Brass Monkey 2010 by gravel

[warewolf]

We had plenty of fuel to light a fire but nothing to burn (apart from the bikes).

Inner tubes burn well. Cut into pieces, sit inside an emergency blanket (over your head to trap the heat), burn the pieces to keep warm. Even a tea-light candle adds quite a few degrees.

Sounds like a right good adventure, chaps!

[JATZ]

3) For Jatz - this guy owns two 750 Big's.

Awww shucks.... a pic just for me

Sounds like a "fun" trip XF,
One of these days I'm gunna have to join you on one of these trips

[mattsdakar]

One the way to the Cattle Creek I had the buzz of overtaking an XChallenge, only to discover later he was one of "mattsdaker" lot, riding out to Kurow with a broken collerbone!! That was an amazing feat on his part & I trust he's mending well.
Menzies Pass & Myers Pass were a blast, the pic showing ice in Myers.

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I didn't get there in the end, my DRZ had been running battery flat that week so while getting bike sorting for the Brass established that the stator had shat itself. Unfortunately had to order new one from Auckland which only arrived Thursday, $550 dollars later and the Brass budget was blown! So pulled the plug, weather had nothing to do with decision, !

[Underground]

When came the days end and the children gathered around the tribal fires to hear the story's of the Ancestors, the Legends told of a man (perhaps more than a man ) named Straun who on his steed of steel defied the odds and beat the mighty Dansy's to humble submission
And they sang his name to the stars such was his feat.
Well done that man,
But dont know if I am going for a ride with you again ya madman

nice poem
I know how knackering it is to spend a day having a fun ride in the snow , but to be past the point of no return and being commited to getting through the thick white stuff would be a whole another story.

[NordieBoy]

nice poem
I know how knackering it is to spend a day having a fun ride in the snow , but to be past the point of no return and being commited to getting through the thick white stuff would be a whole another story.

On bald tyres...

[XF650]

On bald tyres...

None of our lot had bald tyres, however we all wished our tyres were newer / sharper.
Which begs the question: why were so many larger adv bikes (GS's, 990's etc) gravel riding to Brass Monkey on tyres more suited to summer or dry gravel? Even Gareth Morgan turned back on the Haka, quoting tyre issues on his GS.

[Jantar]

.....
Which begs the question: why were so many larger adv bikes (GS's, 990's etc) gravel riding to Brass Monkey on tyres more suited to summer or dry gravel? .....

Perhaps it's because in recent years that is all that's been needed to do the Haka and Danseys. I regularly fit sports style tyre on my Strom and still go on gravel roads without any hesitation. But there's no way I'll go on mud or snow without something a bit more agressive, and certainly not Dansys, Haka or even Thompson's in the present conditions.

Too many years of getting through the Danseys on road tyres may have made those riders too complacent.

[mattsdakar]

None of our lot had bald tyres, however we all wished our tyres were newer / sharper.
Which begs the question: why were so many larger adv bikes (GS's, 990's etc) gravel riding to Brass Monkey on tyres more suited to summer or dry gravel? Even Gareth Morgan turned back on the Haka, quoting tyre issues on his GS.

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Stupidity comes in many forms!
Once again adventurer riders reputations are tarnished by a few idiots (not you struan)

[dmc]

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Stupidity comes in many forms!
Once again adventurer riders reputations are tarnished by a few idiots (not you struan)

Scorp's can handle pretty shitty conditions, snow isn't one of them tho and I know atleast the guys I ride with (who were in the pic's) bailed out once it was obvious the snow was getting worse, I'm surprised the guys who got stuck went further as I know it would have to be pretty crappy for my mates to bail considering some of the places we have had the 950/990's through in the past.

The Dansey's was closed when we came back last time and the last few kms at the top of the pass was sketchy with ice on snow but still pretty doable if taken carefully, maybe the group who got stuck thought it was going to be the same but with the amount of snow they would have hit I'm picking stupidity won out that time.

[Transalper]

There's a thread in General Bike Ravings.
One of the guys involved tells a much more plausible story of what really happened... http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...post1129777325
Newspapers really are crap at getting the facts straight.

[XF650]

There's a thread in General Bike Ravings.
One of the guys involved tells a much more plausible story of what really happened... http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...post1129777325
Newspapers really are crap at getting the facts straight.

Excellent. I don't remember seeing any "shoulder deep" snow either, and was starting to wonder if more had fallen.
It still amazes me that anyone would attempt it on road tyres though.

Another consideration when taking such "risks" is insurance. I was under the impression that insurance cover could be compromised if riding closed roads? We were aware of that but I wonder how many others were, incl all those bikes that rode the Haka.

[NordieBoy]

None of our lot had bald tyres, however we all wished our tyres were newer / sharper.

Undergrounds were bald up Mt Patriarch in the snow

[Underground]

Undergrounds were bald up Mt Patriarch in the snow

I wasnt really expecting to get too far that day , but as a comparison Bugsubique made it to the top on his Africa Twin with sharp knobs , whereas I only got half way up ,
But on the other hand he got into a lot more trouble with his good tyres than I did with my eelskins

[NordieBoy]

But on the other hand he got into a lot more trouble with his good tyres than I did with my eelskins

One good thing about not being able to get any speed up

[T.W.R]

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Stupidity comes in many forms!
Once again adventurer riders reputations are tarnished by a few idiots (not you struan)

One of the brief glimpses shown on TV3 news showed two of the bikes that had to be recovered from Danseys and they weren't actually adventure bikes......one was what looked like a WLA Harley and the other a GT750 Ducati