Gizzit
5th June 2009, 02:41
Thought I would wander down the road last week for a bit of a jaunt and put a few more K's on the Boulevard.
Monday morning, in what was threatening to be crap weather, Loaded my Ventura pack onto/over the sissy bar .... donned the wet weather gear over my leathers ..... and departed from Whangarei.
It absolutely persisted down .... all the way to Auckland, and as my hands were threatening to turn to ice and cease working because of my wet gloves .... I called into Cycletreads and got another pair ... wet weather jobbies !!
No sooner had I put them on, and continued on my way south, than the rain eased right up! Murphy you bastard I thought !!!
Anyway ... it made it more pleasant for my trip on down to Tauranga, and then on to "Wacka Taine". I found I got down there in reasonable time, in spite of generally wet and slippery roads and bloody road works ....
I had intended to stay the first night in Whakatane, but as I had more daylight left .... pushed on down the coast a bit, and stopped for the night at Te Kaha, in a flash Tourist Hotel (not that I was a "flash tourist" you understand) .... as there wasn't anything else around cheaper that I could find.
Flash digs and a good feed, reasonable sleep after watching some movie late on Sky ....
Next morning .... lost my bloody bike key !!!!
Farrrkk I thought quietly to myself .. Faarrrrrk you Murphy !!!
Eventually found it hidden in my rain coat pocket (having already had a grope there before and finding nothing ...!!), after two staff members at the Hotel graciously helped me search my room and surrounds for it !!!
Away I went ... again in the rain ... headed on down the coast .... where I had never been before.
Some very nice coastline to be seen, with the road running pretty close to it for much of the way .... at least for the start.
Once again quite a few road works, wild goats, two pigs, a guy on horseback ...... and that was just coming up the drive from the Tourist Hotel !!! LOL :D
... no .... but I did encounter a variety of wild life on my way around the pointy bit on the side of the Island.
I stopped for gas and coffee at Tolaga Bay. The best pies to be had anywhere at the only cafe there. Good coffee too. It was around 1.30pm when I got there (because of the "delayed start" because of the delinquent bike key!), and that was breakfast and lunch.
The road wasn't too bad so far, and at least it was sealed .... apart from the bits that weren't .... because of road works .... and the C50 took everything in it's stride.
It was an interesting ride, especially as it was all new territory for me, and in spite of quite heavy rain (previous night had forecast a heavy rain warning for Gisborne!), I enjoyed the ride. My new gloves seemed to be keeping the water out which was 'handy'.
I pottered on down to Gisborne, and skirted around the outside of the township, staying on the highway south. I would have stopped but I was intending to get to Taupo for the night, so kept on going.
With the rain still bucketing down, I noticed that my previously dry boots, were no longer ... dry!
Where as I have always previously had "proper" bike boots, since buying the cruiser I had bought some lace up 'work style' boots .... (to look the part ... you understand !!! lol) .... and these don't have a waterproof membrane in them, and eventually turned into individual foot baths on the end of each leg !!
I was dry everywhere else ..... but with the temp being pretty nippy, and the rain not letting up ... I chastised myself severely for my choice in footwear (not that anyone could hear my mumbling under my helmet, as I cruised along).
Wairoa was next along the road, and that is quite an impressive river .... or it was the day I saw it.
I didn't stop there ..... just kept on going, wondering how far the Napier/Taupo road was ?
Once that eventuated .... I thought about abandoning my plan to make it to Taupo, and stopping in Napier for the night ..... but no I thought .... no. That would make the ride home to Whangarei the next day .... longer !! (sharp as a tack, eh!) ...
Anyway ..... committed to a right turn onto the N/T highway ..... I head onwards and upwards towards Taupo.
I had forgotten how long that road is, ... not having been down that way for quite a while ...... and I also had forgotten that there aren't any petrol stations .......
Still ..... I was committed to get there, with my dark visor on, in the now darkening evening, ... still pissing down rain, wet squelching boots, .... and a tank level indicating it was in need of a drink ..... I was starting to wonder if I was going to get there!!
Funny how your mind works when you are cold, (as in farken), damp, wet feet, hungry, and miles from nowhere .....
It was quite an adventure .... that leg of the ride. Visibility not great ... because of my dark visor, and that it was night time, and still pissing down!!
I was tending to take it quite 'easy', hoping that the little petrol I had, would last until Taupo !
Fortunately (Murphy must have gone to sleep ??!!) .... I made it to Taupo, quickly found a motel nearest the fast food places, and settled in for the night.
It's quite amazing what you can do with those hair dryers they have in the motels !!! Once I poured out the contents of my boots, and soaked up as much as I could with toilet paper, I spent some time drying the inside of my boots with the said appliance. I bet they hadn't figured on that use when they supplied them. Still ..... if some ladies hair happens to smell like old boots in the future ..... I will deny all knowledge!
The next day started bright and sunny, and Taupo cold. At least I wouldn't need my wet weather gear, and as soon as I left the motel, I gassed up my bike .... and headed north for Tokaroa.
The road was reasonably quiet traffic wise, and with the sun out, I was able to enjoy cruising along at around 110 - 120, with the C50 just ticking over nicely.
I found that the C50 is a very comfortable bike. The ergos on it suit me just right, and the saddle is quite comfortable. Not once during the trip had I felt like I needed to get off to give my arse a rest. I was quite surprised, as I thought when I got the bike, that I would need to call in and see Mac in Tauranga, and get it replaced. But so far, it's breaking in really well.
It took me exactly two hours from Taupo to Huntly, via the Cambridge / Taupiri route. I thought that was pretty good going.
I stopped at the top of the Bombays for coffee, food, and to top up my tank, before heading on to Auckland to Colemans, where I ordered a new bar end weight. Somewhere on my trip between Auckland and Te Kaha, the left bar end had decided not to join me on the rest of my adventure!
Auckland to Whangarei was uneventful, and I arrived back home around 4pm.
I had clocked up 1568K's on the trip, and it was a good 'run in' for my bike, which had previously only done a bit over 1200K's.
I have no issues with the C50 (apart from the loss of the bar end !!). It performed really well. I was surprised how far I could lean the bike over through some tighter corners, without touching down (which happened from time to time .... when pushing it a bit!)
It has pretty good acceleration from 2nd through to 4th. 5th is a bit like an overdrive, and I rarely stayed in 5th at anything under 100Kmh. Overtaking was much easier in 4th, ... or 3rd if you got down low enough.
I found the bike to be really stable under braking. The brakes are nothing like a sports bike, but quite up to the job for a cruiser. The suspension I left as set up when it was delivered, and that suited me quite well, being a little firm at the back, but tracking well in corners over lumpy stuff. I only managed to push the back out a smidgen on a couple of corner over the whole trip, and that was because it was wet. It behaved well though.
Not sure what the gas mileage was, as I tend to top up the tank when it's getting down near a quarter left ..... unless I know the road. Napier/Taupo caught me out, as I couldn't find a gas station !
All in all ... a great experience, in spite of the rain. I enjoyed seeing new territory, and discovering what my bike was like to ride on a decent road trip.
I'll look forward to the next one !! :)
Monday morning, in what was threatening to be crap weather, Loaded my Ventura pack onto/over the sissy bar .... donned the wet weather gear over my leathers ..... and departed from Whangarei.
It absolutely persisted down .... all the way to Auckland, and as my hands were threatening to turn to ice and cease working because of my wet gloves .... I called into Cycletreads and got another pair ... wet weather jobbies !!
No sooner had I put them on, and continued on my way south, than the rain eased right up! Murphy you bastard I thought !!!
Anyway ... it made it more pleasant for my trip on down to Tauranga, and then on to "Wacka Taine". I found I got down there in reasonable time, in spite of generally wet and slippery roads and bloody road works ....
I had intended to stay the first night in Whakatane, but as I had more daylight left .... pushed on down the coast a bit, and stopped for the night at Te Kaha, in a flash Tourist Hotel (not that I was a "flash tourist" you understand) .... as there wasn't anything else around cheaper that I could find.
Flash digs and a good feed, reasonable sleep after watching some movie late on Sky ....
Next morning .... lost my bloody bike key !!!!
Farrrkk I thought quietly to myself .. Faarrrrrk you Murphy !!!
Eventually found it hidden in my rain coat pocket (having already had a grope there before and finding nothing ...!!), after two staff members at the Hotel graciously helped me search my room and surrounds for it !!!
Away I went ... again in the rain ... headed on down the coast .... where I had never been before.
Some very nice coastline to be seen, with the road running pretty close to it for much of the way .... at least for the start.
Once again quite a few road works, wild goats, two pigs, a guy on horseback ...... and that was just coming up the drive from the Tourist Hotel !!! LOL :D
... no .... but I did encounter a variety of wild life on my way around the pointy bit on the side of the Island.
I stopped for gas and coffee at Tolaga Bay. The best pies to be had anywhere at the only cafe there. Good coffee too. It was around 1.30pm when I got there (because of the "delayed start" because of the delinquent bike key!), and that was breakfast and lunch.
The road wasn't too bad so far, and at least it was sealed .... apart from the bits that weren't .... because of road works .... and the C50 took everything in it's stride.
It was an interesting ride, especially as it was all new territory for me, and in spite of quite heavy rain (previous night had forecast a heavy rain warning for Gisborne!), I enjoyed the ride. My new gloves seemed to be keeping the water out which was 'handy'.
I pottered on down to Gisborne, and skirted around the outside of the township, staying on the highway south. I would have stopped but I was intending to get to Taupo for the night, so kept on going.
With the rain still bucketing down, I noticed that my previously dry boots, were no longer ... dry!
Where as I have always previously had "proper" bike boots, since buying the cruiser I had bought some lace up 'work style' boots .... (to look the part ... you understand !!! lol) .... and these don't have a waterproof membrane in them, and eventually turned into individual foot baths on the end of each leg !!
I was dry everywhere else ..... but with the temp being pretty nippy, and the rain not letting up ... I chastised myself severely for my choice in footwear (not that anyone could hear my mumbling under my helmet, as I cruised along).
Wairoa was next along the road, and that is quite an impressive river .... or it was the day I saw it.
I didn't stop there ..... just kept on going, wondering how far the Napier/Taupo road was ?
Once that eventuated .... I thought about abandoning my plan to make it to Taupo, and stopping in Napier for the night ..... but no I thought .... no. That would make the ride home to Whangarei the next day .... longer !! (sharp as a tack, eh!) ...
Anyway ..... committed to a right turn onto the N/T highway ..... I head onwards and upwards towards Taupo.
I had forgotten how long that road is, ... not having been down that way for quite a while ...... and I also had forgotten that there aren't any petrol stations .......
Still ..... I was committed to get there, with my dark visor on, in the now darkening evening, ... still pissing down rain, wet squelching boots, .... and a tank level indicating it was in need of a drink ..... I was starting to wonder if I was going to get there!!
Funny how your mind works when you are cold, (as in farken), damp, wet feet, hungry, and miles from nowhere .....
It was quite an adventure .... that leg of the ride. Visibility not great ... because of my dark visor, and that it was night time, and still pissing down!!
I was tending to take it quite 'easy', hoping that the little petrol I had, would last until Taupo !
Fortunately (Murphy must have gone to sleep ??!!) .... I made it to Taupo, quickly found a motel nearest the fast food places, and settled in for the night.
It's quite amazing what you can do with those hair dryers they have in the motels !!! Once I poured out the contents of my boots, and soaked up as much as I could with toilet paper, I spent some time drying the inside of my boots with the said appliance. I bet they hadn't figured on that use when they supplied them. Still ..... if some ladies hair happens to smell like old boots in the future ..... I will deny all knowledge!
The next day started bright and sunny, and Taupo cold. At least I wouldn't need my wet weather gear, and as soon as I left the motel, I gassed up my bike .... and headed north for Tokaroa.
The road was reasonably quiet traffic wise, and with the sun out, I was able to enjoy cruising along at around 110 - 120, with the C50 just ticking over nicely.
I found that the C50 is a very comfortable bike. The ergos on it suit me just right, and the saddle is quite comfortable. Not once during the trip had I felt like I needed to get off to give my arse a rest. I was quite surprised, as I thought when I got the bike, that I would need to call in and see Mac in Tauranga, and get it replaced. But so far, it's breaking in really well.
It took me exactly two hours from Taupo to Huntly, via the Cambridge / Taupiri route. I thought that was pretty good going.
I stopped at the top of the Bombays for coffee, food, and to top up my tank, before heading on to Auckland to Colemans, where I ordered a new bar end weight. Somewhere on my trip between Auckland and Te Kaha, the left bar end had decided not to join me on the rest of my adventure!
Auckland to Whangarei was uneventful, and I arrived back home around 4pm.
I had clocked up 1568K's on the trip, and it was a good 'run in' for my bike, which had previously only done a bit over 1200K's.
I have no issues with the C50 (apart from the loss of the bar end !!). It performed really well. I was surprised how far I could lean the bike over through some tighter corners, without touching down (which happened from time to time .... when pushing it a bit!)
It has pretty good acceleration from 2nd through to 4th. 5th is a bit like an overdrive, and I rarely stayed in 5th at anything under 100Kmh. Overtaking was much easier in 4th, ... or 3rd if you got down low enough.
I found the bike to be really stable under braking. The brakes are nothing like a sports bike, but quite up to the job for a cruiser. The suspension I left as set up when it was delivered, and that suited me quite well, being a little firm at the back, but tracking well in corners over lumpy stuff. I only managed to push the back out a smidgen on a couple of corner over the whole trip, and that was because it was wet. It behaved well though.
Not sure what the gas mileage was, as I tend to top up the tank when it's getting down near a quarter left ..... unless I know the road. Napier/Taupo caught me out, as I couldn't find a gas station !
All in all ... a great experience, in spite of the rain. I enjoyed seeing new territory, and discovering what my bike was like to ride on a decent road trip.
I'll look forward to the next one !! :)