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This article is from the soc.culture.australian FAQ, by Stephen Wales with numerous contributions by others.

11.4.6 Touring Australia by Motorcycle [C]

Oz by bike is heaven. Try the Great Ocean Road south west of
Melbourne. Most of the country is pretty safe, and it's beautiful, and
has lots of lovely curvy country roads, and frequent bike rallies
(look at Two Wheels and Bike Australia magazines when you get here)
and there are campsites all over the place in National parks, state
forests etc etc. And plenty of "motorcycle enthusiasts" to help you
find your way around. (There's a wry joke that once we were filthy
bikies, but when the Grand Prix brings money into the state, we become
"motorcycle enthusiasts".)

A few tips: don't ride at dusk in the country; that's when you find
lots of animals on the road. Don't travel alone on back country dirt
roads in the desert a long way from the nearest town, unless you are a
mechanical genius and can fix everything with a bit of string and
chewing gum. Take water if you do that. There are sealed roads all
round the country, but a lot of the minor roads in less populated
areas are dirt. Radar detectors are illegal, and Australian beer is
good but drink-driving is a very bad idea. Sun-screen is a good idea.
Spring and Autumn are good times to travel, because wearing full
leathers in summer sucks severely. If you're female, you need to be
able to cope with minor sexual harassment, but generally there's a
sufficient bike camaraderie that it won't get dangerous. Just insult
them back. (And if you're gay or lesbian there's cool bike groups
around; "Dykes on Bikes" usually lead off the Mardi Gras parade.)

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