Offroad/Enduro scene in NZ

[gordons]

Immigrating from SA to Auckland NZ in June and (want to be were the rugby world cup is going to be this year) just wondered how big the enduro.offroad scene is in NZ. Pretty big here in SA. Is the a lot of places to ride around Auckland except the Woodhill forest? Is this a sport that is growing over there? Info will be much appreciated.

2nd is the 1st loser!!

[Ghost Lemur]

Compared to SA you're going to be disappointed. The off-road scene seems to be more about MX. That's not to say there's nothing though.

You'll be even more disappointed with Auckland. Here in Christchurch we're lucky with lots of places to play for free anytime. In Auckland (my understanding) is the only "close" places all cost and are only open sometimes. Wellington seems to be somewhere in between (scuse the pun).

Is there a reason you're moving to Auckland? If not, you may want to consider moving elsewhere if riding is a high priority.

Welcome aboard. So have you done the Roof? From what I've heard it's an incredible event.

[gordons]

Ahh shit, will need to make a plan then...a lot of travel I suppose will need to be part of the plan then. Have not done the Roof but took part in the series the Roof is part of. They had a lot of issues in the last Roof in December, timing was not done properly and a lot of guys are upset, plus the locals in Lesotho is starting to throw stones at the riders. 14 guys also got lost and had to sleep in the hills. Something you not want to do in that part of the world. Our local enduro mag is www.enduroworld.co.za, go check it out.
other input will also be apprecited. Thanks.

[GR81]

In Auckland (my understanding) is the only "close" places all cost and are only open sometimes.
or under pressure/being closed down because of noise! haha fukers :angry:

[gordons]

Sorry, no real specific reason for moving to Aukland, my wife and myself will arrive without any expectations and will move somewhere else pretty easily in NZ. We are both in IT. See that you ride a CRM250, my first bike was a CRM250RK (89-91 model range). Donated a lot of blood on that thing!!!

[GinO]

http://www.poweradventures.co.nz/
These guys run the GNCC series.

[cheese]

there is plenty of areas to ride up here in jafa land (auckland) but you do have to pay. The upside of that is that most of teh tracks are maintained (well most of tehm are.......). there is quite a few school rides lately where all the money goes to teh school. I've found all these rides to be dam good value and they normally have a BBQ going for some lunch too. No biltong though, you'll have to bring your own! LOL!!!

Woodhill isn't that bad IMO. Its far better if there is a bit of rain as the sand compacts down a bit, but if you hate the sand it will drive you nuts. but there is heaps of tracks out there, I'm always fiinding a new one when I go out there. The worst part id\s probably the Whooooops that link all the tracks up, but once you hit a track they are great fun.

[charles23]

I concur, AK is a great place for riding, there are plenty of tracks and great trail rides all the time. When you live in the biggest CITY you can't expect the riding areas to be in your backyard, so what if you have to travel 45mins out of town it's well worth it. I was out at Woodhill on Sunday and it was great riding esp as the sand was nice and compacted from the recent rain.

[GR81]

i found woodhill to be very repetitive... too many woops.

[scott411]

the scene in NZ for racing is pretty good, more cross county type races than enduro's however thier is a good Enduro series in the north island,

trail riding is huge in NZ, thier is multiple rides on most weekends, between power adventures, epic events, which are 2 professional companies that run rides, plus series run by dealers like MR Motorcycles out of pukekohe (south of auckland) clubs like the Tawarewa trail riders club and rotorua you can find somewhere to ride all the time

open trails close to auckland are a bit limited, however their are bike parks at Woodhill, THundercross valley in Naike, Kimmys farm in Huntly, all are pay to use, but thats life in the big city

[cheese]

the whoops at woodhill are mainly on the linking tracks. But if you learn to ride them proper you willlike them.

[Danger]

Yeah I love the whoops! Good bike setup helps.:Punk:

[charles23]

whoops are great, plenty of up and down action!!!!! just lean back and tap it out.

[Danger]

I like to stay central and let the bike do the work. Too tiring to lean back all the time for this outa shape fella!

[gordons]

I agree, leaning back is tiring. Stand up slightly on your pegs and pinch your radiotor shrouds with your knees and stretch that throttle cacle! Good bike setup is very important...SUSPENSION.
I know sand whoops and whoops and more whoops very well, the local mx track here has i nice trail as it neighbour, www.rovermcc.co.za. I'm no.109 on the crf250x under offroad gallery under results.
Any good clubs that I can join in Auckland?

[ArcherWC]

The three main clubs in Auckland are
North - Rodney Motor Cycle Club www.rmcc.co.nz
South - Pukekohe Motor Cycle Club
West - Waitimata Motor Cycle Club

[NordieBoy]

The one thing I really missed when we were over in PE and Port Alfred in Dec 2005 was riding my bike.

[GR81]

But if you learn to ride them proper you willlike them.

Good bike setup helps.
that's where my problems lie i guess! haha
can't ride for shit and a shit bike! haha

[Woody@nztrails.com]

Hi Mate,

Welcome to NZ (when you get here).

There are heaps of trial rides around Auckland in the summer, most within 2 hours drive at the max.

Check out our website, we have an event calendar and photos and reviews of rides done over the last year. Our events calendar only covers the top half of the north island for the moment (as that's where we ride) and I know there are still rides we don't get the info on.....

These are only organised trail rides and there is also plenty of options with bike parks and tracks in areas like the Coromandel (90 minutes from Auckland).

Cheers......

[gordons]

Guys, thanks for all the help...I see light at the end of the tunnel! I arrive on the 16 June, can't wait. 18th before I go job searching if I do not get a offer before the time I will be in a bike shop. What do you guys think for the trails in NZ...07 WR450 or the lighter WR250...I fancy the wang cang cang YZ250 to. Is a lot of those oranges there as well (KTM)? Parts a bit to expensive for my liking (KTM). I have always been a red man but want to change colours to blue, Yamaha makes damn good lately and they are starting to become very realistic with their spare parts prices. I have ordered all my spares from www.thumpertalk.com from the OEM shop and nobody anywhere can beat there prices. Hardly bought locally. Kit I got from www.btosports.com...damn good pricing to.
Feel free to post you comments...I'll be waiting.

[telliman]

youll love it here dude, heaps of riding to be had!

[mc4aregreat]

Ahh, come to the Taranaki Hill country for decent trail riding. What the Aucklanders call hard loops ,we call our main track.

[Wellyman]

to many anti noise cunts= fuck all now.
The fucken scum in this country piss me off, because we are all running outta places to go, while people drive their 1989 Subaru shit heap with a big muffler and dont get as fucked over as much as we do.
WM