Belgian biker visiting NZ at the end of the year

[Tagger]

Hey guys !

I am currently in the first stages of planning a trip to NZ at the end of the year (november/december?), so i still have a heap of questions. I hope to find some answers in this great place.

I am a 29 year old guy from Belgium wanting to go to "the other side of the world" for a bikeride for a while (going from 1 to a couple of months, still figuring that out as i go) in this beautiful country ! I will most likely be starting this trip on my own.

for now i see 3 options with pro's and cons.

Renting a bike:

+ easyest solution.
+ no headache in pre-planning.
- i can only rent it for a short while before it gets too expensive
- "forced" to ride it all the time and not take a day off to see a city to get the most value for my money (a rented bike on a parkinglot seems a shame)

Shipping my bike:

+ i can completely trust this bike, know it's character and driving history.
+ i can (hopefully) ship my gear along with it while i'm at it so it arives at the same time etc. (?)
+ If there would be any damage along the way, i don't have to answer to a rentalcompany.
- Is the cost of shipping worth it?
- will the bike arrive at the time i want it too or stuck at see for 2 weeks later then planned.

Buying/selling a second hand bike:

+ It's my bike so i can get to know it.
+- (?) does it come out more cost-effective ?
- paperwork hassle
- getting it sold in time (dealer ? ... and see if the loss i make on it outweighs the other options)



so i'm still juggling some plans around. Did any of you either come from europe or made a trip to europe (logistic problems probably beeing similar) that can make me any wiser ?

Is it possible to sell a european registered bike in NZ (combining plan A and B, shipping my bike and then getting rid of it afterwards, 'value-price of shipping it back' would be lower then a kiwi getting a good deal on it) ?


Anyways, i hope i can clear some stuff up the comming months, really looking forward to this trip ! :)

[unstuck]

Gidday and welcome. Personaly I would buy a bike here and sell it on when you leave. You will know heaps of cool people by then that will help you out. Good luck.:Punk:

[MSTRS]

I wouldn't recommend bringing your own bike...too high a risk of not arriving or damaged, plus very expensive.

Hiring for what you want is also costly.

What I would recommend is trying some of the bike shops (if there are still any that haven't shut their doors :innocent:) for a buy-back deal. You buy a bike off them and they guarantee to buy it back off you when you are done with it.

[Bald Eagle]

Get hold of Nobby on here, he recently came over and did NZ with his own bike.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/151905-German-biker-looking-forward-to-meeting-Kiwi-Bikers!

[Tagger]

Cool, i'll send nobby a pm shortly, thanks for the tip.

"risk for not arriving or damage" ... i hope there is insurance to minimise that risk.

The renting option i am least keen on (and only concider as a last resort). The other big plus on shipping offcourse is all the small stuff. For instance i can pre-test/bring my luggage-gear, i can fit my gps on there, 12v plug ... all costs in comfort which do add up to the cost of buying second hand.

Hope to get the boring parts of the planning cleared out in my head soon, then i can concentrate on the fun :P

[Tagger]

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[MSTRS]

Keep posting. I think 10 will do it.

[Monkfish]

By that stage (Nov/Dec) you might even get a few of us to join you on your explorations for parts of you journey. :scooter: :drinknsin

I know from experience when I road-tripped with mates from the UK, that when you experience you own country with somebodey that is totally new, you gain an immence appreciation of where you live. :yes:

[unstuck]

By that stage (Nov/Dec) you might even get a few of us to join you on your explorations for parts of you journey. :scooter: :drinknsin

I know from experience when I road-tripped with mates from the UK, that when you experience you own country with somebodey that is totally new, you gain an immence appreciation of where you live. :yes:

Yeah, I get a kick out of that too, some of my English and Irish mates get pretty blown away by some of the places I take them. It does make you realize what we have in this country.:yes:

[Tagger]

If i have a chanse to meet some of you guys and/or if you're willing to show me your favorit places in your area, that would be a great plus to my trip. :)

[FJRider]

A few Biker visitors come to New Zealand to tour NZ on their bike. Quite a few of these continue their travels in other countries. So no immediate need to ship their bike home after their tour. (or sell it)

One or two have arranged to do a "Bike swap" with a Kiwi. With the Kiwi visiting their country and doing a tour there. No shipping/buying/selling involved. (just insurance)

Buying your own bike (even months ahead) will save a lot of problems. As far as "trusting" your own bike ... a traveler touring NZ now has suspension problems (broken linage) that no amount trust or care could have prevented. Shit does happen on the road ...

There are plenty of capable and qualified people on here that could check out a bike prior to purchase, and arrange sale afterwards if required. (a small % for their trouble maybe) It would be a cheaper option than shipping your bike prior to ... and afterwards.

[FJRider]

Yeah, I get a kick out of that too, some of my English and Irish mates get pretty blown away by some of the places I take them. It does make you realize what we have in this country.:yes:

Even some (all) of the Kiwi travelers get a kick out of roads/scenery in my area. Even some of the roads that are "Ho Hum" for us. The vast difference in type of roads in a short space of time/distance appeals to many. (Locals and visitors alike)

[unstuck]

Even some (all) of the Kiwi travelers get a kick out of roads/scenery in my area. Even some of the roads that are "Ho Hum" for us. The vast difference in type of roads in a short space of time/distance appeals to many. (Locals and visitors alike)

Yeah, a lot of my mates in auckland are jealous of the different places we get to ride and or 4x4 down this way.:cry:

[FJRider]

Yeah, a lot of my mates in auckland are jealous of the different places we get to ride and or 4x4 down this way.:cry:

The "empty roads" confuse them though ... :killingme

[unstuck]

The "empty roads" confuse them though ... :killingme

I have been asked " where is everyone".:laugh:

[dogsnbikes]

Hi Tagger

Welcome and cheak out Frank and Simones adventures http://www.krad-vagabunden.de/

[Tagger]

Hi Tagger

Welcome and cheak out Frank and Simones adventures http://www.krad-vagabunden.de/

aaah, what a life ... i'm jealous :P

[arkeo]

Just come back home yesterday after one month in NZ, two weeks on bike...

My mate and I didn't bring our bikes with us for several reasons, but as in such cases everything depends on the personal context. I am not too wealthy, to say the less, and I could not afford the great cost for temporary import/export, let alone several other problems in such cases, like the time needed to fix little annoyances - and it is likely to meet some when importing a bike. On the contrary, I am happy with what we have done. In other words a local and very reliable agency in NZ that provided everything at a reasonable cost and we didn't lose a single day. I planned this travel for a couple of years and of course I considered cost vs days in NZ - it came out that it would have been cheaper to bring my bike for about more than 40 days on bike, but we had 4 weeks only and we wanted to tramp on the Routeburn. But IMHO it would a pity to spend all the time in NZ on bike because is a country unique in the whole world. This is particularly true for those who live in the overcrowded Europe and by no means I regret the schedule we planned. There are a lot of things to see and to do.

As you can imagine, each guy is a story. You may be very wealthy and at the same time you could be the kind of person who enjoy only his own bike... So, the global evaluation would be different. Also, what can one expect and find with respect to everything one is used to? From my point of view, the routes I enjoyed and I found similar to those in Italy are clustered in not too many zones such as Otago and CHCH peninsulas, some passes among the mountains, the magic Forgotten World Highway and so on. From my point of view most part of the km we made were on routes not conceived for bikers. In fact, we met much more bikers on Harley and similar with respect to much less sport bikes. Of course all this is not a critic for bikes like HD, simply it is impossible not to note the differences from one's own environment and I am sure I would have appreciated an HD or similar bike if I had one at hand.

There are several other things that I could say but, as above, there are too many personal issues and factors to make sense writing general rules in the stone. Surely you too have your ideas clear as I had mine when planning.

I am sure that any European will be pleasantly stunned by the country and the people, as happened to me. It was with great sorrow I had to leave.

Bye!

Apx.

[Tagger]

You may be very wealthy

I wish :)

Unfortniatly just an average joe like most on this forum. This is going to be a "once in a lifetime" thing so i have some money set aside... but all quite modest so that's why i need to calculate the "big expenses" as soon as possible so i can deal with that. You are right, everybody's story is different. This is exactly why i want as much different input as possible so i can make up my own mind. Thanks for your story.

I managed to get in touch with Nobby in pm and he has been very helpful as well :)

[aklmotohire]

Can I just offer an opinion on renting? A 4 week rental in November/December on something like a Suzuki 650 V Strom is going to cost you around NZ$3360.00 total (NZ$120.00/day). This will include the insurance, a full set of hard luggage and roadside breakdown assistance. You will also not need to worry about insurance, on road licensing, safety certificates, tyres or other maintenance headaches.

There will be an insurance/security bond which you could lose if the bike is badly damaged or stolen, but from my experience this is very rare. You will also have a bike ready and waiting for you when you arrive, rather than having to deal with people selling their bikes who have an inflated opinion of what their bikes are worth.

A 650 V Strom is a fantastic bike for touring NZ. Easy to ride with good handling (for it's purpose), handles our conditions well (is fine on gravel), comfortable and has a good fuel range.

[Jjgres]

Buying then selling when you leave is a good option. Look into something like a cheap Suzuki DR650. I bought one in Perth (2008) new for $7800 AUD rode it 5 weeks/ 14,000K and sold it in Melbourne for $5000 AU cash.

Cheap rent and the bike was reliable. I posted the thing for sale while I was closing in on my leave date. Work the forums. Most people on forums are honest.

Buy from a dealer and they handle the paperwork, you just hop on and go.

[Jjgres]

Also- we'll be there Nov 10th for 3 weeks. I'll keep an eye out for Tagger. (Even though it tends to dry out)

[BigB]

Hi Tagger

Welcome to the site.

Where in Belgium are you from? I only ask as my wife and I lived in Brussels for 9 months in 1999 - 2000 and had a great time. You will find riding in NZ a bit different that's for sure....

We are based in Auckland on the north shore so if you need a place to crash you are more than welcome. We have been all over NZ so can give you some idea's re place's to go and travel time lines

any way look forward to hearing form you.

cheers

Brian

[Tagger]

Currently, in my head right now i have a 2 month trip planned, roughly 1 month north island and 1 month south. (or 5 weeks-3 i don't know) leaving the first and last week to get my affairs in order (Doing the sightseeing-touristy stuff). Renting does get expensive that way, and i have seen that on trademe there are some reasonable bikes (the NZD beeing 1.6 to the EURO helps a lot, let's hope it stays that way).

a DR650 did look like something that would fit my needs the best (or an old bmw 650gs, but i would have to look out for a good deal)

I will be doing a lot of riding but some hiking etc. as well.

I think the date i aim for will be arriving +- the 1st of december and leaving +- the 3rd of februari. Going to book early july so i will have my dates sorted out by then.

Jigres: With these plans it looks like we will JUST miss each other, but who knows, maybe we'll bump into each other at the airport :P But if you're still in the country or if would be there earlier, i would be very interested to hear your experiences !

BigB: I am from Ghent ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghent ), but i work in Brussels so i know that city rather well, nice to hear that there will be somebody there who will understand my craving for waffles, beer and chocolat when i'm there :P
Nice of you to offer the place and the stories, i will keep you informed on how my plans evolve. And if you're ever back in Belgium, just let me know so i can redo the favour!

[OlisQ]

Hi Tagger,

brought my own Dakar to for three weeks in January. The reason was quite simple: I took part in the DB1K, which I probably wouldn't have been able to with a rental bike. Even more: searching and reselling a suitable bike in three weeks time would've been a hard job.
It was a great thing to have my own bike, which I'm knowing inside out.
But, first of all: it was ridiculously expensive and I had some trouble getting the bike within schedule. The way home was also... let's say... challenging
I prefer calling it extravagance to calling it idiocy :lol:


From my experience: try to buy a bike, prepare yourself before regarding insurances. There are a lot of nice mates here in the forum, who can surely help you.

If you're intrested in pics of the trip: www.betriebsfarbe.wordpress.com

Oli

[Tagger]

Ok, big step today and booked my flight! i will be arriving 30th of november and leaving the 5th of february. Hope to meet a lot of you guys in those two months... :D

Nice looking blog, OlisQ !

[Ratti]

You dont want to get an old beemer here, they are horribly expensive to fix should something go wrong. I like the Wee Strom for comfort and handling. Bald Eagle and I are in Wellington. Close to the ferry you will need to use to get from North Island to SOuth Island. Happy to offer you a couch and Ratt Poison ( aka home made spirits ) should you need a bed going either way. WE do it for a lot of riders, both locals and foreign visitors. We have a huge shed and room to put stuff. Keep us in mind. We hosted Nobby for a night each way, he is a really neat chap.

cheers
Also willing to show you a cool road between Whanganui and Raetahi, as long as you are comfortable on a rough surface that gets pretty loose in places, what the heck, if BE can do it on a Suzuki Boulevard then you can sure do it on the Wee Strom.

[Tagger]

You dont want to get an old beemer here, they are horribly expensive to fix should something go wrong. I like the Wee Strom for comfort and handling. Bald Eagle and I are in Wellington. Close to the ferry you will need to use to get from North Island to SOuth Island. Happy to offer you a couch and Ratt Poison ( aka home made spirits ) should you need a bed going either way. WE do it for a lot of riders, both locals and foreign visitors. We have a huge shed and room to put stuff. Keep us in mind. We hosted Nobby for a night each way, he is a really neat chap.

cheers
Also willing to show you a cool road between Whanganui and Raetahi, as long as you are comfortable on a rough surface that gets pretty loose in places, what the heck, if BE can do it on a Suzuki Boulevard then you can sure do it on the Wee Strom.

I like the way you think ;) i will contact contact you within the next couple of months to work something out.

[Tagger]

put my bike up for sale over here in Belgium... if i do that, it means i will know my budget for a bike once i get to NZ... exciting times ! ;)

[Paulo]

hey Tagger i see you want to do a bit of hiking (we call it tramping here) , I would suggest when you 'go bush' you find a local person who can store you bike while you are tramping /camping. as great as NZ is there are a lot of thieving bastards who will happily stuff you bike into the back of their van or truck, if they see it parked at the head of a trail. I'm not trying to put you off just would hate you to have your trip ruined. if your in Wellington send me a P.M if you need a hand with anything. : )

[Tagger]

thanks for the heads up, Paulo. Unfortniatly bike get stolen everywhere around the world so i figure NZ is no exception. If i can find safe storage when i'm in a city (auckland/wellington/chrischurch/...) i will use it, if people on this forum can help me with this, that would be great :)

Like with everything in life, i will try to use as much common sense as possible otherwise.

[tias]

Hey Tagger,

I'm from Brugge, arrived here in August 2005, planned to stay about a year, never went back to the ol' Belgium. :laugh:

I probably don't live in the best location for you, Mount Roskill, nothing to see or do there really. But if you need some info from another Belgian, let me know.
Oh, and you will be surprised how many places here sell Belgian beer, just expect to pay double of what it costs at home.

Cheers,

Ts

[Tagger]

Hey Tagger,

I'm from Brugge, arrived here in August 2005, planned to stay about a year, never went back to the ol' Belgium. :laugh:

I probably don't live in the best location for you, Mount Roskill, nothing to see or do there really. But if you need some info from another Belgian, let me know.
Oh, and you will be surprised how many places here sell Belgian beer, just expect to pay double of what it costs at home.

Cheers,

Ts

Ah, good old Bruhhe ;)

well, i will be in auckland for a couple of days at least when i first arrive (weekend of the 29th of november), so if you're in downtown city around that time, let me know and you can show me where all the good beers are ;)

[tias]

ha, nice. Sweet man, will do.
1st of December is my birthday though, so not sure with my girl has planned for those days, but should be free some days for sure.

[ellipsis]

...if you wished to do a bit of hiking around Banks Peninsula, which has some good tracks , trails and walks, you are welcome to store your bike, gear here, when you are down Chch way...

[Tagger]

I arrived in Auckland yesterday. I couldn't thank BigB enough for picking me up and showing me around some bike shops. There are 2 that got my attention. Only problem now is that they don't have a luggage rack so i can't put my softluggage on there.

If there is anybody who can help me with this, for finding a luggage solution for a bmw 650GS or DR650. A spare rack i could borrow or a good place where i could get one short notice, that would be great.

Anybody in the auckland region that wants to meet up for a beer the comming days, send me a message as well !

Cheers,

Jelmen

[portokiwi]

If you are looking for a place to stay in your travels, many of us are willing to give you a bed to stay in. Me I am in the land of Turangi somewhere near Taupo. Yes guys I have moved :lol: I am part gypsy :brick:

[Tagger]

cool ! i will get my bike on thursday. Now that that is cleared i can really start putting dates on things so i will let you know very shortly !

[portokiwi]

See you when you come down :woohoo: my first visitor

[BigB]

Hi All

Not sure why but his posts aren't showing up. But as a heads up to everyone who offered to help, Jelmen had an accident on Monday and ended up in Waikato hospital with a badly broken arm. I went and saw him yesterday and he was in good spirits considering what had happened. His insurance has arranged to hime to flown back to Belgium today where he will have an operation to insert pins in his arm. He also fractured his shoulder so it's going to be a long road to recovery, depending on what happens he may come back next year. His bike is on it's way back to Colemans to be accessed for damage.

cheers

Brian

[Fastmark]

Oh crap poor sod, hope he recovers Ok and tries again

[Tagger]

i'm in transit in between flights right now, halfway home ! just want to take the time to thank BigB again, he's been a great help. Also hema, portokiwi and the other guys who welcomed me in their homes to me (and i unfortniatly had to cancel). If you're ever in Belgium, let me know. I will be back in NZ one day to finish my trip, that's for sure.

I'll keep you guys posted how the recovery goes.

cheers,

Jelmen