Adventure ride at SI KB Rally

[XF650]

Heads up for those adv bikes going to the Rally @ Kopara (West Coast) on 11th, 12th & 13th December.
There are some great gravel rides in that area including the Lake Hochstetter loop. Check out Ryan's site http://advroutes.org.nz/mapsi.html
Ping me a message if you are interested.

[XF650]

Well that was a wet one. Constant rain & I wasn't surprised to read about the Scouts being rescued. The rising rivers caused a couple of deviations for us on our adv excursions too.
My camera doesn't cope with moisture so only got a couple of pics. The others I will pinch off the Rally thread. The Rally itself was a lot of fun, this being the 4th South Island KiwiBiker Rally.
But most importantly, Kopora is a great location for adv rides. The Camp houses & huts are a bit tired but then they are only $15 pp / night and popular with 4WD Clubs & hunters etc. There is a bar, BBQ's & even a dance hall. All that was missing was Nordie & his banjo.

Pic 1) Our digs - chooks live under the floor & we had a weka in our bunkroom at one stage.
Pic 2) The locals are into Black Powder......
Pic 3) ....and they let us shoot their guns.

[XF650]

Another local (ex poacher, now honorary ranger) recconmended we have a crack at the area highlighted in the map pic. So Sat morning TimG & I headed in from the Nelson Creek Rd side, rode past a "permission only" sign & spent a blissful couple of hours getting lost in a maze of tracks through native forests, that constantly fork off & turn back on themselves. Even though I had a rural map & Tim had his GPS, it was hard to work out where we were for a lot of the time & in the end we only saw a small part of it. The main tracks are in good nick & "big bike" friendly but there are also countless (knarlier) side tracks. Just got to go back there, sometime soon.

[XF650]

Sat afternoon Helen of Troy joined us for a crack at the Hochstetter Loop. Got to the Lake ok & as you can see in the pic it was still bloody raining. Note too the DR650 21" front on the Freewind, garnished with a mud guard off a TF125 Mud Bug.
Didn't complete the full loop because of a swift looking ford so backtracked out again. Other than that it was big bike friendly, on the main tracks anyway. Some of the side tracks would be worth a look too (on a nice day).

[Transalper]

And how is the Freewind with the 21" ?
What's HOT doing in that position again?

[XF650]

I'm real keen to go back, stay at the Camp again & have a decent look around this area (unfinished business). There is also a another track that loops off the Hochstetter & goes to Kopara via Lake Aharua that deserves attention. Looking at Feb / March if anyone is keen.
One reason for me to ride the Rally was to check the handling of the 21" front, in preperation for the Dusty Butt. I'm still a shit rider but the bike certainly turns better in thick / loose gravel & handles the really rough stuff better than with the std 19". No regrets.

[XF650]

What's HOT doing in that position again?
Helen did bloody well, considering how slippery things were on tyres that were over 30 psi, plus she hadn't been adv riding for quite a while. She & Tim rode back with me to Terrace Downs via the Lake Lyndon Rd - the only dry gravel we saw all weekend.

[Padmei]

What's HOT doing in that position again?

She's a nurse- she was taking it's pulse:doctor:

Thanks for the report. The bike looks good:niceone:

[NordieBoy]

The front of the XF looks factory with that guard.

Did you push Helen O'Troy off again?

[Woodman]

Real keen to have a good look down that way. Its my old stamping ground and used to hoon around a lot of the roads out the back of Greymouth and Kumara over the old dredge tailings and tail races and stuff . Would love to explore cockeye creek and noname road again. It all seems pretty fresh in my mind but somehow I feel it may have changed a bit.

[Racing Dave]

Would love to explore cockeye creek and noname road again. It all seems pretty fresh in my mind but somehow I feel it may have changed a bit.

They're two of my three favourite trails on the West Coast, and only beaten by Napoleon's Hill. They do change from time to time (depending on how the rain floods them), but in all the times I've been through, the basic course doesn't alter.

As always, the lighter/smaller the bike, the better.

[Woodman]

Good to know they still rideable, me and bike were lighter them days.:crybaby:

[marks]

I'm real keen to go back, stay at the Camp again & have a decent look around this area (unfinished business). There is also a another track that loops off the Hochstetter & goes to Kopara via Lake Aharua that deserves attention. Looking at Feb / March if anyone is keen.

oooh ooh oooh

pick me pick me

[Aslan]

oooh ooh oooh

pick me pick me

me to - subject to finances & other commitments :banana:

[Waihou Thumper]

Real keen to have a good look down that way. Its my old stamping ground and used to hoon around a lot of the roads out the back of Greymouth and Kumara over the old dredge tailings and tail races and stuff . Would love to explore cockeye creek and noname road again. It all seems pretty fresh in my mind but somehow I feel it may have changed a bit.

So, most of those trails and roads/tracks are all do-able then? Can one spend a good day in there and have some fun exploring? Ogilvies Rd as well etc...
Thanks...

[Racing Dave]

Yes (as I said, the smaller the bike, the better), and there's another road known as Boardinghouse Road, not shown on most maps but an easy normal forest road, and that runs back from Kumara Inchbonnie Road to east of the southern end of Cockeye Creek Road. Useful if the Greenstone River is unfordable when you're trying to get out at the bottom end of Noname Road, to get to Inchbonnie. Much good fun to be had in this area, and don't forget it's always worth the ride through the tunnels at Napoleons Hill.

[Woodman]

So, most of those trails and roads/tracks are all do-able then? Can one spend a good day in there and have some fun exploring? Ogilvies Rd as well etc...
Thanks...

Like I say it has been 20 years since I used to hoon around in there, but it was mostly passable. Did an enduro through there too come to think of it.
Am very keen to spend a weekend going over the old tracks.

[helenoftroy]

What's HOT doing in that position again?

She's a nurse- she was taking it's pulse:doctor:



Did you push Helen O'Troy off again?
You know me guys!!
If anyones gonna lie their bike down.....;)
Going way too slow & the trusty stead is at standard height atm(my boys been riding her)I can only get my toe on the ground....:argh:

Geez this adventure riding isnt an elegant sport....had the baggy wets on most of the weekend!!

[XF650]

They're two of my three favourite trails on the West Coast, and only beaten by Napoleon's Hill. They do change from time to time (depending on how the rain floods them), but in all the times I've been through, the basic course doesn't alter.

As always, the lighter/smaller the bike, the better.

I agree Dave - did Napolean Hill & the tunnels on the DT230 thank god, although Marks seemed to cope on his KLR. I admire the guys who can ride back up that hill although I suspect they have sharp knobblies, plenty of power & a bloody good run up.
I get the impression that parts of the Lake Aharua loop could be similair, especially if wet. It was closed with wash outs & slips when we were there.