5 hours to ride my new bike home today!

[twistemotion]

Well, I bit the bullet and got me my first *real* bike - a '07 Kawasaki Ninja 250R. :2thumbsup Rode it back from Palmerston North to New Plymouth today on my L-plate. It was probably the worst weather for it. Windy as hell with frequent gusts and heavy rain almost all of the way. Of course riding at 70km/h wasn't much fun. I *might* have pushed it a little over that at times ;) I stopped often though to make sure I stayed focussed and didn't lose concentration.

My DriRider Nordic Pro jacket kept me dry, except for curling up at the front bottom and making a little dam that eventually emptied itself into the front zip of my Teknic Sprint pants, which then deposited the refreshing contents you know where. I'm still trying to figure out what happened with the pants, so I'll have to ride in similar weather again to test :( I folded the bottom of the jacket inwards after that. The Dririder gloves kept me dry, but I had to wear thin polyprop gloves inside them for the cold. And finally, my feet were dry as well - thanks to the Gearne Duke boots.

Oh, and eventually putting in ear plugs after 2/3 of the way made a huge difference to the comfort level (as mentioned already by numerous people on this forum). All-in-all a very enjoyable experience - despite the weather. I love the bike already!!

[Jacko2]

Well Done Dude!
It's even fun in the elements aye.

[banditrider]

Good on ya - can't let a little cloud moisture put you off!

[CookMySock]

Of course riding at 70km/h wasn't much fun. I *might* have pushed it a little over that at times ;)Oh the feds don't mind L-platers sitting on 90k, as long as you are looking nice and safe, and not wobbling all over the place.



My DriRider Nordic Pro jacket kept me dry, except for curling up at the front bottomfront bottom ? wha ?

Yeah aint it grand riding yer new bike hours and hours to get home.. I did it too.. 4.5 hours on the biggest bike I ever rode..

DB

[freddy72]

Well Done Mate

I just did the same thing on my new bike on Tuesday, rode it from the Kapiti Coast up to Tauranga and it wasn't long enough.

Have Fun!!!!!!

[chanceyy]

Congrats on that its an awesome feeling .. my new bike arrived up from dunedin & last weekend I rode from Levin to Te Aroha before heading back down to Turangi for the gut buster .. & I arrived in Te aroha & simply could have kept on riding .. absolutely loved it

had the evil rain on the monday but invest in some cheap wet weather gear .. also stops the wind chill factor & keeping dry & warm is imperative if your out riding in the elements

[hellkat]

Nothing like throwing yourself in at the deep end, eh.
Bloody well done.
:niceone:

[fizbin]

well at least that shows that you not just a sunny day rider! awsome man hoe you have fun on the bike:first:

[Grub]

Of course riding at 70km/h wasn't much fun. I *might* have pushed it a little over that at times ;) !

Full marks on being 'good' with the speed but don't bother. It has already been signalled that this very dangerous law will be abolished when the next reveiw happens at the end of this year.

The Police don't enforce it as unofficially they regard you doing 70 on a state highway with traffic doing 110+ as exceedingly dangerous. I image a few "exceeding 70" tickets may have been given some time ago but it is now used only if some prat is doing totally stupid stuff and needs to be pegged.

I like your attitude too .... good gear in shit weather and you're as happy as. The sign of a true motorcyclist

[CB ARGH]

Full marks on being 'good' with the speed but don't bother. It has already been signalled that this very dangerous law will be abolished when the next reveiw happens at the end of this year.

The Police don't enforce it as unofficially they regard you doing 70 on a state highway with traffic doing 110+ as exceedingly dangerous. I image a few "exceeding 70" tickets may have been given some time ago but it is now used only if some prat is doing totally stupid stuff and needs to be pegged.

I like your attitude too .... good gear in shit weather and you're as happy as. The sign of a true motorcyclist

You sure about that? :rockon:

Just don't want a coppa to give me a ticket, that's all.

[twistemotion]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. I'd sure do it again! I've learnt so much already on this forum. It's good to know one can get advice if you need it too.

I was wrong about the gloves, they did get wet inside and took ages to dry out.

DangerousBastard: What I meant is the first 5cm of the jacket curled up outwards and trapped some water.

[Grub]

You sure about that? :rockon:

Just don't want a coppa to give me a ticket, that's all.

Yeah pretty sure ... with the exception of one ginga copper in Auckland NW area.

It's tempting to say "ask your friendly policeman" but as much as they disagree with it and don't enforce it, they can't tell you that.

In all the time I;ve been on KB we have not had one member report being given a ticket for doing 70. The subject has come up a lot in the past and for your own piece of mind, use the search function on "70kmh" and have a read.

[Nagash]

In all the time I;ve been on KB we have not had one member report being given a ticket for doing 70.

And KB'ers do like to bitch about tickets deserved or not.

Good on yah brother, sounds like a good ride. Welcome to biking! An good choic of bike too.

[TuonoTom]

My DriRider Nordic Pro jacket kept me dry, except for curling up at the front bottom and making a little dam that eventually emptied itself into the front zip of my Teknic Sprint pants,

Awesome to hear! I just got into motorcycling myself. Loving it! I also have the DriRider Nordic Pro jacket (and pants, and boots...). How are you liking it? I think its a very comfortable jacket, and great that its fully vented and has a removable liner.

[twistemotion]

I also have the DriRider Nordic Pro jacket (and pants, and boots...). How are you liking it? I think its a very comfortable jacket, and great that its fully vented and has a removable liner.
I find it quite a good jacket too. I chose it because of the vents and the armour/padding in a few more places than some other jackets (and there was 25% discount on it). The DriRider boots felt like they were going to come off my feet when I would most need them (too loose), so I didn't buy them.

[icekiwi]

Sounds like you had fun on ya new bike...
Glad to hear ya didn't let a little shitty weather put you off...
And BTW congrats on your new bike...Glad its green lol

[tbone]

Awesome stuff man!
As icekiwi says, don't let the weather put you off!

Keep up the good work.

[Boulder]

Enjoyed reading your story. Good on ya for going so long, in crap weather and in the winter, cuz most guys wud get it shipped. Keep posting to let us know what other long rides you doing, probably anything after your 5 hours from PN will be boring LOL