MUNGO MADNESS

An intrepid adventure photographer joins one of Australia’s most accomplished safari racers to get the Harley-Davidson® Pan America™ all dirty in the red sand of Australia’s deserts

WORDS AND PHOTOS: MARK WATSON

“Bejeezus! That’s a big ’un,” I think to myself as I glance back at the raised head of a 6-foot king brown snake in my mirror. It’s the fourth snake I’ve dodged this morning, and my caffeine-fuelled synapses are acutely aware I shouldn’t be swerving at such speeds on sandy, corrugated outback trails atop a heavily laden 250kg Adventure Touring bike… but this fully loaded Pan America™ Special is handling the bumps, the speed and the load with ease.

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.

Ben ‘Grabbo’ Grabham is one of Australia’s most-decorated offroad racers, and I suspect right now he’s chuckling at me standing tall on my pegs as we hurtle through the remote outback of New South Wales.

When I first spoke to Grabbo about this trip, he admitted, “I never dreamed I’d ride a Harley® off-road unless I joined a biker gang and was running from the cops.”

Well, today it’s me who’s riding like I’m 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. “It’s the best way to avoid cramps,” he remarks before casually kicking his Revolution® Max into gear and disappearing in a cloud of dust.

I consider whether a flying brown snake might dent Grabbo’s 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’t be fazing him.

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’s hometown of Bathurst to the outback town of Ivanhoe It wasn’t until late afternoon when we hit our first gravel that I scrolled through the modes until Off-Road appeared.

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. “If you put the Pan America up against other heavyweight adventure bikes, it equals them in many areas and even betters them in some,” he says. This is comforting news as we have tougher days ahead of us.

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.

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.

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.

Periodically a majestic wedge-tailed eagle hops into the air, heavily laden with carrion, or a Gould’s goanna sprints from the undergrowth. There’s always something to keep us on our toes.

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, café owners Bob and Barb open with the obligatory chat about flood levels, followed by soft-poached eggs and fresh avocado alongside a perfect espresso.

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’s worth of sweat and dust as we plan our return route via the fun roads.

We ride the remote north-western route to Willandra Lakes – in doing so offering the Pan America a taste of Australia’s 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’s 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.

Our final night under the stars at Willandra National Park delivers a surround-sound experience of Australia’s 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’s for brekkie and a yarn about the water levels.

Built for adventure

The Pan America™ Special offers Harley riders a bike that’s ready for any off-road eventuality. Key to that is the 112 kW Revolution® Max 1,250cc V-Twin engine, producing 150hp and 127Nm of torque.

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

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 – shod with knobbly 50/50 Michelin Anakee Wild rubber – ensure that the bike is off-road ready, while heated grips and powerful Daymaker® Adaptive LED Headlamps help keep you riding for longer.

And the verdict from the desert king himself?

“I’d 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,” he says. “No doubt it’s 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’s the 1250 V-twin engine that’s 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.”

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