Your thoughts, best place in NZ for a motorcyclist to live?

[Big Dave]

For the OP - some road pics.

http://kiwiridermagazine.blogspot.co...ds%20to%20Ride

I've just been letting this Best Roads Poll run on:

http://kiwiridermagazine.blogspot.co...best-road.html

[Gezza]

I'd have to go with Haast. Just bloody magic

[Metastable]

Awesome - exactly what I was looking for.

I thought some of the roads I was on around the Coromandel and others nearish to Taupo were awesome.... there were some cool ones in the South Island too. Not sure if we hit Buller Gorge or not on the way from Kaiteriteri to Chch. I also wanted to get an idea of things like dirt tracking and tracks, and I think you all answered many questions. I never realized Waikaito actually included the Coromandel and Taupo areas.

Thanks again!

[shrub]

Christchurch.

Seriously we have some pretty great rides around here.

And the Summer weather is nice.

NorWesters are a pain.

You may however experience some periodic cracking and wobbling in the roads .....

Normally I'd agree 100%. We have the Banks Peninsula on our doorstep which has the road to Akaroa - truly magnificent if you ride it early in the morning or during the week - weekends it's full of campervans, slow cars and idiots on bikes showing how big their penises are. North we have the road to Kaikoura with your choice of the Hunderlees, the leader rd or the inland road. South is a bit fucked up for a couple of hundred kms unless you like loooooooooong straights, but west you have the choice of Arthur's Pass or the Lewis Pass. Given I can never decide which to ride, the best option is to ride over on one, up or down the West Coast and back over the other.

On the negative, several of the bike shops are fucked up, the CBD doesn't exist any more and roads around town are best suited to adventure bikes or dirt bikes. Still plenty of pubs and the gas is cheaper here than anywhere else in NZ.

[george formby]

I consider my region to be bike heaven. We have everything except for the racetrack.
Great weather, every road apart from SH1 is a hoot & almost deserted 8 months of the year, endless trails & beaches, low population ( high unemployment).
It's all on the doorstep too.

[mister.koz]

I reckon hamilton is a pretty good base, close enough to coromandel and the bay, close enough to the central nth island.

couple of routes here

The only real downside to hamilton is that you have to endure 50km of swamp roads (read long, straight and boring) to get to coromandel/the bay.

Hamilton get a lot of stick but so long as you have wheels, the distances are minor.

[Metastable]

I reckon hamilton is a pretty good base, close enough to coromandel and the bay, close enough to the central nth island.

couple of routes here

The only real downside to hamilton is that you have to endure 50km of swamp roads (read long, straight and boring) to get to coromandel/the bay.

Hamilton get a lot of stick but so long as you have wheels, the distances are minor.

That's a great link!

Just wondering - is there anywhere else in NZ that has rainfall as low as Christchurch? Chch seems to get very little rain from all the weather data I have seen.

[mister.koz]

That's a great link!

Just wondering - is there anywhere else in NZ that has rainfall as low as Christchurch? Chch seems to get very little rain from all the weather data I have seen.

I'm glad you liked it i used to be quite fastidious with mapping out the routes that i've taken

Yeah rainfall in NZ is relatively high, i am surprised that christchurch has low rainfal to be honest, its a beautiful area but the weather down there is intense in winter

[slofox]

That's a great link!

Just wondering - is there anywhere else in NZ that has rainfall as low as Christchurch? Chch seems to get very little rain from all the weather data I have seen.

Whilst it is true that rainFALL in Christchurch is low, the number of rain DAYS is not that much lower than other places - it just doesn't seem to rain as heavily as other places. In the nine years I lived there, I came to think that there was as much manky weather there as in the Waikato.

[Azi Dahaka]

What’s wrong with Wellington I suppose if you are a rec rider it sucks but if you are an everyday commuter my personal experience compared to the rest of the north island during my riding is it is a safe place for motorcyclists.

You always get the odd lunatic in a cage but in comparison to the smaller cities people actually see you and not only that they actually get out of your way.

I suppose the biggest downside in Wellington if you are a commuter on a hairdryer those light weight sports bikes cannot stand up to the wind.

Get a cruiser