZone magazine days and I’d hatched an editorial plan for my good mate Lance ‘Russ’ Turnley and I to take a couple of mid-size adventure bikes way out west to Hattah, near Mildura, for a magazine travel feature and DVD segment.
Russ was up for it and promptly climbed aboard a long-term Kawasaki KLR650 project bike we had and made the long ride west from Sydney to meet me there. It was the back end of summer and the relentless miles across the Hay Plain in the heat of the day fairly cooked old Russ but, like always, he turned up with a smile on his face.
FOR THE PAST 34 YEARS OR SO, THE KLR650 HAS PROVEN TO BE ONE OF THE WORLD’S FAVOURITE BIG-BORE SINGLE-CYLINDER ADVENTURE MACHINES
That smile was soon gone the next day when we spent the morning buried deep in the
