zxr on shingle

[zeRax]

how do you guys think it will go on the molesworth to hanmer shingle road? never been on it before so i dont know how bad/good it is, your thoughts? ive ridden at 150 odd kmph on shingle road, but it was dead straight , actually better on the zxr than the gn, gn's too light, floats too much, dunno, , let me know how the road is please

[zeRax]

im'a look for it in this mc road atlas thingeh ;p

[DingDong]

I wouldnt recomend doing 150k on gravel... but if you insist, lower your tyre presure (especially the front) keep as much wieght on the front as you can.

Road tyres mean no leaning and you must power into and out of corners... but never put wieght on the rear.

The rear will float and thats good, if you start drifting off the road... drop a gear and power on, the back will step-out but it wont grab and you may just make the turn.

I know thats not the question you asked but 150 on the stones gets me going... have fun

[terbang]

It can be done I have riden my 1200 Bandit on metal a bit (Ive done a lot of off road riding in the past) and its a matter of keeping the front under control and keep the back loose (but not too much wick or you'll be on yer arse) bandit is good for (carefully) showering the countryside with stones. The wider radial tyres tend to just float on top which needs attention in the front. I have an old GSX400 that has skinny wee things on it and it is real good in the loose stuff for a road bike.

[Keeper]

haha ages back I was with some KBers over the tuckers and travelling at a bit of pace and in that sort of dazy end of day mode, came around a corner and started sliding everywhere, i held it togeather but almost shat myself, pulled over and took a breather, then the boys turned up and told me they thought I was mad crossing the gravel section at the roadworks over the 30kph recommended speed - opps

on a side note, back in the day I took my ZSR150 two stroke fairinged bike on shingle roads and crashed, I was sitting in the middle of three wheel grooves, when I have to move to avoid an oncoming car that was going sideways the bottom end came away, if you spot a similar situation where the gravel is thinner in three spots always stick in the far left one as you might not get a chance to move over if the time came

[DingDong]

Back in the day (16/17 years old) my mate and i had a gs1000 wit knobbles on, 100mph gravel machine.
Later... 29/30, I had a gpz900 wit knobbles on an a 21" front wheel... I sold it to a dude down south... I've always been it to bikes like these

[cowpoos]

why travel that road when you can do the kaikora-hamnar road....its sealed..

[Kickaha]

ive ridden at 150 odd kmph on shingle road,

Only 150? you wouldn't have kept up with us then

why travel that road when you can do the kaikora-hamnar road....its sealed..

Maybe he doesn't want to take the easy option

[zeRax]

well thats the ride the guys are doing, dunno why either, rather do it on a dr or xr or something, the 150 is the driveway to work, about 3km in from the road to the office of the vineyard dead straight wide shingle road ehhe, theyve put up speed limit signs now, and yes only 150, gets bit dodgy after that. and i kinda need my job for another 2 weeks :P

hmm, dunno about taking this road then, how much of it is shingle ?, mates dad took his gsxr400 for a ride on shingle last night to try get used to it and dropped it, cracked it a fair bit. but yea, hmmm might be worth a crack doing it slowly, cornering on shingle is not my idea of fun on a sportsbike

[N4CR]

Hey zerax, I did 12km's+ on my zxr on gravel.. took friggen ages too. You might want to reconsider. Just think about the poor air filter if you get a car ahead of you - 150kms and going slowly and it clogs etc. Not fun.

[Xman]

I've done the road a few times in the 4wd. Whilst it is fine, but not great fun in a 2wd car with road tyres, I would recommend against it on a ZXR. The whole thing is gravel, with a couple of fords(weather dependant). It could certainly be done on your bike, but I's suggest it would be an ordeal rather than fun. You will be too busy controlling the handling on the gravel to enjoy the amazing scenery.

[zeRax]

yea ok sweet as, i will talk to my mate and tell him ill go round the coast, either that or go to nelson cause i really need to find a flat over there

[Xman]

I highly recommend the road up to St Arnaud from Stoke. Fantastic winding road for bikes
you could take the long way around to Hanmer via Nelson Lakes and meet them there?

[imdying]

I hope it's a messed up ZXR with no fairings, cause it will be if you come a cropper even once :/ Sounds like a looney idea to me

[Posh Tourer :P]

It isnt all bad, on the 250 it´d be better than a bigger bike with bigger tyres. Generally the smaller the tyres the better, but my MZ ETZ with a 120/90 Conti rear was quite comfy. Lower profile tyres are worse. You will get sore arms and arse from having hard suspension, even on the BMW if the road is really washboarded it gets very tiring. If it is a nice gravel road, I´d go for it. But then i dont know your level of experience.