the 1977 Overland Trip

Over 10,000 miles of motorcycling

From Inverness, Scotland - Adelaide, Australia

If you miss the boat...ride there instead.

Written by Sally Stevens

This blog series is the story of two brothers: Mark and Roy Stevens (Bikerbnb Co-founder) and their three mates, all in their early twenties, on the trip of a lifetime travelling overland, by motorcycle, from Inverness, Scotland to Adelaide Australia in the late 1970s.

The trip was meticulously documented by Roy, who kept a diary and wrote down a daily summary, recording some incredible stories, as well as taking photographs along the way. So, these entries will be shared, in the way they were written to give readers an accurate insight of the reality of travelling from the remote Highlands to the Australian Outback.

'We had the bikes blessed'.

During the summer of 1977, after few months of rough planning, Mark, Roy and their three friends mustered enough courage to set out on their ambitious journey across the world. They sourced bikes, including thre Moto Guzzi 850 T3’s, a Guzzi 850 T and a Kawasaki 900 Z1.

August 12th 1977

Mileage on Roy’s bike 4,175;  mileage on Mark’s bike 4,205.

Serviced bikes yesterday as no dealer can do them for us. They all seem to be running well – apart from the whine in my gearbox.

17:00 – Just back from Kiltarlity, where the riders and bikes were blessed by the SpeyWife. She gave us roses and sprinkled water over us and the bikes. She wants us to send a postcard when we arrive.

August 13th 1977

After departing Inverness, just 12 miles into the journey, Shaun’s gearbox had issues. The nut which holds the layshaft came loose, so some roadside stripping was required! The next stop was also unplanned in Dunblane, due to my tyre blowing and mirror being knackered. Welding wire was the source of the problem in the tyre. 
 
20:45 – arrived in London.
 
Spent a few days in London obtaining visas for Iran and Afghanistan. Stewart’s clutch cable broke, Mark’s bike wouldn’t start, my gear box is whining and we got absolutely soaked
from the elements.
 

Fixing a puncture only 100 miles into the trip!

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