Best Gravel Road

[Kickaha]

Well they had one for the best road rides.

My pick so far would be the ride throught the Urewera National park I think the sign when you leave Wairoa says "unsealed road 120kms"

A bit of a mistake with my map reading put me on this road on my BMW R75/7 back in 1988 and after seeing that sign I thought I'd give it a bash anyway and I didn't ever regret it even with the rain.

A brilliant ride,with not a bad road surface,although the local council did try to kill me by parking there truck in the road around a corner while doing some road works,very spectacular scenery especially up around the lake and the waterfall and well worth doing.

Is the Taihape-Napier road unsealed? I haven't been over that one yet and was just wondering.

[pete376403]

Lat time I went over the taihape-napier there was an unsealed bit (about 50 km) in the middle. Nice, very smooth, fine gravel. Wash the bike soon after, tho', the papa clay (?) is a bit like cement, very difficult to get off if you leave it two years like I did (!) Once you get off the dirt at the napier end there's a beautiful smooth winding road down to the main highway

[Motu]

I could talk about a lot of gravel roads - trouble is they are all sealed now with bloody cars bikes and campers all over them! Sh16,SH22,SH43,Waitakaruru to Kawakawa Bay,Happy Valley,countless small roads in between.Each time I go out another stretch of nice road has sucumbed to seal rot.

Haven't been through the Urewera's for 30yrs,but it's on my to do list - leaving Murapara on a damn near 4 lane gravel super highway,then going around the lake in a single lane up on a cliff is a good contrast.For a superb gravel road Port Albert has some nice ones,very wide and smooth,but also tight and twisty too.Over on the other coast I just love taking the XLV750 up the hill out of Pakiri - I'd love to strap a camera to my helmet,or just record the sound,I'll be sad when that one goes.Port Waikato all the way down to Awakino,some seal rot,but just fantastic roads everywhere.Between SH3 and SH43 and 40 it's just littered with gravel roads.

I have been on a lot of gravel in the North Island,but I really know the ones for my day rides best,I've got photos on my computer at work,I'll put some up tomorrow.

[merv]

The creeping black top is spoiling some of our old haunts. I did the Waikaremoana road in my 4x4 at Christmas time and it still has about 80km of gravel. The bit south of the lake was always one of the widest and smoothest gravel roads you'd find and as Motu says then around the lake its narrow, but good fun. I'm about to take my WR up in that area for a bit of a look see next week.

Down this way there are still a few good ones in the Wairarapa many of which we did on the Pukemanu. The roads to Flat Point, Glendhu and White Rock are good but on the White Rock road the seal has crept right past the Haunui wind farm these days when down the hill from there used to be one of the best bits. Tinui back to Alfredton is good. There are also some that are more like farm tracks all over the Wairarapa that are public access - can't remember the name but South of Gladstone there is a good track to ride - got to open a few gates on that one.

When I was in the South Island I used to love the roads on the Peninsula - mentioned them in another thread - Pigeon Bay and all those kind of places and Mt Bossu on the other side of the main road. Another good one was Lees Valley from Ashley Gorge back to Loburn and then there is the Rainbow Road up Nelson Lakes way - gotta pay a small charge to use that one. I've attached a few pics of that one.

Since I've been into 4x4 I've got hold of all those books with the routes in and take the family cruising over the roads - any good ones - go back on the bike.

[Motu]

Hey,how do I trick the program into accepting pictures I have already posted? These are just a few from close to Auckland,Port Albert,the Pakiri hill,Hunua Ranges.

[merv]

Jackrat should like that last pic Motu.

[Kickaha]

Another good one was Lees Valley from Ashley Gorge back to Loburn

I forgot about that one,I've only done it once and that was on a Ducati Darmah with clipon's,the Loburn end was a bit rough in places but the rest was fairly easy,good day trip as its only a few minutes away.

[NordieBoy]

and then there is the Rainbow Road up Nelson Lakes way - gotta pay a small charge to use that one. I've attached a few pics of that one.

Just went through this on the Nordie during the Rainbow Rage.
Sat at the top of Jacks Pass from 12-6:30 taking photos of everyone and then filled up in Hamner and rode back through.

TIP - You can ride on a flat rear for a long way Even if it's 8:30 at night and you find the gate is locked at the other end and have to walk out in the pitch black where you can't even see the edges of the road/fords/bridges...

http://motorsport.nelson.geek.nz/oth...nbowRage-2004/

[merv]

I forgot about that one,I've only done it once and that was on a Ducati Darmah with clipon's,the Loburn end was a bit rough in places but the rest was fairly easy,good day trip as its only a few minutes away.

Is the river crossing still there or have they bridged it? Just wondering when you said you did it on the Darmah as I haven't been down there for years.

[merv]

Just went through this on the Nordie during the Rainbow Rage.
Sat at the top of Jacks Pass from 12-6:30 taking photos of everyone and then filled up in Hamner and rode back through.

http://motorsport.nelson.geek.nz/oth...nbowRage-2004/

Those Rage dudes look a bit short of horsepower on those bikes.

[Kickaha]

Is the river crossing still there or have they bridged it? Just wondering when you said you did it on the Darmah as I haven't been down there for years.

Sure was,we did it in summer and it wasn't very high although my mate on his F650 just about fell off in it,the Darmah saw a bit of gravel road use even down on Stewart Island,not that there's much road down there.

[merv]

To add to the Lees Valley story I went round there twice by car as well when I was at Uni and problem being then I was always down in the South Island March - October and water was a bit abundant in those months. One time I drove my trusty Hillman Hunter round there and through that river water was deep and splashed up right over the bonnet. Turned out that water got into the horns and it buggered them. Didn't know that until next time I tried them - never used them much - so had to buy new ones and this time mounted them higher up under the bonnet behind the grill instead of down low.

[Motu]

What about different surfaces? I have never done gravel roads in the South Island,I hear they are more pebbles than the blue stone chip more normal in the North Island - so what are they like to ride on?

Papa around Taranaki,white clay in Northland,red stuff Bombay to Marakopa,yellow muck where there was Kauri - but the base surface doesn't really seem to matter.I prefer a road matured into wheel tracks,these offer good traction and I move in and out of them as I ride,crossing the middle hump in a big lurid slide with a snatch in the wheel track.Fresh thick graded gravel is a nightmare whatever bike you are on,there are only degrees of control - although I have had bikes that just lap it up,usualy a little one.

On Waiheke they spread ''rejects'',huge kumara sized and shaped rocks ,this was a hell of a shock and took a lot to cope with.The rock is ''rotten'' and will break in your hands,that's why they start out so big,then gradualy crumble into smaller pieces.The roads never form wheel tracks,they just have a uniform covering of fine gravel as they mature - they are not marbles on top,but you do get more wheelspin.It took me a while to come to grips with these roads but ended up really enjoying them and could hit them as fast as any bike I had could deliver - coming back to the mainland it was a shock to find I had difficulty riding on the roads I grew up on...bloody wheel tracks and humps!

[NordieBoy]

Those Rage dudes look a bit short of horsepower on those bikes.

3 hours to do 107km through the Rainbow isn't hanging around though

[marty]

there is still plenty of gravel out the back of SH22, out te akau way, between raglan harbour and port waikato. there's always the whaanga rd raglan, the 309 and tapu-coroglen rds on the coromandel, the port jackson-private rd-stony bay-port charles-etc. it's just getting there on all those straight boring ones that hurts.