Hey Josh,

I was backpacking Oz last year and looked into hiring a bike to ride from Sydney to Cairns and compared to hiring a camper, it's expensive. I couldn't find any company who could hire me a bike for less than a budget camper and at least with a camper you can split the cost 2/3 or even 4 ways.

But it purely depends on what your budget is.

Looking around Bikeroundoz.com offers a reasonable deal on a Suzuki DR650 for $89 per day with insurance excess is $3000 for damage and $4000 for theft. Rental companies in Oz sting you with massive insurance premiums even though privately 3rd party insurance is included in road registration. So if your planning a trip of longer than 30 days it would work out cheaper to buy a bike and then sell it at the end of the trip.

However if your on a small budget I would recommend you call round all the car/camper (maybe even bike) rental places in Cairns and ask if they have any relocations to Sydney. (These are vehicles driven to Cairns only one way because most people don't drive back). You will get this at a fraction of the cost it is to hire a vehicle and in some circumstances they will pay for your fuel! Split this 3 or 4 ways with other travellers and what looked like a $2500 trip is now under $500.

Knowning what I know now I would of brought a bike the minute I got to Oz before I ran out of money but I worked for my 2nd WHV and now i'm planning on going back for a year to ride the complete length of the A1 highway!