Feature: Backpacker bikes

Australia’s a massive place. Everyone knows that. There’s so much to see and do, and that’s what makes it a backpacker’s paradise. There’s plenty of ways to get around – plane fares are relatively cheap, you can grab a campervan, or you can go can hitchhike your way around – if you’re game enough…

But what if you’re a young guy or girl, intent on seeing the best country in the world behind a set of bars? With that in mind we thought we’d put together a list of possible steeds that’ll do the job of seeing this fantastic country nicely, without breaking what is a very fragile bank if you’re a backpacker.

We are going to look at five categories: adventure, sportsbike, sportstouring, cruiser and nakedbikes, picking a few bikes from each, and for the sake of this article, we’re going to make a couple of assumptions:

1: The rider has a full licence, thereby not limiting them to a small capacity machine and thus enabling easy access to insurance.

2: The rider has a maximum of $3500 to spend. That includes insurance, riding and camping gear, etc (to that end, we plugged in $3000 max spend into bikesales.com.au and saw what came up).

Every machine we list here can be found either on bikesales.com.au or other online places (c’mon, we’re not going to name them!) for under $3K. Of course, buyer discretion is advised, and usually prices are just suggested, so if you’re a good haggler you might snag a real bargain and you’re off and riding. We’ve also picked bikes that are relatively easy to work on and have tried to avoid fuel injected bikes where possible for this purpose. Okay, let’s get started.

THE ADVENTURER
The first and most obvious category any would-be traveller should be looking at, in my opinion, is the adventure category. These bikes represent everything the backpacker needs: plenty of space for luggage, good fuel mileage, easy-as-pie to work on and for the most part, very comfy over big rides.

Honda XR400
•    Bulletproof engine
•    Parts are super easy to buy
•    Tons of ground clearance so great for adventuring
•    Makes a great tourer when fitted with soft luggage
•    Pure dirtbike seat can be a pain in the arse (literally) over long rides.

Suzuki DR650S
•    One of the best bikes ever to carry the big S badge. Build quality is outstanding
•    Super reliable
•    Eats big miles in relative comfort (seat is slightly nicer than the XR)
•    Lower insurance costs
•    Only has a 12-litre tank, so not great for really big miles

THE SPORTS RIDER
What if you’re a kid that likes a bit of a scratch? A KLR650 isn’t the best rig for the glorious Mount Hotham twisties or the TT bends of Tassie. Here are three cheapies that should get the blood racing on Australia’s best roads.

Honda CBR600F
•    Brilliant, light-weight machine ideal for twisty bends
•    Huge seat makes fitting a rack or luggage easy
•    Carby engine is very, very tough to kill and runs on crap fuel no problem (within reason)
•    Plenty of examples on offer in the $3K area
•    One of the last 600s that was made for the road and not the racetrack

Yamaha YZF600 Thundercat
•    Comfortable seating position
•    Strong inline four-cylinder, carby fed engine
•    Lots can be found online with luggage racks already fitted
•    Be wary of crashed and repaired bikes
•    Very easy to self service

Kawasaki Ninja 250/300
•    One for the shorter riders out there
•    Same engine as the GPX from the 1980s – very strong
•    These are learner bikes so check for crash damage
•    Upright riding position good for long distances
•    Plenty of bikes out there for under $3K

THE SPORTS TOURER
Okay. So you’re keen on sports riding but want a bit more comfort. Maybe a larger capacity as well? The sports touring market has an absolute stack of bikes for you, but these are our pick of the under $3K crop.

Yamaha FJR1200
•    Not easy to find but one of the best examples of a Yamaha sportstourer ever built
•    Designed for big miles in comfort
•    Brilliant 1200cc engine will run forever with plenty of power
•    Very stable at freeway speed
•    Huge seat is comfortable and great for bolting on luggage

Honda VFR800Fi
•    Quintessential Honda sports tourer
•    V4, gear-driven cam engine is an absolute gem
•    Fuel injected, so watch the quality of fuel you use
•    Hard to find at this price, but they are out there
•    More complex to work on if things go wrong

Kawasaki ZZ-R600
•    Excellent bang for buck with this old Kawi
•    Strong inline four-cylinder engine has plenty of power for touring
•    Good luggage capability with large, comfortable seat
•    Taller bars (not clip-ons) for long distance comfort
•    Very basic to work on

THE CRUISER
One of the top bikes for a trip around Oz has got to be a cruiser, right? This is a bike seemingly designed for this expansive land – good luggage carrying capacity is almost by right, so that makes the cruiser a perfect choice for the backpacker (sorry, but you’re not getting a Harley for this price…).

Yamaha Virago 250
•    Low seat height perfect for shorter riders
•    Absolutely bucket loads of these bikes out there for cheap as chips
•    Runs on the smell of an oily rag
•    One of the most basic machines to work on today
•    Has kept the same styling for decades

Suzuki Marauder (GZ250)
•    Parallel-twin engine is as user friendly as a puppy
•    Big wide seat although the passenger pad isn’t the best
•    Simple styling but next to no wind protection
•    Parts can be a bit harder to come by over the Virago
•    Easy to rack up massive miles on

Hyosung GV650 Aquila
•    Something a little different to your average cruiser
•    650cc engine has decent poke but won’t rip your arms out
•    Styling is hideous but some must like it
•    Reliability is suspect on early Hyosungs (much better now)
•    Upside down forks for bragging rights!

THE STREAKER
Nakedbikes are probably the best compromise between sportsbikes and sport touring bikes and are thus perfectly suited to Aussie roads. As long as you don’t plan crossing the Simpson on one, this sector could be the go for your backpacking adventure.

Honda CB900F Hornet
•    Engine off a 919cc Fireblade (very fast!)
•    Very little wind protection
•    Brilliant build quality
•    Hard to find at this price, but we found a few
•    Super easy to maintain and work on

Kawasaki ZR750
•    750cc inline four-cylinder engine derived from ZX-7R but detuned
•    Good grab handles for tying down luggage
•    Basic carby-fed engine is easy to work on
•    Very reliable
•    Pretty average in the styling, though