Am I biting off more than I can chew?

[Kickaha]

Ok I have been up that way before.... DON'T go on SH38. It is GRAVEL from around 10km out from Wairoa and all the way up to and beyond the lakes. The gravel starts small and then gets bigger and bigger..... which made me CRASH my SV.

Gravel can't "make" you crash,inexperience with riding on gravel might

Late model bikes with there wide tyres aren't as user friendly on gravel,Black Betty with narrow tyres and less HP will be a lot easier to ride there than your SV

[Ms Piggy]

Coom baak saath Kathy!!

Stay at Chez Scumdog and tour the south a little more!!

I wiiiiiiiiiiil! You can count on that!

[Ms Piggy]

Thanks for all the advice guys & gals. I've decided to leave that ride for some time when I have time, so this summer I'll do me a North Island tour and include that.

My objective in this instance is to get up to Murupara with as little fuss as possible, so maybe the Paraparas or even dull & broing SHW1.

What will the Paraparas be like this time of year?

[sels1]

What will the Paraparas be like this time of year?

I guess that depends a bit on the weather. We came back that way after the rally in the rain and it was a bit slippery in places...I think we all had a whoops moment...but if taken with caution and a sensible pace it should be fine.

[MSTRS:Me]

What will the Paraparas be like this time of year?

In in inestimable words of Ira Goldstein ' you wouldn't like it, sir, it's.....damp'

[strayjuliet]

Originally Posted by Celtic_Sea_lily
Oooooo 'eck. Back in my day we had t' lick roads clean and get up before we went t' bed. [/QUOTE]

Ah b'guum you yung folk don't know t'ahlf ov it. When Hi were yung, we didn't have no raods ter lick clean - had to dig 'em ourselfs we did. Usin' only a dinosaur shoulder blad fer a shovel. 'ad ter catch ther dinosaur befor we begun our ride too.

And then once we'd dug ter roads, we as ter drag the bikes along hit, cos of which ter wheel adn't been hinvented.

Didn't ave no beds either , you yung folk ain't got no stanina slackin off 'n sleepin' all t'time. When hi were yuing we got one night's sleep a year - an we had to stand t' attention th' ole time we was sleepin.

Yung fok terday, soft as.

And ya try tellin kids of today that and they won't believe ya.

[Krayy]

Just for interests sake, I'm from Wairoa originally. My grandfather was one of the lead surveyors on that road. He had some great photos and stories to go along with it. Even he admitted it was rough as guts, but they had to go the way they did due to the sheer amount of rock they would have had to blast away to make it straighter.

If you get the chance to go trhough (by car preferably), take some sick pills, and if you get stuck behind a Kiwi or Britz camper-van, be prepared to stare at his rear end for the next 100 k's or so. My brother and I went through there in his ~1976 Galant, and it was huge fun getting the back end out on most corners.

Also is a great place to go tramping for a few days if you're into that sort of thing, and Lake Waikareamoana is one of the best and cleanest in NZ. Also some great views on the road as you head south from the Lake camping site, as you climb a winding road that ends up a few hundred feet up with only some armco between you and a nice dip.

P.S. CSL, yes, go up to Taupo then across.

[Motu]

We once went through there in a car at night - going around the cliffs we saw some headlights coming our way...it was a bus and I had to back forever until we found a place he could get around.At about 2am we thought we'd call it a night and pulled into a campground on the lake shore,put up the tent and crashed.Woke up in the morning to find ourselves surrounded by vintage cars and big tents everywhere.

To this day I still don't know whether we stumbled into the middle of their camp and pitched our tent....or did they come later in the night and set up camp around us?

[XP@]

It would be a memorable ride!

Before I did ny first RNGC I rode wellington, castle point, napier, murupara, taupo, wellington in one day on my f650, awsome run.

Once you have done it don't forget to book yourself in for the next rusty nuts 1000 miler (in october).

[Marmoot]

Make sure your sparkplugs are clean prior to setting off, and bike is running fine and not coughing and spluttering.
Make sure throttle cable and clutch cable (and choke cable) is tiptop and not about to break themselves.
Bring a set of puncture medicine for the tires, just in case.
Make sure your cellphone is charged to the max.

Have good fun. I always like longrides.

[White trash]

In in inestimable words of Ira Goldstein ' you wouldn't like it, sir, it's.....damp'

"Yes I have. Heard of chickens?"

Ahh Goldstein, funniest fucker on TV

[Ms Piggy]

Have good fun. I always like longrides.

They are indeed the best rides.

[Posh Tourer :P]

Ok I have been up that way before.... DON'T go on SH38. It is GRAVEL from around 10km out from Wairoa and all the way up to and beyond the lakes. The gravel starts small and then gets bigger and bigger..... which made me CRASH my SV.

Oh come on. Not all bikes are bad on gravel...... The CB250 would be a beast to cane around on gravel - without even changing the tyres. I did large amounts of gravel on my MZ, which was similar - same size tyres, and virtually indestructible (tho I've never crashed on gravel, or even because of gravel).
The BM is also great on gravel while on road tyres. The only bikes I havent been able to thrash off into the distance from have been dirt bikes (Motu) and a KTM950 on dual sport tyres....
The CB125 had a few problems with larger size gravel as it wasnt heavy or big enough to deal with it, but on good gravel it was also great fun.
The ZXR, on the other hand, is nasty....
If you have 90 or higher profile tyres, you will have very few problems on gravel roads - except when the gravel gets a few inches deep and you need knobblies....