Bikes for adventure touring?

**Padmei** · 15th October 2009, 17:50

Originally Posted by NordieBoy

You've got a KTM sticker on the digger don'cha?
Orange digger too?

Now was that the one that got the lil yellow digger or the bigger bigger digger out of the mud?

**junkmanjoe** · 15th October 2009, 19:38

Originally Posted by NordieBoy

You've got a KTM sticker on the digger don'cha?
Orange digger too?

orange all the way baby..... i feel you need to buy suzi so you get that tank you missed out on...and you get heaps of spare parts as well....

**NordieBoy** · 15th October 2009, 20:17

Originally Posted by junkmanjoe

orange all the way baby..... i feel you need to buy suzi so you get that tank you missed out on...and you get heaps of spare parts as well....

Got enough spare parts. Just missing an engine...

Do you want this wax effigy of your bike that I've stuck pins into to give to the next owner?

**CRM** · 16th October 2009, 20:08

I stayed in Hutt Park motor camp last night while it was bucketing down, finally left about 10:30 this morning through some serious surface flooding to catch the ferry at 12:00. I'm just pulling out at the roundabout when hello!! no clutch...

The cable had broken (note to self - pack spare cable in future!)

Fortunately my I found the number for Motomart in Lower Hutt on my iPhone, called them... no they didn't have one but might be able to make one if I could get it there. I tried pushing then crashing into first but could see even if I did manage to ride it clutchless there was always the issue of stop-lights, roundabouts etc...

so I didn't try too hard knowing it would most likely all end in tears anyway.

So I called the AA and about 15 minutes later the truck arrives, nice bloke drops me off at Motomart and I spend a pleasant half hour looking at new BMW's (the X-country looks like it might nearly be as good as the XR) while my mate the mechanic does his pit-crew impersonation.

they did themselves proud - all sorted and I ride up to bluebridge as the bikes are loading.

So now I'm at St Arnaud, hoping for some decent weather to see the West Coast

.

**CRM** · 18th October 2009, 09:26

Well St Arnaud was sunny until I left - the lady at the shop where I bought the muesli bars told me it would rain ('because it always rains here...') and she was right. 160km of wet and wetter to Westport

. I'd just been telling an old bloke how good my wet weather gear was but it (and my endurance) were about to be sorely tested by the famous West Coast Weather.

Finally arriving in Westport thinking '...and why do I like riding again?' Couldn't really answer that at the time... cold, wet, no-where to shelter and get dried off - so I went to Westport 'beach' and took some photo's to prove at least that I'd been there when they found my lifeless frozen body on the side of the road.

.

Anyway, after eating a hot pie decided I really had no choice but to keep going so headed off to Greymouth where it incredibly had actually stopped raining. Still wet and cold but at least remembering that riding could be fun I decided to keep going to Christchurch.

That's where it gets better... Arthurs Pass is such a great road! Stopped at the top (where it was pleasantly warm) and caught up with some fellow riders (KTM990 and Spyder riding together - interested combination but apparently virtually the same motor in both), had a hot chocolate - felt almost human again.

So nearly got pinged by a coppah

with a radar gun coming out of Arthurs Pass - (he had it aimed right at me so I hit the brakes, hopped off the bike and wandered around the information centre till he'd gone (on 80 demerits I'm desperate!)

Anyway it was a beautiful ride down the other side - even got my gravel fix on the Lake Colleridge road - just amazing scenery

. Got to Chch about 7:00 - hot shower never felt so good!

Pictures are Lake Rotoiti (St Arnauds), Westport Beach, Arthurs Pass and Lake Colleridge Road.

**Woodman** · 18th October 2009, 14:28

mate thats a good days riding on a xr. Goodonya.

**Waihou Thumper** · 18th October 2009, 14:51

Originally Posted by CRM

(KTM990 and Spyder riding together - interested combination but apparently virtually the same motor in both),

really? Hey Joe.....hear that mate? We got a new name for the Katie....those are Spyder webs on the side of the 2009 tanks, not roads....

It is all true!

**Waihou Thumper** · 18th October 2009, 14:54

Originally Posted by CRM

Well St Arnaud was sunny until I left - the lady at the shop where I bought the muesli bars told me it would rain ('because it always rains here...') and she was right. 160km of wet and wetter to Westport

. I'd just been telling an old bloke how good my wet weather gear was but it (and my endurance) were about to be sorely tested by the famous West Coast Weather.

Finally arriving in Westport thinking '...and why do I like riding again?' Couldn't really answer that at the time... cold, wet, no-where to shelter and get dried off - so I went to Westport 'beach' and took some photo's to prove at least that I'd been there when they found my lifeless frozen body on the side of the road.

.

Anyway, after eating a hot pie decided I really had no choice but to keep going so headed off to Greymouth where it incredibly had actually stopped raining. Still wet and cold but at least remembering that riding could be fun I decided to keep going to Christchurch.

That's where it gets better... Arthurs Pass is such a great road! Stopped at the top (where it was pleasantly warm) and caught up with some fellow riders (KTM990 and Spyder riding together - interested combination but apparently virtually the same motor in both), had a hot chocolate - felt almost human again.

So nearly got pinged by a coppah

with a radar gun coming out of Arthurs Pass - (he had it aimed right at me so I hit the brakes, hopped off the bike and wandered around the information centre till he'd gone (on 80 demerits I'm desperate!)

Anyway it was a beautiful ride down the other side - even got my gravel fix on the Lake Colleridge road - just amazing scenery

. Got to Chch about 7:00 - hot shower never felt so good!

Pictures are Lake Rotoiti (St Arnauds), Westport Beach, Arthurs Pass and Lake Colleridge Road.

I gotta get down there real soon.....

**CRM** · 18th October 2009, 22:03

Originally Posted by NZKTM

I gotta get down there real soon.....

Not too soon - wait till it warms up...

**CRM** · 21st October 2009, 21:25

I've just had three days working in Christchurch but this afternoon I had a client to visit in Timaru, so set off down that boring road with only about three corners in 160km

. It was a nice day though... so after I'd finished about 4pm I decided to head up towards the mountains for some pictures and a more interesting ride.

I headed up to Pleasant Point, then Fairlie and Geraldine (nice corners!). Heaps of snow on the mountains (see pic below), then cut back to the main road down a nice gravel road (if you have to ride in straight lines you might as well do it on gravel - way more fun). So I got my gravel fix again.

When I got to the Rakaia River it was getting late but I've seen those tracks alongside the River and always wanted to go exploring down one. With my new MT63 on the back I figured I could get out okay if it all went sour

.

Anyway, with a full 22 litres plus my laptop and projector on the ventura rack the bike was quite top heavy so a couple of K's down the track managed to do a low-speed drop in a puddle. Had to take the bag off the rack before I could lift the bike up

(I'll blame the front tyre...)

Anyway, a bit of adventure never hurt anyone eh?

I'm heading north tomorrow crossing over the straight and hoping to be home in Whangarei by Friday night...

**CRM** · 26th October 2009, 11:42

I rode Chch to Picton, then up to Levin Thursday, then Levin to Whangarei Friday. My butt was starting to really feel it about half way up the North Island

.

The XR had developed a problem while I was on the West Coast with the auto-decomp spring - makes a funny noise on idle - but didn't seem to be affecting performance at normal running so decided to make it home and get it sorted there. I'll take it in to the guys to look at this week. Otherwise the XR went great... 3880km in total. Longest day was the first at about 750km Whangarei to Napier via Urewera's and the last day Levin to Whangarei was about the same. I came through the desert road and it was cold! I didn't stop for pictures because of the view but because my extremities were threatening to drop off

. Fortunately it fined up from there through the road around the west of Lake Taupo, then up through Matamata where it actually was sunny all the way home. Labour weekend traffic was pretty chronic from Auckland up so I did SH16 (still on of the nicest rides in the country) then the Mangawhai Heads road (first time I've actually ridden it - also a great diversion from the main drag).

A good trip, but let down a little by the weather and a couple of mechanical issues. I don't think I'd do it again on the XR (unless I was taking it somewhere to do a proper adventure ride). I think for the amount of gear I needed to carry and the distances to cover I really need a tourer... hopefully keeping the XR as well.

photo's are Desert Road, Whakamaru, and finally back in Northland - Langs Beach.