>>109329Postie Bikes are a classic touring adventure bike here in Aus-- do a google, and you'll find heaps of stories/videos/books about them.
<- mine did an around-australia trip 2-and-a-bit years ago, and I'll probably be going around in the other direction in a few months.
> How far does a set of tyres last The CT had 28000 on it when I bought it from a motorcycle dealer, and still had the original (I assume) 7-ply AusPost tires on it then. About 5000 later I replaced the rear with a slick 4ply Michelin (?$40) up at Darwin-- I ended up replacing that 6000 later when I returned home (well couldn't blame it-- overloaded, constant running on very hot road..). The bike's at 42000 now, and still has its original front.
> Fuel consumption?Touring-style riding, which for a Postie is 70km/h -- about 2.9km/100. The underseat tank is only good for 100-120kms, but I carry extra fuel in two 5lt containers in the panniers, giving it about 450kms range. Other guys get a XR250 enduro tank fitted.
> Hows it on reliabilityIt's a commercial bike, custom-made by Honda (stronger frame, shocks, etc.) for mail delivery-- they carry heavy loads while jumping gutters for 20000.
Needs about a litre of 20-50W every 1000 kms of touring, had no issues with 'Opal'/unsniffable/RON85 fuel, no engine issues when doing 70kmh-12hr/day (you'll enjoy lots of scenery at that speed..) Almost everything on the bike can be fixed with handtools. The only problem I've had with it was a stator burning out, which I got the dealer to fix under warranty (and as the most popular single model motorbike in Australia due to AusPost, there's no shortage of parts..), the front brake lever broke 3 times from the bike falling over (..I need bark-busters.), and the grease in the speedo tube running out and snapping the cable-- I dropped by a small motor mechanic in Longreach and we bodged an ATV speedo cable on.
A recent bit of blogging..
http://kildall.apana.org.au/~cjb/wordpress/archives/291 