Hitcher
9th August 2006, 13:00
This year Mrs H and I, for various reasons (including damage to bikes, riders and the weather), haven’t had many opportunities to indulge our passion for motorcycle touring.
So last week we decided to take a punt on the weather, an extended weekend and hit the road (hopefully figuratively).
This was also our first chance to get the FJR away for a long ride and to test its hard-luggage system for capacity, ease of use and weather protection. Mr Yamaha’s big tourer acquitted itself more than favourably on all counts!
We only had a general idea of where we wanted to go, and were prepared to be guided by the weather as to our choices of destination and route. So on Thursday morning, assisted by the Dominion Post’s most excellent weather page, we decided to go to Napier via Highways 2 and 50. This turned out to be a good choice, with residual cold showers and a 30km-long diesel spill a factor on the west coast escape route.
Our only luggage comprised the FJR’s panniers and my tank bag. Although they look smaller than the panniers on an ST1300, the Yamaha’s are actually a more practical shape and easily swallowed our kit sufficient for four days on the road and three nights out dining. Another big plus, compared to the ST1300’s panniers, is that you can leave them open and retrieve the key from the lock!
The trip to Napier was in near-perfect conditions – no wind of any consequence, no sun and not too cold. The countryside was drying out (or at least trying to) after the recent deluges. The roads were in good repair. And there were lambs! As a sheep farmer’s daughter, Mrs H has a need to get her annual “lamb fixes”, and there was a reasonable abundance of healthy new-season lambs in roadside paddocks sufficient to put a lamb smile on her dial.
Late afternoon on a fine day in the Hawke’s Bay is a special time. So instead of proceeding directly to our traditional Ahuriri lodgings, we took a longer route through Hastings, Clive and along the Marine Parade. Magic.
The Speights Bar had chocolate beer on special. Hmmmm.
Friday dawned fine, still and warm.
After a quick stop for some food and a bit of a stroll around downtown Napier, we departed for Taupo. The FJR effortlessly devoured the Napier-Taupo road, with shameless amounts of torque. I must remember to use the gearbox more.
LB’s eagle eyes spotted us riding through Taupo as she headed south in a c.a.r., as she later reported via TXT.
I don’t “get” Taupo. It’s a cold hole filled with colder water. Usually with some frigid zephyr blowing there-from. You can even hit golf balls into it. So after taking on a coffee, we headed off up Highway 1.
The cloud had become a bit more menacing and by Wairakei we stopped to add a bit more weather protection as we skirted a brief shower. And onwards up SH1 we rode – the land of cops, cameras and ripple strips. But lovely countryside, albeit trace element deficient.
A heavy downpour at Putaruru caused us to seek refuge under a shop veranda for about 15 minutes. About 2km northwards the road was dry, and a nice lady in a Tirau tearooms advised that they had had no rain all day.
Our stop for the evening was Cambridge, a charming little town that sits astride the Waikato river. We had one of our best-ever evening meals at a restaurant/bar called Onyx. Highly recommended – with Oranjeboom on tap!
Saturday dawned fine, yet cloudy and cold. The bikes were awash with dew first thing and required some towelling. We took the back road to Te Awamutu and SH3 to a gas and food stop at Te Kuiti. Thank goodness for heated handgrips! We even saw a handful of other bikes out and about, including a silver M109R with dealer plates and two Harleys in tow at Te Kuiti.
And then onwards to New Plymouth. I love SH3 from Te Kuiti south. It has it all really – straights, corners, hills, scenery and best of all, Taranaki at the end of it! We had another coffee stop at Mokau and saw a handful of other bikes, mostly Harleys. The day warmed up from that point and the cloud also lifted and lightened, although a snow-capped Mt Egmont looked decidedly bleak in the distance.
We arrived in New Plymouth early in the afternoon, and checked into our favourite hostelry, parked up Mrs H’s Marauder and then set off two-up on the FJR.
Our first stop was the North Egmont Visitor Centre. The last time I was up there was in 1974. It has changed a bit since.
From there we took a round-the-mountain trip, avoiding Stratford and its egregious glockenspiel clock tower by turning up the Monmouth Road. We stopped and had a look at the possum fur factory at Mahoe and shortly afterwards rode into heavy fog. This only lasted a few km and we had the Wiremu Road to ourselves, eventually dropping down onto SH45 at Okato before heading back to New Plymouth.
Just as we returned to our motel after dinner, the heavens opened. And they remained that way for the following day.
Sunday we bravely rode back through the rain all the way home. Gloves don’t stay waterproof indefinitely, nor did Mrs H’s boots. Again, heated handgrips made the difference between unpleasantness and misery. An easterly wind picked up from south of Wanganui and gained considerable momentum from Sanson through to Levin. It then eased but the temperature plummeted as we approached home.
1,373.7km clocked on the FJR for the weekend, and a few less on the Marauder. The bikes behaved impeccably, although Mrs H has some concerns about the Marauder’s handling. Possibly the rear suspension could do with a bit of stiffening.
So last week we decided to take a punt on the weather, an extended weekend and hit the road (hopefully figuratively).
This was also our first chance to get the FJR away for a long ride and to test its hard-luggage system for capacity, ease of use and weather protection. Mr Yamaha’s big tourer acquitted itself more than favourably on all counts!
We only had a general idea of where we wanted to go, and were prepared to be guided by the weather as to our choices of destination and route. So on Thursday morning, assisted by the Dominion Post’s most excellent weather page, we decided to go to Napier via Highways 2 and 50. This turned out to be a good choice, with residual cold showers and a 30km-long diesel spill a factor on the west coast escape route.
Our only luggage comprised the FJR’s panniers and my tank bag. Although they look smaller than the panniers on an ST1300, the Yamaha’s are actually a more practical shape and easily swallowed our kit sufficient for four days on the road and three nights out dining. Another big plus, compared to the ST1300’s panniers, is that you can leave them open and retrieve the key from the lock!
The trip to Napier was in near-perfect conditions – no wind of any consequence, no sun and not too cold. The countryside was drying out (or at least trying to) after the recent deluges. The roads were in good repair. And there were lambs! As a sheep farmer’s daughter, Mrs H has a need to get her annual “lamb fixes”, and there was a reasonable abundance of healthy new-season lambs in roadside paddocks sufficient to put a lamb smile on her dial.
Late afternoon on a fine day in the Hawke’s Bay is a special time. So instead of proceeding directly to our traditional Ahuriri lodgings, we took a longer route through Hastings, Clive and along the Marine Parade. Magic.
The Speights Bar had chocolate beer on special. Hmmmm.
Friday dawned fine, still and warm.
After a quick stop for some food and a bit of a stroll around downtown Napier, we departed for Taupo. The FJR effortlessly devoured the Napier-Taupo road, with shameless amounts of torque. I must remember to use the gearbox more.
LB’s eagle eyes spotted us riding through Taupo as she headed south in a c.a.r., as she later reported via TXT.
I don’t “get” Taupo. It’s a cold hole filled with colder water. Usually with some frigid zephyr blowing there-from. You can even hit golf balls into it. So after taking on a coffee, we headed off up Highway 1.
The cloud had become a bit more menacing and by Wairakei we stopped to add a bit more weather protection as we skirted a brief shower. And onwards up SH1 we rode – the land of cops, cameras and ripple strips. But lovely countryside, albeit trace element deficient.
A heavy downpour at Putaruru caused us to seek refuge under a shop veranda for about 15 minutes. About 2km northwards the road was dry, and a nice lady in a Tirau tearooms advised that they had had no rain all day.
Our stop for the evening was Cambridge, a charming little town that sits astride the Waikato river. We had one of our best-ever evening meals at a restaurant/bar called Onyx. Highly recommended – with Oranjeboom on tap!
Saturday dawned fine, yet cloudy and cold. The bikes were awash with dew first thing and required some towelling. We took the back road to Te Awamutu and SH3 to a gas and food stop at Te Kuiti. Thank goodness for heated handgrips! We even saw a handful of other bikes out and about, including a silver M109R with dealer plates and two Harleys in tow at Te Kuiti.
And then onwards to New Plymouth. I love SH3 from Te Kuiti south. It has it all really – straights, corners, hills, scenery and best of all, Taranaki at the end of it! We had another coffee stop at Mokau and saw a handful of other bikes, mostly Harleys. The day warmed up from that point and the cloud also lifted and lightened, although a snow-capped Mt Egmont looked decidedly bleak in the distance.
We arrived in New Plymouth early in the afternoon, and checked into our favourite hostelry, parked up Mrs H’s Marauder and then set off two-up on the FJR.
Our first stop was the North Egmont Visitor Centre. The last time I was up there was in 1974. It has changed a bit since.
From there we took a round-the-mountain trip, avoiding Stratford and its egregious glockenspiel clock tower by turning up the Monmouth Road. We stopped and had a look at the possum fur factory at Mahoe and shortly afterwards rode into heavy fog. This only lasted a few km and we had the Wiremu Road to ourselves, eventually dropping down onto SH45 at Okato before heading back to New Plymouth.
Just as we returned to our motel after dinner, the heavens opened. And they remained that way for the following day.
Sunday we bravely rode back through the rain all the way home. Gloves don’t stay waterproof indefinitely, nor did Mrs H’s boots. Again, heated handgrips made the difference between unpleasantness and misery. An easterly wind picked up from south of Wanganui and gained considerable momentum from Sanson through to Levin. It then eased but the temperature plummeted as we approached home.
1,373.7km clocked on the FJR for the weekend, and a few less on the Marauder. The bikes behaved impeccably, although Mrs H has some concerns about the Marauder’s handling. Possibly the rear suspension could do with a bit of stiffening.