Motorcycles to gain access to remote areas

[Mick Smith]

I've been toying with the idea of buying a small 100cc or 125 cc trail bike. My idea is to use the bike to travel deeply into remote areas. The bike would be left and then I would proceed to hunt on foot in the traditional manner.

On a trail bike you could venture down the roughest of tracks without any fear of getting bogged. You could even venture down well used game trails and into places even the most effective 4WD couldn't. The bike could also be used to carry meat out in the remote possibility of a successful hunt.

I don't see any ethical problems with using a motorcycle in this way. I wouldn't be ripping up natural bushland. I would ride the bike very slowly and with minimal environmental damage. The bike would probably be registered as is required by law if used on crown land. This way the bike could be used to commute to work on some nice days as well.

Do any of you fellas have any practice experience with motorcycles and bowhunting? I was wondering how/where you would carry your bow and what size and capacity of trail bike would you suggest. Are there any pitfalls with this idea?

Mick

[jindydiver]

I have never tried to carry the bow on one so I have no idea how you would go there, but one thing I know for sure is that you need to get a bike of 250cc or more. You will quickly get tired of the lack of performance from the small cap' bikes when it comes time to do any real work.

[Mick Smith]

Jindy

I've been giving this more thought and I've come to the conclusion, the only practical way of carrying a bow on a motorcycle would be to carry a takedown bow in a backpack together with the arrows in a PVC tube. It just means I have to go out and buy a takedown bow now, as well as the bike.

I've had a fair bit of experience with the Honda CT110 (postie bike). I know they are gutless little things, but they sure beat walking. I'm only really concerned with very low speeds on bush tracks. I think the smaller capacity bike would be OK. If I planned to ride the bike on roads more often, I'd definately go for a 250 cc or larger. I'd even consider a mini bike, if I could find one that could handle some rough terrain and steep hills.

Thanks for your input mate.

Mick

[Sparra]

Gaday Mick...I'm pretty sure you would be able to attach a piece of 100mm or even 150mm pvc tube to the side of the bike and slide your bow into it(unstrung of course) similar to the gun holsters on horse back...It would have to slope from down in front of your calf,up through the inside of your leg and attatch somewhere near the rear of the seat and that way there would not be too much protruding out the back...
Regards...Sparra

[Hood]

There was a guy at the club today (visitor) he rocked up on a huge 1100 road bike with his long bow wraped and strapped to the back left side of the bike, quiver full of arrows on his back. Boy did it look funny, but thats how he gets to the club every weekend so I'm told.

[memo]

I used a postie bike years ago on a mates farm, and it saved a hell of a lot of walking. Just had the bow strapped to the rack above the rear tyre. Forgot about it a couple of times and gave it a few good knocks as I was going through fences
So I say that having your bow in some protective tube is a good idea

[pedro]

gday mick. ive done a hell of alot of comuting to my hunting on motor bikes. ive had 100cc ags, 200,225,250 4 stroke, 125,175,200,250,300 two strokes, 600,650 thumpers and a couple quads over the years and used them all for hunting with the bow. some mor than others. the best ones i reckon are the smaller ones around 200 like the DT 175, XL 200. dont get me wrong i love the bigger bike and heaps of zing, but for hunting a lighter, quieter more manouverable bike is the go. a bike of this size will go anywhere you need and easier to kick over than the big thumpers.
none of my dirt bikes have ever been registered as you can get away with it out here were i live. the only thing i had to have was a head light to get home after dark or when i left in the morning.
i carry my bow on a old alluminium framed rucksack with the bag taken off. i put a peice of foam for padding then strap my bow(bow quiver attatched) to it. it sits across ways. most of the time i just throw the backpack on my back but also have strapped it to my bike rack. its good to have the option.
all this was done with compound bows but one time i took a recurve an strapped it to my pack. because of the extra legnth i couldnt put it crossways ,so i put it on an angle with one limb sticking over my shoulder and the other down past my butt.
when i go camping on the bike i just strap it to my swag.
if i was to do alot of hunting with recurve on the bike id make a leather scarrab and mount it to the top fork tube.
cheers ped
back from a week in nomans land.

[Buford]

do they make side cars for postie bikes?

[Mick Smith]

Pedro

Thanks for your in depth reply. I reckon i'd like a 175 cc 4 stroke. It would be the best of both worlds being nice and light yet relatively powerful and quiet. I've hunted up your way a fair few times and I can see just how handy a good trail bike could be.

Now all I have to do is find someone with a very cheap but very reliable 175 cc for sale.

Matt

I don't know if you've had much experience with a postie bike but with a side car, I'd say the bike would need the assistance of two legs in the Fred Flintstone fashion just to get moving. They are a very reliable and indestructible little bike though.

Mick

[TRASH]

Mick
if your on formed tracks not bush bashing i found the step through scooter brilliant. No noise automatic same as the postie bike just kick the stick into gear and your away. When the going gets a little tough you can carry it to.

[danceswithdingoes]

the postie will fall apart on rough courses better to look at an ag bike or an enduro bike like the honda XR250, personally I would save and buy an atv like a polaris, they are much more practical than the bike, and you can buy any hunting accessory you desire from the US.

[Troppo Sticks]

I know that in the Territory hunting the flood plains, a standard motor bike is hopeless, and the only way to travel is a quad bike and you can bog them as well, I have had a couple in my time and Jeff stickbow hunter may remember a little suzy that he hunted on a couple of times. The country can be that rough you have difficulty walking over it, pig diggings half a met re deep. We often travel 80 kms in the day, drive to a likely spot park the quad and walk the area and when the grass is high you have to be careful you don't loose it a gps is handy. The worst part of the quad is carrying the longbow, I find unstrung with it resting on the left shoulder and held in the left hand on handle bars is easiest and quivers and water tied to the front rack. The hardest trip I had was a sixteen km trip back to camp after being knocked down and busted up by a good sized boar with a leg swollen twice its size and rather large gashes in the hand, felt every little bump on the one hour drive. I use a 400cc quad now-days 4 wheel drive Jeff may like to add a bit in relation to taking the quads across some very croc infested swamps.
.

[Stickbow Hunter]

Col,

Who could forget Suzi, I wish I could put my hands of the photos I have of her all prettied up in ya garage mate!!!

They sure are the way to go up there on the flood plains. A word of warning, make sure if you are being doubled you choose your driver carefully otherwise it can be a wild ride.

The country sure can be rough and I remember having the skin rubbed off my tail bone after a day being a pillion passenger.

It's a bit unnerving when ya get off the bike to help push it through the swamp and then getting told there was a 10 foot lizard laying there last trip. I guess it makes ya push all the harder.

Jeff

[GrahameA]

Hi Mick

My take on bikes.

I come from an era when trailbike ridung was all the rage and the bikes in comparison to today were relatively small and underpowered.

My lessons of years ago include:

Don't ride bikes that you don't want to push.

Power is rarely an issue - riding skill and gearing is. You could drop the gearing on your postie bike with sidecar - all you need to do is fit a larger rear sprocket, And you do not even have to remove the standard sprocket.

Heavy bikes are heavy to lift.

My preference would always be for a 4-stroke. They run cooler in what can sometimes be a hot environment.

If I was looking for a bike to use to go hunting I would look for a modern equivalent of the following:

Hodaka Ace

http://images.google.com.au/images?&hl= ... i&q=hodaka


DKW 125
http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=e ... a=N&tab=wi

Honda 125 SL
http://images.google.com.au/images?svnu ... tnG=Search

There are probably a few AG bikes that would do the job equally as well.

[Mick Smith]

Hi Grahame

Thanks for that detailed post. Unfortunately, I think my trail bike purchase is something that may never happen, as I keep spending any spare money I manage to temporarily hang onto, on more and more bows.

You never know, I might still buy one, one of these days.

My boy's mate, who lives next door, got a brand new 125 cc trail bike from Santa. I was talking to his dad and he said it only cost $600 on eBay. It's some cheap Chinese make, but it goes really well. It even has an electric start as well as a kick start. I can't believe they could make a bike that looks this good for such little money. I don't know how long it will last for, or whether parts will be available, but I suppose if it broke down you could just buy another one and then use the old one for parts. I doubt whether I'd buy one, but it's interesting though.

Mick

[GrahameA]

Hi Mick

There are some very interesting Chinese made bikes appearing in Oz. Along with a range of other off-road vehicles. See my last link.

You also have the opportunity of making your own vehicle for off-road use.

Have you comsidered one of these, it could lead to a whole new world of real Auto-cycling.
http://www.royalenfieldaustralia.com/

Have I ever told you about my Royal Enfield? It was English one.

The next lot. These are beautiful bikes. Back in the olde days they were imported by Capitol Motors I think - or one of their companies. Use to arrive in a crate and you had the wonderful job of putting it together. Came complete with all tools necessary to do any job on the bike except one - don't remember what it was but it really was a machine shop task. The one thing you did do was replace the grease with something that did not look like cheese and designed to operate in the Siberian winter.

Check out the pictures on the first site and then go to the second:
http://www.imz-ural.com/gearup/
http://www.ural.com.au/

Lots of iinteresting and not so expensive toys here:
http://baysideimports.com.au/

[Stickbow Hunter]

Grahame You never said you were an old biker from way back. Surprises surprises!!!

Jeff

[Vladtheimpaler]

I'm actually considering using a MTN bike and doing similar...........

[farma]

Forget the bike..take a horse.
It is a lot quieter and you can take it right to your camp spot just over the other side of that rough gully.

[jape]

Some of you may remember my own questions about bikes a few months back? I got a chinese 'kinlon' 200cc 4 stroke road/trail for $2000 in a crate and after a bit of fuss and bother with registration (mainly money) and the stupidity and cost of modern learner permit rules in Vic, well, put that together with my bad back and today I took my first trip - only about 30km round trip because I was worried about bits falling off - and all was well.

I had forgotten the feeling of freedom!!!!!!

Time will tell about longevity of such cheap chinese bikes but I reckon it would be great as a bush bike for going into hunting grounds. I went slowly through a few hundred meters of scrub bush and down a few km of gravel and even rougher bush tracks and it was fine. On the tarmac 85 to 95 kmph is the top reasonable speed for a 200cc with knobblies and the gearing but as Grahame said in an earlier post you can change the sprocket. And the gearing and handling is bloody great in the bush, as good as any other bike I have tried off-road.

I don't want to jinx myself but I think without thrashing it and with good maintenance and service it will last, it feels strong. A decent after-market rack and panniers would cost as much as the bike nearly but I think I will be able to make something up in the shed and a 64" tube for my bow will strap on safely from my experiments so far. Sticks out a bit at the back, not too much and is below my head height at the angle I tried. Unless I go under a lot of low trees and have to duck ... in which case a takedown would be the go!

I would recommend looking at one if the original post is still a question. Just noticed the dates of the first posts are ooooooold. Oh well, the thread may have relevance for some still or rekindle an enthusiasm (Mick Smith, did you get a bike????)

The main problem I found is the modern full face helmet, I will have to change mine for one like I used to have, open face, as I felt claustrophobic and the vision is incredibly limited; apart from misting up (it has many vents which work well on the road but not in the bush) you are constantly turning your head more than is safe, as all bike riders learn you go where you look and if you swing your head about too much to see, well you tend to make the ride a tad unbalanced. I reckon these space helmet monstrosities should be banned from the roads!

Don't know how you would carry a deer out though, maybe a bike trailer or a BIG rucksack?

[otis.drum]

this could be a good way to carry the bow mick.

Shrew_back_quiver[1].jpg (50.82 KiB) Viewed 13900 times

[matt_d]

Great thread... it's nice to read about the various solutions you blokes have come up with to take your bikes out hunting.. I have been doing this for a while now and tried numerous options with different bikes... This is the beast that I have settled on for most of my hunting trips and have taken it out many times lately.

'00 Honda XR650R

xr650r.jpg (62.63 KiB) Viewed 13859 times

It's a fully road registered 650cc enduro.. I have it fitted with a 25 litre long range tank which gives me at least 450kms range depending on the riding conditions. I'm currently making up an alloy rack for it so that should be good for some extra tiedown options. I normally either carry my takedown recurve in a backpack along with arrows in a PVC tube, or alternatively my longbow strapped across my backpack similar to the bloke in the last picture.

For the few times I have harvested something I've been taking that home in a set of Andy Strapz canvas panniers.. these just throw over the back of the bike and strap down.. no brackets or anything needed.. You can see them fitted up to the bike sitting next to it in the photo.. they are really versatile! You can fit a 20 litre jerry can in either one to give you an idea of size..

I find a 650cc bike to be perfect for my needs.. I quite often need to do some considerable travelling to get to the hunting grounds, so a bike that is able to comfortably sit on 100 all day and then confidently and safely negotiate tight, rutted out trails, it's a great combination.
If you didn't need to cover a lot of ground ~200cc would be ideal... The major issue with taking any bike regardless of capacity over rough terrain is ground clearance. You want as much as you can possibly get... at least 10-12 inches would be good. Hence why posties and stepthough scooters really would not work.. Although, I have seen a group of postie bikes taken right across the Nullarbor - but not without several broken bones and a lot of effort

Jape, some of those little Chinese/Korean bikes are real gems!! I've gone out a couple of times with a friend on a 200cc Hyosung trail bike.. the engine if I recall is based on an older model Yamaha and is rock solid.. The quality of other components not so great however, the top fork clamp cracked clean in half after riding through some rocky terrain..

Cheers,
Matt

[Antonio]

Use the motor bike like these guys use horses.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlRUnX9l ... re=related

[janmad]

Hi
Just had a look at the AG version of the postie bike, it has low range gearing, 4 low and 4 high, but you can't use it on the roads, that's the only problem.

[TEX]

I think the best vehicle would have to be a 4wd quad bike.
I used my brothers on the weekend and it was awesome.
He has it set up for rifle shooting and it has spot light shooting rest you name it this things got it.
Very powerful bike. But very expensive.

Tex

[nathan billy]

Quad bikes are good for easy flat stuff and going straight up a slope, but the problem comes when you want to go along a slope bouncing up and down, the quad will tip over, the motor bike wont as it doesn't have the extra two wheels to pivot on.

[littlejohn]

Otis,
That's a cool outfit.
Peter

[Stephen Georgiou]

hi mick.
here is my hunting bike.
very good does 40km/h and gets over 100km to the litre
if it does break down you can peddle home!
the kit was 250 bucks.
very reliable and starts easily.

IMG01219-20100722-2023.jpg (76.09 KiB) Viewed 13431 times

[Nephew]

Terrific! There's a bloke that gets around this island one a very similar set up. Impresses me, for whatever that's worth!

[dmm]

hi mick.
here is my hunting bike.
very good does 40km/h and gets over 100km to the litre
if it does break down you can peddle home!
the kit was 250 bucks.
very reliable and starts easily.

IMG01219-20100722-2023.jpg

That's great, but is it legal to ride on the road or a public track?
A friend had an electric bike kit, that she claimed could get her going along at about 60kmph.
It was relatively small, but I don't think it would have anywhere like the 200km range you'd have with a 2 liter fuel tank.
She lived in a regional area, and used it mostly to ride to and from the train station, then took the bike on the train with her.

The engine, being an electric engine was a hub on the front wheel, and the battery was a small box that sat on a cargo carrier over the back wheel. I understand the battery was easily detachable (in a small nylon bag with handles) and had some sort of charger, so it could be plugged in at the destination, whilst the bike stayed chained up outside.

It had no chain or connection to the gearing on the back wheel, all speed control was done with a throttle and direct connection to the front wheel.