two bins :(, but a mint ride....

[Two Smoker]

Hey everyone,

a few of us met at the Austobahn at Papkura for a bit of a blat down SH22, most of us were there by 10am, and then at 1040am MR finally turned up LOL.

Ofcourse because i was there, and being the jynx, it started to rain, but after 5 mins it was gone and the sky was clear .... F/F met us at AB to say gidday....

MR, Vagabond and i set the pace at the beginning.... All was going well with everyone going at their own pace.

The roads were genearlly dry and the pace was good with hardly any cars and no HP.

Got to Ngarawahia to stop for a coffe and some food, we said goodbye to Dodgyiti (was having problems with his front tyre) abd Badlieutenat (left to give Dodgyiti company) at ngarawahia... So MR and i set of at a cracking pace, in some wonderful rain (well i was there so it had to rain on the ride) MR and i were having some really good battles as he was on his TZR250..... Awesome riding man, just gobsmacked.....

MR and i stopped at Pukekawa (i think) to wait for everyone to turn up... after 3 minutes Vagabond arrived (got held up in the wet)... after 10 minutes more we thought something was wrong..... So we all set off to find them, hoping that they had taken a turn off or something.... after about 15 kays vagabond said he needed gas... MR and i stopped and a guy in a car with a surfboard stopped, we asked if he had seen two bikes??? He said yes and that he was 19.3 km back... he then said that the rider was ok and that bike was not rideable..... MR and i kept things sane and ride sensibly as not to make ourselves bin either..... Got to the scene where a farmer was helping pull the bike up the bank.... The farmer then said that he had pulled another bike up about 15kms back..... ah shit thats our other rider i think to myself, so MR stayed to see about the damage to the current bike, and i set off to see if the other biker was ok.... thankfully he was and said that he had rung F/F to bring a trailer.... now we played the waiting game.... to cut a long story short we got the bikes on the trailer and the riders were fine....

BUT the excitement didnt end......i and Vagabond were dreadfully low on gas, from all this riding around to find riders etc.... about 30kms from mercer i switched onto reserve and then a few kays later my fuel light was on i started to pull in the clutch and coast down the hills to save on gas... 5kms away from Mercer, Vagabond ran out of gas and i JUST made it (with about 500mls of gas left) i filled up and got some gas for Vagabond, and then did some onehanded riding with clutchless shifting to get to Vagabond, i found that he managed to start his bike (after pushing it up a huge hill)... i gave him the gas and we went back to mercer.... After that we just travelled up SH1 to get home....

Was a great day excluding the bins and gas problems and cant wait to do it again....

MR its going to be way better with you riding the TZR so we can have some good battles.....

Rider of the day was MR with Vagabond in a close second

The people that binned can name themselves if they wish too and give details of how it happend....

Cheers

[Vagabond]

I think that pretty much sums it up, twas a good ride none the less.
Twas a pity that you had to bring that mobile cloud you have above your head though, could have done with a few more rays.

Really sorry about the 2 bins and hope you guys are back on the road soon.
TS i can't wait to see you on a 600 should make for some good rides in the future

[Vagabond]

BUT the excitement didnt end......i and Vagabond were dreadfully low on gas, from all this riding around to find riders etc.... about 30kms from mercer i switched onto reserve and then a few kays later my fuel light was on i started to pull in the clutch and coast down the hills to save on gas... 5kms away from Mercer, Vagabond ran out of gas and i JUST made it (with about 500mls of gas left) i filled up and got some gas for Vagabond, and then did some onehanded riding with clutchless shifting to get to Vagabond, i found that he managed to start his bike (after pushing it up a huge hill)... i gave him the gas and we went back to mercer.... After that we just travelled up SH1 to get home....

Thanks for the gas mate I was totally knackered by the time you came back, dammit all that bike is heavy

[MikeL]

Hey Chris
I was going to join you guys but my conscience got the better of me and I stayed home to do some deferred maintenance on the house and section - at least until I got bored two hours later and buggered off on my bike by myself.
Two bikes down and 1 running out of gas would have made for an eventful day. Perhaps the jinx is Highway 22...
Maybe it's a good thing I didn't tag along...

[Two Smoker]

Hey Chris
I was going to join you guys but my conscience got the better of me and I stayed home to do some deferred maintenance on the house and section - at least until I got bored two hours later and buggered off on my bike by myself.
Two bikes down and 1 running out of gas would have made for an eventful day. Perhaps the jinx is Highway 22...
Maybe it's a good thing I didn't tag along...

LOL, yeah i saw you working on the hedge and beeped at you...

Vagabond i cant wait too see YOU on a 600..... now that will be awesome

[erik]

First of all I've gotta say a huge thanks to Firefight!

You are a legend for coming all that way to pick me and my bike up, and dropping me off at home in west auckland. Thanks to Mrs Firefight too.

I was the other biker about 15kms back in Two Smoker's write up.

I was riding alone at the end of the group, everyone else was well ahead and out of sight. I had been stuck behind a ute for quite a way where the road was wet and twisty, but a little while back I'd passed it and the road was now pretty much dry.
The corner I crashed on is a kinda long corner that tightened a bit at the end, but nothing really nasty. I basically went too wide and ended up in the ditch. I can see a couple of things that I did wrong:

1. I think I was taking the corner too tight at first which led to me going way wide at the exit.

2. Instead of looking where I wanted to ride and leaning the bike over further, I ended up looking at the ditch and failed to lean further over.

Both of these things would have been avoided if I'd been riding like they taught at the Ride Right, Ride Safe BRONZ course.
Maybe also several weeks with only commuting also contributed to me stuffing up. I think I need way more practice riding on the open road.

When me and the bike went in the ditch, I came off (can't remember how) and slid along in the ditch and ended up down a small bank in a stream that went through a pipe under the road. I wasn't completely in it, but my lower half got pretty well soaked.

The bike ended up going back onto the road. The left crankcase cover broke in the accident, so all the oil leaked out onto the road. After I'd climbed out of the ditch I picked the bike up and pushed it off the road. A farmer guy that stopped to help shovelled some dirt and gravel onto the oil patch, and then took me to a nearby house to phone Firefight (no cellphone reception where I crashed).

I banged my head a bit, so I've got a sore neck and bit of a headache, and a sore hip and kinda ache a bit in other places, but nothing is broken, so I'm pretty much ok.

I've got some pictures, maybe I'll post them tomorrow, I'm too knackered right now.

Thanks again to Firefight and the other people for helping.

[riffer]

Glad you're still alive Erik.

Now go and get off the computer, have a hot bath, then get your missus to rub some anti-flamme and arnica into all the sore bits, and get some sleep.

You're gonna hurt like fuck in the morning.

[Mr Skid]

The people that binned can name themselves if they wish too and give details of how it happend....

Err well I was going around the corner, then I found myself at the bottom of a steep bank with a mouth full of grass. I'm not quite sure what went on in between however.

Besides fairing damage the bike was still rideable, as witnessed by MR's pulling stoppies while testing it's roadworthiness.

FF gave myself and Erik a lift back to our respective abodes, and for this I owe him copious amounts of alcoholic beverages.

I'm also typing one handed at the moment (get your minds out of the gutter you filth merchants!) due to my right hand being in a cast - suspected scaphoid fracture

Through all of this I'm still smiling though.. I had a excellent day besides the bin, and was reminded how great a crew KB'ers are to ride with!

Oh, and I didn't end up in a creek

[Motu]

Sorry to hear about the bin Erik - you'll mend,you'll fix your bike,and have a story to tell the young fullas when you're my age.Rest up tomorrow and keep an eye out for concussion symtoms.

Running wide on a corner,that's a common one - you feel you can't lay it down further or you'll lose the front,you go wide,tense up,look wide...and keep going wide,pushing it's sometimes called.It's easy to stop,but needs a leap in faith - you can go lower,turn tighter...no,you won't lose the front.Stay loose,look into the turn....and apply throttle,doesn't have to be much,but it will relieve the weight on the front wheel and allow you to turn tighter.

You need a hand with your bike - you just ask...OK?!!!

(edit) bloody hell,another one - commisseryations to you too paparazzi - did you swallow?

[FROSTY:Me]

Holey cow guys sounds like an interesting day.
its good to hear the two um "binees" aren't too badly banged up.

[Mr Skid]

(edit) bloody hell,another one - commisseryations to you too paparazzi - did you swallow?

Hey, enough with the inuendo, keep that up and we'll have smutbags like Motoracer and NC30_chick in here!

For the record I choose to spit, after checking that my limbs were still attached in the right places.

[badlieutenant]

Hey everyone,

a few of us met at the Austobahn at Papkura for a bit of a blat down SH22, most of us were there by 10am, and then at 1040am MR finally turned up LOL.

Ofcourse because i was there, and being the jynx, it started to rain, but after 5 mins it was gone and the sky was clear .... F/F met us at AB to say gidday....

MR, Vagabond and i set the pace at the beginning.... All was going well with everyone going at their own pace.

The roads were genearlly dry and the pace was good with hardly any cars and no HP.

Got to Ngarawahia to stop for a coffe and some food, we said goodbye to Dodgyiti (was having problems with his front tyre) abd Badlieutenat (left to give Dodgyiti company) at ngarawahia... So MR and i set of at a cracking pace, in some wonderful rain (well i was there so it had to rain on the ride) MR and i were having some really good battles as he was on his TZR250..... Awesome riding man, just gobsmacked.....


Cheers

I wish I had gone but had hangover from the night before. Didnt feel like i should be in charge of anything let alone a bike. I dont like riding when Ive had a hard night, I end up having to pick bike bits up off the road. Someone must have been impresonating me
Was riding yesterday in the general vicinity (out to manukau heads and then down to pukekawa etc) and some of the greasy bits make u lose a few valves but nice riding anyway. n.b watch the roads in waiou pa, they are bloody leathal. this is down the main street, clutch it thru and pray.
Was there a Kb'r (who might be reading this) who went past a blue vfr and a motard ? they were riding what looked like some mint early eighties honda of some sort ? out near bombays on saturday.
oh and awesome road out to manukau heads with stunning views as well, fully recommended, just be aware of wet cow poo and some loose gravel.

[aff-man]

Man it wouldv'e been cool to see MR on his tzr again. It is the smoker from naam.

As to the bins glad you guys were able to walk away. Hopefully the bikes will be up and running in short order. Erik it's good that you know where you screwed up that way you live and learn (believe me i know).

I think we should start a FF fund that now and again people who are helped can donate funds. That can go toward petrol time and copius amounts of beverages for the one the only FF. (and mrs FF of course)

[Kwaka-Kid]

NO WAY! Shit so sorry to hear all this dudes! Ah bet it sucks! and Erik mate i been seeing you commuting all over so often recently but cant catch up to stop you and say hello! listen its bad enough hearing about a crash to anyone but a fellow westie i just cant bare! Ive got tomorrow, wait, today (monday) off and am on 1500hrs starts all week so if you like you can bring the machine around with any bits you need and use my garage and tools and me if your even worse to get the bike back into shape. Sounds like you went down the common way! you know what it seems no matter how much you tell people about this, they will always have to experience it themselves.. just not again cheers bud.

Oh and to add to the toll on wednesday Vodaf0wn went down aswell on a motorway offramp, he was turning off and heading on the offramp when a car randomly decided to swing out of the middle lane onto the offramp, apparently swung right across and tapped his right knee to fight for the 1 lane on the offramp and sent him down the road on his arse alongside his ZXR250. AMAZING nothing broken this time just scratches on the fairing (bro ur getting good at this crashing shit). So you 2 aint the only ones! Anyways night all i better sleep.

[Zapf]

oH shit dude, (hands over face) I am glad u guys are all right. I was freaking out when I started reading the 1st post.

if u feel strange go get a full check out at ACC, seeing its an accident. won't want to have some internal damage unchecked.

hope to see u guys up and riding soon.