Waikato scooter rides?

[frogfeaturesFZR]

what a pointless thread!

I'd beg to differ.
Horses for courses and all that.

[BlackSheepLogic]

scooters are gay

Feeling a little insecure are we?

[Madness]

Feeling a little insecure are we?

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...rats-2-carver?

[craisin]

mm

[awa355]

I've seen the video, a fantastic ride.

[awa355]

8.30am and here I was with a full 5l fuel can and the lawns were too wet to mow. Buggar!! well not being one to waste petrol I grudgenly filled Buggsy, made some sandwiches and a thermos and went for a short tiki tour while the lawns dried.

Turning into Pekanui road I cruised on up the 9k's of gradual climbing stopping once to take in the views over the Waikato from the slopes of Mt Pirongia. Looking towards Taupo, I could get a good view of Mt Ruapehu and Mt Ngauruhoe. Tried for a photo of Ruapehu but had to engage the digital zoom function which does nothing for the clarity of the photo but I've loaded it anyway.



From here I carried on up to the crossroads where Pirongia west rd turns right. I have ridden the Okupata rd several times on the scooter but not the west road. The road surface was good but with plenty of bigger gravel stones than the 10" wheels were comfortable with. Having said that, the scooter handled the bigger loose stuff pretty well. Keeping out wide on the cambered left corners helps with avoiding the worst of the corrugations. The road follows the edge of the Mt Pirongia forest park for quite away before moving away towards Oparau. The roads seems to have been cut along some bluffs as the right side is mostly steep banks and the left has a belt of pungas and scrub dropping down to the farmland.



As far as scenery goes, there isn't any, untill leaving the forst park section. There are some great views looking out over the inner Kawhia harbour.



The road becomes easier as it drops down through sheep farmland to the valley below. The Oparau river flows out of the forest park and into the harbour. Here is one photo of the river.



The place was so quiet and serene. Apart from the sheep bleating it was so still. No breeze, not farm machinary, no traffic. A bit further along at Oparau I stopped again and had a bite to eat and cup of tea. About 20 minutes spent there and not a soul went passed or showed themselves. Leaning over the bridge I watched a decent size trout going about his business, drifting sideways into the current for a snack then back behind the sunken tree trunk. From here it is a short hop out to the Kawhia road. I pulled up at a picnic table to take off my jersey when this local chap turned up.



Turns out his grandaddy was an old totara from way back, used to make Wakas'. then made fence posts. Nowadays his family have gone and he just stands around watching the traffic go by. From here it was 'knees down' back through the twisties of the Kawhia road. Buggsy wasn't quite finished with the gravel though, we swung left into Te Rauamoa road. Eight k's of smooth winding gravel bought us back to the crossroads of Pekanui and Okupata roads. This time Pekanui was all downhills. Still patches of fine loose chips on many corners tho' so we didn't go for any records.

All up, about 120 k round trip. Looking at the local maps, ( King Country/Waikato) there are very few gravel roads that the scooter and I haven't covered. Guess we will have to start all over again. Oh, and the lawns did get mowed this afternoon.

[frogfeaturesFZR]

Cheers, good read, have you ridden out past Ngaroma way ? Great twisty roads !

[Moi]

Great read, nice way to get out of mowing the lawns... or were you good and did them when you got home?

[BlackSheepLogic]

Great read, nice way to get out of mowing the lawns... or were you good and did them when you got home?

Took the UZ125 out on Kakaramea road yesterday morning. When I got back my lady wanted the lawn mowed including edging. Wasn't allowed to take the bike out until it was done.

[awa355]

Took the UZ125 out on Kakaramea road yesterday morning. When I got back my lady wanted the lawn mowed including edging. Wasn't allowed to take the bike out until it was done.

I wait until the wife has gone to work, then disappear on the bike.

[craisin]

[Saturn]

I wait until the wife has gone to work, then disappear on the bike.

Naughty, Naughty, but really good read as usual and great to see the scenery.

[awa355]

Well the wife did go to work this morning so I decided that 9am was far too late to start any chores around the house so it was saddle up Buggsy and head for the hills. The hills behind Te Pahu to be exact.
A leisurely ride through to Te Pahu and we hung a left into Limework Loop road. Plenty of corners, nice green trees and hills. Turned left into Fillery road. Somewhere along this road the name changes to Waitetuna Valley road. This climbs over the Aromiro saddle. Fillery road in many respects copies Old Mountain road. Winds and twists through farmland then climbs up through scrub covered hills then down into the Waitetuna valley.
At the highest point of Fillery road there is a small quarry on the right. I talked to a truckie who pulled at the quarry entrance where I had stopped. I asked about riding up to the quarry and getting a few photos of the surrounding country. As he was the only one working there, that was no problem. Followed his truck up the road leading into the quarry and parked up the scooter. I climbed up onto a peak and had a wonderfull view of the country overlooking the waikato on one side and towards the west. A couple of photos taken with my cell phone. What a useless piece of equipment for taking photos. A reflective screen that makes reading the functions and seeing what is in the view impossible. I’m currently looking at up grading my camera to one with a better optical zoom function.
A panarama shot looking over towards Mt Pirongia.



One of the quarry.



One looking west.



I did take a short 360 video from here. If it looks somewhat shaking that’s because ‘eloquent’ doesn’t quite describe a man wearing motorcycle gear standing on a heap of ryolite trying to pirouette gracefully while holding a stupid cell phone.



From here Fillery road drops down into the Waitetuna valley. The road surface is quite good, for gravel, and Buggsy started winding up. Vandy road had featured in the Adventureriding website recently, so I decided to have a look at this road. It slowly climbs through marginal farmland and finishes at a mud track that dissappears into a bush reserve. A snap of Vandy road.



A fun ride back down to the Waitetuna road and it was back onto the tarseal. I did think about riding back over the Old Mountain road but I had done this track twice in the last two months, so I ran out to the main Raglan-Hamilton road and then onto the Te Pahu road. Before Te Pahu I turned left into Grove road. This runs along a ridge untill hitting the Te Pahu road again. This road has been recently sealed all the way. A wee loop off the Te Pahu road, this is a ball. One eye on the scenery and one eye on the road. Going to be a while before the loose chips are swept off the road. A lovely shot looking across to Mt Pirongia.



From here a easy ride back home. I was only away for 3 hours, but saw some lovely scenery and rode some great roads. Not fast but loose enough to be fun.

[unstuck]

Good stuff yet again.
Must have come out not far from where strawberry fields music festival was held by the look of that last pic.

[tri boy]

That wee scoot gets about
Limeworks loop Rd -Te Rapa is my daily commute. Love it
When I see the big Kahikatea trees going home, I just smile