PDA

View Full Version : Clevedon / Kawakawa / Kaiaua Road



wkid_one
24th March 2003, 19:07
A word of advice to all riders - AVOID THIS ROAD LIKE THE PLAQUE.....

The local council have successfully managed to destroy one of the best scratching (if not the best) roads in Auckland.  Much of it is new seal - with the typical ' fit for cars so we'll remove the effin signs' finish - ie pea metal down the sides and middle - but none in the tire tracks.......

Give it 3-6 months and it may return to its normal self - BASTARD.....

Ride this road at your own risk and make sure you keep a good control of your throttle hand or you will end up like me with a puckered arsehole at the first corner you think 'right its finished, I'm going for broke!' (and a flat tire)

 

 

Coldkiwi
25th March 2003, 12:47
ahhh feck it!!! I love that road!! Its so handy to howick and like you say, its one of the best around.

bastards.

 

Still... it did need some work in places, although i'll wager they're not fixing those places up!

 

SPman
31st March 2003, 17:19
Its a Shite road even with good seal !

wkid_one
31st March 2003, 21:03
I honestly can't believe you said that???  There are not many betta bike playgrounds than the Eastern Fringes - Clevedon, Kawakawa, Kaiaua, Hunua??? 

Yeah - the places it needed work are still shit and the others are worse - LOL.......

Still a good ride, you just need to pick your spots - the 35kph corner by the sawmill is still poorly signposted, off-camber, covered in pea metal and generally one of the most frightening corners imaginable!

SPman
1st April 2003, 12:29
Yeah OK, the twisties over the hill are good when theyre dry and clean (not very often) and not populated by 4WD's with boats...:bash:

wkid_one
1st April 2003, 14:06
I've been fortunate to never encounter much traffic through that road (unlike someone we know who got a good look at the bonnet of a corolla).....

It is a gr8 150km blast when you only have a short time to ride - plus the Kaiaua Fisheries rocks!

aff-man
1st April 2003, 15:29
grrrrrrrrrrrrrr bugger that was my favorite road. I was just getting used to it and building up my skills. Oh well had a good dose of the metal on the roads when going down to paeroa(and a good scare).And now you say they are worse :angry::angry::bash:

Anywho i'm out in howick so if anyone knows some nice relativley close roads that are un-ruined i would be keen to give them a go.

wkid_one
1st April 2003, 16:00
Come with us on Saturday - going to Coromandel!

See the events for details!

 

Coldkiwi
1st April 2003, 17:26
stuff knowing the road... juist by a $5 map and go find some!

aff-man
2nd April 2003, 08:14
unfortunatley bike's crank went so i can't make it this saturday. But the open road is calling so as soon as i get a new bike, which will be soon, i'll see where you guys are going and try make it see ya.

Andrew
2nd April 2003, 19:52
I'm thinking about going Sat, but I'm a bit worried my bike isn't going to keep up.

I'm happy cruising at 100 - 110k, but not into the 150k+ scene.

What do you guys reckon? Any other guys go on small bikes?

wkid_one
2nd April 2003, 19:54
You are more than welcome......ride your own ride and enjoy the scenary - and the lunch and drink where we end up!

BigB
2nd April 2003, 20:23
Hi Guys

Andrew, I will being going on the ride on Sat and will be two up with my girlfriend and we won't we doing 150+.

We went on the Paeroa ride and rode at our own pace, it's a great way to ride and enjoy the company with no pressure to go flat out.

cheers

wkid_one
2nd April 2003, 21:02
Yeah well B, you were also bloody quick 2 up!!!

 

750Y
11th April 2003, 12:24
the 35kph corner by the sawmill is still poorly signposted, off-camber, covered in pea metal and generally one of the most frightening corners imaginable!

hahaha.
That corner's a goody alright. often the place You'll step out.

Shame about the roadworks but it'll get better. That's a good road imho. Not a racetrack but a bit of allsorts and not overpopulated.
The other good ride is from just before Kumeu up through to Wellsford. The road is quite open in places and there's heaps of variety.

hey wkid1 do You have dreads?
ColdKiwi I've seen You a few times out that way. I used to live out there.

Coldkiwi
11th April 2003, 12:55
Did we meet at outside the real estate agents in Clevedon a few months ago 750? Aff-man with the VF250 was with me then.

 

Was that you?

750Y
11th April 2003, 13:53
Yeah bud, that was me, did You get a new bike? I'm sure You weren't on the zx then. I remember You both but not which one was on which bike. I remember one of You had a black leather jacket and 'doc marten type shoes'??? the other one had sweet f-all for gear. I remember thinking at the time That I had an old leather jacket that might've been of some use to that person, albeit a tad beaten up. Did You head out through there after I saw You? BTW I got that place I was mumbling about missing out on that day. good to see ya. How do You like that road now?

Coldkiwi
11th April 2003, 17:02
Sodding awesome! (until they started ripping it to shreads!) I'm a bit of a regular out that way now but didn't venture out there till a few weeks after we meet you. Those straights at miranda a good - the only place I've got the 250 near its top speed other than pukekohe :)

Yeah, I had  the ZXR 250 then but got the zx-6r in mid feb :D (oh yes, loving that!.. see the April 5 testing session at Pukekohe thread:cool:)

On the riding gear, it was me who had the full leathers (never leave home without it) and my mate aff man who had the old (ex-mine and pre-crashed!) jacket and skate shoes! Thanks to my pestering and bikerboy's generosity, he got himself some decent KBC gloves, stylmartin boots and a decent helmet now tho:bigthumb:

Hope to see you again sometime

 

wkid_one
13th April 2003, 22:26
No dreads - you may be thinking of Harry on the Yellow TLR

Motu
14th April 2003, 08:19
I've been riding this road for over 30 yrs,back when it was mostly gravel.Wish it was still gravel - hardly any traffic then.Still one of my most favorite roads,I go a bit nuts on it,specialy the climb over the hill just out of Kawakawa Bay.The whole loop - Hunua Gorge,down Happy Valley,then back up the other side,maybe even going over Skyline rd - Clevedon to Hunua,can be done in 3 hrs - good morning warm up.

The loose stones on the road don't really worry me,but i don't like to come across them mid corner with no warning!

750Y
14th April 2003, 11:27
No, there's another guy on a yellow vtr1000 with dreads. I was talking to him at the lights at Pakuranga one time. I noticed his brake reservoir was brown. I saw it parked at the gym opposite lagoon fitness in Panmure, or was that You?

Nouseforaname
12th May 2003, 17:34
Well after much talk about this road i finally managed to venture out there on Sunday for a bit of a run down to Thames for lunch and then back through the plains and down the southern motorway back into auckland........ I was F#$%^N horrified to find out what a bloody death trap that road is..... now i must admit if it was sealed properly and the monkeys who perform road works did their job properly it would be a damn good road, but in it's current state i'd prefer not to come around a blind corner and meet a gravel pit pretending to be a road..... owell, give it a few months and ill be back out there :-)

Yamahamaman
12th May 2003, 18:04
Hmm. It was like that back in February. Wonder just how long the repairs are going to take. :(

Nouseforaname
12th May 2003, 18:49
yeh it was abit rough but it would be nowhere as bad now..... if you went out there now you most probably wouldnt think much of it, but it was my first ride out there so i guess it was all new terrain and i was being super careful....... but yeh, still a few dodgy patches here and there but thats our roads for ya :-)

MikeL
12th May 2003, 20:00
I did that road on Sunday too, on the way to Coromandel. First time I had been on it. Found it slow going at times - partly because it was wet, but I agree that the surface leaves a lot to be desired in places. Hard to decide whether it's better to put up with its defects for the sake of the good stretches and lack of traffic and traffic cops, or suffer the tedium of the main highway.
BTW I just love the road from Tairua to Whitianga and then on to Coromandel township - could do it every weekend :p

Yamahamaman
12th May 2003, 20:12
You would know about The Old North Road (SH16) - one of my favourites. Another is SH31 (Ngaruawahia - Otarahanga and still another #2 between Paeroa and Waihi.

MikeL
12th May 2003, 20:54
SH31 has also recently become one of my favourites. To ride it as I did a couple of weeks ago, in the early morning with the lovely autumn colours, a hint of mist, and no traffic, was sheer magic. As for SH2 between Paeroa and Waihi, that too can be magic - especially in summer in the late afternoon or early evening. Trouble is, you're unlikely to have the road to yourself for long. Too many trucks, campervans, boat trailers, SUVs and other unnecessary vehicles cluttering up the road. At least it's a reasonably good surface now and the washouts aren't as frequent - can anyone else remember the Karangahake Gorge as it was 15 or 20 years ago???