Do I need a big tourer in NZ??

[colsan1]

Hi all,
we're planning on coming over to nz early next year.
I'll probably bring my bike over with me as the cost of bikes in nz
seems high compared to the uk.
Question is, before the nz thing came about i was thinking of getting a big tourer,
something like a triumph trophy 1200 ($4k in the uk, $10k in nz) i would have used this for european touring trips.
however i'd like to know is it worth going for a bike like this if i'm only gonna be using it in nz or is the country to
small to get any real bennefit from an out and out tourer.
I dont want to get one if its abilities are gonna be wasted.
Would i be better going for a big naked and throwing a screen and hard luggage on it and sacrificing some comfort on the
shorter journeys nz would offer
Any comments are welcome.
cheers
col

[Usarka]

You can do the whole of one island in a day if you really want (give or take a few hours). tourer would be nice and comfortable but not completely necececssary. I done mianus - wellington - queenstown - chch - back home on a sports bike, over 5 days. Tired at the end but had a blast down the west coast of the sth island. Shipping a bike would be $$$$ no?

[merv]

To cover both Islands properly even if you do about 700-800km/day you are going to need at least 3 to 5 days in in each because I'm sure you don't want to race around them so fast you see very little so the Triumph would be perfect.

[Deviant Esq]

In short? Yes, a touring bike is very useful in New Zealand. Don't underestimate the size of the country - we've got way more miles in coastline than the UK, and we don't have M roads going from point to point like you guys do, so there are many miles of roads to ride on. A short tour of the entire country would be about two full weeks... and even then, you'd be riding most of that time just to see most of the country. If you want to be able to stop and talk to some locals, and generally faff around sightseeing, you've got to allow a month really. I understand that time constraints may not allow that, though.

Yep, bikes aren't that cheap over here compared to the UK, they hold their value very well. Either that or we're all trying to rip each other off, one of the two. Anyway we don't salt our roads over here, so corrosion is less of an issue to deal with.

Let us know when you're heading through, will buy you a pint. Cheers!

[limbimtimwim]

Nah. I've ridden most of the country on a 250 twin, a 400 four (A Veefourrrrr) and gsxr750.

Fuck buying a tourer; anything tours! Just ride what you like to ride, not what is best for you. That's insaneeeeeeeeee.

[Holy Roller]

For the cost of shipping it may be worth riding a hire bike.
Google New Zealand Motorcycle hire and one gets..
It may be a viable option.


New Zealand Motorcycle Tours, Rentals and Hire NZ - Rental Motorbikes
New Zealand motorcycle tours, rental and hire company provides motorcycle rentals in New Zealand, NZ bike models, BMW, , Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha.
www.motorcycle-hire.co.nz


NZ Motorcycle Hire, Rental - New Zealand BMW, Touring
New Zealand motorcycle tours, rentals and hire company provides a complete service for motorcycle rental in New Zealand. Founded in 1987, based in ...
www.motorcycle-hire.co.nz/hire.html


Motorcycle Rentals New Zealand, Motorcycle Tours New Zealand ...
Motorcycles New Zealand offer motorcycle rentals and also provides hire and rental motorcycles for escorted tours of the South Island and also motorcycles ...
www.motorcyclesnewzealand.co.nz


New Zealand Motorcycle Rentals and Tours - Motorbikes for rental ...
NZ Motorcycle Rentals & Tours provides for hire or touring the latest rental motorbike models in New Zealand! Rent or Tour New Zealand on BMW, Yamaha, ...
www.nzbike.com/


New Zealand Motorcycle Tours & Motorcycle Rental New Zealand BMW ...
Kea Motorcycles offers New Zealand motorcycle tours on late model fully equipped BMW motorcycles. Fully guided or independent motorcycling tours ex Auckland ...
www.kea-motorcycles.com

[Big Dave]

yeah - a trophy is good - very good in fact. Was my choice. You should be able to find one for less than $10K though. But it'll need some work.

Probably need a new shock to be up to the rigors of a full lap.

If you want to ride both islands in a flying visit and see the sights - it takes at least a fortnight - and can take up to seven years (so far).

10 days is a good tour of the South Island.

[Blackbird]

I tour on my Blackbird as well as doing long haul endurance events and day fangs. Slightly heavy on the wrists but it's close to the ideal all-purpose bike if your wife won't let you have two!

[McJim]

I looked into hire bikes - they want about $300 per day for them. Sod that.

If you can bring it over cheaply go for it however unlike Europe they can get a bit Anal about vehicle registration (you know how we all just cross borders without really giving a fuck back in Europe - it's a weird concept to them tharr kiwis).

Despite a ridiculously strong dollar commodities are still farken overpriced - me thinks the retailers are extracting the urine so fuckem I am going self sufficient until they behave. So yes - you are cheaper to bring the bike than buy an inflated one over here. Roads are none too straight. It feels twice the length of UK coz of the poor state of the roads. there is probably only about 200km of motorway in the whole country (and the kiwis will try to call Dual Carriageways motorways - don't believe them!).

Scenery is stunning but the car drivers are homicidal maniacs with tiny dicks - they think 3.8litres is a normal engine size!?!? Most cars will accelerate in an attempt to kill you when you overtake them so it is best to catch them unawares and get someone to explain the fucked up give way laws to you - you won't believe it - I've been taken out twice because of observing it.

But it truly is a beautiful place.

All the best.

[Bullitt]

Am I the only who is reading his post to say hes coming over to live rather than for a holiday. If thats the case I doubt a hire bike would be too appropriate

[Ions]

Question is, before the nz thing came about i was thinking of getting a big tourer,
something like a triumph trophy 1200 ($4k in the uk, $10k in nz) i would have used this for european touring trips.

Any comments are welcome.
cheers
col

You've forgotten currency conversion, £4,000(UK) british £ is $10,315 NZ $(which is around the price of a 2002 Triumph Trophy 1200, is that the bike you meant?). So it's actually very similar prices.
For example:
NZ 2002 Triumph Trophy 1200(44,400km mileage): $9,995NZ = £3,875.56:
http://www.thunderbike.co.nz/sales/b...trophy_blu.htm
UK 2002 Triumph Trophy 1200(13,470km mileage): £4,380UK = $11,295.95NZ:
http://www.laguna.co.uk/viewstock.as...PAGE_CODE=USED

So that's just under a 3x £ to $ ratio. Due to the very strong £, but the advantage is lost due to the rather inflated prices of goods(due to long distance to transport here). Still, it is a small advantage, the American's only enjoy around half of that.

[car]

I looked into hire bikes - they want about $300 per day for them. Sod that.

My old man's coming over for a tour in the summer so I'm looking at hiring for him. Most decent sized bikes pitch in at the $250 to $300 a day mark, as you say, though I did find one that'd do you a Bandit 1200S for less. Not many near Welly, though.

If you can bring it over cheaply go for it

£500 I was quoted to ship my RVF400, crated, if I picked it up from the dock.

however unlike Europe they can get a bit Anal about vehicle registration (you know how we all just cross borders without really giving a fuck back in Europe - it's a weird concept to them tharr kiwis).

Now, I was told that there's special dispensation for immigrants bringing a vehicle, especially from somewhere nice and civilised (!) like the UK. They're supposed to be more lenient than if you're already here and just importing vehicles. But as I never brought my RVF with me (stupid boy!) I wouldn't know. I know that just about everyone involved with the import of my other belongings was a grasping bastard so I wouldn't be surprised if it was still made painful and expensive.

Scenery is stunning but the car drivers are homicidal maniacs with tiny dicks - they think 3.8litres is a normal engine size!?!? Most cars will accelerate in an attempt to kill you when you overtake them so it is best to catch them unawares and get someone to explain the fucked up give way laws to you - you won't believe it - I've been taken out twice because of observing it.

Dude, you really need to move out of Auckland.

But it truly is a beautiful place.

Hear, hear.

My 2c on the original question:

If you like your bike, bring it; you will regret it otherwise. IMHO there's plenty of reason to bring just about any kind of bike, because you will find the right roads for it.

[bmz2]

i agree, bring any bike you like, , if you want to see the country then a good cruiser is the way to go. but dude, cost of bikes in nz are cheeper than uk, a new m109r in uk runs out at 9136 pounds that is $24000 dollars nz, that same bike here, is $19500 on the road and $700 insurance for the year

[Deviant Esq]

..dude, cost of bikes in nz are cheeper than uk...

New, price for price? Yes, they're more expensive in the UK, but not by much. When you figure into the equation quite how much money people make in the UK compared to New Zealand (roughly double), they figure way cheaper in the UK. People don't tend to ride bikes until they're older than 30 not because they can't afford the bikes, but insurance prices them out of the market at a younger age - as it should in NZ with young or inexperienced people and powerful vehicles - especially given the state of our roads compared to the UK.

Second hand, price for price? Even taking into account how much is earned in the UK, it's no contest, they are miles cheaper in the UK. I was looking at bring a couple of bikes back with me and selling them on, there's that much of a difference. Same with used cars. Think they're cheap in NZ? They're almost giving them away over there!

[car]

Even taking into account how much is earned in the UK, it's no contest, they are miles cheaper in the UK.

If the OP's selling up and coming over here with a lump sum, relative earnings might be a bit of a red herring.

But that aside, I found that the most important consideration wasn't the cost but the population size.

How many bikes are there for sale right now in NZ? How many of them are the model you want? How many in a decent condition? How far are you going to have to travel to see them?

Probably not so much of a problem if you're within an hour or so of Auckland, but more of a consideration elsewhere in the country.

That's what makes it worth paying the £500 to bring your known-good bike with you.