7. Back in Cairns!

A dry Motorbike visiting another Mos(s)man

For those of you who don't ride enduro/dirt motorbikes you probably don't think of motorbikes crossing rivers. But, with a bit of skill, and if the water is shallow enough you can just ride your bike through like a 4WD. Anyway, despite having successfully crossed a handful of rivers in the past, I made a right hash of it yesterday.

After a few 4WD vehicles had crossed the creek north of Mossman Qld, I went for it. I managed to cross about 80% of the river and then went down a 4WD wheel rut, possibly took in some water, the engine stalled and the bike and I took an early bath. After pushing the bike out of the water we tried to get it to start, but no luck. And as I only had a standard spark plug socket it didn't fit the Beemer!

Tropical Nth Queensland

Back tracking, two up on Duncan's V-Strom to a campsite I called BMW roadside assist (they sent a flat back ute) and after first pushing the bike back over the creek (why didn't I do that in the first place!), to cut a long story short  I was back in Cairns 6 hours later with the bike. 

Ready for the trip back to Cairns!

First stop on Monday morning will be the Cairns BMW dealer for the verdict. Will it be a quick draining of the water, in which case I will be back on the road with little time lost, or will it be a case of "ordering parts from Germany"! In which case I will have to think of another way to continue the trip around Australia.


Today, a little delayed, Duncan and Christoph continue upwards to Bamaga, it would be nice to be riding with them! I was enjoying the beginning of the dirt roads yesterday. Oh well, I hope it's good news from the workshop tomorrow.