{"id":556,"date":"2024-08-01T14:26:58","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T18:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/?p=605"},"modified":"2024-08-01T14:26:58","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T18:26:58","slug":"mungo-madness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/mungo-madness\/","title":{"rendered":"MUNGO MADNESS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An intrepid adventure photographer joins one of Australia\u2019s most accomplished safari racers to get the Harley-Davidson\u00ae Pan America\u2122 all dirty in the red sand of Australia\u2019s deserts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WORDS AND PHOTOS: MARK WATSON<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBejeezus! That\u2019s a big \u2019un,\u201d I think to myself as I glance back at the raised head of a 6-foot king brown snake in my mirror. It\u2019s the fourth snake I\u2019ve dodged this morning, and my caffeine-fuelled synapses are acutely aware I shouldn\u2019t be swerving at such speeds on sandy, corrugated outback trails atop a heavily laden 250kg Adventure Touring bike\u2026 but this fully loaded Pan America\u2122 Special is handling the bumps, the speed and the load with ease.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Ben<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I have all the bells and whistles, but to the bloke on my tail riding a near-identical bike, it likely looks as though this is my first outing on two wheels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben \u2018Grabbo\u2019 Grabham is one of Australia\u2019s most-decorated offroad racers, and I suspect right now he\u2019s chuckling at me standing tall on my pegs as we hurtle through the remote outback of New South Wales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I first spoke to Grabbo about this trip, he admitted, \u201cI never dreamed I\u2019d ride a Harley\u00ae off-road unless I joined a biker gang and was running from the cops.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, today it\u2019s me who\u2019s riding like I\u2019m running from the cops, while in stark contrast Grabbo calmly sits back and listens to his fitness podcast. Occasionally we stop, and he pulls a shaker of Himalayan rock salt from his jacket, scoffs a mouthful, and swigs it down with some lukewarm water. \u201cIt\u2019s the best way to avoid cramps,\u201d he remarks before casually kicking his Revolution\u00ae Max into gear and disappearing in a cloud of dust.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Ben<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I consider whether a flying brown snake might dent Grabbo\u2019s relaxed demeanour but then recall he finished 15th outright in the Dakar Rally with a failing GPS and busted bike bits in his pocket, all only eight months after breaking his back in a 93-mph altercation with a kangaroo. Airborne snakes, even at head height, won\u2019t be fazing him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we bust on under a scorching midday sun, Grabbo is nonchalantly switching engine mapping and suspension modes in search of the best setup for the gravelly, potholed road we now find ourselves on. Yesterday was all Sport and Road mode as we rode the 372 miles of bitumen from Grabbo\u2019s hometown of Bathurst to the outback town of Ivanhoe It wasn\u2019t until late afternoon when we hit our first gravel that I scrolled through the modes until Off-Road appeared.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Ben<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Safely at camp, with swags rolled out, Grabbo reveals his initial impression. I expect him to be critical of the new player in the market, but he surprises me. \u201cIf you put the Pan America up against other heavyweight adventure bikes, it equals them in many areas and even betters them in some,\u201d he says. This is comforting news as we have tougher days ahead of us.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

From Ivanhoe, we exchange tarmac for loose gravel, washboard and finally sand as we head for Lake Mungo. We set up camp there and marvel at the ancient lake system, now dry for over 14,000 years. I ponder how rich the flora and fauna would have been when Mungo Man was ritually buried here 42,000 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To this date, Mungo Man is still the oldest human remains unearthed in Australia. We could easily spend days in Mungo, but we have a rendezvous planned with dirt tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Life morphs into a joyous Groundhog Day of sand and corrugation as we punch out big miles and camp under the stars. Long hours seemingly alone are interrupted by occasional road trains or more impressively emus, the giant flightless birds of the desert, keeping pace alongside them. Pink and grey galahs duck and weave around us, while gritty eyes focus on avoiding the shingleback lizards and bearded dragons suicidally sunning themselves on the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Periodically a majestic wedge-tailed eagle hops into the air, heavily laden with carrion, or a Gould\u2019s goanna sprints from the undergrowth. There\u2019s always something to keep us on our toes.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Petrol and feed stations are few and far between, but the outback town of Pooncarie delivers a gift in the form of the Old Wharf Cafe. On the banks of the mighty Darling River, caf\u00e9 owners Bob and Barb open with the obligatory chat about flood levels, followed by soft-poached eggs and fresh avocado alongside a perfect espresso.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Old Wharf Cafe is a godsend after days of instant coffee. Barb bids us farewell with a warning of deteriorating road conditions. Undeterred, we push on to Menindee Lakes to find the recently drought ravaged lake system full and overflowing. Our lakeside camp offers a perfect place to wash off half a week\u2019s worth of sweat and dust as we plan our return route via the fun roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We ride the remote north-western route to Willandra Lakes \u2013 in doing so offering the Pan America a taste of Australia\u2019s deep red sand, renowned for swallowing adventure bikes. The hardpack roads are in surprisingly good condition, but dunes are aplenty, allowing for adequate testing of the bike\u2019s suspension settings and torque. Before too long we arrive at Willandra and reach an unexpectedly lush oasis. Rare rains have turned dry vistas green. Newly sprouting grasslands provide a home to hundreds of red and grey kangaroos, interspersed with families of emu and flocks of brilliant green and yellow budgerigars. The shearing precinct of the once-thriving 736,000-acre Willandra Station now stands as an undisturbed time capsule of a bygone boom time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our final night under the stars at Willandra National Park delivers a surround-sound experience of Australia\u2019s outback at its best. Between the croaks of frogs and the splashing of leaping fish, we reflect on an off-road Harley-Davidson journey that would have been unimaginable before the Pan America. The adventure bike territory has long been the domain of dedicated European and Japanese dual sport machines. However, Harley-Davidson has just crashed their party and is seriously ruffling a few feathers. I also suspect that we might just see a few more Harley riders arriving at Bob and Barb\u2019s for brekkie and a yarn about the water levels.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Ben<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Built for adventure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Pan America\u2122 Special offers Harley riders a bike that\u2019s ready for any off-road eventuality. Key to that is the 112 kW Revolution\u00ae Max 1,250cc V-Twin engine, producing 150hp and 127Nm of torque.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The five pre-programme ride modes (Sport, Road, Rain, Off- Road and Off-Road Plus) allow you to match bike\u2019s performance to your terrain, with power output, throttle response, engine braking, traction control, ABS and Showa\u00ae suspension adjusting automatically depending on the chosen mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cutting-edge technology keeps the bike stable at all times and no matter the load thanks to the steering damper, vehicle load control and adaptive ride height. Meanwhile, the auto- lowering suspension when stopping allows for a solid and level foot placement no matter the ride mode. A heavy-duty aluminium skid plate and burly laced rims with carbon steel\/zinc-plated spokes \u2013 shod with knobbly 50\/50 Michelin Anakee Wild rubber \u2013 ensure that the bike is off-road ready, while heated grips and powerful Daymaker\u00ae Adaptive LED Headlamps help keep you riding for longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the verdict from the desert king himself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d go as far as saying that of all the heavyweight adventure bikes I reckon the Pan America might offer the best compromise of everything. It hides its weight quite well, feels balanced to ride and corners great,\u201d he says. \u201cNo doubt it\u2019s a big, heavy adventure bike, but so is every other adventure bike over 1,200 cc with a 19-inch front and 17-inch rear wheel. It\u2019s the 1250 V-twin engine that\u2019s the winner. Enough to convince me that if I had to choose just one heavyweight Adventure Touring bike for everything, the Pan America would certainly be up the top of my list.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An intrepid adventure photographer joins one of Australia\u2019s most accomplished safari racers to get the Harley-Davidson\u00ae Pan America\u2122 all dirty in the red sand of Australia\u2019s deserts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[7],"class_list":["post-556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-riding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}