Multistrada 1260 Enduro Multistrada 950 S
The Red Adventure
A journey on the red sand of Australian outback
Multistrada 1260 Enduro - Multistrada 950 S The Red Adventure
13 Darwin
12
Kakadu National Park
11
Musgrave
Mataranka
4
Cape Flattery
3 10 Borroloola
Hells Gate Roadhouse
Cape Tribulation
Lawn Hill
Cairns
8
9
2
5
6
8
7
Karumba
Burke & Wills Roadhouse
Mount Isa
1- Cairns
8- Lawn Hill
2- Cape Tribulation
9- Hell’s Gate Roadhouse
3- Cape Flattery
10- Borroloola
4- Musgrave
11- Mataranka
5- Karumba
12- Kakadu National Park
6- Mount Isa
13- Darwin
7- Burke & Wills Roadhouse
WATCH THE VIDEO
1
Multistrada 1260 Enduro - Multistrada 950 S The Red Adventure
The journey, the adventure, the pursuit of freedom – these are the drivers that have long pushed people to discover new continents, cross oceans, climb mountains and take on deserts. Two riders talk live about their adventure across the world’s wildest, most beautiful, and primitive lands - a story that highlights both power and greatness as the Ducati Multistrada travels the dirt roads of Australia. The Australian Outback is not a defined place. Rather, it is a widespread condition, a mental state. In Australia, spaces and the concept of vastness take on a new dimen-
Multistrada 1260 Enduro - Multistrada 950 S The Red Adventure
sion and open the mind to an extraordinary experience. From the peninsula of Cape York in Queensland, the Multistrada conquers the Australian continent, crossing sun-drenched deserts, tropical forests, and fords. More than 3000 miles later and the two friends, their faces tired and their eyes and smiles bright with emotion, have been able to transform the road into a bike trip that exceeds all limits. Along the legendary Old Telegraph Road, one of the wildest tracks of the entire continent, they shift up the gears and pick up the pace. The bikes are stable and precise, floating over the sections of soft, dry sand thanks to the drive of the desmodromic twin; on
Multistrada 1260 Enduro - Multistrada 950 S The Red Adventure
damp sand, and without electronic controls, torque and power see the Ducatis dancing and sliding at speed. The route continues southbound, into the heart of the Australian outback and towards Mount Isa. The spaces are immense, hundreds of miles of absolute wilderness sometimes separating one cluster of houses from the next. The damp earth and lush vegetation give way to red dirt tracks, long, wide, infinite. The view stretches on endlessly as the Multistradas eat up the miles. Fourth gear, then fifth, sixth… Up on our feet, the bikes are stable and determined to follow the path, the rear wheel in a delicate spin from the lashing of engine
Multistrada 1260 Enduro - Multistrada 950 S The Red Adventure
torque. The Savannah Way, an epic off-road route that crosses the north of the continent from east to west before reaching the Northern Territory’s Top End, also known as “Never Never Land”. The trip is impressed on our minds and on our skin, leaving memories of smells, tastes, and sounds. Once again, Earth has reminded us that beauty exists and that it is all around us; travelling teaches us that to make beauty our own, we need simply set off. Once again – this time in Australia.
NATIONAL LANGUAGE English
ALCOHOL LEVEL 0.05% BAC
DOCUMENTS Passport
CONSULATE OF ITALY conssydney.esteri.it/ consolato_sydney/it/
ELECTRICITY 220-240 V, 50 Hz EMERGENCY NUMBER 000
TOURIST BOARD www.australia.com/it-it SPEED LIMITS 50 km/h built-up area 100 km/h rural area
Multistrada 1260 Enduro - Multistrada 950 S The Red Adventure BIKE CHECK
Oil level check Filter check Tyre wear and pressure check Chain tension check Brake pad check
CLOTHING
Discover the most suitable garments for your adventure and the Ducati Performance accessories, for a safe and comfortable trip: Atacama Outfit, with textile jacket for touring-adventure. Explorer V2, full-face helmet for enduro use. Atacama boots. Side panniers, Tank protectors.
Visit the online shop SHOP DUCATI
ESSENTIALS
Passport Credit card Navigator with handlebar attachment Multitool pliers Headlamp
A JOURNEY INTO THE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK
PLACES OF INTEREST
Cairns
We start our journey from one of the world’s wildest tropical spots. Interminable red dirt tracks wind through the rainforest, all the way to the beaches on the east coast, white, infinite, and of unrivalled beauty.
GALLERY
PLACES OF INTEREST
Cape Tribulation
The road to Cape Tribulation twists and turns through the impenetrable rainforest. The jungle seems to almost protect Elim Beach from the gaze of the rest of the continent. The Coral Sea, the sand, racing along the deserted beach for tens of miles in the presence of sheer beauty.
GALLERY
PLACES OF INTEREST
Cape Flattery
Along the road to Cape Flattery the terrain is inconsistent, slippery and seems to liquify beneath the wheels of the Multistrada. Nature, in all its powerful wonder, seems to say, “no bikes here”. But this is not the case…
GALLERY
PLACES OF INTEREST
Musgrave
Whatever the terrain, the Multistrada, a globetrotter by nature, is perfectly at ease. Australia continues to put it to the test, “this is not the place for bikes”. But once again, this is not the case.
GALLERY
PLACES OF INTEREST
Karumba
Australia means immense spaces, mile after mile spent standing in the footpegs, looking to the horizon. The Savannah Way cuts the continent, crossing a whole lot of nothingness like an endless blade of red land. The Multistrada is in its natural habitat, behind her nothing but red dust.
GALLERY
PLACES OF INTEREST
Burke and Wills Roadhouse
People? Towns? Built up areas? After hundreds of miles of outback, in the company of millions of wonderful termite nests, they are just a distant memory. But there is something, something indefinable, like a gas station.
GALLERY
PLACES OF INTEREST
Mount Isa
The Australian continent’s arid, red-hot nature puts the Multistrada to the test, with hidden dangers all around. Immense spaces, hundreds of miles of nothing at all, and long strips of scorching asphalt offer breath-taking views as the sun goes down.
GALLERY
PLACES OF INTEREST
Lawn Hill
In the outback, temperatures run high. Every ford, even the smallest, is a wonderfully refreshing moment, almost a race to kick up water and get as wet as possible.
GALLERY
PLACES OF INTEREST
Hell’s Gate Roadhouse
More red dirt, more white dust. The journey continues, the continent running under the knobby tyres of the Multistrada. And the Ducati Performance accessories perfectly complement the adventure, whatever the occasion.
GALLERY
PLACES OF INTEREST
Borroloola
The extraordinary beauty of this region is set off with millions, perhaps billions, of nature’s architectural masterpieces – the spectacular termite nests that, like silent dolmen, provide the scenery for the passing Ducati’s.
GALLERY
PLACES OF INTEREST
Mataranka
The desert, the dust and the scorching sun are like a distant memory. Once in Mataranka, nature reigns supreme, enchanting and luxuriant. The natural thermal springs, surrounded by dense palm forests, are ideal for a relaxing break.
GALLERY
PLACES OF INTEREST
Kakadu National Park
More dirt tracks, more dust, more miles. The journey continues into the extraordinary Kakadu National Park in Northern Australia. Under a clear blue sky, riding the Multistrada through a ford is priceless, the crystal water serving as a stage for the contrasting colours that make up Australia.
GALLERY
PLACES OF INTEREST
Darwin
Darwin, the last beach on our journey. An extraordinary, but also lethal context in which crocodiles, white sharks, and box jellyfish reign supreme. The tidal range is impressive, the sea retracting more than a kilometre, leaving the beach free for fun.
GALLERY
TRAVEL TIPS
90% of the route has involved red dirt tracks of varying compactness that seem to catch fire during the hours of dawn and dusk, (almost) all the 2500+ miles worthy of mention for those who love off-road riding. Australia is a paradise for maxi-enduro twins.
TYPICAL FOODS
Along the Gulf of Carpentaria coastline, the typical dish is barramundi, a large white fish that is caught in large quantities and prepared in many different ways, including fried and as a soup. Australia is passionate about the BBQ and uses it to prepare many different types of meat, even the most exotic – at least for us – like kangaroo and crocodile.
TRAVEL TIPS
Australia is an immense, wild, and sometimes desolate place. A journey to discover a new concept of almost mystical time and silence. An experience that truly tests your spirit of adjustment and requires real gumption, it is also deeply moving. An adventure with a capital “A”!
PHOTO GALLERY
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