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Motorcycles

Gallery: Road bikes in inappropriate places at Dirt Daze

By Loz Blain
April 08, 2019
Gallery: Road bikes in inappropriate places at Dirt Daze
That's how we do it! Flat track styled Harley takes a leap at the end of a successful hill climb
That's how we do it! Flat track styled Harley takes a leap at the end of a successful hill climb
View 52 Images
The face of commitment
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The face of commitment
There is actually a rider on this bike, he's just wearing a camouflage ghillie suit so you can't see him.
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There is actually a rider on this bike, he's just wearing a camouflage ghillie suit so you can't see him.
That's the spirit!
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That's the spirit!
The Yamaha VMAX: not renowned for its off-road capability
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The Yamaha VMAX: not renowned for its off-road capability
Grim determination was the most common facial expression
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Grim determination was the most common facial expression
Our photos can't properly capture the sheer speed at which this screaming GSX-R dirt squirter made its way around the back loop
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Our photos can't properly capture the sheer speed at which this screaming GSX-R dirt squirter made its way around the back loop
Nicely done Yamaha
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Nicely done Yamaha
Stealth electric bike? Why not?
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Stealth electric bike? Why not?
Knobbies on a cruiser
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Knobbies on a cruiser
This bastard had no muffler on, and rev bombed everyone he passed relentlessly
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This bastard had no muffler on, and rev bombed everyone he passed relentlessly
As the dust came up, things started looking a bit otherworldly
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As the dust came up, things started looking a bit otherworldly
A nicely done BMW with rude stickers
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A nicely done BMW with rude stickers
The hill climb: not the most daunting of slopes, but it bested some bikes
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The hill climb: not the most daunting of slopes, but it bested some bikes
This chopper absolutely dominated the hill climb – this run, if memory serves, began from a standstill just a few feet from the start of the climb
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This chopper absolutely dominated the hill climb – this run, if memory serves, began from a standstill just a few feet from the start of the climb
250 kg of flying BMW
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250 kg of flying BMW
Not even the "turbo" got this little scoot up the hill, despite the lurid hip thrusting of its rider
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Not even the "turbo" got this little scoot up the hill, despite the lurid hip thrusting of its rider
Top of the hill climb was a solid place to stand around if you wanted to see a stack or two
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Top of the hill climb was a solid place to stand around if you wanted to see a stack or two
A KLR? That's cheating!
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A KLR? That's cheating!
More flying GS
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More flying GS
The Grom required a little help, resulting in this flat-at-Iwo-Jima moment
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The Grom required a little help, resulting in this flat-at-Iwo-Jima moment
A little overenthusiastic on the berries, Captain Kato here got unexpectedly airborne and nudged the hay bales
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A little overenthusiastic on the berries, Captain Kato here got unexpectedly airborne and nudged the hay bales
That's how we do it! Flat track styled Harley takes a leap at the end of a successful hill climb
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That's how we do it! Flat track styled Harley takes a leap at the end of a successful hill climb
Too easy!
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Too easy!
The flat track: an opportunity to learn the art of sideways
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The flat track: an opportunity to learn the art of sideways
The Yammie T-Max made a decent showing of itself
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The Yammie T-Max made a decent showing of itself
A Tenere's probably cheating, but we're awarding points for style
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A Tenere's probably cheating, but we're awarding points for style
This Harley looked like a sporty ride over the jump
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This Harley looked like a sporty ride over the jump
Oh no you didn't! Hayabusa plus flat bar plus TKC80s = 180-horsepower dirt squirter
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Oh no you didn't! Hayabusa plus flat bar plus TKC80s = 180-horsepower dirt squirter
Spiders can relax
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Spiders can relax
The price of not hangin' around on the dirt track
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The price of not hangin' around on the dirt track
Giving it the berries
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Giving it the berries
More sideways than you'd expect on a Himalayan
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More sideways than you'd expect on a Himalayan
Flat track fun
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Flat track fun
The perfect place to bust out the monkey bikes
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The perfect place to bust out the monkey bikes
A Honda Firestorm with custom girder front end. According to the rider, it sucked on dirt big time
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A Honda Firestorm with custom girder front end. According to the rider, it sucked on dirt big time
Two stroke dirt bike. Included just because we heart whooliez
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Two stroke dirt bike. Included just because we heart whooliez
The Dirt Drags were a bit of fun
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The Dirt Drags were a bit of fun
The correct use for an XR1200
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The correct use for an XR1200
A social event for a wide range of bike types
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A social event for a wide range of bike types
Nice little cafe racer getting around the track
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Nice little cafe racer getting around the track
A pirate postie bike
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A pirate postie bike
A stretched 4cyl Kwaka of some sort, with knobbies and a dirtbike tail
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A stretched 4cyl Kwaka of some sort, with knobbies and a dirtbike tail
The XR again, this time with blurry background
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The XR again, this time with blurry background
Yamaha Bolt joins the fun
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Yamaha Bolt joins the fun
The hardtail would've made for a rough weekend
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The hardtail would've made for a rough weekend
That grin's what it's all about
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That grin's what it's all about
Going scrambling on a 955 Speed Triple
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Going scrambling on a 955 Speed Triple
A lightly airborne Harley Sportster
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A lightly airborne Harley Sportster
The Royal Enfield Australia team: always prepared to put on a show
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The Royal Enfield Australia team: always prepared to put on a show
A dirt-prepped, muffler-free MV Agusta Brutale 800
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A dirt-prepped, muffler-free MV Agusta Brutale 800
John Gee from Antique Motorcycles just after banging his 1920s-era Indian up the hill climb
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John Gee from Antique Motorcycles just after banging his 1920s-era Indian up the hill climb
The Brutale struggling a touch with traction on the flat track
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The Brutale struggling a touch with traction on the flat track
View gallery - 52 images

Dirt Daze is a three-day moto-festival held a couple of hours outside Melbourne, Australia, where attendees are encouraged to bring their least appropriate machinery along for a spot of flat tracking, hill climbing, scrambling and dirt dragging in the name of giggles. New Atlas went along to check out the action.

We're not going to pretend there's any sort of technology angle going on here – maybe motorcycle fans will find a few interesting customs in the gallery, or simply enjoy the fact that people have stuck knobby tires on bikes ranging from Harleys to Hayabusas in search of sideways giggles.

The face of commitment
The face of commitment

No, this story's simply all about fun photos of road bikes out of their element in the dust and dirt of Krusic's Ride Park, a dug-out quarry near Dutson Downs, Victoria. Jump into the gallery and enjoy!

A stretched 4cyl Kwaka of some sort, with knobbies and a dirtbike tail
A stretched 4cyl Kwaka of some sort, with knobbies and a dirtbike tail

Source: Dirt Daze

View gallery - 52 images

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MotorcyclesDirt BikesGallery
1 comment
Loz Blain
Loz Blain
Loz has been one of our most versatile contributors since 2007, and has since proven himself as a photographer, videographer, presenter, producer and podcast engineer, as well as a senior features writer. Joining the team as a motorcycle specialist, he's covered just about everything for New Atlas, concentrating lately on clean energy, AI, humanoid robotics, next-gen aircraft, and the odd bit of music and automotive. In February 2024, he stepped up to lead New Atlas as Editorial Director, and he's as curious as anyone to see how that pans out.

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toyhouse
While it's not completely off topic; for those who may have forgotten or didn't know, back in 1975, Kenny Roberts rode a yamaha two stroke, 120 hp road racing engine placed in a dirt-bike frame and made history when he raced it on the dirt oval at Indy. He won, coming from the back row. It was a big deal that us kids who rode motorcycles, talked about at the time. Look-up kenny roberts and the indy mile on youtube to see him re-united with the old bike and run it around the track again - hard.