History of dirt bikes crossing Australia

Words: Peter Whitaker

Personally, I can’t think of any reason to go to Steep Point; and if I wanted to go to Byron Bay I’d start in Tweed Heads. As far as riding is concerned, south west Queensland offers more than the Great Victoria Desert. But boys will be boys and like to go fast.

Tony Kirby didn’t start this transcontinental madness, but he stirred the pot back in 1998 when he and Don Cant rode across Oz on a pair of Yamaha WRF400s, that they’d specifically prepared for the task. And though the lads carried the usual survival gear and 5 litres of fuel, they were supported by Phil Gill and Keith Byrn, often having to wait for the backup truck to refuel the bikes.

Over the next few years no one seriously took up the challenge, though Phil Hodgens and the Wellsteed Brothers Aaron, Gavin Cameron and Willy managed to raise $14,000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service by riding a brace of ‘Postie’ bikes from east to west. A grand for each day in the saddle. And, about the same time, Matt Brown and Ross Ledger became the first to pilot a pair of quads across the country.

It wasn’t until 2007 that Phil Hodgens and Bill Laver set out to better Kirby and Cant’s record. Riding a pair of KTM Super Enduros, loaded with 70 litres of hi-grade, they headed west and made Birdsville by midnight for a refuel and fresh rubber. The French Line proved too difficult for the overladen Katos but they made camp at Purni Bore — via the Rig Road — and refuelled early the next day at Mount Dare, well ahead of the record. At the time there was no speed limit on the Stuart Highway, which is how the lads learned that 200km/h will turn a Rallyraid to locorice — end of attempt.

After a stint in the mines last year, Adrian Knight decided to ride home from Newman figuring he may as well start at Steep Point. It wasn’t a well planned journey and Knight was forced to ride around below the Simpson Desert — a factor that shredded the rubber on his BMW 650 X-Challenge. Luckily, he managed to pick up new hoops at Thargomindah for the long boring run into Byron Bay.

Now Phil and Bill have successfully completed the odyssey they attempted three years ago — coast to coast via the Simpson and the Gunbarrel — this time on Suzuki DR650s. On all three occasions the weather was against the riders, Kirby/Cant and Hodgens/Laver faced the aftermath of floods whilst Knight rode through the worst storms on the east coast in a decade. The statistics are as follows:

In 1998 Kirby and Cant rode east to west following the bitumen to Naccowlah Oil Field, station tracks to Birdsville, the French Line, the Gunbarrel and a mish mash of roads from Meekatharra to Steep Point. All in 107 hours eleven minutes for a total of 5600kms — of which approximately 30% was on bitumen, 55% on gravel roads and 15% on tracks.

In 2009 Knight rode west to east through Leonora, the Warburton Road, Lyndhurst, Cameron Corner and Thargomindah. All up it took 91 hours and 48 minutes — of which approximately 35% was on bitumen 60% on gravel roads and 5% on tracks; certainly an easier ride but still in ‘dirt bike’ territory.

In August 2010 Hodgens and Cant followed much the same route as Kirby, but cut north west at Quilpie to take the Windorah Betoota Road Road to Birdsville and a slightly shorter trek west from Meekatharra. A journey of 92 hours 17 minutes — 35% on bitumen 55% on bitumen and 10% on tracks.

And Davo Jones, of the Iron Butt Association rode from Brisbane to Fremantle on bitumen — that’s 4430kms in 46 hours (and swears he didn’t break the speed limit).