Ok so been meaning to write this for aaages.
Got my full license 2 months ago while I was up in Auckland, and having sold my 1996 Rover, and betting that the worst of winter was over in Queenstown, I went bike shopping...
As I had rented a 250 for the license test from Cyclespot, Grant got me to test out a ZZR600. Now, my biking experience to date had been about 15-20,000kms on an FXR and a GPX250. Granted, I'd have a few short rides on an SRAD 750 (ooohh...) and a Buell XB12 (double oooh...) but my knowledge of bikes was pretty much all in comparison to those 2, largely gutless bikes.
Having been an internet bike troll for years as well, I'd formed a general opinion of bikes:
250's - all slow.
400's - hand grenades, zippy if you kept the revs up
600's - had to be a race rep, otherwise it was heavy/slow.
750's - almost fast, or good 'step ups' to 1000s
Litrebikes - Fast. What every bike rider should work towards riding.
1000+ bikes - Really fast. Heavy but good for touring.
So taking the early 90's ZZR out I was thinking Hmm... this is a slow piece. When can I test an R1..
And naturally, I was shocked how fast this 20 year old sub-1000cc bike was! I think what is so different on a >250cc bike is that the bike actually accelerates when you twist the throttle. you don't have to keep winding and revving and waiting for the bike to accelerate. It just goes when you want it to. Sitting on the motorway at 100km/h, in first gear!! with another 5 still to go! Yikes...
But ultimately the ZZR was too big and heavy for round-town riding, which is what I wanted.
Next up I test rode a Hyosung GT650 - a lot lower, lighter, and just torque torque torque. Now I was introduced into the world of big bikes, so I knew a bit more what to expect powerwise, and took it a bit easier. But it was still awesome... Every time I cranked the throttle open was like liquified cocaine into the brain... Fuzzy eyes, beating heart, gut clenching and still just wanting to upshift and power on again... Mmmm torque addiction. The GT had everything that the ZZR wasn't - modern styling, torque at every point of the tacho, no fairings, light handling, and a reeeeally nice sound. The only thing it missed was decent brakes.
So naturally, I bought it.
Second point of the story. Exit Auckland, destination: Queenstown.
Took the bike down SH3 past Waitomo and all the way through to New Plymouth. Great roads, great weather, and an awesome bike. I got the hang of pushing the heavier bike through the twisties and pulling out of the corners with the torque of the engine. Was really loving it, sound of the V Twin, sun on my back, and open road ahead of me. The weather was great until I turned off towards Wanganui (where I stayed the night). Got pretty cold from there on through to Wellington, and the roads were pretty boring. I found plugging the iPod in was good, kept me from caning it and seeing 'how fast I can go'.
Arrived in Picton around 6pm, and it got dark just as I left town towards Nelson, bitterly cold. The road through Queen Charlotte Sound was fantastic, heaps of 45-65km corners, but was pitch black, roadworked, gritted, icing up, and friggin cold. So I took it easy. Camped at some friends in Nelson.
Left the next morning, about 4 deg outside. It's an awesome road down through the West Coast, one I've done quite a few times in a car but never on a bike. I'd been meaning to ride the West Coast for ages so was really looking forward to this. Had to stop just down the road and put on every piece of clothing I had with me, the wind was biting, chill factor of like -20... Start seeing lots of grit on the road so made a mental note to watch the corners.
Sweet sailing through to Greymouth, until I had my first encounter with the road. The Hyosung GT650 has an official dry weight of around 174kg from memory, but in reality they're about 200kg I've heard. Trying to pull out from the sidewalk into a lean-over-accelerate-away move, I had a battle with gravity.. and lost. Broke a clutch lever as the bike came down, and looked like a right twat as I struggled to lift the bike off the ground. Couldn't do it by myself, and an old bloke in a ute came along and helped me out (Cheers old bloke).
Finally got the clutchless bike started and rolling after a lot of pushing and gear clunking, and took off towards the nearest bike shop in Greymouth. Miraculously, with all the 1 way bridges, roadworks and everything else, I didn't have to stop at all the whole way through. Okay granted, I did have to race through one set of red light roadworks...
Got to Greymouth and stayed at the Mermaid? Backpackers and Jade from the Greymouth motorbike shop sorted and fitted me a new lever. Thanks again.
Next morning I headed out, and hit ice. Was doing about 15kmh going around an uphill corner and the front came out from underneath me. Long story short, I'd broken the gearshift linkage and couldn't do much, so called Golightly insurance, who I'd signed with in Auckland. They got their claims people to call me (Vero) and sorted me out quick smart. Tane from Queenstown Motorcycles drove all the way to Franz with a trailer to pick me up (Big ups to you and QM)...
Ok this thread is way too long.
The bike had bent the gear selector shaft and also broken a few cog teeth inside, which were lost somewhere inside the engine. Write off. Vero paid out, good on them.
Queenstown Motorcycles had a Kawasaki Xanthus (400cc) that looked pretty good. So I took that for a test ride, was very different power but still great fun. Have owned it for a week now and loving it. Although Im getting pretty terrible mileage!
So a big thanks to Cyclespot for the GT650, sorry I wrote it off, Queenstown Motorcycles for picking me and my bike up and selling me the Xanthus, and Vero/Golightly for paying for it all.
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Originally Posted by SMOKEU
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