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View Full Version : Whats the state of the desert road? (10 June)



ldnz
10th July 2006, 11:41
Hey guys,
I've got to take KR'ims up to the land of parking lot (akl) tomorrow, and I was wondering if anyone has been through the desert road recently and knows what its like through there at the moment. I've done it plenty of times in the wet, but never in the middle of winter and haven't dealt with ice before.

Whats the trick? This trip is unavoidable, so i'll be going through so long as its open. I hear I should be sticking in a trucks tire tracks, in the hope that their weight and grit should have broken the ice up. Is that the right idea? Anything I should be really watching?

Str8 Jacket
10th July 2006, 11:44
Anything I should be really watching?

Your oil levels!!! Id be taking a spare bottle of oil with you... Sorry no advice for the road though, hope the weather holds for you!

Jeepers that's a looong trip for the KR, good on you!

ldnz
10th July 2006, 11:48
Haha yeah with the way its slurping it at the moment I won't have any room for kit! The distance isn't too bad, seeing as i'm stopping every 150k's these days, and the new radar detector works beautifully, and has already paid for itself :innocent:. Of greatest concern (except for ice!) is the amount of kit I have to carry (probably 20-30kg's worth - moving to auckland to rejoin the navy) and the resulting effect wind will have on me.

Str8 Jacket
10th July 2006, 11:51
Yep, definately be careful of the wind. I was talking to a mate of mine with a 250 who recently went over the desert rd and they were being blown around really badly and we both know how bad the KR's are in the wind. Just keep your arms relaxed, knees dug into the tank and breathe deeply if you start getting affected too badly - trust me this helps!

bobsmith
10th July 2006, 12:00
Sorry can't tell you anything about state of the road... but What radar detector are you using? where did you get it from? how have you mounted it on your bike?

cowpoos
10th July 2006, 12:01
Haha yeah with the way its slurping it at the moment I won't have any room for kit! The distance isn't too bad, seeing as i'm stopping every 150k's these days, and the new radar detector works beautifully, and has already paid for itself :innocent:. Of greatest concern (except for ice!) is the amount of kit I have to carry (probably 20-30kg's worth - moving to auckland to rejoin the navy) and the resulting effect wind will have on me.
you have a radar on a KR150??? ain't that a lil OTT??

cowpoos
10th July 2006, 12:01
Sorry can't tell you anything about state of the road... but What radar detector are you using? where did you get it from? how have you mounted it on your bike?
what do you believe you need one too???

Str8 Jacket
10th July 2006, 12:03
you have a radar on a KR150??? ain't that a lil OTT??

Oi! They go up to 170kph.... thats 170k's of raw licence losing power! And anyway you can transfer them to another BIGGER, FASTER bike one day!...

pffft, how rude! :blah:

ldnz
10th July 2006, 12:06
Cowpoos - don't you believe it, I don't exactly f*ck around on the KR! I just picked it up from Knight rider a week or so. Its a crap uniden, but I pulled it apart and rewired it so that when Ka band goes off I get a very bright red light on the edge of my windscreen, can't miss it. No false alarms since its now Ka only.

As far as i'm concerned, its not any use for cruising at high speed, I stick to 110, but its excellent for overtaking as you can now tell whether that tiny dot in the distance is actually inland revenue or not. It also stopped me from overtaking an unmarked in the gorge yesterday, which is double yellow lines the entire way. I got a very stern look though!

Just for laughs i'll post a pic up soon.

bobsmith
10th July 2006, 12:09
what do you believe you need one too???

it would be nice seeing that I'm 30km/hr away from having my licence taken away... speeding is rather too easy when your bike isn't halfway sunk in a pool of mud.

The_Dover
10th July 2006, 12:09
Speeding is neither big nor clever. A responsible motorcyclist would have no requirement for a radar detector as they would stick to the legal speed limits, as enforced by Unkle Heilens Crime Fighting Crusaders.

ldnz
10th July 2006, 12:12
Speeding is neither big nor clever. A responsible motorcyclist would have no requirement for a radar detector as they would stick to the legal speed limits, as enforced by Unkle Heilens Crime Fighting Crusaders.

HAHAHAAAAAA nice one. As I said, its not for increased cruising speeds, just to allow safe overtaking. Stuffed if i'm going to idle past a car at 110km/h when I can do it in half the time.

Str8 Jacket
10th July 2006, 12:14
Just watch it on the Desert Rd eh?! Dont want you to come to any grief or anything!!!

ldnz
10th July 2006, 12:20
Yeah thanks Str8. Back to the point - has anyone been over it recently/got tips for riding in ice?

skelstar
10th July 2006, 13:03
I would take a detour and turn left at Waiouru. Head through Nat Park, Taumarunui and Otorohanga etc. Marginally longer journey but less likely to see ice...and fuzz.

cowpoos
10th July 2006, 13:08
I would take a detour and turn left at Waiouru. Head through Nat Park, Taumarunui and Otorohanga etc. Marginally longer journey but less likely to see ice...and fuzz.
national parks shorter ain't it?? by about 30kms if you take the whole route

Cajun
10th July 2006, 13:17
one opintion ldnz is courier some gear up there, thats what i did when had was in wellington for a week for meetings, i couriered a bunch of gear down, then couriered home agian, there is only so much you can carry on ya back

ldnz
10th July 2006, 13:43
i've got a rack on it and i've already sent the bulky stuff with a mate. Its not actually too bad a load, though the bike is probably going to look pretty stupid.

National park eh? I've never ridden through there. Is there petrol within 150k's of waiouru?

skelstar
10th July 2006, 13:53
Gas at Ohakune, Nat Park, Tau's, Oto (im guessing). During daylight hours at least. Good ride. Gotta watch the road as it drops down in to valley (you go under a rail bridge) as maybe covered in ice/grit.

Cajun
10th July 2006, 14:06
witha pack rack you are fine, i have carried 25kgs on my back from tga, to wellington, then back again.

ldnz
10th July 2006, 14:12
Stuff that, I can't ride with stuff on my back long distance, I get really sore shoulders really quickly.

Packing it on is going to be a laugh, I have to get it all in front of the rack and hard up against my back, or the balance is really dodgy. I nearly dropped it coming off the waiheke ferry last time because it was so bloody high and back on the bike.

bobsmith
10th July 2006, 14:36
Yes, I second national park. I drive to auckland quite often and national park is shorter, you can also bypass hamilton that way which saves some time.

Now... I was asking about the radar detector.......

[edit] - I was planning to have a ride to auckland last weekend but the weather happened...... becareful and have fun.

ldnz
10th July 2006, 15:28
bobsmith - http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?p=679069#post679069

ldnz
11th July 2006, 09:17
For shits and giggles - here is how not to load a KR

Str8 Jacket
11th July 2006, 09:21
Wow, your dash is waaay different to mine. What a difference 2 years make!

Thats quite a load your carrying there, be careful it doesnt fall off the back...

bobsmith
11th July 2006, 09:40
Hey, I saw your bike a while ago at massey! Sorry, tried not to drool on it too much, had my fxr parked up next to it. interesting place to put the radar detector... does it still pick up signals ok?

Freakshow
11th July 2006, 10:11
That is pretty classic. Nice set up with the radar detector.

I still think you could get more on there.

sunhuntin
11th July 2006, 20:47
I would take a detour and turn left at Waiouru. Head through Nat Park, Taumarunui and Otorohanga etc. Marginally longer journey but less likely to see ice...and fuzz.

latest up date of that road [as of today] it is still closed, so desert road is the only option [turn off at bulls toward taupo]
i took the extremely long way into work that involves a quiet 100k country road that links up with that main highway... just past the t section where the roads meet it was all coned up and "road closed" signs. big slips still that havent been cleared.
plus ld is coming from palmy...so would add extra time to his trip by coming to wangas...bulls is closer. i did the same when i went to paeroa...i went south to bulls and took the desert road. there was some roadworks towards the northern end if i remember rightly, but should be finished by now!!

What?
12th July 2006, 06:18
Wrong road, Sunhuntin. You are thinking Parapara, but the above is referring to Waiouru - Nat Pk - North. Just a big loop to the west of the desert.

ldnz
12th July 2006, 12:28
I ended up taking the desert road by mistake, forgot to turn off at waiouru. It was pretty hairy, saw (and slid on) quite a bit of ice, and then the 2nd half was blanketed in fog. No prangs luckily, though I came bloody close. Amazing how slippery ice is.

Took a couple of pics on the phone, which i'll put up when I figure out how to get them off it.

Regarding the load - well thats 43kg's of gear there, a lot more than expected, and KR'ims took it really well. The biggest problem was that I left too little room for myself, so found myself squashed hard up against the tank. Very uncomfortable and I was sitting too upright - lots of wind resistance. Still, had no problems keeping the speed up. Cruised happily at 110k's the whole way, and no drama overtaking. Thank god for radar.

sunhuntin
12th July 2006, 12:35
Wrong road, Sunhuntin. You are thinking Parapara, but the above is referring to Waiouru - Nat Pk - North. Just a big loop to the west of the desert.

ok....ill have to dig my maps out, lol. havent done enough travelling to know, lmfao.

ld...glad to hear you made it ok.

bobsmith
12th July 2006, 14:12
Oh well, glad you made it safely!

ldnz
12th July 2006, 15:38
Thanks sunhuntin and bob!

Bob - you had the FXR that often parked near me at massey?

blacksheep
12th July 2006, 17:08
glad you made it ok,enjoy your new job,and will catch up with you maybe some time n future

bobsmith
12th July 2006, 19:31
Thanks sunhuntin and bob!

Bob - you had the FXR that often parked near me at massey?

I'm not sure about often, I've parked it by you once during exam time (on the park by the road into library) but usually I parked the bike on the parking under the trees along towards the main exit more from that park (if you know what I mean.... nearer the aviation school since that's where I was), I haven't seen many other fxrs around at massey though...

ldnz
12th July 2006, 22:32
Thanks blacksheep - I've really enjoyed the couple of rides we did. Look forward to leaving you and Matt behind over paikak this summer! If only...

Oh yeah bobsmith I know the one, I remember blatting past it a number of times. The road between the bridge and massey I often considered my private racetrack, with mobile obstacles. Especially for 8:00 lectures, nothing else that really gets the blood moving than running out of petrol in the middle of a particularly dodgy overtake.

In other news - although I safely made it home to waiheke island, I got a bloody nail up the back tyre today, and the local (read: very dodgy) bike dude wants $60 to sort it out. Dammnnnnnn.

ldnz
12th July 2006, 23:14
Heres a couple of snow pics

I now realise I have a particularly bad case of small bike syndrome, where im determined to prove that my little baby can do things she wasn't ever meant to do...

sunhuntin
12th July 2006, 23:49
damn ld....my bloods itching to get out again for a while and that pic of the snow aint helping, lol. if i coulda got time off work i mightve ridden along with you. looks pretty.

i do the same thing with scuffy, i load her to the point i can barely get her off the stand and then i really push her power. just to prove small cc doesnt equal lack of guts, lol.

ldnz
12th July 2006, 23:57
That would have been nice. It was a long trip by myself. Another time...

bobsmith
13th July 2006, 10:26
Damn I wish I was in Auckland.... I miss my bernie's pies...... (if you haven't tried them, you just have to... they are on the main street of Browns Bay near the southern end of the shops... their steak pies are phenominal....)

sunhuntin
13th July 2006, 13:50
That would have been nice. It was a long trip by myself. Another time...

any idea when you will be back down this way? i go desert road to paeroa... rode alone last time, so know what you mean. it is a very long but beautiful ride.

ldnz
13th July 2006, 23:08
Im going into JOCT - basic officer training in the navy. Looks like the earliest i'll be let out for weekend will be 2-3 months. I'll be down near wanganui/palmy straight away then.

Its not too bad a trip when the bike is lightly loaded, but the other day when I had 40 odd kgs, and no space to sit it was pretty tough. Got a very very sore backside!

sunhuntin
14th July 2006, 17:35
sounds exciting!! youve got my number...give us a call or a text when you get out. i get friday/saturday off and can try and get a sunday off with a bit of notice.