Touring on a 906

[steele]

Does anyone have any expierence of long distance touring on the PASO906 pros cons etc all advice gratefully accepted

[Finnpaso]

I have travelled alot and long distances, but with 907IE...

[gail]

Just completed tour 5,500 km on 907 in Australia, no mechanical dramas at all,any other problems encountered could relate to luggage attatchment and ease of access to luggage. I had magnetic tank bag, protecting tank is very important, there is a non slip cloth on market to sit tank bag on that I found very good. I have a Givi top box, this was excellent,and good for security,also throw over soft bags,protect paint once again and can secure with cableties if straps cant reach etc. Bike was comfortable and biggest day was 800 km. get a sheepskin or other type seat cover reccomended. Do tyre and chain check/ adjust and service as needed. I reckon you will be OK if bike in good order and your not racing your mates. Have Fun.......Marty

[steele]

Thank you Marty thats the sort of answer i was looking for I have a Givi rack from my ST4 which i am hoping to transfer to the paso just need to find out if Givi still do paso rails

[redpaso]

Hey marty Why didn't you call in for a beer or two while you were over here?
Were you up the North Coast of NSW in the Taree/Port Macquarie region?
I will be really disappionted if you did not ride the Oxley mate, it is about the best road on the mainland.
I would not go to Tassie & not visit you!

[gail]

Hi there Red, On previous trip , just hung around Victoria for 5000 k, if I was up that way i would definitely call in for a jar or two, no worries, saw the pictures of your bike on re ; Sunday Morning , looks great ,where are the mountains in the background,second picture, looks interesting. Just came back from a winter trip 3000k to White Cliffs in mid New South Wales, Did the run up the Cobb hwy (All tar but 160km dirt) via Hay , Ivanhoe and returned through Broken Hill ,Menindee Pooncarrie (130 km dirt) . bike has now clocked 22,000 km I have put 12000 km since last August , She has not let me down at all. Need a new back tyre again now as the straight running has choppped it flat, oil change and cosmetic clean and she'll be as good as new. If i find a nice sunday I will take a photo or two of mine in the hills around here and attempt to post. Cheers Marty

[redpaso]

Hey Marty, Glad you had a good trip mate & next time you will have to bring your 907 up my way so you can taste some of my favourite local (& all tarred) roads.
The Sunday morning photos I posted were taken on the Bucketts Way heading into Gloucester (thats Gloucester in the pic) about 70 km from where I am. The mountians in the background are actually "The Bucketts" It is a fantastic early morning ride & I often do a loop heading up Thunderbolts Way & then down the Oxley & back home along some good back roads that aviod the pacific Highway. About 400 km round trip & takes between 4 1/2 - 10 hours depending on how many coffee stops you chose to have.
Unfortunately the pics were from last Summer as I have had "The Mistress" off the road for maintainance since then. I posted them because that is where my heart & head were wanting to be at the time.

[gail]

Spot on Red, Looks like this route will be on the agenda for next years mainland sojourn, what time of the year do you reccomend as summer has all been a bit unseasonal of late, I'm an ex Novacastrian so this area won't be new to me , but it will to the 907. Think I will peer into the maps soon to get the inside story on your neck of the woods. Come on there must be a bit of dirt up there somewhere for a bit of freestyle!
Keep it shiny side up.....Marty

[redpaso]

Yeah Marty there are plenty of dirt roads here, from where I live near Taree if I go 30 Km west most roads turn to dirt just as they start to climb into the mountians which is a real shame. When I had my K100RS I used to love riding them but on the Paso when I get to the dirt I ussually turn round & head back home, yeah I know I am going soft but I don't have the time to clean & polish like I used to, that's why I want a BMW GS next to the Paso in the shed.
As for the best time to come up this way I reckon late Spring (April/May) or early Autumn (September/October) are the go, crisp in the morning & beautiful all day but still cold enough when you return from a days riding to give the urge for a bottle of Stones Green Ginger Wine to warm the insides. ahh the memories!
If looking at maps of this area look at all the roads that cross from the Pacific Highway to the New England Highway, They all cross the Great Dividing Range & are fantastic bike roads. You can just work your way up & down criss-crossing & in Bike Heaven (well I realise you live there already but this is a good second).
How long ago did you leave Newcastle? I was based at Williamtown RAAF Base for most of the '90's & love that area.

[gail]

Sounds Great,
Left Lake Macquarie in 1979 to go mining on King Island in Bass Strait. Sister lives at Port Stephens up from Williamtown. We used to have a holiday shack at Anna Bay. As you said it is also a special part of the world.
Went to a really good airshow at the R.A.A.F base in the mid seventies , a mate and myself were the last to leave the base that night after a full on session with the flyboys, top (gun)stuff.Wanted to borrow an F1-11 but they wouldn't be in it, as it was getting late,weak bastards.
Late spring sounds the go for me next year , better get Laddie down to if he's allowed out by himself. Another trip to look forward to!
I love getting older it makes me feel younger every day,.... ....... ..having a million bucks in the bank helps too!
Enough frivolity for today, talk again soon ,Cheers Cobber.

[Laddie907]

Williamtown air base has some memories for me...(My dad was posted there.) I lived there at the RAAF married quarters until I was 6 years old. There was a Bloodhound missile rock 'n roll ready to go at the end of the street. The kids all used to play on it. There were about 10 ex-WW2 tanks in the scrub behind the married quarters; play pen paradise...lol.

Regularly during summer a Willys jeep with spray (the Fog machine) used to spray a mist of DDT to kill off the mozzies. All the kids used to follow it and run around in the fog; I was shit scared of it and it's probably why I'm alive today.

Dad used to take me to the hangars and sit me in the aircraft. I sat in a Sabre and fired the machine guns (electrics only) and moved the flaps and shit...but wasn't allowed to pull the black & yellow checkered thing (ejection seat).

I remember watching a stripped heat seeking sidewinder missile on a wheeled trolley following a guy with a cigarette.

When I was 5 I had a bike with trainer wheels.My mate had a trike; we rode them across the tarmac up to the met building on the base.
We lugged the bikes up the stairs to the flat roof - as you do - and rode around until my mate went off the edge and fell and broke his leg. Lucky the switchboard was there; the girls rescued us and I remember it was the first Coca-Cola I ever drank. (no Jack Daniels though...)
He blamed me for having the trainer wheels as the reason he fell; he later went on to join the RAAF and flew Chinooks and Fighters...

Yes, Laddie would like to meet up for a fang some day..imagine 3 Pasos parked in the gutter outside a cafe...

[redpaso]

Wow! we all have a Williamtown connection although all at different times.

Laddie you may be saddened to know that the Married quarters were all removed in the late nineties & the scrub behind them & the tanks had dissappeared well before I arrived there in 1988. The old Missile was still there but I think it has been moved to "Fighter World" the RAAF museum that is a big attraction at the base nowdays. Unfortunately they had stopped spraying the DDT by the time I got there as well. Not sure if it would have been any worse than the constant mossie attacks, I reckon there must be long term affects from spending 10 years constantly wearing Mosquito repelant.

Marty, it is a pitty you still don't have that holiday shack at Anna Bay, it would be worth a packet now but it sounds like you don't need the extra cash anyway! We certianly had some wild parties when I was on Base, happy memories there.

It sounds like Williamtown would be a good place for a Paso gathering, I can see those Paso's parked out the front of the Base & maybe a few more as well. Marty does next Spring sound good to you?

[Duc750]

Did about 3000Km in 10 days in 2006 with my 907 - had a problem with the front sprocket failing which caused a few issues but that was it. If your hedding to Europe I would thoroughly recommend going into the dolomites through Austria and then back round through Switzerland - Ducati Annecy at Annecy are a particularly good dealer as is Paso780's local dealer in Germany.

If your'e stopping off in Switzerland I'd recommend the "Hotel Transalpin" in Martigny for good cheap rooms and excellent food. Its also at the bottom of the road from Chamonix and just below the road up to Verbier which is excellent.

The Paso is an excellent bike to tour on because of the riding position and the huge tank range