try this great road

[igor]

had a 900km ride over thursday and friday.

did a heap of gravel west of Taihape. its beautiful in there.

but while riding up the Taihape napier Road yesterday morning I was thinking this road is just pure heaven. Nice flowing sweepers and great road surface, very little traffic and no cops. ya can ride up about 75kms b4 the gravel starts. It worth a little detour up and back if ya don't wann a go past the gravel to Napier. Even the gravel ya could sit at 80kmh plus.

If ya go up there for a 140km in and out trip ya will probably do it again. Just remember no gas at Taihape as serveo being refurbished

heres a piccie about 10 kms from the gravel. Boootaful

[zeRax]

I really need to learn how to ride in gravel, honestly 80kmp/h sounds nuts to me, i go over alot of gravel to and from places for work ( vineyard slugger --- sigh )
and wheel slides enough as it is at like 30k, what happens when u hit a heavily packed gravel patch D:? *shudder*

bet its alot of fun thou

[igor]

just keep the power on to make the front light and maybe a gear lower than ya would usually ride in.

then ya go over the top and not thru it

for the corners lean the opposite way ya do on the seal and if ya want to see some real gravel riding, go with big Dave

[MSTRS:Me]

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just keep the power on to make the front light and maybe a gear lower than ya would usually ride in.

then ya go over the top and not thru it

for the corners lean the opposite way ya do on the seal and if ya want to see some real gravel riding, go with big Dave

Depends on bike style, hp, weight, tyres. Did the whole road recently on the 1100 and I can assure you that I was not 'keeping the power on' in the gravel. Out on the open tops I sat on about 70, but rarely got above 40 down in the windy bits. On the seal it was another story tho

[Ghost Lemur]

Very very nice igor.

[bugjuice]

nice pics and report.. good bikes to do it on too. Can't do something like that on regular street bikes! I'd be screwed!!

[Mr Skid]

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Can't do something like that on regular street bikes!

Bollocks!
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=10373

[Coyote]

Went through that road by car. Awesome road, our car wasn't built for it though

A KTM 950 would be a great bike to ride on that road

[bugjuice]

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Bollocks!
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=10373

hairy muff. sit corrected.

[Mr Skid]

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hairy muff. sit corrected.

I think there's a fair bit of gravel around Swanny's place, so I'll see about giving you a demo tonight.

I've raised the forks 10mm to quicken the steering - perfect on gravel!

[bugjuice]

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I think there's a fair bit of gravel around Swanny's place, so I'll see about giving you a demo tonight.

I've raised the forks 10mm to quicken the steering - perfect on gravel!

knobby tyres too?

[Mr Skid]

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knobby tyres too?

I did some hunting around a while back, and I can get one of these for the rear, but my front is a funny profile, so I don't think I'll be able to get anything knobbly for it.



The tires I've got aren't too bad on loose stuff though, as the rear is 140 wide, so it tends to dig in, rather than skate over the top like a 160 or 180 profile would. It's also got decent width grooves on it, instead of the cut slick appearance of some sprotsbike tires.

[TonyB]

Looks like a great ride. Nice pics. Pity about the guy taking a leak in the middle one tho...

[Pickle]

Did that road from Napier to Taihape a couple of years ago on the 250's nice easy gravel 100km/h. Nice pictures there are plenty of places to explore on that road
Friends of ours did it last year on ZX7 & Buell on way to Cold Kiwi.
Most people make mistake of going to slow on gravel, keep power on and as Igor says you stay on top of the soft stuff, Viv & I dont mind gravel roads on our ZX6's. Anyone who says you cant take modern road bikes on gravel roads dont know what they are talking about.