Motu on the Burma Rd

[Motu]

Burma Rd,anyone know where it is?

http://www.dual-sport.ic54.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10012/normal_rides%20005.jpg
First I went into Riverhead forest for some gravel road fun,coming out on Forestry road at Waitoki,then up SH16,then turned up into the Kaipara Hills Rd.

http://www.dual-sport.ic54.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10012/normal_rides%20001.jpg

This is a fantastic road,climbs up onto the ridge,then we roller coaster the ridge line,I've raised the needles a notch on the XT400E which has cured the slight hesitation getting back on the gas.

http://www.dual-sport.ic54.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10012/normal_rides%20002.jpg

The gravel roads are slightly damp,this makes them choice to ride on,like watering a speedway track.I'm giving the bike heaps,I don't think I've ever pushed it this hard before,with a good surface I don't worry too much about the rear tyre - I'm lacking in brake control,but with this surface I can come into corners well out of shape but still hold my line.This bike is down on power being a 600 with a 400 mtr,but it handles great and I can go for it - it's just like riding an XR200 - you can't get into very big power slides,but corner speed is high,a good buzz...a 600 would be very out of shape,with this one I can just concentrate on the speed.

I get back on SH16,but not for long - at the top of the hill I turn left towards Port Albert,this is were I find Burma Rd,it does a loop out into the Kaipara,the road is a bit more open here,we hit 120kph on the long bits,a bit easy on the corners cause they are fast but blind - golden rule of gravel road riding...if you can't see out of the corner,make sure you can handle whatever is on the otherside.From here we can see the heads,but I need 2 shots to get them in.
South Kaipara Head

//www.dual-sport.ic54.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10012/normal_rides%20009.jpg

North Kaipara Head

//www.dual-sport.ic54.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10012/normal_rides%20010.jpg

I come back the same way - some nice spots in the Kaipara Hills

//www.dual-sport.ic54.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10012/normal_rides%20011.jpg

Check out the fence to the left - that is flood damage,the fence is pulled down and full of debri....the river is at least 5 metres down,I can see other damage around too.



That was my first attempt at a post like this.I had a good ride,was back by 1.00pm after 300km and didn't go north of Wellsford.http://www.dual-sport.ic54.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10012/normal_rides%20012.jpg

[Motu]

Ah bugger,maybe I got confused there and did the hyperlink thing instead of image,I've tried to edit and correct,but my helper has to go bed and I'm lost without an 11yr old to show me what to do.

[Milky]

looks like great roads... makes you wonder why they created a bike as impractical and un-versatile as the sports bike. Long live skinny tyres, no fairings and an ability to ride over most, if not all terrain :niceone:

[Milky]

About the pictures - I take it you are trying to put pictures from the net into this post... IIRC you have an option to add attachments to the post - never having done this before I am likely to be wrong ;) - but if you put the link for the pic you want to upload into that 'add attachments' part it might add it as a picture rather than as a hyperlink....
I dunno :spudwhat: Try it and see

[Mr Skid]

looks like great roads... makes you wonder why they created a bike as impractical and un-versatile as the sports bike. Long live skinny tyres, no fairings and an ability to ride over most, if not all terrain :niceone:
Too right! I suspect my next ride will be a dual sport number of some sort. Nothing much to break, bag loads of torque, able to be ridden down stairs and up curbs.

[Bonez]

Long live skinny tyres, no fairings and an ability to ride over most, if not all terrain :niceone:
Yipsirrybob

[Milky]

Too right! I suspect my next ride will be a dual sport number of some sort. Nothing much to break, bag loads of torque, able to be ridden down stairs and up curbs.
ditto here... I hate not being able to ride over gravel and moss mid corner without having a near heart attack. Plus I'd like to be able to get out to Port Jackson - end of the coromandel peninsula - without too much fuss. Thing is, they dont make bikes like that as much nowadays :( ah the good ol days...

*sits back in rocking chair and pulls pipe from pocket*

[Mr Skid]

*sits back in rocking chair and pulls pipe from pocket*

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I very nearly bought a XT225 when I was shopping for a first bike. I went for the CBR in the end as I wanted a bike I was going to be able go on long rides with, I wasn't too sure how much fun the XT would have been on a long trip.

There are quite a few occations I think I should have gone with a dual sport bike - like when my engine is cooking in traffic, or I'm having to slip the clutch to stop it stalling in traffic, or when I've only got 2 out of 6 bits of plastic that haven't required plastic welding..

[Bonez]

ditto here... I hate not being able to ride over gravel and moss mid corner without having a near heart attack. Plus I'd like to be able to get out to Port Jackson - end of the coromandel peninsula - without too much fuss. Thing is, they dont make bikes like that as much nowadays :( ah the good ol days...

*sits back in rocking chair and pulls pipe from pocket*
Plenty of pre-loved m/c available out there for just that purpose ;). Also current models like the GS500, w650, Triumph 800 twin, and dear I say it HD sportster (hi SD!) are readily available.

[MacD]

Excellent write up Motu. Definitely makes me want to get something gravel-friendly! Goes off to check TradeMe.... :whistle:

[Posh Tourer :P]

Nice write up. Maybe one day I'll have the time to come out with ya and watch you disappear into the distance

[Motu]

I've figured out where I went wrong,you can see the final picture in there now,but I can't edit them into the correct place,oh well,they are all there,you just have to click the link.

I've been riding on gravel nearly all my riding life and still think it's the most fun I can have on a bike.Most sealed roads bore me,but there is so much happening on gravel there is no time to lose concentration,then you can stop and enjoy the sights.A dirt bike is best,but any ''classic'' set up will cope very well,the best part is those bikes are overlooked by the trendy crowd.

[merv]

Yep long live gravel, but I fear Motu me and you are having our style cramped day by day. The creeping blacktop is matched only in rate by the creeping yellow lines everywhere. I would hate to see the day we have no gravel roads left to ride on.

[Motu]

Too right Merv - I've been going into the Riverhead Forest since at least 1972,because I used to take my new Yamaha CT2 175 on the roads and even used to sneak into the forest,my favorite road was Blackridge road,it was all just deserted forestry road,but yesterday I see lots of houses,and further back some big flash ones - you can bet those who can afford to live in them will kick up a stink when they find the BMW X3 is getting dirty,then it will be sealed.Everytime I ride a favorite road,every 6 mths a few more kms are done.You will hear these guys up here talking about SH16 and what a great road it is,well it was a hell of a lot more fun when it was all gravel and no one went near it (I've walked 20km of it and never saw a car) Now the LTSA is trying to get people to bypass SH1 on it,a crying shame for me...

[Mr Skid]

Too right Merv - I've been going into the Riverhead Forest since at least 1972,because I used to take my new Yamaha CT2 175 on the roads and even used to sneak into the forest,my favorite road was Blackridge road,it was all just deserted forestry road,but yesterday I see lots of houses,and further back some big flash ones - you can bet those who can afford to live in them will kick up a stink when they find the BMW X3 is getting dirty,then it will be sealed.Everytime I ride a favorite road,every 6 mths a few more kms are done.You will hear these guys up here talking about SH16 and what a great road it is,well it was a hell of a lot more fun when it was all gravel and no one went near it (I've walked 20km of it and never saw a car) Now the LTSA is trying to get people to bypass SH1 on it,a crying shame for me...

I think I passed most of the peeps bypassing SH1 on SH16 on Friday afternoon. With the majority of the people traveling on 16 I don't think they would have saved any time, as they all seemed rather out of their depth on a road with corners for a change.

I wasn't doing silly speeds overtaking either, got up to 120km/h twice when overtaking, but otherwise most of it was done at 110km/h.

The extra traffic also means extra policing - there was a laser at the end of one of the few straights - one of the easiest and safest places to overtake. :crazy:

Motu, do you think a gutless 250 sports bike would be out of it's depth on gravel?

[Posh Tourer :P]

Yes, your tyres are too wide, wheels too small and bars too narrow...

The FXR150 seems to do ok, but a CBR250 could struggle

[merv]

Agree with PT. A dirt bike lets you sit up straight, with the wide bars making it easy to flick one way and then the other as you learn to ride by steering by sliding the back wheel. Light weight helps and a quick responsive engine with good torque so you can control the bike easily with throttle on throttle off. By the time you wound a 250 four up and then tried to slow it down into corners guys like me on 250 singles will have left you in dust. My WR revs to 13,000 but pulls off idle like an XR250 - how they did that I don't know but the motor is impressive which is why I bought it. Will the engine last long? I doubt it.

I would not bother riding my VFR down dirt roads except on roadworks because I have to at times. I'm leaning too far forward on it, the tyres are too rounded with no grip on gravel at all and likely to puncture, the bars are too narrow and its too bloody heavy. Just not made for the job.