A few rider's stories, trip reports and magazine articles that I wanted to share with you have backed up on my desk over the last little while, so here they are:

• Trail Zone - Clubby from Trailzone came on our 3 day trip with us
• Kiwi Invasion - 8 Kiwis from Horowhenua Motorcycle Club in NZ joined us on the 5 Day Legends Ride (article from Trailzone)
• Trail Zone - They loved our support truck so much they wrote an article about it!
• Kiwi Rider Magazine - Racing Dave from Kiwi Rider talks about his adventure "Trail Riding In Paradise"
• Trail Zone Magazine - Trail Zone came along with us on a Cape York run. Read what they had to say.
• Jim The Snake Man - One of Cape York's real characters.
• Riding The Map Of Tassie - Trip report from our annual Tasmania run.
• A Fair Dinkum Tour - Robert Baumert writes about his Cape York ride with us.
• Baja - I rode Baja recently. Here's how it went.

New Premises

Fair Dinkum bike tours has purchased new premises to further expand our business. Our new address is Shed 7 170 Mayers Street Cairns.

We are improving our customer base with a new facility along with a brand new workshop to help facilitate our expanding tours.

Cape York Specials - October and November 2010

We are offering a Cape York special for the months of October and November 2010. The cost of the 8 day Cape York ride is normally $4950 per rider if you book an 8 day tour in October/November 2010 we will offer the ride to you for the one off special of $4400 per rider. If you get a group of 8 riders or more then we will offer the ride at $4200 per rider.

We offer our 5 day legends ride at the special price of $2700 per rider if you book in October or November 2010.

Jump in for a great deal now - contact our staff to make your booking.

Charley Boorman "By Any Means" doing it Fair Dinkum Style.

Fair Dinkum Bike Tours had the pleasure to be chosen by Charley Boorman to guide him on a 2 day tour from Cairns to Cooktown as part of his latest motorbike adventure. Charley and Co’s ultimate goal is the support of UNICEF. Travelling ‘By any Means’ (the namesake of his new quest) has taken him by air, vintage car, motorcycle and car (hitchhiking in style). Setting off from Sydney on 18th March 2009, the final destination is Japan. Fair Dinkum Bike Tours were chosen for their local knowledge and professional reputation.

The Cairns to Cooktown team complied of Fair Dinkum tour owner David Williams, Charley Boorman and legendary camera man Claudio Von Planta, all riding bikes supplier by Fair Dinkum Bike Tours. Following closely behind was a BBC TV camera crew including (Robin, Sam (BBC producer) and Sarah (logistics from a support vehicle).

Departing from Cairns on Wednesday morning, the team rode via Kuranda State Forest, Mossman, the Daintree National Park and the Bloomfield track, reaching our destination of Cooktown on Friday morning. In true tropical north style, it had been wet the days prior to the start which led to some interesting riding conditions.During the ride Charley had a big ‘off’ on day two. he was a bit shaken up but ok thankfully. He bent the bars and trashed the barkbusters. He kept riding for the rest of the day but was a bit sore and still at the end.

"By Any Means" will be aired on the BBC, National Geographic channel and SBS. The DVD and book will be available from November 2009.

Fair Dinkum goes HI Octane racing

Dave Williams has purchased the infamous ‘Hi Octane GTR Skyline’ to try his hand at the Super Lap and sprint series. Former owners Mark Berry and Russell Newman decided to sell the GTR R32 after having such a successful period with the car setting lap records and dominating just about every event they entered. Of course they have embarked on another GTR project, pleased in the knowledge that their R32 is in good hands.

“I have big shoes to fill”, commented Dave Williams. He continued "I intend to get a feel for the car first, then gradually work my way forward. Having driven it briefly before, I know it is a great car but a handful if you don't know what you are doing. Mark and Russell have spent a lot of resources making this car perfect . I hope with a few sessions on the track I will be up to speed. I’m not holding my breath for any new records - Mark is a awesome driver - but this project will get me away from the bikes for a while."

The car is powered by a Nissan RB26DETT 2.6 litre engine. It ran a 9.7 @ 143 MPH at the drags coming straight from the race track. This dry sump set up is one of the fastest low mount turbo'd GTRs in the World. Of course, the car was supported at the Super lap race in Sydney, by the Hi Octane team.

Time Attack: Queensland raceway

The Fair Dinkum Team successfully completed two time attack days at Queensland raceway recently. The Hi Octane GTR R32 performed flawlessly, setting the fastest lap time on both days on the sprint circuit and the clubman circuit.

“I am still trying to get a handle on the car and have the suspension, set up and alignment work to my driving style.” says David Williams. He continued “The PPG Gearbox was having difficulties so we removed it entirely to replace bearings and modify the internals. It also broke a centre casing - a mystery for us. Any comments PPG?”

Superlap at Oran Park

The Fair Dinkum crew made the epic journey to Sydney in March to compete in the Superlap event held at Oran park raceway. With the weather looking ominous on the way down, Saturdays practice proved to be perfect. “We were ready for an attack” says Williams. After CNJ motorsport in Brisbane tuned the car and added more power, it was distinctly different to drive. However, at the first session on race day, the car developed a miss and was running on 5 cylinders.

“We replaced the plugs, hoping to fix the issue. We raced in the second session to find the problem was still there. We then replaced what we thought was a faulty coil and tried again. At the third session, to our utter disappointment, the problem was still there.” Commented the team.

They continued “We found the injector was partially blocked with the fine micro screen, so we removed this and went out in the last session for the day. To be running on all 6 cylinders was magical. What a difference. We managed to run a 1.15 lap time even without the sixth cylinder in use. This gave us 5th fastest time for the event so despite our flutters, we left very happy.”

A great event and well worth the trip. Thanks to Ian and the crew from Hi Octane racing for their support.

Check out our support truck

As fair Dinkum Bike Tours expands to include 5, 6, 7 and 8 days rides, the accommodation too, must be flexible. As part of our commitment to comfort and a 5* service, we now make full use of a 5 passenger capacity support truck.

The truck is dual purpose.

• Whilst clients overnight in cabins and bunks on the shorter rides, the longer adventures call for a ‘back to basics’ experience – as we venture into what may seem like the unknown, we leave civilisation behind and a luxury camping set up replaces bunk beds and cabin style accommodation. The truck is used to carry camping equipment, food and drink and some other emergency supplies.
• The truck carries passengers too. Friends and family can enjoy the once in a lifetime experience with you by riding in the truck along with the support crew. Of course they are accommodated and catered for as part of the experience. They do all that the riders do, apart from ride. This includes visiting the outback, camping out, catching up with local stories and information. Additional passengers are flown back from Cape York to Cairns at the completion of the tour.

Cost for additional passengers for the 8 day Cape Ride is is A$1450 per person plus refreshments.

Any enquires please contact us.