The Western Australian city of Perth has changed a fair bit over the last 15 years since my first visit out there. When you revisit places over a long time period, the change is very noticeable. The city skyline is still a familiar shape with it’s distinctive modern skyscrapers set on the banks of the Swan River but the northern suburbs, where my brother-in-law has lived for 20 years, have expanded dramatically since my last visit in 2000.  The shopping malls and retail areas have doubled and tripled in size and the once relatively peaceful freeways (by UK standards) are now bursting with traffic. The traffic ‘squeeze’, as it is referred to over there, is becoming a severe problem and various schemes are underway to relieve the pressures on the road system.

Cars were also in the press for another reason on our arrival as we landed in Perth in the aftermath of a dramatic and violent storm.  The newspapers, TV and web were full of images of cars that had suffered the effect of being hit by hailstones the size of golf balls and bigger – when metal panels and glass meet fast falling lumps of ice – the ice wins – big time!

My brother-in-law’s solution to commuting misery has been to buy a motorbike – which makes the journey in and out of the city relatively painless as he just rides between the lines of stationary or crawling cars. As soon as we arrived at his place I was drooling over the Triumph Street Triple he rides and was both somewhat surprised and delighted that my suggestion about hiring a bike met with approval from my wife – who has never been the biggest of bike fans.

A quick search on the web and I discovered Sunset Motorcycle Hire who had an interesting range of larger Suzukis available. I rang Colin, who runs the company, and arranged to pick up a DL 650 V-Strom during the following week.

It turned out to be a good choice for someone of my height and size as the riding position is very comfortable but it still offers the kind of capable performance I’ve experienced on larger Sports Tourers in the past such as GSXs, VFRs and my beloved modified GPZ750R.

I’ve plotted out the road trip we did on this Google Map but basically it can be summarised as…

• Connolly to Mundaring Weir (where the Mundaring Weir Hotel is recommended for a break/drink)
• Mundaring Weir to Serpertine Falls (great/quiet roads through the hills and good for a refreshing dip – wild kangaroos seem guaranteed)
• Serpentine Falls into the City (ride in the shadows of the skyscrapers then out through Northbridge, the old quarter)
• City to Connolly via the Sunset Coast road (time this for the evening for the full effect of the sun setting over the ocean)

click for larger view...

So, if you’re heading for Perth and want to enjoy the sights without getting stuck in traffic then I recommend contacting Sunset Motorcycle Hire for their good range of bikes and excellent service. Then get out into the Perth Hills, along the quiet outback roads, tour the City then head along the sunset coast for a memorable day’s biking.