Shall I bring my sportsbike?

[lv929]

We are emigrating soon as I have been offered a great job in Christchurch.

I am hearing mixed views about whether the South island roads are very sportsbike friendly or not. I want to import my gsxr1000K5 as I have done a lot of work on suspension etc, but are the roads OK for this type of bike or should I be looking at buying something less extreme when I arrive?

Cheers

PS OH is prob bringing his speed triple but that's his LOL

[98tls]

We are emigrating soon as I have been offered a great job in Christchurch.

I am hearing mixed views about whether the South island roads are very sportsbike friendly or not. I want to import my gsxr1000K5 as I have done a lot of work on suspension etc, but are the roads OK for this type of bike or should I be looking at buying something less extreme when I arrive?

Cheers

PS OH is prob bringing his speed triple but that's his LOL South island roads would be amongst the most sportbike friendly roads in the world,not sure what you will pay to bring it over but there cheap as chips here,why not put oem suspenders back on flick it off and bring the good bits with you.

[LBD]

South island roads would be amongst the most sportbike friendly roads in the world,not sure what you will pay to bring it over but there cheap as chips here,why not put oem suspenders back on flick it off and bring the good bits with you.

Ditto that, Driven in UK, ridden in Europe, mate South Island roads are as good as you will get fro sports bikes. Christchurch gives you options, very tight n twisty of the peninsular, flat and straight on the planes or 1 hour away to the closest passes and then on to the great roads south, west or north of Chch. Bring it or get one here, either way you will love our roads.

[tigertim20]

Lived in the south my entire life, far up as blenheim and nelson, far down as dunedin, and use all the major roads regularly the entire length and breadth of the south island for work and sometimes pleasure. I assure you you wont regret bringing your baby! Of course you need to recognize that there isnt really a road anywhere in the world where you can sanely use 100% of the ability that thing will have, but my god will you have some fun!! Where in the south are you planning to come? could point you in the direction of some great roads!!

[98tls]

Lived in the south my entire life, far up as blenheim and nelson, far down as dunedin, and use all the major roads regularly the entire length and breadth of the south island for work and sometimes pleasure. I assure you you wont regret bringing your baby! Of course you need to recognize that there isnt really a road anywhere in the world where you can sanely use 100% of the ability that thing will have, but my god will you have some fun!! Where in the south are you planning to come? could point you in the direction of some great roads!! :laugh:Err "Christchurch":msn-wink:

[triple-bee]

Ta!!

I had heard stories about roads suddenly disappearing into gravel without warning, but then I had only really spoken to one person!!

[Patch]

Ta!!

I had heard stories about roads suddenly disappearing into gravel without warning, but then I had only really spoken to one person!!
the other three folks (his neighbours) are a bit of an odd bunch, beware the banjo playin' one

Probably be the fanciest bike in the village when you arrive.

[SARGE]

Ta!!

I had heard stories about roads suddenly disappearing into gravel without warning, but then I had only really spoken to one person!!

thats the NORTH island

[Owl]

thats the NORTH island

Yep and Bonez will probably know all of them!:laugh:

[Aa7]

i'd think about what was suggested earlier in removing all the extra goodies you have put into your bike replaceing them with the OEM bits and sell her then buy another one when your here and fit all the fruit from your old bike that you bring with you.

not sure so dont take this as gospel but i would assume that when you get your old bike over here to nz you would need to replace the headlamps and maybe the indicators to meet the NZ WOF standards and it wont be cheap by the time you factor in the costs of getting the bike here in the first place and then the costs of the parts and labour for getting your bike re vinned.

strip your old girl and bring her goodies but buy a bike already registered in nz would be my advice. oh and you will fall in love with this country and the south island roads but just because you will have more space to open up your toys dont treat the roads with any less respect. there are idiot drivers everywhere even when you may think the roads are almost empty....... and beware the west coast. be prepared for a very different pace of life in nz than you are used too is all i can say.

[slydesigns]

If its from the UK all the headlamps etc are fine for WOF here. They point the right way and have the "Circled E" euro standard which is our standard.

Its $70 for a brake declaration from a bike shop, then about $320 for the VIN compliance and first WOF/Rego combined. Its $150 for the Customs MAF check and another $150 if it fails and needs a steam clean.

Mine just came in from Canada so I know the process well.

For your bike, as its not rare here, sell it, bring the parts and buy one here.

Or swap it in the UK for something a little more common there but exotic here to make it worthwhile.

Anyone claiming NZ isn't Sportbike heaven is F#@k'n dreaming. The only thing thats a double edged sword here is the grip. Course chip rad surfaces with a ton of grip but tyre wear is a nightmare!

[BMWST?]

fwiw our speed limit is 100 km hr....1st gear ....but no roads go onto gravel without warning,there will USSUALLY be a sign,and all major highways are sealed.Road work signage can be lacking at times.Look on trademe for prices here,you know what the GSX will fetch in your market.....do some sums.

[James Deuce]

We are emigrating soon as I have been offered a great job in Christchurch.

I am hearing mixed views about whether the South island roads are very sportsbike friendly or not. I want to import my gsxr1000K5 as I have done a lot of work on suspension etc, but are the roads OK for this type of bike or should I be looking at buying something less extreme when I arrive?

Cheers

PS OH is prob bringing his speed triple but that's his LOL

What damn fool have you been talking to? Some idiot who hired a camper van and stuck to the east coast between Amberley and Christchurch?

[snuffles]

:bleh:
What damn fool have you been talking to? Some idiot who hired a camper van and stuck to the east coast between Amberley and Christchurch?

Probably a harley rider:bleh:

[humphrt]

love the roads down here and so will you no doubt. will probably be a little rougher than you are used to but its fantastic. good luck making your decision, but as the others have said its probably more worth while grabbing the good bits and selling your bike to get a new one over here. just my 2c

[McWild]

If you took off the modifications, what do you think your bike would sell for over there?

[lv929]

If you took off the modifications, what do you think your bike would sell for over there?

The Ohlins can't really be changed as the whole suspension works as one and the re sprung and re-valved front forks would not match the standard rear set up. So I would just be looking to remove the beautiful Yoshi system and power commander with custom map installed. Not a huge job..

Over here the bike is worth about £4500, i.e. roughly NZ$11200. In the UK extra goodies do not seem to add to the value and most take them off before sale anyway and sell them separately.

I think that's what I'm going to do. I have a potential buyer here, so I'll prob start again with a K6 and bolt the goodies back on when we arrive.

Thanks one and all

[disturbed]

thats a good option, but you will definately fall in love with the roads over here

[triple-bee]

Iv,e already fell in love with the place, cant wait to get over there and get cracking :sunny:

[YellowDog]

I have imported two bikes in to NZ. Second hand bikes are heaps more expensive here, so you can't really loose. I brought my bike over in 06 and sold it last year for 30% more than I had paid for it 4 years earlier.

WARNING: The NZ compliance guys are quite thorough and anything that is not standard OEM is likely to fail and not be road worthy. If you still have the standard OEM stuff you took off, it would be worth switching it back.

[R1madness]

Bring your K5 with you. I will help ya get it vined and registered once ya get it here. The pipe might need to be quietened down a little but thats easy ( i have blanking plugs for that hehehe). The roads here are great, dont worry about the gravel its mostly only out in the "c class roads" in the really rural areas you will come across this...
Your bikes value is similar here (about $12-13K) depending on condition.

Come join us here in sunny Christchurch the roads are great, the people friendly, and the beer is cold....

[puddy]

thats the NORTH island
We don't have roads up here, only MOTORWAYS!

[YellowDog]

Yes, there is a lot of negative talk about the condition of NZ roads. Having ridden across Europe a couple of times I would say that NZ Roads do compare quite favourably. IMO - The NZ rural roads are considerably better and don't get as badly worn before repair.

[varminter]

Be aware that our speed limits are not mandatory, although many consider them a minimum. You may find that a main road may be marked 80K's then a side road, twisting like a corkscrew with a cliff on one side and lose metaled will be marked 100k's. Odd that.