Lost between Turangi and Auckland

[gwigs]

Lost between Turangi and Auckland sh1 18th nov.
One irrational fear of the wet..nothing like 200ks of sometimes torrential rain and wind at 100 plus ks to make you realise it aint that bad.
As a newly returned rider I did try to avoid the wet but on wednesday I actually enjoyed it .I learned to relax and trust my bike.
The whole trip to Welly and back taught me a whole lot of lessons.
So if you find my lost fear I dont want it back...I think it flew of the back at about 120ks..

[Nasty]

Good on ya!!! ... Always nice to loose those things that do us no good!!

[vifferman]

Good stuff, gwigs!
It takes a wee while though, dunnit? You're riding along, all tense and worried about the road being slippery, then after a while you loosen up and ride much moar betterer.Even after having ridden in really shitty weather a lot of times (including twice when it was snowing, a few times in hailstorms, and many times in torrrential downpours, I *still* have to say to myself, "There's more grip than you think there is!" so I relax a bit.

[ital916]

Goodn on ya mate. I also rode back from welli on wed. Wasnt bad, as long as you ride to conditions. Increase following distance, decrease speed and so on. I found the wind a helluva lot worse on the way down when it was clear.

Was riding down the desert road though at if felt like I got hit in the helmet by a big fucking rock! I look to my left and there was this big cloud rising from the ground, like there was an explosion or something.

[gwigs]

Yeah that wind was a bastard on the way down..I was passing a big truck and as I got in front of him a huge gust kept me on the wrong side of the road with another truck heading in my direction for what seemed like an eternity...just got hard on the gas and hauled her over...
just one of few the arse clenching moments I had ..but at least you know your alive...beats sitting on the couch at home..

[xwhatsit]

It was pretty horrible on Wednesday, wasn't it. I went down to Wellington on the Sunday, rather nice ride. Took exactly the same route on the way back (around through National Park, SH3 I think?), utterly miserable.

Somewhere coming up to National Park, freezing cold, pissing down with rain, boots full of icy water, the old CB250RS starting getting slower and slower... could only manage 70kph... pulled OK at low RPM but wouldn't rev any higher than my Mini 850... pulled over into a rest stop. Pulled out spark plug, looked completely fucked. Big chunk of the insulator missing, tip corroded, burnt-on oil deposits everywhere. `There's your problem.' Didn't have a spare plug, so cleaned it up as best as I could.

Kicked and kicked, fucking thing wouldn't start. Sat down on the ground just about ready to burst into tears then I realised I'd forgotten to put the plug lead back on. Kicked again.... bitch fookin' bike kicked back and put my knee in all kinds of misery. Finally got it started, crawled up at 65-70kph to the petrol station at top of National Park. Against all odds they had a D7EA -- one heat range too hot, but enough to get me the 45kms to Taumaranui where I bought a pair of the correct plugs. From then on made it back to Auckland.

But yeah. Amazing how a bit of rain and wind and a bit of a mechanical fright can affect the enjoyment of your ride. I'm as hard a bastard as I thought I was

[gwigs]

You must be a tough bugger xwhatsit ,all that way on a 250...I take my hat of to you..
My 20yr old 1100 would be luxury compared to your ride....I had spare plugs, tools ,air compressor ,spare coil but thankfully no probs apart from not wanting to start on the way down in Taupo and getting really hot on the way to the stadium..
Good on you

[xwhatsit]

You must be a tough bugger xwhatsit ,all that way on a 250...I take my hat of to you..
My 20yr old 1100 would be luxury compared to your ride....I had spare plugs, tools ,air compressor ,spare coil but thankfully no probs apart from not wanting to start on the way down in Taupo and getting really hot on the way to the stadium..
Good on you

Nah it's a Honda from the days when being a Honda meant it was a Honda, if you follow. It did Auckland->Cape Reinga->Auckland in 24hr period before, if it can't do a measly pair of 650km jaunts along pristine State Highways then I start getting upset and worried.

The Stadium was tough, wasn't it! My girl flew down on an aeroplane to Wellington, she pillioned on the back for the Stadium bit. The combination of her (at less than 50kg it's not that much I suppose) and the idling along towards the end with no airflow over the engine meant I had to pull over just outside the stadium and let the poor thing cool down a bit. May have been what happened to the spark plug, come to think of it. I saw a trike pull into the same area with steam pouring out of it. I think it's pretty tough on hardware, a slow ride on a hot day like that.