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fridayflash
17th February 2014, 18:56
hi all
has anyone here done the molesworth on a roadbike before? im thinking of doing it from south to north on my gs1100g, i dont mind gravel on a roadbike, in fact i enjoy it and with wide-ish bars and a 19" front wheel the old girl sits and tracks quite well on the gravel, but what i need to know is, are there any
really rough sections of crushed rock and the like which may pose an issue with ground clearance etc, and are there any deepish fords? yes i could take my dr650, but most likely my brother will be riding along on that, and i like the idea of taking the old tank through

cheers, eddie.

tri boy
17th February 2014, 19:58
A GS1100g would do Molesworth fine.
Sensible bike with narrow(compared with todays) rims and a very torquey engine.
Pick ya weather, idle back and enjoy the day. (I miss my ol G:brick:)

HenryDorsetCase
17th February 2014, 20:00
agreed. a two wheel drive toyota corolla can do it and they are not far off the ground. You might want to check the condition of the fords round Island Pass but honestly you will be fine. On a good day its a fantastic journey. I havent ever done it on a bike though, just cars :(

unstuck
17th February 2014, 20:08
Did it on the VF a few years ago. Piece of piss.:2thumbsup

Jantar
17th February 2014, 20:12
Did it on GT380 in 1974.

fridayflash
17th February 2014, 20:18
excellent...thats all the encouragement i need..ill do that next 2day weekend i get..yeehaa!! ...oh, that poses a new question,what about the rainbow?
same/same or a bit rougher?

guzzitony
17th February 2014, 20:31
i've done the Moles on my Guzzi mk4 with the 16" front, only had to do the fork seals. you may want to ask a local what the rainbows like at the time as theres a section that goes across a shingle slide and that can get a little cut up. taking a passenger to help push?

Gremlin
17th February 2014, 21:47
excellent...thats all the encouragement i need..ill do that next 2day weekend i get..yeehaa!! ...oh, that poses a new question,what about the rainbow?
same/same or a bit rougher?
Rainbow is definitely rougher. Mostly straightforward, but Six Mile Creek can vary a lot at different times. More fords on Rainbow than Molesworth.

short shins
18th February 2014, 18:00
Me 2 January 2001 on a CBX550F what do I win? If I can be arsed I'll scan some photos.

fridayflash
18th February 2014, 20:22
okay, all sounds pretty promising..i think ill do the molesworth for certain and leave the rainbow for a dr650 trip another day. im new to the south island so have a lot of roads tempting me, i did chch to greymouth via arthurs on saturday afternoon, then up to westport in the morning and back to chch via reefton, lewis pass etc. great ride, whats said about the great roads and scenery is so true. might mosey down to oamaru this sunday if i can be arsed (depending on how long a work day on saturday)bbb

Voltaire
19th February 2014, 12:20
So have you immigrated to the SI from the Sunny Hawkes Bay?:rolleyes:

fridayflash
19th February 2014, 18:09
yeah mate, for the time being anyway...christchurch rebuild work, and as they say, a change is as good as a holiday :cool:

Diggers
19th February 2014, 19:56
I knew you'd enjoy that west coast/lewis pass route Flash. I've never done Molesworth but that sounds great too. Better take your camera and post some photos!:2thumbsup:2thumbsup