Kiwi Biker forums - Blogs - Scubbo https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/blog.php/37036-Scubbo Kiwi Biker - New Zealand motorcycle community en Wed, 29 Apr 2026 06:53:24 GMT vBulletin 20 https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/images/BP-Brown/misc/rss.jpg Kiwi Biker forums - Blogs - Scubbo https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/blog.php/37036-Scubbo does more than just commute https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/6819-does-more-than-just-commute Sun, 16 Apr 2017 05:13:53 GMT a fun little trip down through port waikato and around that area --- Waikato river had overtaken Murray road, was a nice little diversion on the way out Image: http://gnear.net/xtz2_16-4-2017.jpg Image: http://gnear.net/xtz1_16-4-2017.jpg Middle-Zealand Image:...
a fun little trip down through port waikato and around that area --- Waikato river had overtaken Murray road, was a nice little diversion on the way out




Middle-Zealand




]]> Scubbo https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/6819-does-more-than-just-commute new commuter https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/6766-new-commuter Tue, 07 Mar 2017 01:44:38 GMT

I was looking a long time for a new commuter, maybe a scooter, but then RedBarron had a special on the XTZ125 with a Ventura topbox @ $3200+ orc

right off the bat, what a fantastic bike for tall riders (i'm 184cm / 90kg) and the Knee/seat position is very relaxed and comfortable, the handlebar height and grip is comfy, all better than my last 3 DRZs that I had raised bars and filed down pegs to lower the footing etc

does 100KPH just but it still in breakin stage, headlight is good / signals are great / dash is all you need / Mirrors are great for broad shoulders no need to offset

front brake is average at best, rear brake is not bad for a drum (think new pads are a good idea for the front)

very light bike, feels like a mountain bike when trying to turn or shift weight over the center balance, funny how light and nimble it is -- super sharp turning circle, 1st gear is low and easy to potter on/offroad -- clutch is very light and easy to leaver out/feather~

suspension is wussy but comfortable, easy to bottom out and a bit bouncy but no complaints when it feels so smooth on the shitty roads around south auckland (fit for purpose)

so really, why buy a GN125 or similar when this deal is around at the moment?

I looked at the XR150L which starts at 4K but I didnt like the tire sizes (19/17) which makes finding tires that are good and cheap hard to do --- the XTZ has standard 21/18 and can slap on any number of great dual sport tires (like MOTOZ etc) ]]> Scubbo https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/6766-new-commuter Piefinding on the RF https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/6736-Piefinding-on-the-RF Sun, 29 Jan 2017 04:47:38 GMT great riding this time of year Image: http://gnear.net/longroadsmiles.jpg great riding this time of year

]]> Scubbo https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/6736-Piefinding-on-the-RF bought an RF https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/6664-bought-an-RF Mon, 05 Dec 2016 21:43:11 GMT best purchase i've done in a while, grinning the whole ride back from wellington :woohoo:

11xMiles now 12xMiles, neat.

]]> Scubbo https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/6664-bought-an-RF Somewhere in the Hunua Ranges https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/6416-Somewhere-in-the-Hunua-Ranges Sat, 13 Feb 2016 04:14:47 GMT Always wanted to ride around in the forest after finding the entrance that I couldn't get my big bike through, luckily the little thing can squeeze through the stall the mountain bikers use :shifty:



- Amazing trails/roads in this place


- Steep wet clay hill, little bike has no problems


- Some places don't look to have been visited all summer


- WaterCare entrance somewhere in the middle of no where finally found some signs saying no riding beyond this point, I came from the other way with no signs and had to get back to the car somehow :msn-wink:


- On the way back to the carpark took a wrong turn, ended up going high up ontop of the range, was a great view


- Back at the carpark letting the bike cool-down for transport (next photo shows why)


- Wedge it in there :blink:


- I really need a ute :facepalm:
]]> Scubbo https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/6416-Somewhere-in-the-Hunua-Ranges Somewhere Under Manukau https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/6370-Somewhere-Under-Manukau Fri, 15 Jan 2016 22:35:21 GMT Image: http://gnear.net/88cc1.jpg finding new places in Manukau I never knew existed after 5 years of living here, good thing this thing is easy to get up stairs :sweatdrop :scooter:

finding new places in Manukau I never knew existed after 5 years of living here, good thing this thing is easy to get up stairs :sweatdrop

:scooter: ]]> Scubbo https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/6370-Somewhere-Under-Manukau out with the new, in with the old https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/5935-out-with-the-new-in-with-the-old Sun, 14 Jun 2015 22:46:03 GMT Ended up selling the 2013 drz400sm as was needing a family car Image: http://gnear.net/drze1.jpg was able to get a a nice nissan maxima + trailer + this drz400ek1 for the price I sold the SM for, so am happy I can still ride whilst having a safe family car the guy I bought the E from... Ended up selling the 2013 drz400sm as was needing a family car



was able to get a a nice nissan maxima + trailer + this drz400ek1 for the price I sold the SM for, so am happy I can still ride whilst having a safe family car

the guy I bought the E from was really great, looked after the bike well, I just had to replace the front sprocket (and wanted to gear it down) so its now got a new f/r sprocket and new chain. rides great, much more poke than the 2013SM I had, guess its the good cams and carburetor

anyway.. back in business -- time for some ride'n ]]> Scubbo https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/5935-out-with-the-new-in-with-the-old fun with rear tires on front wheel supermoto offroad @_O https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/4920-fun-with-rear-tires-on-front-wheel-supermoto-offroad-_O Sun, 16 Nov 2014 08:00:24 GMT

Thought i'd try out what others have done overseas, put some kenda k270's onto the drz400SM rims --- couldnt break the bead myself so had Botany Honda do it, they did a great job.

offroad (rutty clay on construction sites) they performed great, front is a bit sketchy but the drz seems to climb over some pretty gnarly terrain with them on

Onroad they're great, able to cruise at 100kph with no worries, tight corners are fine (back starts to slide out before the front and very predictable) wet roads they seem fine too, predictable slip and easy to manage -- one thing I really notice is the front wheel has major gyro pulling the bike upright so you fight it a bit more on washboard gravel but the actual grip from the tires are great




a small off when driving through deep rutted clay proved to much for my CNELL pants... have to say they're shit for the price, stitching on the belt on one side popped off a while ago and now the thy stitching just gave way



anyway, for the price of the tires, i'd highly recommend them if you want to do a bit of offroad while still having great onroad exploration, was thinking of getting a set of 21/18 for my drz but after doing this, its more than enough for what I want to do and CAN do :) ]]> Scubbo https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/4920-fun-with-rear-tires-on-front-wheel-supermoto-offroad-_O <![CDATA[more "adventury"]]> https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/4523-more-quot-adventury-quot Sun, 05 Oct 2014 07:14:51 GMT Image: http://gnear.net/drzbw1.jpg few more bits onto the drz, bashplate from GPcustom, zeta pivot leavers, bark busters drove around the Hunua ranges and in as far as I could go before the logging tracks were fenced/unpassible -- thinking about changing the front sprocket to a 16T sounds...

few more bits onto the drz, bashplate from GPcustom, zeta pivot leavers, bark busters

drove around the Hunua ranges and in as far as I could go before the logging tracks were fenced/unpassible -- thinking about changing the front sprocket to a 16T sounds like only minor mods needed for it to fit ]]> Scubbo https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/4523-more-quot-adventury-quot Super Sherp out - DRZ in https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/4361-Super-Sherp-out-DRZ-in Sun, 14 Sep 2014 07:00:41 GMT sold the little green tractor and picked up an as new, 2013 DRZ400SM from an guy who rode it for 1900km then put it in the shed for 8 months anyway, first few rides, bike is riding great, supermoto wheels are amazingly sticky, Stock tank was getting about 140KM of spirited riding before going to... sold the little green tractor and picked up an as new, 2013 DRZ400SM from an guy who rode it for 1900km then put it in the shed for 8 months

anyway, first few rides, bike is riding great, supermoto wheels are amazingly sticky, Stock tank was getting about 140KM of spirited riding before going to reserve which was not enough so the first of many mods to bring the bike to a more offroad/adventury style ride : Safari 17L tank

]]> Scubbo https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/4361-Super-Sherp-out-DRZ-in SherpDerp + 6R License https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/3646-SherpDerp-6R-License Thu, 10 Apr 2014 03:25:08 GMT replaced the cracked and leaking rear brake reservoir, hose and clamps to the master cylinder (no more brake fluid slowly dripping down the swingarm onto the rear tire :rolleyes: now just a valve cover / valve clearance to do at some point. also acquired my 6R today on the little beast... replaced the cracked and leaking rear brake reservoir, hose and clamps to the master cylinder (no more brake fluid slowly dripping down the swingarm onto the rear tire :rolleyes: now just a valve cover / valve clearance to do at some point.

also acquired my 6R today on the little beast :scooter: ]]> Scubbo https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/3646-SherpDerp-6R-License Sherp Derpy Derp https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/3510-Sherp-Derpy-Derp Fri, 21 Mar 2014 04:11:32 GMT

anyway another boring post here's a picture of it at the new Waitawa regional park out kawakawa bay way



boring update #1; had the oil drain plug fixed by botany honda, turns out it had already been helicoiled before and was rooted, so plucked that out and added a new one in, will always need some form of sealant to stop it from leaking as can't put enough tension on the washer but thats fine doesn't leak anymore

have since installed slightly higher bars and bash guards to it along with new grips as old ones we're pretty shoddy at 12300KM now

oil leaking from the valve cover (very little) but eventually spreads over the cooling fins and smells a bit, so I have a new valve cover gasket to go on sometime -- also rear break resivour is leaking so have new one of those + hose to the master cylinder to put on sometime too ]]> Scubbo https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/3510-Sherp-Derpy-Derp super sherpa story https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/2844-super-sherpa-story Wed, 13 Nov 2013 08:52:53 GMT Image: http://gnear.net/sherpa1.jpg recently picked up a 1998 kawasaki super sherpa (KL250-H2) with approx 9500KM on it, a fair bit of rust on the muffler/join clamp and some rust on nearly all bolt heads and some on the frame frame the previous owner(s) have stripped the threads in the...

recently picked up a 1998 kawasaki super sherpa (KL250-H2) with approx 9500KM on it, a fair bit of rust on the muffler/join clamp and some rust on nearly all bolt heads and some on the frame frame

the previous owner(s) have stripped the threads in the crank case? for the oil drain bolt, and I received the bike on very low oil with a whole lot of locktite sludge around the bolt holding it in. still the bike started fine. the air filter element one side had holes in it and was flaking away

since picking it up, i've done an oil change / oil filter / new air element --- still havent installed a helicoil/timesert to fix the sump threads and havent dealt with any surface rust yet --- new oil and air element has made the bike start easy every morning and warmup/run well as a daily work commuter

I plan on cleaning up the rust and sorting the sumpplug next, then probably some barkbusters, also looked into longer range fuel tank as at the moment I get around 150KM before switching to reserve which i've heard is 1/3rd total tank size approx 200Km range total --- sounds like the most reliable/easy option is the IMS 4gal xr650l


there are a few options for panniers and a screen to help with open road speeds but will see how she goes... ]]> Scubbo https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/2844-super-sherpa-story