Visiting New Zealand?

[robinhood]

Hi am living in the UK and was wondering if it would be cheaper to buy a bike out in N.Z to tour round on.....seems expensive to rent out there..and aint got a massive budget.
How long do you think you need to stay to do justice to touring North and South Island and where is a must visit.
Grateful to any advice info guidance etc..From what you read sounds a great place to ride.....uk roads just so bloody crowded....cheers..

[Akzle]

How long do you think you need to stay to do justice to touring North and South Island

oh,,, thirty years would make a good dent in it...

[haydes55]

depends what kind of riding you want to do? sports touring/carving corners, touring, cruising/sight seeing?

a week or so around the north island, up to cape Reinga, down coromandal, east cape, rotorua, taupo, forgotten worlds highway. then hit the south island for a few weeks.

I'd recommend buying a bike off trademe.co.nz then when you're ready to leave, selling it on trademe with a $1 reserve auction finishing on the day you fly out.

[sidecar bob]

Check out trademe.co.nz, it's the most popular online auction site in NZ.

[robinhood]

oh,,, thirty years would make a good dent in it...

Be long gone by then....maybe should have emigrated lol

[robinhood]

Check out trademe.co.nz, it's the most popular online auction site in NZ.

Cheers for that will check it out...

[JimO]

it would be way cheaper to buy a car, for under 2k you will get a good car that will get you everywhere, bikes not that fast to sell here especially if your ready to leave unless you can get someone to sell it for you

[unstuck]

Hi am living in the UK and was wondering if it would be cheaper to buy a bike out in N.Z to tour round on.....seems expensive to rent out there..and aint got a massive budget.
How long do you think you need to stay to do justice to touring North and South Island and where is a must visit.
Grateful to any advice info guidance etc..From what you read sounds a great place to ride.....uk roads just so bloody crowded....cheers..

What time of year are you planning on visiting?, makes a difference to the places you may want to visit and the gear you need to make yourself comfortable.

[Bikemad]

if you go to Amazon books and search for "Twisting Throttle New Zealand".......it's written by a kiwi motorcyclist Mike Hyde and contains 50 of the best rides here in NZ........about half on dirt or gravel........other half road based.Has maps and the like...a good read and would be helpful in planning a tour here

[sidecar bob]

it would be way cheaper to buy a car, for under 2k you will get a good car that will get you everywhere, bikes not that fast to sell here especially if your ready to leave unless you can get someone to sell it for you

Ive got a mint 320e Merc for sale, Ill even take it back a the end if it hasnt been damaged. will be cheap too. Or I could upgrade you to a '02 318ti BMW, that would be a bit more. Great advice coming from a biker forum though.

[Tazz]

it would be way cheaper to buy a car, for under 2k you will get a good car that will get you everywhere, bikes not that fast to sell here especially if your ready to leave unless you can get someone to sell it for you

Even a week of hiring would probably balance out your loss on most bikes (to the point that it would be an easy sale). Some of those things are well over $100 a day to fang around on.

[JimO]

Even a week of hiring would probably balance out your loss on most bikes (to the point that it would be an easy sale). Some of those things are well over $100 a day to fang around on.

i said buy not hire, TM is full of cheap shitters, not so much cheap motorcicles

[sidecar bob]

i said buy not hire, TM is full of cheap shitters, not so much cheap motorcicles

Or he could buy a tidy non shitter of a reputable kb member.

[swarfie]

Or he could buy a tidy non shitter of a reputable kb member.

Reputable KB member....
I was talking to a guy (ex-kiwi) about 4 years ago, on our way back from Wanganui with the sidecar on the trailer, who was touring around our good land on an older KTM he had hired from a bike shop down in Levin(?). It was one the shop had had for sale and he hired it for $28/day including insurance and I thought that was pretty good value at the time. He mentioned that he would have to pay for the wear on the tyres on top of that, but still pretty cheap riding. He was living in Oz and was out here for three weeks, done a bit of the Norf and was heading to the Big Island and had done about 3,500 km at the time. I think buying something on TM would be the best bet and just take a loss on resale.

[Warrigal]

Recommend as long as you can but 2 weeks north island and 3-4 weeks down south if you can. Use airbnb for cheap but good accommodation. Buying over renting if you can, our local bike shop is discussing offering sell and buyback type idea. Go right up north to Paihia etc, around Coromadel, Hobbiton area, on to Rotorua, Taupo, up to Ohope then around the East Cape, Gisborne even Napier on to Wellington in the North. Taranaki is great but off the beaten track. Then everywhere you can manage down South. Enjoy. We have a BMW K75S ready to tour if you'reinterested for $3500.