SIX Bundy mates will set off on a one month journey to Birdsville and back today, all in the name of fun and friendship.

The idea came about many months ago when Ian Brooke and Ian McWha were sitting on a veranda when they decided to set themselves a challenge: a ride to Birdsville and back on 125cc engine motorbikes.

They recruited two more friends to do the ride and two others to drive a support vehicle, which will follow the foursome on the 5000km round trip.

“It will be a challenge for us because we’ve all got 1600-1700cc bikes,” Mr Brooke said.

“We were trying to figure a way to brighten up our lives and the idea came to us.”

The travellers, who will leave at 8am today, have spent about six months organising the trip.

“We’ve had to purchase bikes, modify them a bit, figure out what to take and figure out the route to take,” Mr Brooke said.

“Trying to find a track through to Birdsville has been a bit of a challenge because of the water.”

Along the way, the group will stop in many towns including St George, Cunnamulla, Dirranbandi, Bedouri and finally Birdsville.

Mr Brooke said he had been to Birdsville many years ago but in a 4WD, a far cry from the tiny motor bikes purchased for this journey.

“We want to do it every year,” he said.

“We’re already planning next year’s trip.

“We’ll probably go to Broken Hill.”

Mr Brooke said three of the riders went out and bought similar bikes, a Kymco 125cc, especially for the upcoming trip, during which it is expected the bikes will cover about 5000 kilometres.

“We’ve modified the gearing to give less revs and better speed,” he said.

“We’ve given ourselves a month.”

The group is expected to cover about 300km each day.

“We are hoping to free camp as much as we can,” Mr Brooke said