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Kevin . “ That ’ s why I wanted to do it ,” Geoff added . “ They ’ re so tough .”
Both Kevin and Geoff admit that their only experience with riding something like the Simpson Desert was taking on a local beach .
“ We were quite apprehensive ,” admitted Geoff . “ We were not sure what to expect … but we were surprised at how well we went .”
There ’ s a number of routes available to cross the Simpson Desert , the most direct , shortest , yet most challenging is the French Line and the trio of Royal Enfield riders decided that was the best option .
“ Yeah , we started and finished in Marree ,” Kevin explained . “ Just went up the Oodnadatta Track .”
They decided to skip the often-applauded Mount Dare Roadhouse by heading straight to the Dalhousie Springs , and from there straight into the dunes .
“ We had three nights ,” added Kevin . “ Just went across , just camping wherever we were about four o ’ clock or so in the afternoon , so just straight across the French Line and QAA Line .
The boys conceded that while in many ways the Royal Enfield Classic is an almost perfect bike , at least from a power point of view , there were some drawbacks .
“ They have a lot of torque ,” smiled Kevin . “ They really did well with the single cylinder , 500cc . They go well , yeah .
“ Our biggest issue was that we couldn ’ t stand on them because of the forward foot pegs ,” he continued . “ We could stand briefly as we crossed the dune and went through the woops on the other side , but by then you were knackered because the position was all wrong .”
It wasn ’ t a problem for Steve on the Himalayan , who had
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