Am planning a 3 month trip around Western Oz / Outback from May 2004 and have been looking into buy back deals from bike dealers in Melbourne. Have now found a site called Bike Tours (from Car Connection website) which looks good at face value for long rentals. Has anybody out there used these and could give some feedback, good or otherwise? Regards.

Am unaware of the company you mentioned. There are quite a number of hire companys. Why don't you buy. I'm sure you'll be better off. Melbourne is probably the best place to buy. Firstly port of call would be Elizebeth street in the heart of Melbourne. It easily has the highest concentration of motorbike shops in Australia. Within a few hundred metres, theres possibly as many as a dozen bike shops. One that constantly advertises as hiring out all manor of bikes is "Garners". This is not a recomendation of them. It's just that I know that they hire. They also sell bikes, so I'm sure you could possible arrrange a buy back deal, who knows. Their not in Elizebeth st though, their a little further out. Would pay to make a phone call. Next port of call is the newsagent and pick up a copy of either "Just Bikes", which is a sales platform for motorbikes Australia wide. Or the "Trading Post", similar to the "Yellow" in England. Every week it has a couple of thousand bikes for sale in Victoria alone. Every other state also has it's own Trading Post as well. Of course If you buy private, you'll have to get around by some other means first. Well Melbourne would have to be one of the easiest cities in the world to get around by public transport. Trains, trams and buses go all-over. The only minor hitch I can see, If you go down the buy route, is that you'll need an address for registration and ownership purposes. With a little lateral thinking that shopuldn't be too dificult. Cheers, Graeme.

www.betterbikes.com.au