Hello and Gidday, Kia Ora.
I'm a new member here, but familiar to the forum life.
Bit of background, I currently live in Western Australia, although born and bred here in NZ. At the moment I am based in Auckland.
I currently own, in Australia, a 2014 Yamaha FJR1300 Police Model, also a 2015 KTM 500exc out fitted as a Supermoto. I have just sold my 2000 ZX6R Track Bike
I have been riding for the good part of 12 years, in fact I ride everyday and consider myself a bit of a purist and don't hold a car license for that reason.
Typical rides for me are usually commuting weekdays with 1 or 2 week night city rides chucked in, and on the weekend I would usually rack up 800-1000km days on rural roads.
I'm here for an indefinite period of time, and have just purchased a 2008 FJR sight unseen from Blackwood Yamaha in Cambridge. Ill be picking it up sometime next week.
Q:Has anyone had any dealings with BW Yammie? Any horror stories or things I should be aware of?
The bike presents well, comes freshly serviced and with a new battery and at a great price so I jumped on the chance.
I have a few routes planned for the North Island, and working on the SI now. Basically I'm getting most of my routes from BestBikingRoads.com and kind of piecing together the gaps as I go on Google Maps etc.
Q: What resources can you recommend for route planning/good road hunting? Anyone here have that much spare time that I can pester about the routes I have chosen?
In Aus, I was a long time member of a popular street bike forum, but with the advent of Facebook, that forum has died in the arse and now most groups are organised via FB pages and messages. There is literally hundreds of riding groups in WA, so you kind of just find where you fit and head out.
Q: What Facebook groups/forums are there here in NZ for finding other rides and riders to head out with?
In Aus, the police are very well on top of the traffic in and around the city region. Huge amount of speed cameras (Think about 100+ a day in Perth), and also have a fairly large amount of Bike Traffic Enforcement and a couple of helicopters, usually always up in the air monitoring the Freeway and the can ping you from above. Once you get out side of city limits, (About 150km) the chances of running into a speed trap is very slim. This is really because of the remoteness of the country.
Q: What is the general enforcement culture here? From what I have gathered, the NZPOL is very much on top of speeding etc, does it sound out of the ordinary to be able to open the bike up much? Are they cantered on just the highways, or do you have a high chance of finding them on back roads?
In Aus, we have to actively ride like every car is trying to knock you off, because well, they are all shocking drivers, and very much unaware of the surroundings. Lane Splitting isn't legal in WA although we lane split where ever possible and as a general rule, if your not being a dickhead about it the cops will leave you alone. But I'm always more than happy to pay the 'Safety Tax' (see: FINES) than put myself in a dangerous position.
Q:How aware and courteous is NZ traffic around motorcycles?
At the moment I am mapping out a route from Auckland-Cape Reinga-Bluff. It's taking alot of research. I'm planning on creating a thread here to keep track of the journey and I'll post up other threads for day rides. I would very much love to find some company for sections of the trip, and maybe even jump on other rides and make it up as I go.
For accommodation I have gathered multiple options, from AirBnb to Pubs to Camping. The beauty of the FJR is it has 2 panniers and a top box, plus a backpack and tank bag means I have more than enough room for camping equipment, gopro, drone, clothes food etc.
Only two more questions, I swear!!
Q:What weather services/apps/websites can you recommend for accurate on the road weather updates?
Lastly, I am planning on stopping by Cycletreads in Takapuna to pick up last gear that I didn't have room to bring over. Tank bag, new waterproof gloves, puncture repair kit, neck sock/balaclava.
Q: Does anyone have any experience with Cycletreads AKA Honda Central? Are there any other recommendations for gear shops in Auckland?
And on that note, if you have made it to what is possibly the longest introduction ever, THANK YOU!!
Any questions answered would be amazing and definitely worth a beer if we ever head out!
Keep Safe, Have Fun and stay shiny side up folks.
NZJ.
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