Dirty Weekend on a Ténéré 700

Feeling the spirit at Australia’s premier adventure bike festival

But the Dirty Weekend got better from then. A lot better. We rode a pair of MY25 Ténéré 700s and the twin cylinder adventure bikes were certainly the best choice for the1400km round trip to Green Valley Farm – near Inverell, NSW – for the 300-strong adventure bike festival.

The route was set by new tour company Vagabond and took us from Wisemans to Nundle on day one via an iconic ADV route including Brokenback Road, Bowmans Creek and Crawney Pass. The rain never let up, but on the plus side, the wet gravel roads offered amazing grip. Spirits were high in the Peel Inn at Nundle, buoyed by the sunny weekend forecast. Mind you, my boots stayed wet all weekend. But that was down to deep water crossings rather than the weather.

Day two Nundle to Green Valley Farm just outside Tingha was a fun high-speed blast along scenic dirt roads, stopping for lunch at the Alternate Root at Uralla with the Adventure Moto organisers. Green Valley Farm is an awesome location for the annual gathering of ADV riders, with camping and a number of huts available to book. The Stewart family who own Green Valley Farm kept the masses well fed and the bar well stocked. And when you’re not talking about, or riding, adventure bikes, you can always visit Green Valley’s zoo, or have a go on the Farm’s mechanical fun fair rides of yesteryear.

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There’s nothing like a serve of community ADV spirit, and this really hit home on Saturday’s enduro loop. 19 riders lined up at 8am on a mix of mostly single cylinder machines for a morning ride around technical trails. The plan was to get back to the Farm for the gymkhana at 2pm. But with Thursday’s deluge, the trails proved tricky with three water crossings featuring decent sized boulders ready to catch you out, muddy paddocks where line selection was critical and the odd rocky hillclimb. Lead rider Mick Stewart from Green Valley Farm powered across private farmland – the sort of terrain only accessible by locals. Big twin riders weren’t the only ones who found the going tough. But the mateship was strong and riders waded in to help others through the water crossings and dug each other out of bogs.

One rider drowned his bike on the first river crossing and then had a puncture moments later. Another went under and shipped water on a third river crossing and a two-stroke fouled a plug. Tough trails that are most memorable – because no-one ever told an interesting story where everything goes to plan. There were four Ténérés on the ride – one a mid-1990s XTZ660 – and all sailed through the conditions with no dramas. Although one drowning was narrowly avoided as the rider hit the kill switch before the bars went under.

The enduro loopers were running behind schedule when they reached Bundarra for fuel and the Commercial Hotel where pre-ordered meals arrived to save time. The second half of the ride was more flowing but still with plenty of trail debris to keep riders alert. The group rolled back to the Farm at 3pm armed with some great yarns for the fireside.

Other Dirty Weekenders opted for a self-guided adventure ride. And those who stayed at the farm could book a mini class with Dakar rider, content creator and dirt bike instructor Llewellyn Pavey. Having learned the ropes from his dad and Dakar legend Simon Pavey, Llel can communicate dirt bike riding essentials as well as anyone. On a Tenere 700 of course.

The gymkhana kicked off with plenty of classes and prizes up for grabs. To keep it simple, this year’s event consisted of a short, timed course across grass that was wet in places for added jeopardy. It’s a fun event geared for crowd entertainment more than winning, as demonstrated by two legends on two wheels in a Ural sidecar outfit.

Punters could take the opportunity to visit trade stands from the likes of Moto Explorer where Dave O’Rourke gave a talk about setting up DMD Navigation devices. Tour companies were well represented including Yamaha’s preferred supplier RideADV, Ultimate Adventure Moto NZ, Roaming Horizons, Otway Adventures and Vagabond. Free tours were given away worth up to $6000 to ensure the Saturday night prize giving was well attended. In fact with the input from organisers Adventure Moto, along with supporters like the tour companies, Klim, MX Store and ADV Engineering, prizes totalled more than $30,000 in value. 

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With so many companies in competition with each other you’d be forgiven for thinking there would be ill will in the air, but this is not the case at the Dirty Weekend. As organiser Steve Smith from Adventure Moto says, “We are building a community here, this isn’t about us making money. We want to give back to the guys that support us by running a fun event.” All trade staff are adventure riders first with big passion for the community. Along with the paying punters, they understand the value of community spirit. Dirty Weekend is the type of event where you arrive on your own and you leave with mates.

The campfire was a roaring success with the digger used to load dried out tree stumps to keep the blaze burning into the night as live music built the vibe. The fire pits played a big part in the social scene – just rock up and start talking to whoever, everyone was interested and welcoming. New riding buddies were made, fresh routes discussed, bike setups considered, the day’s incidents laughed over.

On Sunday I was joined by event compere Mitch Newell and MX Store content creator Guy Streeter to ride the ADV route back to Sydney the way we came. That meant compressing a two-day ride into one day of around 700km. Fortunately we were all on Ténéré 700s, and there is no better bike for covering a mixture of dirt and tar when time is tight. We left the Farm at 8am, chose only to stop for fuel, one photo at Bowmans Creek Road, a quick lunch at Singleton - and hit a kangaroo on Murrays Run in the Watagans. The hapless roo hit my leg at speed, did a couple of 360s and hopped off into the bush, a bit dazed no doubt.

We rolled into Sydney at 6pm, impressed with the Dirty Weekend and amazed at the versatility and capability of the MY25 Ténéré 700.