White lining/lane splitting and general hooliganism

[craigsyd]

Hi guys

Me and my partner are in the process of emigrating to NZ - Auckland in particular, and been an avid biker (6 years not driving a car) would like to ask a few things about motorcycling in your neck of the woods. (We are currently living in Cape Town SA and we arrive June 05)

Is lane splitting allowed or frowned upon? We will probably be living near Auckland city in the beginning and I will be travelling North to Orewa on a daily basis. This will obviously only be a tolerable ride if lane splitting is not a problem.

From what i've read speed limits are 50 and 100 km/hr urban/rural respectively. Going to take some getting used to! What technology is been used to trap speedsters? ie camera, laser etc.

Parking: Are you allowed to park a bike on pavements/sidewalks? or are there designated parking areas for motorcycles?

What is the general attitude towards bikers and biking from the car driving population?

All year riding: Coming from Cape Town with a winter rainfall I am quite comfortable riding in the rain and ride 365/365 anyhow. Living on North Island are there any issues weather or otherwise that would prevent me from enjoying riding all year round?

I will be selling my bike here and buying one there when I arrive. Probably going to stick with Honda VFR although the BM 1200 GS is quite tempting.

Many thanks in advance

Craig

(Current ride Honda VFRi VTEC (non ABS))
Previous rides - BMW 1150GS/Adventure

[James Deuce]

At the risk of sounding grumpy and unhelpful, this site does have a search function. Some of us "crusty" members have re-typed answers to these questions a few times.

Welcome to the site and good luck moving to NZ.

You may also find the following site useful for detailed information of road traffic laws and enforcement, straight from the horse's mouth so to speak.

http://www.ltsa.govt.nz

PS After living in the UK and driving in both the UK and Europe, NZ drivers are bloody awful.

[Riff Raff]

Hi Craig, welcome to KB
I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the wonderful riding we have in this country - but there is a bit more enforcement than you are probably used to.
Lane splitting is frowned upon but is only a problem if you're caught. North Island is pretty good for all year round riding. I'll let others fill you in on all the regulations etc.

[craigsyd]

Thanks for the reply. I am currently wading through all the threads here. The link you gave me redirects to auto value car dealers!

Craig

[James Deuce]

Thanks for the reply. I am currently wading through all the threads here. The link you gave me redirects to auto value car dealers!

Craig

You may want to check that again.


http://www.ltsa.govt.nz

You shouldn't need to wade. Do a search on lane splitting:

Here's a free one: Lane splitting

And another: Lanesplitting

[outlawtorn]

Dip n ouma!

Welcome to KB, I reckon you'll enjoy it here. When you get to NZ you are defintely going to love it here. If you are travelling north to Orewa from Auckland then you won't have much traffic to contend with so lane plitting won't really be a factor, but generally lane splitting is a no-no, but I commute from the top of the north shore into Auckland every day and I split right past cops all the time and they don't do anything, bearing in mind that the traffic is crawling and I'm only splitting at roughly 30 kph. If you split at 60kph through slower traffic then you will invite a fine or two.

The speed limits are easy to get used to as life over here is a lot more laid back than in SA, even for Cape Town'ers. Parking also seems to be very laid back, I've never had any problems finding parking or parking wherever I need to, although I did get hooted at the other day for taking up a car park space on Ponsonby road (A very busy and trendy road in Auckland), I let the driver of the car know that even though I am on a bike I have the right to park wherever I want, in less than diplomatic terms.

The general attitude is one of 'watch out for them stupid cage drivers', but that is generally worldwide, something the people of KB told me early on is to treat every cage driver as if they want to kill you, so generally you just have to be cautious, but coming from SA, you will def. be used to that.

Good that you are used to the rain, there is plenty of that here, just make sure you have your wets and warms on standby at all times, its gets bloody freezing here in winter on the bike.

[moko]

Hi Craig, welcome to KB
I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the wonderful riding we have in this country - but there is a bit more enforcement than you are probably used to.

That`s putting it mildly,I couldn`t believe the number of traffic cops I saw over there.I actually found Kiwi drivers better than Brit drivers,mind you I take on the rush-hour testosterone olympics right through a city almost every day and stupid as opposed to homicidal driving is a pleasant change.
I`d go for the BMW mate,more than once I was travelling down a track wondering when it would lead to the road to somewhere and was amazed to learn that it was the road.Kiwis were as amazed that everywhere in Britain no matter how remote is tar-sealed as i was at what passes for a route between far-flung places over there.Those big beemers are brilliant,buy it,you`ll love it.
Speed limits are low and you`ve got a pretty good chance of getting caught as well,here it`s getting very similar and rapidly becoming not worth the risk.You`ll come across speed cameras in all kinds of weird and wonderful places,people coming the other way almost always give you warning though so if you get flashed wave back and check your speed.Sneakiest one I came across was coming out of Rotorua when I was getting flashed,camera set up around the corner,still getting flashed and there was another one around the next corner.
Lane-splitting they dont like,god knows what some of the guys on here would make of traffic in the U.K. and seeing guys carving through traffic at speed,great fun and really keeps you sharp.
New bike,new roads,best thing to do is take it nice and steady for a bit and see what others get away with....or dont as the case may be.

[craigsyd]

You may want to check that again.


http://www.ltsa.govt.nz

You shouldn't need to wade. Do a search on lane splitting:

Here's a free one: Lane splitting

And another: Lanesplitting

Thanks for the freebie - read a few interesting threads, and it's looking good. I am very used to LS as I endure 20kms of bumber to bumper cars here on my way to work everyday. There is even a short section on the highway here where one can do 150 between cars no problem but only advisable if you are in one of those moods.

[craigsyd]

Dip n ouma!

although I did get hooted at the other day for taking up a car park space on Ponsonby road (A very busy and trendy road in Auckland),

The general attitude is one of 'watch out for them stupid cage drivers', but that is generally worldwide, something the people of KB told me early on is to treat every cage driver as if they want to kill you, so generally you just have to be cautious, but coming from SA, you will def. be used to that.

Good that you are used to the rain, there is plenty of that here, just make sure you have your wets and warms on standby at all times, its gets bloody freezing here in winter on the bike.

Dip 'n Ouma - hehe i do that every morning!

Ponsonby road - been told I should look at buying a place to live there if I want to live near/in the city. Appaently up and coming and not too expensive at the moment, but maybe I am already to late.

With the taxi drivers here one can only learn to read minds and very fast. Nevermind waiting for people to indicate, they don't even bother any more as the indicators don't work anyhow.

Yip think its time I get a bike with heated grips again. Rode and lived in JHB for a while and those winter mornings, although dry were FREEZING.

[Zed]

Hi guys

Me and my partner are in the process of emigrating to NZ - Auckland in particular, and been an avid biker (6 years not driving a car) would like to ask a few things about motorcycling in your neck of the woods. (We are currently living in Cape Town SA and we arrive June 05)

Hi Craig, hope the move to NZ is a good choice for you both. Welcome to Kiwibiker too!

Is lane splitting allowed or frowned upon? We will probably be living near Auckland city in the beginning and I will be travelling North to Orewa on a daily basis. This will obviously only be a tolerable ride if lane splitting is not a problem.

Auckland has a traffic problem. Apparently with all the road works in progress it is supposed to be improved upon by the year 2008? Riding to Orewa daily shouldn't be a problem for you though because you will be riding away from the city traffic. Oh and even though many bikers lane-split over here it is still against the law. However, there are some grey areas to lanesplitting which you can read up about on previous threads.

From what i've read speed limits are 50 and 100 km/hr urban/rural respectively. Going to take some getting used to! What technology is been used to trap speedsters? ie camera, laser etc.

Fixed roadside speed cameras and stationary Highway Patrol vehicles with lasers, etc are the most common throughout the country...we have a few motorcycle police who ride the Auckland motorway systems too and I've seen them stop many a rider including myself.

Parking: Are you allowed to park a bike on pavements/sidewalks? or are there designated parking areas for motorcycles?

Parking any vehicle on sidewalks and even grass road verges is pretty much illegal now - I know people who have had their cars towed away in residential areas for parking on the grass verge! There are some designated bike parks throughout Auckland City but few and far between.

What is the general attitude towards bikers and biking from the car driving population?

Currently in progress there is a road sign campaign in Ak with large "Look out for Motorcycles" signage erected to remind motorists about us...the general attitude I'd say is positive.

All year riding: Coming from Cape Town with a winter rainfall I am quite comfortable riding in the rain and ride 365/365 anyhow. Living on North Island are there any issues weather or otherwise that would prevent me from enjoying riding all year round?

No issues really. Weather over here (especially in the Nth Is) is quite mild all year round with no major long lasting extremes compared to other countries. You should find the transition easy!


Zed

[craigsyd]

I`d go for the BMW mate,more than once I was travelling down a track wondering when it would lead to the road to somewhere and was amazed to learn that it was the road.Kiwis were as amazed that everywhere in Britain no matter how remote is tar-sealed as i was at what passes for a route between far-flung places over there.Those big beemers are brilliant,buy it,you`ll love it.

New bike,new roads,best thing to do is take it nice and steady for a bit and see what others get away with....or dont as the case may be.

Well I am seriously considering the BM for the reason of the gravel roads and of course speed. I tended to be far more laid back on the 1150GS and I think the VFR just tends to bring out the speed demon in me especially at 7000RPM. The ABS and heated grips are a plus although the VFR down there has those options. Funnily I managed to activate the ABS a few times on the BM here and have only managed one squeal from the front tyre on my Honda and that was intentional (Testing limits and let go as soon as she screamed - str8 up of course).

From what I have read all ove the show lookis like I am in for some good riding. We are planning to travel the two Islands on bike as well which should be fun!

[James Deuce]

Well I am seriously considering the BM for the reason of the gravel roads and of course speed. I tended to be far more laid back on the 1150GS and I think the VFR just tends to bring out the speed demon in me especially at 7000RPM. The ABS and heated grips are a plus although the VFR down there has those options. Funnily I managed to activate the ABS a few times on the BM here and have only managed one squeal from the front tyre on my Honda and that was intentional (Testing limits and let go as soon as she screamed - str8 up of course).

From what I have read all ove the show lookis like I am in for some good riding. We are planning to travel the two Islands on bike as well which should be fun!

There is a common series of misconceptions that we live in grass huts with mud floors, have no electricity, and ride 25 year old DT100s, to navigate our extensive gravel road network. You will have to search out gravel roads in NZ, they are not as common as you seem to assume.

Overtaking on the right is legal, but the left is not. Each lane in NZ is it's own separate highway, which allows for the loophole of lansplitting, but it is generally only tolerated in near stationary traffic. It is legal to lanesplit to the head of a stationary queue at a set of traffic lights. Lanesplitting at 150 would probably earn you a jail sentence here. Somneone in government got it into their head that only speed and drink driving cause fatal "accidents" and therefore target those issues, instead of gross incompetence and stupidity.

Moko is understating the gulf in driver capability between the UK and NZ. There average Brit gets more driver training in the frst week of beginning the process than most Kiwis get in a lifetime.

[craigsyd]

There is a common series of misconceptions that we live in grass huts with mud floors, have no electricity, and ride 25 year old DT100s, to navigate our extensive gravel road network. You will have to search out gravel roads in NZ, they are not as common as you seem to assume..

Pretty much the same here actually, but the gravel roads that there are, can be the most rewarding in terms of scenary and just for the sake of taking the road less travelled. That has been my only gripe since I bought the VFR 3 yrs ago, not been able to take the gravel roads when coming upon them. So i don't think I have any misconceptions about NZ at all, just that this was already a factor I was deciding on this side with my next purchase anyhow.

It can't be as bad as what the guys think of SA. We also live in grass huts but we have lions and elephants roaming the streets.

Somneone in government got it into their head that only speed and drink driving cause fatal "accidents" and therefore target those issues, instead of gross incompetence and stupidity.

I think that is the case in most places and here as well. I just think there you guys enforce it where here if they did the same you would see half the drivers off the roads overnight.

[Krusti]

There is a common series of misconceptions that we live in grass huts with mud floors, have no electricity, and ride 25 year old DT100s, to navigate our extensive gravel road network.

WHAT? You mean we are the only ones? I'm gonna have to get out more!

[crashe]

Kia ora and welcome to KB.

Parking on footpaths.... yes, I do it, but I always make sure that the bike is as close to the roadside as possible...so that its not in the way of pedestrians.... and I dont leave it there all day... but that is in Auckland CBD area including Ponsonby Rd.

West Auckland shopping area parking on footpaths is a no no... the parking wardens will ticket you.
The parking wardens in the city are pretty much ok about it, but dont leave it all day.

Aotea Square and Sky City is FREE parking for the bikes, as long as you can get past the barriers going in and out without knocking them... they have designated areas for the bikes to park.

Prices in Ponsonby are pretty steep, but it does depend on how much money you are willing to spend... check out reality websites to give you an idea of prices.

Auckland to Orewa wont take you long to comute up there at all....
You will also be going against the traffic.