Newbies' Overnighter. Kawhia 29-30 March.

[Rosie]

Rosie managed to ... not murder any of us.

There would have been trouble if Clint's scrambler impersonation had resulted in wine bottle breakage

[deanohit]

Deano, you looked good there, I enjoyed cruising along behind you on the way to Kawhia, the rat bike look suits the Zhongshen!

Cheers mate!
And thanks for the advice, was taken on board.

[EJK]

Wow nice pics!

[$CENSLS1$]

Had an awsome weekend!!Not that the butt thought so by the time I made it home!Thanks for everyones help over the weekend with the tyre etc, made it all the way home on a 17" Scrambler tube in the end (thanks brent)

Can't wait to do it again next time!
Gaz

[twotyred]

Well that's all bullshit for a start.
Tom, you showed us all up, with your skills on that RS!
Most impressed - and I was concerned that you would have problems with the early rough stuff!
I was the one with problems i.e. keeping up with you.

Great stuff Xerxesdaphat! I can see a new niche bike class being created: Cafe-Adventure-Classic!
I say go with what ya got! maybe a similiar event for road bikes only?

[xwhatsit]

Too tired to clean my bike last night, and I had an early lecture so it had to come to uni in that state. Gawd, think of the chain! Parked up next to all the shiny things outside.

Anyway, I keep getting texts from people to clean my bike haha.

I like you lot. You can cover your bike in enough shit nobody sees the dents and scratches

[Motu]

There would have been trouble if Clint's scrambler impersonation had resulted in wine bottle breakage

It was priceless seeing Clint dump the 640 in the stream,then go back and stand in the stream to act as catcher for Rosie - and she sailed through without a problem! I hope you get a lot of mileage out of that one Rosie...should be worth permanent dish washing duties for a couple of months at least.

It was a good days ride for me,350km there and back.Got to see some bikes and people - and prizes for xerxesdaphat and deanohit,proving that the latest and greatest bike is not necessary for having fun.Not to mention a certain XT600 with no matching parts.I hope there is a prize for noisiest bike.

I spent quite a bit of time behind Tom getting covered in dust,and I gotta say was impressed with his riding,considering the bars and tyres.I saw one major moment on a flat straight piece of road,but well recovered.Safe and smooth riding...and so am hesitant with my advice on improvement - use a bit more of the road,this will smooth out the riding even more,and get you out of some of the nasty thick stuff,reducing buttock clenching.You are a throw back - doing what you are doing is how we learned how to ride and fix our own motorcycles 35 years ago....refreshing to see the can do attitude and no moaning.

It was a tyre testing ride for me,I'm really happy to have a good back tyre on again (no DOT tyres on my bike now)....but my half worn rear tyre fitted last week is now 3/4 worn,a couple more rides and it'll be done.Still very impressed with my front K180....for what looks like a road tyre it does better than a knob.

[muzzle]

Thanks to Brent and crew for making it a great weekend. Getting keen to have a go at the CCA ride. Deano if you want some company when you do the Coromandel run post it on the calendar or pm me and I'll be there. If you want to get a crew together for the run you are all welcome to gather at my place before we head off.

[deanohit]

Not to mention a certain XT600 with no matching parts.I hope there is a prize for noisiest bike.

I must say it was impressive watching you blast by at one stage while I was stopped, that XT sings beautifully!

[Nagash]

Sounds and looks like an absolutely awsome ride,

I saw you guys down in the Raglan (I was with the road bikers led by Toto). I've got a CM200 which I reckon with a new set of tyres would go pretty well off road.. may have to consider pulling through with it so I can join you guys on one of these rides.

Twisty roads are fun but I used to do a bit of a dirt biking, and that's a whole new experiance altogether.

Nice ride guys

[xwhatsit]

use a bit more of the road,this will smooth out the riding even more,and get you out of some of the nasty thick stuff,reducing buttock clenching.

Thanks! I was a bit worried about using the whole road, to be honest; changing wheel tracks was a little bit fiddly (I know, give it heaps of gas), and I was shit-scared of meeting a Landrover full-bore in the middle of a corner and not knowing how to get over far left again in time. I know the straight-road incident you mean; I think I felt the front-end start to sledge in some thick gravel, which made me panic and let go of the throttle, making it worse. Seems to me that most problems in gravel riding can be solved by pinning the throttle

Amazing to watch you fly up the hillside, floating and dancing on top of the road. Scary shit. I didn't realise something with only two wheels could do that

[Bass]

Tried to post these yesterday but it was so slow that I gave up and did some work instead

Those pictured should probably remain anonymous.

[deanohit]

I've got a CM200 which I reckon with a new set of tyres would go pretty well off road.. may have to consider pulling through with it so I can join you guys on one of these rides.

Yep, saw your bike there mate, those bars should be just the right height for when your standing on the pegs!

[offrd]

Ok all you guys and gal,

In the post today i got a letter from LTSA giving me one and only chance to sit my full licence and bypass the graduated licence system...

No the BWM is a F250 Funduro so i have been riding legally..... Learners since 1992...............

You guys are the only bunch of riders i ride with and have i guess all seen me pilot my way across the country SO....................

If you have anything you think i need to improve on please hit me with it..!!

Of course river crossings and low level flying on a beach dont come into the licence test... i dont think!

Thanks!

Duncan

[Rosie]

Ok all you guys and gal,

In the post today i got a letter from LTSA giving me one and only chance to sit my full licence and bypass the graduated licence system...

No the BWM is a F250 Funduro so i have been riding legally..... Learners since 1992...............

You guys are the only bunch of riders i ride with and have i guess all seen me pilot my way across the country SO....................

If you have anything you think i need to improve on please hit me with it..!!

Of course river crossings and low level flying on a beach dont come into the licence test... i dont think!

Thanks!

Duncan

Tip from Clint: Don't turn up to the test on your BMW

But seriously, the actual riding in the full licence test is very easy. The sorts of things that are likely to catch you out are silly technicalities.

So, make sure you have a suitably sized bike for the test - with an L plate attached. And WOF and registration.
Fill the bike with fuel, and check the lights, indicator, horn etc are working (and no cracked/broken indicator lenses etc).
Turn up to the test a wee bit ahead of time, and have your licence with you.

Ask the tester about the 70km/h thing - the full licence test has a section at 100km/h, but you are on your learners so, theoretically shouldn't do over 70. Ask the tester if there will be a 100km/h section, and ask what speed you should be doing.

Stick to speed limits. If you are on unfamiliar sections of road, keep a good lookout for changing speed limits. Find out if the bike you'll be on has a wildly inaccurate speedo.

Indicate well ahead of time. Indicate when you change lanes, Indicate when you pull out from (or into) a parking space, indicate left just as you exit a roundabout.

Do very obvious head checks - to look for traffic, looking in your mirrors etc. Some testers ignore this, but some don't. Look over your shoulder before you pull into traffic or change lanes.

Put both feet on the ground when you stop at stop signs - making it obvious you came to a complete stop. Make sure you know all the give way rules (some can be a bit obscure). Most of my full licence test involved going through a wide variety of intersections.

Do not lose the testing person. If you become separated in traffic etc, pull over and wait for them.

Try to follow their instructions carefully. You shouldn't get failed for taking a wrong turn, but it's better when things run smoothly.

You need to be able to do a U-turn without putting your feet down. You can probably do this already, but if you normally put one foot out, make sure you practise feet-up u-turns. On the unfamiliar 250cc bike you will presumably be borrowing for the test.

At some point during the test you'll need to talk about the hazards you have seen. Just about anything that moves can be classed as a hazard - including the testing person following you in a car. Some testers may want a reasonable amount of detail "The red car could have gone straight through the stop sign" etc.

For the duration of the test wheelies are not your friend

Having said all of that, my full licence test was very easy and the tester wasn't concerned about half the things above. But you don't know that until after the test, so it pays to err on the side of caution.

Good luck! I'm sure you will be fine.