SIMPSON DESERT CROSSING (SOLO & UNSUPPORTED) DRZ400E
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- Опубликовано: 1 июн 2021
- A Simpson Desert crossing west to east on a very very overloaded DRZ400E. Totally solo and unsupported, which pushed both machine and man to their limits. I only allowed 1.5 days to complete my crossing and only just made it out on day two as the sun set. I travelled along the French Line and QAA line whilst stopping for a dip at Dalhousie Springs. Join me through my trials and tribulations that I experienced on this epic adventure ride. The mighty DRZ400 'AUSSIE' E lived up to all my expectations and didn't falter once.
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My son and I were planning a bike ride adventure together but he sadly died in 2018 at 25 years old of bowel cancer , never stop what your doing brother life’s too short to look back and say I should have done that ! Once I get my Drz 400 and kit it up I’m off and I will take something of my sons with on the trip that way he comes along too ! Once again love ya work buddy
Thanks for sharing that mate. Life can be bloody cruel at times that’s for sure. I couldn’t agree more, life is super short and goes by way to quickly.
Well you’ll be on the right bike, it will do you proud. 👍
Good call Warrior. My boy is 21 and I haven't ridden with him for at least 3 years. Yet everytime I see him on one of my bikes he is smiling and laughing. I trust you still see the same in your boy his laughter and joy, and can take some solice that your comment and lesson is clear to me. Don't let life go by
Oh, that's so sad, I'm so sorry to hear of your heartbreaking loss. 😢
Chin up, happy riding, your son would be proud of you. 😊
Hey Mate! Letting you know I just got home from crossing the Simpson along the French line and noticed your dads photo/memento on the back of the board at Poeppels corner. Thought I’d let you know he is still there and leave a comment 😊👍
@alivia boyce, thanks so much, really appreciate you making the effort to message me. Hope you had a good crossing, I know I did. 👍
That was super good to watch, good effort mate; RIP salmon, gloves & milk.
@Zwarst, don’t worry the salmon came home with me just mixed in with desert sand and milk haha.
@@The_Apprentice_Adventurer 😁holy shit you crack me up bro...and thank you!😁
Took a lot of balls and courage to go for solo unsupported, and from apprentice to "master adventurer"you earned every grain of respect, cheers mate.
Great video. Looks like a hell of a ride!
@Jake TheGardenSnake, mate indeed it was, I’m not a pro rider and definitely had my fair share of adversity throughout. Looking back though, it was all worth it.
Going solo is risky, but no risk no fun.
Did it in 99 on a XT 600.
Thanks for the video, it got me back 25 years.
Glad you enjoyed it mate.
What a great ride my friend! Enjoyed the honesty and the scenery. Stay safe
Passed you on the way Lance. Job well done on completing the crossing. Kate was a couple hours behind you, also solo on a DRZ400E. We passed her again on our return from Mt. Dare - amazing that she was ticking a solo return crossing off her bucket list.
I am planning the same crossing. Can I get info from you and Kate
GOOD ONYA for having a go admire you living the dream !!! at 67 been riding for 50yrs but i think this dream has passed me by Bugger :)
@Ian Hunter, mate I’m sure you could do it. Maybe just over three days and take your time. Only one way to find out 😉
Great trip son! Just goes to show you don't need a drone to make an epic video. Video, editing and commentary was spot on. Congratulations!!
@Seis Amigos, thanks for the kind words. I do my best with with minimal gear and minimal interest in editing. The editing is harder then crossing the desert haha.
great work mate! this vid still inspires me to get out there, rediscover my love for motorcyckling again and find the confidence. Thank you for doing this for us!
That’s what it’s all about mate. I’m glad my little video/ride is able to help others. Awesome to hear.
Your attitude while riding is where it’s at. Keep on riding and enjoying your adventures. Thank you for the great content
Well done mate, your dad would be proud of ya 😊 i start my Simpson desert trip on Saturday. Im doing east to west though.
Great content, I really enjoy your vids 😉👌
@Troy, good luck mate. You’ll love it and hate it all at the same time. Just take your time to enjoy it rather then rush it like I did. Best of luck.
I wish Suzuki would import the Australian version with all the factory extras they put on the version offered to you guys. Im a die hard DRZ fan. Been riding for 35 years, mostly was road raving crotch rockets im the 90's. Going to police chases and getting into trouble. Only got into dual sporting in 2012 when i bought first dual sport....2011 DRZ400S. I have out over 50,000 miles on her and have given her a few massive make overs to the point other guys with DRZ's dont even realize its a DRZ anymore. Over 50,000 miles and my only real issues were super easy fixed, like the "free power mod", yep, fixed the charging issue around 20,000 miles. The other issue i ran into was 2 valves wore out at 50,000 miles. Swapped em out and just keeps on going. Check it out if you want on my recenlty started channel. Pretty sweet DRZ
I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I laughed many times at your commentary. My 2 favourites; got stuck under your bike "that was fucked" and "that's 500ks done. Its been shit". Fucken classic. Congrats mate, sold effort. There's something hypnotic about watching people ride these sandy tracks..
@EscapeArtist, hahaha “its all fun and games until someone gets hurt” my mum use to say.
Mate at the time the bike on my leg totally sucked. Cramping calf, boot stuck under my side bag, no leverage for my arms, panic setting in and so on, lucky my legs are strong as F#*k lol
@@The_Apprentice_Adventurer I fully appreciate the panic that can set in from that. I've had it happen, albeit only briefly. I did hear a story about a Japanese rider that died on an Outback track after being pinned under his bike. Being in soft sand in that situation is no doubt a godsend. Keep up the good work mate, I subscribed today after watching this vid. I like your style.
Awesome!, you could be proud indeed. Well filmed too and narrated to feel the pain and joy with you. Well done 👍👏
Fantastic achievement.Thanks for sharing the experience.
"not like the beach".... 😂😂 classic. Good on ya mate.
Gutsy effort Lance, I loved the honest commentary and congratulations on crossing solo & unsupported.
Thanks mate. 👍
excellent video, great effort, lessons learnt stand well for us all
Fantastic story. I have crossed the Simpson 3 times but in a 4x4, doing it much easier that a bike,.Well done!
awesome adventure mate....thanks for doing this and sharing it with us.
Wow! Good on ya! I have no delusions of ever attempting something like that trip but it was really cool to watch you. I totally understand your constant attempt to go faster than you should. You just want to get it done! Get there and be finished! That endless nowhere feeling has to be overwhelming? And dropping a few times and the gear shifting around has to wear on your patience and nerves. Great ride and no BS about your feelings made the video honest and real. Well done!
Well done thanks for your honesty.
Oh yeah, been waiting for this. Looking forward to it after work.👍
What a great ride. Awesome. Alone and unsupported.
Thanks mate.
Awesome ride mate, and testimony to the mighty DRZ 😎👍 Will be adding one to my gaurage soon to keep the DR650 happy. Great trip, cheers for sharing 👍
Absolutely brilliant
Mate I watched that from start to finish and absolutely loved it! I’m in the market to buy a drz400 as my first bike and to do adventures on. You’ve sold me wholeheartedly on the drz400 with this adventure, that is unreal man. I was so stoked for you!
I’m glad you enjoyed it. They are a great bike and I have done another 20000km and many rides since this one. Still going strong minus a minor breakdown.
Great achievement. Something very special about desert landscapes. Very envious!😂
Awesome job mate, what an epic adventure and achievement 💪👍
Watching your ride from Canada. I love how you put it altogether. Well done mate. I am a kiwi living in Canada. Your riding in Australia is very different from riding in Canada. I ride a 2014 DR650 and love it.
Thanks mate Kiwi Dave.
@David Foreman, thanks mate. You live and have lived in the two other countries I really want to explore at some point throughout my life. 👍
Great video man. Very well presented
Well done👍
It's on my bucket list.
Great achievement - well done. Ship your bike to South Africa and come do the Namib desert with me
@Daniel Prinsloo, thanks mate. One day I might just find myself over there 😉 well if COVID ever pisses off.
bloody legend mate! what an adventure!!!
Great to watch, well done.
That little Suzuki and the tyres did a remarkable job.
@Jai Sabai, your telling me. The might DRZ ‘Aussie bloody’ E. She will out do many other bikes out there I reckon. Just keeps on plotting along. Lol.
When I do this crossing I'm going to attach training wheels. Great vid with solid advice especially for us middle aged out of shape guys that were thinking a massive BMW would be practical when the reality is smaller is better
@Eddie Andrews. Mate the big bikes can do it. But you’d want to be smooth and fast otherwise it will just be a torturous trip.
I agree with smaller is better. A saying that doesn’t fit in any guys vocabulary generally. Lol.
The best bike vid Ive seen , subscribing now . cheers
Awesome...thanks for posting from queensland Australia 💯💯💯💯
Superb mate, absolutely superb.
Awesome episode mate.. love it. We had our ride in August postponed until May next year. Can't wait. Love the Simpson 👍🇦🇺
@Clay On two wheels. Bummer about it being postponed, but May is a great month to ride out there. Hopefully she is in better condition then I had.
Best thing lve seen on RUclips in ages Grats top post...
Outstanding trip man !!! Great vid, hats off to ya!! Good job! Your friend in Texas, John.
Fantastic! Well done.
Great acheivement. Humbling too.
Well done nothing like type 2 fun 🙌
Congrats on that achievement I've wanting to do it unsupported, there been quite a few people on drz crossing solo 👍👍👍
Very cool! Cheers from California!
Very good effort, kudos to you. The little DRZ400 goes well, you and the luggage is a fare load.
@Robert Armbruster, thanks mate, yeah there was a bucket load of weight on the rear end that’s for sure. The whole time I was just waiting for the subframe to snap.
brilliant trek great stuff what an achievement
30:09 My only advice is when approaching the summit of a steep grade, get your downshift done before the top so that the bike has the right grunt to pull through on the other side. I know this just because supremely soft sandy hills are literally my specialty haha. Cheers from Florida 🤙🏼✌🏼
Yeah I have learnt a lot from that ride. That was my first real sand experience. Pretty much just winged the whole ride. Advice taken on board for sure👍
Great video, awesome narration, “the dessert stole from me” well done Lance. You are a very fit man so that in itself worked well with the bike for a solo crossing.
@Riff Raff, yeah man the fitness was tested that’s for sure. I can see how people can fail a crossing for sure. Haha the desert almost stole my soul to, not this time Simpson not this time.
@@The_Apprentice_Adventurer I crossed it in a 4x4 10 years or so ago and found 2 bikes parked up with nobody in sight.. The next day we met the recovery crew coming for them the riders had been lifted out by chopper.. got too much for them it was HOTTEER than hell..
@@BeeFus6541 yeah totally can see that happening. Extra heat as well, man you would want to be an efficient rider to get through.
Good on you Lance
Your Dad would be Very Proud Mate
Great Easement Lance enjoy with your Family Buddy
Hi
Really enjoyed watching that.
I crossed from birdsville to mt dare in 2007, I was on a ttr600, I had not really set out to do it by myself, but ended up going solo, like you I was grossly overload, and it was damn hot, this was in late March, I really enjoyed myself, did not see that many people, and saw one group of bikes who were a lot faster than me.
Would love to go back.
Well done, you certainly earned your stripes with that little adventure....
Great video thanks well done 👏
I have ridden sports bikes all my life, currently a Hayabusa. love 4wd & camping but lately have been looking at a new DRZ400E to do some off the track adventures, on my own or with friends either way i would be happy to enjoy the adventure. Searching reviews on the DRZ400E and found your videos. I have just finished watching them all and would have to say well done on all aspects of the videos. Loved the video on the blue mountains as that is where i live so can go play after work.
Look forward to seeing more of your videos. Great work.
@Richard Usher, awesome, you’ll love a DRZ in your collection. I to was a late bloomer to the dirt but have never looked back.
Your spot on with living in Sydney. There is some much to explore all around the Blue Mountains, Newcastle way and down south. Thanks for watching.
Awesome to see you do it solo and show what it's really like. Your video has put my mind at ease a bit for completing my own solo crossing next year.
@Mick Offroad, good to hear, just ride to survive it man, meaning bike preservation and rider of course, I love fanging it everywhere, but out there if your bike breaks due to crazy riding you’ll regret it knowing if you slowed down a little you could of made it. Good luck with your trip. You’ll feel proud as punch once you cross that last sand dune.
@@The_Apprentice_Adventurer that's exactly how I see it, gotta look after the bike. My trip is going to be a solo West to East crossing (Steep Point to Byron Bay) so the Simpson is just a small part of a bigger picture.
@@behindthebarsdownunder bloody hell. I just googled Steep Point. What a trip that will be. Good stuff man. I have a west to east crossing on my radar in the coming years as well. Once I got to the Simpson I had done 3000km and still had to get to Brisbane afterwards. So yeah I had to look after the bike for sure. Otherwise a good trip can be ruined.
just watched this again love it keep safe mate
Well done 👏 from Ireland
Unbelievable mate, hats off to you!
That is almost western Australian dirt riding. That sand is evil
I’m feeling your pain
Speed is your friend…
Not fun…
At least it softens the blow
@Ultra Mag, mate it was great trip and now a year on id go again in a heart beat lol. Us men never learn.
Fantastic story so well told !
Congratulations on achieving your goal, and one of the best things about your story telling is your honesty....I really respected how you described the difficulties of the trip, how tough the riding was, at times tedious, monotonous, often adventure riding contains these elements but for some reason ( probably pride and ego ) riders often only focus on the positive, pleasurable parts of the adventure...your commentary showed the viewer lots of the emotions experienced in the bike, credit to you, video footage was sensational, a real live sensation of being on the bike thru the dunes....without the muscle tiredness and cramping and dehydration and heat and sweat and sand ! 10 / 10, brilliant
Hey mate, yeah I try to film all my rides as real as I can. I love adventure riding and the tougher and harder it is the better. However during those moments it is sometimes just shithouse and I to hate how others film only the good moments. That’s not at all how it is. That’s one reason why I started my channel to try and get a point of difference across and film the realty of it. 👍
I love your comment.
Bravo, great video.
What a wild adventure! That sugar sand sure takes a lot out of ya. My terrain in Florida is a lot like that -- sandy beach with pine trees all in it haha. Awesome vid and I've subscribed! Thanks for uploading. Cheers from Tampa Bay 🌴🤙🏼
Mate thanks for showing what it's actually like out there.. Great effort getting out there..
@Shane Miller, yeah I’m not going to talk about how wonderful it was the whole time. There was far less wonderful times then there were tough times. After it’s all done and dusted though it was so good.
Cracking video mate 🏴
Well done on the brave solo adventure
I've done it supported in a tour on a DRZ and I can tell you it's the most fun I've had on a bike...very different to your experience...I take my hat off to you
Yeah I think in a group it would be far more fun and humorous at everyone falling. On my own it was more like S*#T get me out of here. lol.
Mate that was awesome your a champ
Awesome blog well done
Well done mate, real honest from your eye view of your crossing. Havent done the Simpson but this offers inspiration...5star
@Rambo Excess, thanks champ, yeah I just say it as it comes and feels. Overall absolute awesome experience but definitely had its crap moments.
It’s a great ride. It’s amazing how quick the bike stops in the sand.
@Calan MacLeod, your not wrong. No brakes needed most of the time. Like quick sand.
Great work loved the vid 👍
Crossing the Simpson and I lost me milk and salmon....said almost no one ever lol. Love it! Thanks for taking us along.
@CdnX690 haha I didn’t expect to say it let along loose them. I needed that milk and salmon to. Pretty hungry that day.
Great video man! Absolute mad lad doing that without support
Wel 'll done mate. Great achievement, looks like a tough ride but you done it. Makes me feel like doing it...
@david clark yeah mate tough but rewarding. Just strap everything to your bike and go for it I say 😉
Great vid...good honest footage and commentary. Congrats on the achievement.
Thanks mate. 👍
Bloody brilliant! Massive congrats to you for going solo and unsupported.Your video brings back fantastic memories of crossing in a Jeep way back in 1997. Now looking forward to doing it on my bike. Love the outback, the isolation and the vast open landscape just energises my soul. I know you had a tight schedule, but I can’t help thinking you would have really enjoyed it if you took more time. Awesome video and adventure mate, top stuff!
@ctmaustralia. I know, I always rush it because I always have to get back to the family but want to see so much of the country. I think if I was riding with others I would slow down more but riding solo once I stop riding for the day I get bored quickly so instead I just keep riding. It’s a bad habit I know. I did 5000km in 8 days.
Yeah you gotta cross it on a bike at least once in a life if your a rider. You’ll love it. Nothing beats the outback.
@@The_Apprentice_Adventurer Forgot to ask: what tyre pressure were you running for the last day and Big Red?
@@FourElevenAdventure my whole time I was in dirt, 4000km of which was dirt, I kept the tyres at 16psi down from 18psi on the road. Main reason for that was the weight on my bike and trying to avoid pinch flats. If I had no weight I probably would of went down a lot lower although some people run them high in sand. Either way no flats my whole trip. So perhaps the 16psi was spot on for me.
Good on ya Lance .That was great to watch.Being 59yrs old and unfit this is about as close as I'll ever get to riding the Simpson.
@Green Vulcan, mate I felt bloody 59 years old after the crossing lol. Glad you enjoyed it.
Top effort..............I think I need a drz in my life too.
Great job mate.
Awesome effort mate well done 👍
Love ya bike. Great vid
Bravo brother, top effort.
Outstanding trip man!!!! Hats off to ‘ya! Good job,enjoyed the vid! Your friend in Texas, John.
Thanks John. 👍
Well done, you done it mate bloody awesome :)
@Gumby’s Enduro thanks bud, I’m in no hurry to return to those sand dunes that’s for sure haha.
you did it so good
Awesome, just gave me a challenge to do the Simpson great achievement
Well done dude !!
Awesome🍻
This series was quite good, watched the other video first, but i must say you did a very good job, almost makes me want to do it lol.
@TexanWokey, thanks mate. It’s a trip you won’t ever forget, that’s for sure. Definitely give it a shot. 👍
Tell you what, this is one of the best Simpson videos out there. You really convey what it's like doing this solo, and it's fucking scary lol. Good on ya for taking this on as a desert n00b, that takes big brass balls.
@Peter Jewett, thanks mate, looking back it was such a good experience, but during it geez it felt like a never ending saga. Yep zero desert riding experience but a bucket load of eagerness and enthusiasm lol. That will get you through anything.
Great video mate. Really enjoyed it 👍
Well done Man
Your excellent videos relived my group crossings in 2016 (West/East) and 2019 (East/West), both supported. Your colorful commentary reminded me of my swearing and cursing and exhaustion. I was aboard a well setup KTM690 in the company of DR's, DRZ's etc. The 690 is good for me and my size and weight. But bugger me, how good were those DRZ's. They really are an amazingly capable and reliable machine.
@Greg B, bloody hell two crossing in a few years. Good stuff mate.
Yeah the old DRZ’s are pretty top notch considering price, technology and basic setup. I love my yellow tractor.
Hey mate, just watched the whole trip and the crossing.... if i see ya out and about in brisbane im buying you a beer!! be great to hear the storys
@C Russel, cheers bud.
Life long memories from that trip that’s for sure. Plenty of stories to go around 👍
Wow what a journey you had. Amazing story teller. Your humble, vulnerable and honest way to tell your experience riding the Simpson inspiring me to go solo too.
Thanks mate. Absolutely give it a shot. Hard but rewarding once it’s all done.
Top video!
Great videos legend
I will never ride the Simpson. I have ridden Big Red from the Birdsville end on a unladen bike and dropped it 3 times in the sand. Most enjoyable content I have seen almost felt like I was there. Just great.
@Rob T, mate at least you gave it a shot to see if it was doable. I learnt the hard way for sure, just glad I made it in the end. For bike and rider. Cheers.