sun's South Island ride report: 1st Burt Munro Challenge 2006

**sunhuntin** · 26th November 2006, 15:41

well...headed out from wanganui to wellington after work on sunday.
not too bad of a ride....no major incidents. nearly got collected by a car and trailer that pulled out from one those fruit market things down welly way. had enough room to get around him on the left.
rode up and down the welly motorway for about an hour trying to find the backpackers i wanted to stay at [green lettering on white is no good for street signs!!] finally found it. dumped the gear and went to mickey d's for tea.

got the ferry an hour earlier cos i was bored. i dont like boats!! arrived in picton at about midday....hit the road, enjoyed the mass amounts of speed controlled corners and lack of traffic and made it to christchurch by tea time. must admit...i love the road between picton and chch...absolutly beautiful!!

hung around chch for a day, stayed at an awesome cheap hotel [$69/night for single, with basic sky and ensuite!] went and met up with some friends i havent seen for years, and bought heaps from the second hand shops.

headed out to dunedin on wednesday...very boring road, and i was stuffed by the time i got there. got directions from the great lady on the jewellery counter at the warehouse. slept at a cheap b/packers, on a bed that i nearly fell through, lol. left early the next day for invercargill.
the wind was incredible....was going all over the road, trying to keep the virago in one place. was followed by a cop for a while...sitting on 110k [im should be doing 70!] he simple overtook, looked at me as he went by, and kept on going. funny thing is...he didnt use indicators.

finally arrived in invercargill....i was stuffed! found my friends workplace, and then went to her place to crash. the rally has been awesome! the wind yesterday was wicked, so i didnt go to the beachraces, but went to wyndom today. awesome atmosphere! i filled up 4 memory cards with photos of the vintage racing bikes [will post a link when i get them all uploaded to photobucket] and various other bikes and things. in the end i was actually going through and deleting less important photos, so i could take more.

am going to head out on wednesday, as i have to be at work sunday at 7 [damnit!] hoping to go invers>dunedin>chch>picton and then welly>wangas on saaturday.

hope everyone else down this way is having an awesome time as well. am hoping this might become the 3rd part of battle of the streets!

**Hitcher** · 26th November 2006, 15:52

This good write-up could become a great one by the addition of photos...

**dangerous** · 26th November 2006, 16:08

Top effort girl

hey now remember on ya return, if you get sick of the back packers then there will be pleanty of KB places you can stay at... take it easy and enjoy the secenery

**sunhuntin** · 27th November 2006, 17:19

cheers hitcher and dangerous. photos will hopefully be partially up by monday the 3rd.

ive filled so far 256, 124, 64 and 16 mb memory cards, and bought a 512 today, so the loading process will be long and drawn out, but worth it in the end.

went for a drive with my friend out to bluff and riverton today....nice roads but largely unimpressive towns. gotta pick up oil for the bike tomorrow and petrol as well, and the return trip should be neat.

**Scorpygirl** · 27th November 2006, 17:28

Great write-up Sun. All the best for the return trip home. Looking forward to seeing all the pics!!!

**Hitcher** · 27th November 2006, 18:54

Originally Posted by sunhuntin

ive filled so far 256, 124, 64 and 16 mb memory cards, and bought a 512 today

There should be one or two good ones on there then!

**nadroj** · 27th November 2006, 20:00

Return via Lumsden Frankton Wanaka Twizel Tekapo right thru to Chch - you won't regret it.

**dangerous** · 28th November 2006, 05:16

Originally Posted by nadroj

Return via Lumsden Frankton Wanaka Twizel Tekapo right thru to Chch - you won't regret it.

hell yes, beats the main drag hands down.

**crashe** · 28th November 2006, 07:12

Wohoooooo sunhuntin.....
you done well on the VIRAGO...... good to have a comfy seat when riding long distances aye.....

Great write up........ and now to wait ever so patiently for the pics....

Ride safe on the way back.......

**scumdog** · 28th November 2006, 07:39

Tell who the cop was that passed you and didn't indicate, I'll give him a stinging slapping.

Good report, keep us posted and pics please!!

**Rashika** · 28th November 2006, 08:55

Originally Posted by nadroj

Return via Lumsden Frankton Wanaka Twizel Tekapo right thru to Chch - you won't regret it.

yup, you should def do this way....slightly longer but way much more fun!
Maybe catch you in chch later this week

You are welcome to stay anytime...

**Roj** · 28th November 2006, 10:16

Great to hear the challenge went well, would have liked to have been there myself, maybe next year, let us know when you have got the pics up, looking forward to seeing them

**sunhuntin** · 28th November 2006, 20:07

Originally Posted by crashe

Wohoooooo sunhuntin.....
you done well on the VIRAGO...... good to have a comfy seat when riding long distances aye.....

Great write up........ and now to wait ever so patiently for the pics....

Ride safe on the way back.......

hitcher...i hope so!! went to the display at the museum here....$5 to get in, and jack shit to look at! mostly pics from the movie on the wall.

actually crashe....by the time i got anywhere, my tailbone was as sore as anything! got to the point where i literally couldnt get off the bike, cos the pain was so much.

rashika and dangerous, ill definatly head over for a break, and likely a couch or patch of carpet. lol. either tomorrow or the next day.

nadroj, i might try that next time im down. dont have much playing time...got work at 7am sunday.
ive heard they have contracts [? i guess?] for the rally for the next 10 years. wyndham was great...very well done, and not a scrap of rubbish anywhere. walked up the line up of bikes parked outside and got some great shots [i took only 2 pics of the racing, but heaps of stationary bikes.]

scum....i didnt get any details. just sorta looked at each other as he went by, lol. im surprised he didnt pull me up!

**jumma** · 30th November 2006, 09:51

Glad you've been enjoying your road trip Sun. Loved the road between Picton and Kaikoura too, and the 80kph section after Kaikoura was mint as well.

Better do a write up on my thread as there were one or two dramas in our travels.

**sunhuntin** · 3rd December 2006, 16:20

hey jumma! will read it once ive typed this.

the rally was awesome...im hoping to get down again next year. got some awesome photos [link still to come]
the ride home was good. headed out from invers about 9.30. finally arrived in chch at 9.30pm [i was literally stuffed and exhausted]
nearly got blown off the bike at one point...they had a wind gust sign, and that was an understatement. so i was low on the bike, swearing at her to stay in line and laughing my head off like a lunatic.
stopped at a bp for a coffee and got talking to the guy who works there...hes from bulls [bout half hour from me] so was good to talk about the area.
stopped in chch for a day to shop and rest up, stayed at the same place as last time. [$69 for a single gets you a bath/shower, 3 single beds to choose from, and a tv with basic sky. the redwood/sequoia 88. ill be using them again] met rashika and dangerous for a meal at the sequoia, which was good.

of course, the day i was there, it rained the whole time! so i ended up duct taping my gloves to the wall mounted heater to get them dry.
it rained the day i left, so the twisties around kaikoura were taken with even more caution than last time. stopped there and got talking to a guy on a blue triumph [sporty style] whos from new plymouth.
about an hour out of kaikoura, the weather finally cleared, and i was able to get semi dry.
stayed at the admirals lodge in picton [10am ferry] which was expensive [$95/night, includes breakfast] but well worth it. a very nice woman has just taken it over and redone everything. she asked about 100 times if i was warm enough, had enough blankets etc. ill be staying with her again as well.
bike got blown over while looking into accomodation...im minus a mirror and indicator.
the second ferry crossing was much better, aside from the wind. headed over to upper hutt to hit another favourite shop, and headed out. nearly ran into two cars on the haywards hill....had a car right up my arse, so couldnt slow down...crossed the center line instead. i was doing about 75, and the signs say 80...so why investigate my exhaust pipe i dont know. tosser.
finally got out of wellington, and had some bikes cutting up the traffic. one group of 3 were a classic looking trumpy [blue] a harley and a black classic beemer. they didnt even give me a chance to see them...the beemer nearly gave me a heart attack...must have been in my blindspot [being down one mirror i had a few!] the bikes i saw just cutting through cars and me, seemed to have no care in the world. i didnt see an indicator once. no wonder we get a bad name!
stopped in levin for a breather and another shop. woman comes running in and tells me the bike is again on her side [boy was i pissed off by this time] she lost a bit of petrol, and continued to drip while i tried to start her. finally got her going with no clutch and the choke on. so will have to get them to check everything to do with petrol when i take her in for repairs.
uneventful ride home, but i was glad to arrive. rolled in the gate...bike off, stand down, struggle off, and she nearly goes over again!
ill book her into get repaired tomorrow, and get them to weld a bigger foot on the kickstand at the same time. she was loaded, but the weight was less than what a pillion would weigh, so yeh. and the load was no more than what can be reasonably put on [saddlebags, top box and backpack on the seat] and none were full or overly heavy.

so...im gonna go and empty my 5 memory cards and make a start on loading them to the net.