Waikato scooter rides?

[awa355]

Went for a ride last night to try for a time lapse clip of the sunset over the Kawhia harbour. The sunset didn't play ball but it was a neat ride anyway. I had the Gopro camera on the scooter so got a few nice clips, unfortunately, the sun was down low and straight ahead of Buggsy.

I went pass the lookout where I was going to film from and got this short clip of the road with the sun behind me as I returned to the lookout.



As with most you tube vids, their finished clip presents worse than the original.

Anyway, while waiting the last hour for the sun to set I snapped a couple of photos at the lookout point.

One of the road.



Just after taking this, a black Ducati went sailing past. I wish I had've filmed him with the video mode. Second is a Tui. The zoom would not get in as close as I would have liked. The power lines have ruined the shot.



The last is a panorama of the hillsides in the last of the sun.



Got back to Te A just after dark,

[awa355]

Returning from the above ride on the Kawhia road, I had the camera running, mostly to see how much could be recorded before the battery run flat. The sun had dropped and I suppose this would be twilight time. The white edition of the GoPro does not work too well in low light so I was not expecting too much. It was filmed at 720p

This has had the brightness tweaked up a little bit in windows live movie maker. I quite like the colours in this.

[unstuck]

Good work Speilberg.

[awa355]

Buggsy cruising the 'Strip' otherwise known as the main street. Checking out the Saturday night action.

[unstuck]

Hell of a lot busier than gore on a saturday night, thats for sure.

[awa355]

Hell of a lot busier than gore on a saturday night, thats for sure.

There was a re run of Lassie Come Home ( in Tecnicolour ) at the pictures. Dats why there wwas so many cars parked in the main street.

Does Gore have a picture threatre?

[unstuck]

Yep, The ST James. Currently playing the new movie with that dench woman in it.

[frogfeaturesFZR]

Mmmm could smell the hot bread from Viands, happy memories !

[awa355]

This is the last few k's before Ngaroma.

[frogfeaturesFZR]

Lovely day for a ride, cheers for posting

[awa355]

A few posts ago, I wrote on a ride one evening to try for a decent sunset photo from the Kawhia road lookout. The sunset was a noshow, but I got a couple of video clips of the ride in the late sunshine / twilight hour.

Last night I decided to give this sunset lark another wack. This time I chose to ride around the inner harbour to Waitere and wait for the sunset. Sadly, the tide was out so any photos of the harbour show mostly mudflats either side of the channels. As this pic shows, taken just before the drop off the last saddle down to the harbour.



The ride alongside the harbour is quite picturesque. You need to watch the inside corners tho' as many corners have a spread of light stones washed down off the banks onto the road.

The road to Te Waitere climbs over a couple of ridges before coming to a pleasant little village ( no amenities ) with a pier and boat ramp.

After a light snack and cup of tea, I decided that the sunset was going to be better to view from the far end of the harbour, so I headed back.

This is a short clip of the Te Waitere road coming over the last ridge before linking with the Harbour / TeAnga road.




This second video is on Harbour road heading back towards the Kawhia end. I added a sound track to the film, Hopefully, the copyright gestapo leave it in place. The preview shows the clips as being a bit jerky, I hope your view is a lot smoother.




At the bridge before the hills, I pulled up and aimed Buggsy across the harbour towards the sun. Unfortunately you only get one sunset a day and like last time, the curtains were pulled across the sun itself, but the sky still had some nice patterns.




It was very pleasant sitting on the bank watching the sea birds diving and gliding across the water. Soon it was obvious that a stunning sunset was not on the cards, so I headed towards home. Just after the turnoff onto the Kawhia road the sky lit up with the last sunset rays spread across the sky.




After this it was a straight forward run home. A neat evening ride.

[Moi]

Those sky/cloud pics are great... really like the second one...

Nice way to spend an afternoon/early evening.

[awa355]

Last November I replaced the rear tyre on the scooter, but made a ' technical' error in ordering the size. I ordered a 70 profile instead of a 90. So for the last 4,500k have been running a smaller than standard tyre. The road speed had dropped, fuel consumption up slightly, ground clearance less, so today I got a new tyre fitted. Have stuck with Pirelli but gone back to the block tread pattern similar to the original Chen Sein.

The previous tyre was a SL38, the new one a SL60. The SL38 was only half worn which is pretty good for a 10" tyre. I should have worn the 38 right down but dropping about 10kph comfortable cruising speed was driving me nuts.

Tomorrow, I'm riding up to the Sth Manakau heads for a good look around the Waiuku area . I am going to meander through the side roads between sh22 and the Waikato river on the way up. If the sky is clear, I will return via Port Waikato and follow the coastal roads down to Te Aku, then back onto sh22. Should be a good run in for the new tyre.

[oneblackflag]

Tomorrow, I'm riding up to the Sth Manakau heads for a good look around the Waiuku area . I am going to meander through the side roads between sh22 and the Waikato river on the way up. If the sky is clear, I will return via Port Waikato and follow the coastal roads down to Te Aku, then back onto sh22. Should be a good run in for the new tyre.

Sounds like a good ride. Look forward to pics/clips.

[CrazyFrog]

Last November I replaced the rear tyre on the scooter, but made a ' technical' error in ordering the size. I ordered a 70 profile instead of a 90. So for the last 4,500k have been running a smaller than standard tyre. The road speed had dropped, fuel consumption up slightly, ground clearance less, so today I got a new tyre fitted. Have stuck with Pirelli but gone back to the block tread pattern similar to the original Chen Shen.
The previous tyre was a SL38, the new one a SL60. The SL38 was only half worn which is pretty good for a 10" tyre. I should have worn the 38 right down but dropping about 10kph comfortable cruising speed was driving me nuts.

I don't think a worn rear should alter your top speed much, low tyre pressure yes, but not really general wear on the tyre.
Have you checked the variator rollers for flat spots or the thickness of the drivebelt for wear? These are common items which contribute to lower speeds. I know your scoot has done a few kms now, these should really be replaced bewtween 10-15,000km.
If your fuel consumption has increased, might pay to check air filter and give it a good clean. Riding on some of those gravel roads you do will clog it up quickly.

Also looking forward to your report on SH22 and beyond, might be doing it on a 125 scoot in 2 weeks.