Great motorcycle roads # 28

Queen Mary Falls

This is a very scenic ride!

From Brisbane ride to Beaudesert and then ride the fast flowing Beaudesert to Boonah road which is allready listed in my rides and then go through town and take the road signposted to Rathdowney.

About 12 k's out of town you will see a sign post marked Falls Scenic Drive Route 21. Turn right here and follow this road as signposted.



The road is mostly narrow and you follow a creek with a few crossings that may have some loose gravel washed across, also it is unfenced so you need to keep your pace down as you may encounter wildlife near the road.


You will climb a very steep narrow road which has some stunning views on your right, then at the top enter a high mountain dairy fields area riding along the top for some distance. Again need to be mindful of your speed as many blind corners that cut back onto themselves. This side isnt a fast road in very many parts at all.





Stop at the superb lookout next door is cafe/mountain cabins and continue on and down a section until you reach the Falls. There is a cafe that sells good food and coffee as well as bbq facilities in the falls park area and toilets etc.



From there you may wish to return same way or go on to Legume. A nice curvey decent that is worth taking a run back up lies just beyond the falls area and then you are in Legume and can turn and go to Wondenbong on what is a rather bumpy road for the section Legume to Wondenbong and then ride over the excellent Mt Lindsey range.

Twisty Rating: 2.
Surface quality: C.

Map
Map

Silicon putty earplugs review

Yes I am still searching for the best earplugs and have reached the end of that exhaustive process with these silicon swimmers type plugs.

I have tested every brand of foam earplug on the market now and they all have some comfort or fit issue (you can read all my previous foam plug tests in the archives of this blog)

These silicon plugs are for me the best as they fit perfect every time and they don't loosen up or come out so while I only get 20db cut in noise from these I get that constant and in comfort.

The biggest problem with the foam plugs is you never know when they are going to seal properly or not, half the time they didn't which is why I ended up with hearing damage as they seemed to be right but then came unsealed from movement of the helmet or simply dislodged themselves.

So give these a try - you can source them from almost any chemist shop. Goes to show sometimes the answer is right under your nose, I sought out items from all over the world only to end up with the best result from shop 1 block from my home.

My other earplug testing is here here and here
Some more scattered in the older blog postings.

Update: Ok I have been using these for some time now - and I still like them. I have another pack with pink coloured silicon squares that you simply split into two and roll up into balls. These silicon plugs are more expensive than the foam ones however since I ride just once a fortnight its not a major expense if these work out a couple of dollars each set.

Update 2. Well I sold the Buell as you know it didn't run well with the quietened down muffler but these plugs at that medium level of noise worked well, Higher noise levels like the Micron muffler at its full noise level and these would not be enough to prevent earing damage. If you have a race muffler then you do need to try the higher 30-33 db rating foam plugs and come back to these if the others all fail to fit your ears well.

However I also now am of the opinion that bikes with mufflers that loud shouldnt be on the road as they are a major disturbance. Just no need to have a engine that loud, can have a nice tone for the rider to enjoy from a sports muffler and not be disturbing everyone else around you.

Vista Motorcycle Cruise Control Review

Vista Cruise Control

I find my throttle hand gets sore at the end of the day when touring and thought I would give one of these a try.

I previously tried the Throttle Rocker type devices and they didn't really work for me. Despite trying many things they kept slipping on the handle bar grip and didn't allow me to really relax my muscles in my throttle hand properly.

Update: I tried another brand and it worked fine but was of limited assistance.

I purchased this from motorcycle-accessories.com.au for $59.95AUS. Installation was very easy, about 10 minutes including reading the instructions. Just move mirror/brake clamp to left to make room for Vista clamp. Slide rubber ring and lock section over grip, attack to arm and thumb lever and done. I then needed to tighten it up the adjuster nut a few turns so it grabs the throttle grip enough to hold it in place when applied.



On the Buell with its V-Twin the Vista worked reasonably well. I could engage it and the road speed would only slowly increase or decrease and sometimes even stay the same for a small period. This then allowed me to rest my hand for awhile and then make mild adjustments to my speed leaving the Vista engaged. I found that I would end up slowly building speed or slowly reducing speed no matter how many adjustments I made so its not something that can be used very effectively.

Now I have it on the MV Agusta it works even less effectively. Being an inline four and having a more sensitive throttle and lighter flywheel it is impossible to get the Vista engaged and not be slowing or accelerating at a rate too great to leave engaged for more than 10 seconds. 

If you tour or ride long distance then this is worth considering but it has it's limitations and the wrist rest devices probably offer more.


Please visit this blogs home page for Australia's best motorcycle roads, Motorcycle touring in Australia and Japan as well as more motorcycle item reviews to mention just a few topics.

Australia's best motorcycle roads. Bruxner h-way

The Bruxner Highway NSW

This road originates on the coast and runs from Ballina to Alstonville where a friend of mine lives and on to Lismore and out to Tenterfield and beyond. Its probably a bit over rated by locals simply becaues there is not alot of other twisty roads in the area.

From the coast it is heavily policed between Ballina and Lismore and there isnt much on offer there anyway. The twists and turns start after Drake and finish at or around Black Swamp. Some scenic country side either side as well as some nice sweepers coming into Tenterfield.


For people riding down from Brisbane you can travel via Beaudesert and then over the excellent Mt Lindsey mountain and on via Bonalbo road. Tenterfield and return is not too difficult for a day trip however I would suggest returning via Warwick to shorten the day somewhat.

Tenterfield has a number of attractions and if you were to continue on the Bruxner you can go to the town of Texas and return back to Stanthorpe as I did. The road west of Tenterfield is more or less straight and boring, Texas back to Stanthorpe however is much better with enough corners to keep you amused.



So as a big day out this is something different to try, if prepared it's not too hard. Otherwise if you are heading further south then much better road options if you stay east to Grafton where you have the choice of the Gwydir or Nymboida roads to Armidale or Waterfall way.

East Coast Australia motorcycle tour.

Yes thats my plan now for April this year. As far as the Great Ocean road and back.

I have scrapped the Japan tour for a few reasons already spoken about in older posts and decided I will not travel abroad this year instead I will do a tour at home on my own bike. I have been researching going on past Japan to ride in Europe or USA but of course its the wrong season for there. I especially chose to have march/april on holiday as that is spring in Japan and fine weather (well less rain than usual) and cherry blossum viewing time as well.

I last toured here about 1 year ago to the snowy mountains region and back. That was a great trip and I was to have repeated it before now but the weather has not worked out and other factors have stopped it from happening.

So rather than postpone further I will do that ride and a bit more in April. My mate that I rode with last year has holidays at Christmas every year like many people and thats rather unfortunate as its a terrible time to go anywhere being expensive, heavy policed, over booked and stinking hot time of year. I know he would like to tour again but not sure if he can get any additional time off.

Regardless I am going to do it myself. Maybe next year I shall do a overseas tour instead - will see as there is few and they are expensive as hell compared to any regular tour or travel.

Shark RSR helmet review

I have had my new helmet out a couple of times now and here is a review.

The finish is very high gloss and looks excellent. First thing you notice is how much lighter it is to most helmets, Shark use their own design composite shell which is very light. Liner is as far as I can tell exactly like a Arai, very plush and extra padding. Venting is similar design to the Shoei XR1000 with vent channels in the foam shell making this a great choice for someone living in the tropics like I am. Noise is much less than my previous KBC and HJC helmets. Stability is good with no buffering or helmet lift.

The visor system is unlike any other and doesnt use the universal 'step/notch' system of allowing the visor to open but hold at various preset points. The Shark visor is a overly complicated thing IMO and their friction system doesnt hold it open or partly closed as well. Also the visor is 3mm thick - which delivers great optics but makes the tinted one a little darker than usual and more than I like - however these are really minor things and visor tint level is a really hard item to get right, too little and you will get sunburn and eye strain with the extreme UV we have downunder.

Overall I am happy and impressed with this helmet.


Please visit this blogs home page for Australia's best motorcycle roads, Motorcycle touring in Australia and Japan as well as more motorcycle item reviews to mention just a few topics.