WHAT WE LEARNED! Simpson Desert Adventure Debrief + Q&A

[@wizbangdiving]

Adventurers are rarely a holiday. The joy are in the story telling after. Congrats and thanks for sharing.

[@AusMoto]

Thanks mate, you’re absolutely right, It’s still all we can talk about!

[@Gregg6610]

Great job guys, sorry you had some issues with the tyre , next time you come this way spend a few days here and I will show you around 🏍️💨🤠👍

[@AusMoto]

Thanks Greg, it saved the trip so we didn't care and 100% we will!

[@kester41]

Great crossing vid, and this one too. Thanks lads.

[@AusMoto]

Thanks heaps, glad you enjoyed!

[@bobdrakeford5731]

It was great to hear your experiences with the Simpson Trip. I'm impressed with you both on an achievement like that. To push beyond your comfort zone is a learning experience like no other. And you did it!! 👏👏👏

[@AusMoto]

Thanks heaps, Bob!

[@MarksMotoAdventures]

Good Q&A guys thank for the information looking at doing the simpson desert my salf

[@AusMoto]

Thanks mate, hopefully some of it was helpful!

[@MarksMotoAdventures]

Yeah massively thank guys

[@CampAndDriveAustralia]

That’s a good break down of the ride. We’re 4x4 so we have the luxury of aircon until something goes wrong. I don’t know how you could put up with that heat even at your age.

[@AusMoto]

Thanks mate, I don't know he we did to be honest....

[@MitchMotoMaths]

Absolutely appreciate this video - I'm prepping for the Simpson in 2026. Really appreciate you adding in how much water you went through as it is something I'm really concerned about not bringing enough of. To add another question, is there anything you didn't bring that you wish you had? (Urgently, not a luxury)

[@AusMoto]

Thanks Mitch! We were both happy with the kit we brought and wouldn’t bring anything else as it would be unnecessary weight, which is the most important thing to keep down out there haha!

[@davidcauchi2837]

Thanks for sharing, Having a debrief is an excellent idea as it's important to go through the experience and to learn from it. I can't wait for your next adventure, Perhaps others can join your next adventure... Well done to each of you. David...Adelaide...Triumph Scramblers 1200X and 900..

[@AusMoto]

Thanks David and yeah, I think it’s always great doing them and for sure, we might have new and familiar faces on the next one!

[@glennaltschwager5234]

Nice debrief, guys. Awesome effort on the small bore bikes fully loaded. I crossed last year on a DR 650 with a mate who was on a DRZ 400. Definitely a wicked sense of achievement. Next time, I will use my KTM 890. Cheers for sharing your ride 👍

[@AusMoto]

Cheers Glenn! That’s awesome mate, I reckon the 890 power would be a tonne of fun out there!

[@budget-adventure]

Great work guys. So what’s next, oh you just said it cape York ha ha.

[@AusMoto]

Thanks mate, yeah I’m thinking about going North!

[@budget-adventure]

@@AusMoto I don’t know how you want to tackle the 2900kms of black top to get to cairns to start the cape, I’m heading up next year if you wanted a satellite support vehicle or even someone to trailer your bike to cairns. Or pull my finger out and get a bike and do it instead of a 4x4. Anyway throwing it out there, or I’m sure there’s others making the trek up next year that can help out

[@hammar67]

Hey Guys. Great vids. Congrats. We think we passed you south of Marree while heading north to cross. We were three on 690s. I’m not that experienced (only one day on sand previous) but the extra power of the 690s got me over all the dunes in one take except Big Red which took 3 goes. With extra hp you would have nailed Big Red!

[@AusMoto]

Thanks mate, pretty sure I recall 3 690s riding past, small world haha! Yeah, extra power would have been nice 😂

[@tothebackofbeyond]

Well done!

[@AusMoto]

Thanks mate!

[@Michael_Mears]

Water. You had 15+L and used 8L on the crossing, rationing as you went from the start because of the unknown element. You say you didn't need that much but elsewhere you mention the fatigue, heat stress, urine colour, low frequency of urination and other symptoms of being dehydrated. Perhaps a better way to assess water use is to have a good understanding of your own normal intake of electrolytes during riding and keep this as a base line. If it's 2L per day for most recreational riding, then allocated 2L per day as a minimum for a crossing like you did, so that might be 10L all up. Drink that every day with your electrolytes. The extra water on-board is purely for discretionary use and should be taken daily if urine colour darkens and urination frequency reduces. You then begin to have a real-time reference, day-by-day, which help you work out if you have enough water and when to start rationing. To use an analogy, you did not ration any fuel. You had more than enough to do the crossing, otherwise one or both or you would be walking part of it. At no point did either of you say "We must only used 2L of fuel today" or similar. So apply that same mindset to your water. Don't hoard it. Use it. From experience, I'd suggest you both were (maybe) about two days or so from needing re-hydration intravenously. Usually 2 x 500mL intravenous in two hours is enough to get things right, plus oral intake of electrolytes. However, you are both young and fit, and may have more in reserved than meets the eye. My wife and I are around the 60 mark, so our approach to not unaliving ourselves in the scrub on motorbikes is, perhaps, different to yours. Heat stroke can be combated only so much by remaining hydrated. I recall Vanessa Ruck on one of her desert stages a couple of months ago taking in 14L in one day. This is someone attempting to not only stay hydrated but fight heat stress. Too much water being taken in is only draining the body of vital minerals and salts. There's a balance, and recognising the heat part of heat stress rather than focusing on the hydration part (assuming this is being attended to) is just as important. There are plenty of pop-up tents that weigh under 3kg. It's more weight, I know, but if that's a deal breaker there are good sun blocking tarps that are under 1kg. Park your bikes and string up a tarp between them and get out of the heat. Another part of dealing with heat stress is rest. There are many factors but hydration, reducing body temp and rest will sort out most instances. Your video was of the trip was excellent. This debrief was informative. Keep up the good work.

[@AusMoto]

Super informative and appreciate the comment, Michael! Definitely would have been a good idea to understand our baseline however we usually avoid riding in these temperatures, so it was certainly an unknown going into it, so we assumed smashing down tonnes of electrolytes with a decent amount of water would cut it, but yes, just wasn't enough. Yeah, I think a tarp for some cover would have made a big difference when resting as it was incredibly difficult to escape the sun with limited shade out there.

[@6226superhurricane]

i've crossed solo unsupported on my Drz400E in november 40-43c in two half days camping overnight. never needed two go's at a dune or had to push the bike. big red first go, no big run up necessary. i used 34.6l of fuel took 40l drank 11.8l of water took 12l. would've drank more if i had it. basically drank the last litre on big red and kept 200ml in case i got a flat or something between big red and birdsville. you'd definitely have more fun on a drz with near double the hp and a wet weight right in the middle of your two bikes.

[@AusMoto]

That’s bloody impressive mate, you’re an animal!!

[@kester41]

Yeah wow, that’s a good effort. I was wondering what people think is a better bike for this trip? It’s interesting having just seen Adam and Rod do some big days in the sand on Teneres. Clearly their skills are very different to most, but jeez that Tenere grunt looked useful.

[@6226superhurricane]

@@kester41 the trouble with the big bikes is picking them up. when you're in full sun, exhausted and the bike is fully loaded it doesn't take long to get in trouble. adam and rod did the hay river track it's a fair bit easier than the french-qaa line because you're not crossing every dune you're riding between dunes mostly. nerb1 did it on his tenere but not solo.

[@rockbiterhd]

On big rides like that you need rest days along the way and don’t push so much it becomes a totally different trip big effort done well

[@AusMoto]

Thanks mate and 100%, we now know for next time!

[@kester41]

What bike would you consider not “big”, that is suitable for this sort of ride?

[@AusMoto]

@@kester41 Anything under 150kg's I reckon

[@kester41]

@@AusMoto yeah sounds right. I actually misread rockbiter’s comment as big bikes, instead of big rides. I was thinking fuck me, the boys are on as small a bikes as they can without taking bloody posties! Lol.

[@rockbiterhd]

@@kester41 depends on your size and rider experience

[@sausagesandwichSA]

I haven't seen any videos of a CRF250 crossing unsupported..could be first, claim it I reckon. And yes won't be your only time out there, gets in the blood 👍

[@AusMoto]

Yeah, couldn’t find any when researching for our prep and yep hahaha