Motorbikes , especially large-capacity trail bikes, are perfect for the Australian climate and an inexpensive compromise between conventional vehicles and 4WDs, although long distances place a premium on their comfort and fuel range. Mid-1980s 600cc Japanese trail bikes, such as Yamaha 's trendsetting XT600 Ténéré, sell for around $3000 and allow 100kph on-road cruising with adequate off-road agility and readily available spares. A Honda XL600V Transalp is much more comfortable on the road and OK on gravel. The choice of tyres is crucial to off-road performance. Pirelli MT21 tyres are widely regarded as the best-compromise tyre for road and track, but always carry a complete puncture repair kit and a spare tube - and know how to use them. The Adventure Motorbiking Handbook (Compass Star) is a definitive manual to motorbiking off the beaten track and includes a regional rundown of Australia's Outback biking highlights.

 

If it's likely that you'll return to your starting point, look out for dealers offering buy-back options, which guarantee a resale at the end of your trip; bikes can be more difficult to sell than cars. You're going to need a helmet and, especially if you're heading off-road , plenty of water-carrying capacity. It's also essential that you know what you're doing: the Outback is not somewhere you can afford to have things go wrong. Travelling alone can be risky, and night-riding is plain dangerous, with poor surfaces hard to judge and kangaroos liable to bounce out of nowhere.

Motorbike rental - usually available only in the cities - is expensive: at least the same price as a car. A better alternative is a motorbike tour: these take various forms, from ones where you provide the bike and the tour consists of an itinerary, company on the road and a support vehicle (check out the bimonthly Side Track magazine once in Australia), to a quick blast on the back of a Harley Davidson.