Whats the state of the desert road? (10 June)

[cowpoos]

I would take a detour and turn left at Waiouru. Head through Nat Park, Taumarunui and Otorohanga etc. Marginally longer journey but less likely to see ice...and fuzz.

national parks shorter ain't it?? by about 30kms if you take the whole route

[Cajun]

one opintion ldnz is courier some gear up there, thats what i did when had was in wellington for a week for meetings, i couriered a bunch of gear down, then couriered home agian, there is only so much you can carry on ya back

[ldnz]

i've got a rack on it and i've already sent the bulky stuff with a mate. Its not actually too bad a load, though the bike is probably going to look pretty stupid.

National park eh? I've never ridden through there. Is there petrol within 150k's of waiouru?

[skelstar]

Gas at Ohakune, Nat Park, Tau's, Oto (im guessing). During daylight hours at least. Good ride. Gotta watch the road as it drops down in to valley (you go under a rail bridge) as maybe covered in ice/grit.

[Cajun]

witha pack rack you are fine, i have carried 25kgs on my back from tga, to wellington, then back again.

[ldnz]

Stuff that, I can't ride with stuff on my back long distance, I get really sore shoulders really quickly.

Packing it on is going to be a laugh, I have to get it all in front of the rack and hard up against my back, or the balance is really dodgy. I nearly dropped it coming off the waiheke ferry last time because it was so bloody high and back on the bike.

[bobsmith]

Yes, I second national park. I drive to auckland quite often and national park is shorter, you can also bypass hamilton that way which saves some time.

Now... I was asking about the radar detector.......

[edit] - I was planning to have a ride to auckland last weekend but the weather happened...... becareful and have fun.

[ldnz]

bobsmith - http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...069#post679069

[ldnz]

For shits and giggles - here is how not to load a KR

[Str8 Jacket]

Wow, your dash is waaay different to mine. What a difference 2 years make!

Thats quite a load your carrying there, be careful it doesnt fall off the back...

[bobsmith]

Hey, I saw your bike a while ago at massey! Sorry, tried not to drool on it too much, had my fxr parked up next to it. interesting place to put the radar detector... does it still pick up signals ok?

[Freakshow]

That is pretty classic. Nice set up with the radar detector.

I still think you could get more on there.

[sunhuntin]

I would take a detour and turn left at Waiouru. Head through Nat Park, Taumarunui and Otorohanga etc. Marginally longer journey but less likely to see ice...and fuzz.

latest up date of that road [as of today] it is still closed, so desert road is the only option [turn off at bulls toward taupo]
i took the extremely long way into work that involves a quiet 100k country road that links up with that main highway... just past the t section where the roads meet it was all coned up and "road closed" signs. big slips still that havent been cleared.
plus ld is coming from palmy...so would add extra time to his trip by coming to wangas...bulls is closer. i did the same when i went to paeroa...i went south to bulls and took the desert road. there was some roadworks towards the northern end if i remember rightly, but should be finished by now!!

[What?]

Wrong road, Sunhuntin. You are thinking Parapara, but the above is referring to Waiouru - Nat Pk - North. Just a big loop to the west of the desert.

[ldnz]

I ended up taking the desert road by mistake, forgot to turn off at waiouru. It was pretty hairy, saw (and slid on) quite a bit of ice, and then the 2nd half was blanketed in fog. No prangs luckily, though I came bloody close. Amazing how slippery ice is.

Took a couple of pics on the phone, which i'll put up when I figure out how to get them off it.

Regarding the load - well thats 43kg's of gear there, a lot more than expected, and KR'ims took it really well. The biggest problem was that I left too little room for myself, so found myself squashed hard up against the tank. Very uncomfortable and I was sitting too upright - lots of wind resistance. Still, had no problems keeping the speed up. Cruised happily at 110k's the whole way, and no drama overtaking. Thank god for radar.