Not another Aussie!

[OzRider]

Ok, where do you start? - Right here looks good I suppose!

I have just bought 2 Skyteam V-Retro 250's (223 to be precise) for an idiotic ride across Australia (16Sep 27Sep 2015) to commemorate my wife's 50th birthday. This surprised me somewhat because last year I bought her a funeral plot as a present and she still hasn't used that yet.

We live in South East Queensland Australia and are relatively close to some great weekend riding areas. Both my wife and I commute to work by bike, her on a Yamaha Majesty 400 scooter and me on a CTX700. On the weekend she rides a Triumph Speedmaster while mine is a Triumph Thruxton. The shed also contains a number of XR250's, KLE500, Ducati Monster 900 as well as some old school SR500's and a TT500 - yep we love our bikes.

Back to the V-Retro's, sometimes called V-Raptors. The bikes were bought sight unseen from Scooters and Buggies in Western Australia, price was $1995AUD registered ride away which equates to $1556USD or 1017GBP which (to me) is a bargain price. Bikes are new and have been delivered still in their boxes as I requested.

The ride is quite simple, we fly to Perth West Australia, assemble the bikes, load them up and then off we go on our 5500km "relocation" ride through the middle of Australia- what could possibly go wrong?

I'll let this sink in for a while and I'll be back to explain a little bit more shortly.

Any V-Retro owners in Aussie please let me know - you may have "life saving" info.

OzRider.

[Weldangrind]

Welcome!

Terrific intro; glad to hear that your wife hasn't used her funeral plot yet. I'm trying to figure out how you got away with that as a gift.

I really wish the V-Raptors / V-Retros were available in Canada. Neat bike.

Is your Ducati a Monster Dark model?

[SpudRider]

Welcome; we are glad you joined us.

We have several V-Raptor owners on these forums; I hope they will soon join this conversation. Your adventure sounds wonderful.

[migu]

I think you should buy a new Chain for starters, the original Chain lasted 2500km on my V-Raptor and i think it was the same on another V-Raptor from this Website. Once the Engine gets really Hot, the Clutch might become a little wonky, i heard this also from 2 other fellow Riders. I changed mine and it is much better now. Maybe different engine-oil might also help?
Make sure, all the nuts an bolts are safe, use loctite. Be very careful on wet roads , the rear Tire has no grip at all on wet Tarmac. I love my Raptor but honestly i wouldnt take it for such a long ride, even in Germany.....

best regards

MIgu

[Trailbikeryder]

Hi OzRider,

Good tip from migu about the chain. Get a O or X ring chain as they will last longer. If you will be riding on dusty roads, oil and clean the chain regularly. The tires are definitly not good on wet roads. I have shinko tires on mine now. Any brand is better then the originals. Loctice is your best friend. Oil the odo cable or it will brake after 2000-3000 Kms. Read all my old Posts about the V-Raptor, especialy the one with the carberator Problem which was a easy fix after I found out what it was.
Any more questions. Just ask!

[OzRider]

Thanks to all for the input, there is no substitute for experience.

I have bought some Pirelli MT43 Trials Universal tyres (spelt with a "y" in Oz) in 4.00x18 as that's all they come in where I live. I did want Shinko 241's but Mad Mick from MTM Goodna would not sell them to me due to other Shinko tyre problems (warranty claims) he has been caught out with.

I have posted elsewhere for chain size info before I order new chains, I imagine they are 428 pitch 108(?) links. My choice is DID428VX X-Ring chains, I previously used a 520VX2 on my KLE500 on a ride across Australia last September and only adjusted the chain by 1 flat of the adjustment nut in 7400 kms on some of the harshest terrain that I have ever ridden - yep - I have a fair bit of respect for DID chains.

The Loctite is packed along with some spare electrical items (coil stator CDI regulator etc), tubes, pump and some tools. Riding the Honda's or KLE packing consisted of 2 x sox, 2 x jocks and a credit card as reliability was never in question however this time I do feel a bit vulnerable on a China Bike.

All I need now if fuel consumption figures and to work out an oil change interval. Max distance between fuel stops will be 530kms and we plan to average 600kms per day subject to fuel station operating hours.

If you have any suggestions please feel free to open up, derogatory or negative comments, personal abuse or otherwise will be treated as a personal challenge and inspire me.

Thanks again - OzRider.

[Weldangrind]

I'm not big on abuse, so you'll need someone else for that part.

I bought some manual canisters online, and then I bought 887ml/30 ounce MSR fuel bottles to fit inside the canisters; it's a good solution. If packing manual canisters presents a problem, you can always mount them to the forks with Quick Fist clamps.

Manual canister: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-Sport-e...0b8ece&vxp=mtr

30 ounce MSR bottle: http://www.ebay.com/itm/MSR-30-oz-ST...item418c55d153

Quick Fist: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Quick-...item20ec36dea1

I haven't actually tried the Quick Fist clamps, so you'd need to sort out the size that would be needed for you.