TRAVEL FEATURE - AUSTRALIA
JACQUI FURNEAUX
THE BALLAD OF A
BROKEN-DOWN BIKE
Hurrah ! Six months on my visa
and no return ticket . I was ready for some motorcycle fun on my beloved 500cc Enfield Bullet but as soon as it arrived to join me in Australia , every blessed thing that could go wrong , went wrong . It was as if an evil spell had been cast during the flight over . Or was it in the stars ... was Mercury in Venus or something ?
The benevolent outback gods who ’ d guarded me when I was travelling in the Northern Territory and Queensland twelve years previously seemed to have deserted me on this visit . Last time nothing went wrong with my metal mate . This time , instead of pleasantly curious occurrences leaving me scratching my head in happy disbelief , my motorcycle seemed to have been cursed .
The problems started as soon as it arrived at the air-freight depot in Melbourne .
Foreign flora and fauna are not welcome in Australia and to ensure no fruit-loving stink bug set one foot on Australian soil , all freight had to be meticulously checked for dastardly stowaways . My Enfield was , of course , not a priority for them .
I ’ d teamed-up with a fellow Enfield-rider who chauffeured me around as pillion on his Royal Enfield Bullet 500 EFI . A goodhearted contact from the Horizons Unlimited community was a wonderfully patient long-term host who took us to Healesville , an outstanding animal sanctuary , and to the Motorcycle Grand Prix on Phillip Island .
The fuel tank on the newish and previously faultless EFI started leaking when more than two thirds full ; the gauge had stopped working so it was hit and miss when filling up . A new tank was ordered . Then a tremor developed whilst riding and
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