Nooby 17 Year Old Me...

[Coyote]

With an $8000 student loan too

The idea has hit a speedbump... the bike's going to take longer than expected to get back on the road... Just found out that I have to replace the two front discs... FARK

I'm at $5000, but have $3000 left on my bike loan and owe the parents $500. I'm winning

That sucks. Had to replace the disks on my VFR soon after getting it. Got some cheaper ones which arrive warped, at least I know one of them is very much warped. I got another one for free which will hopefully sort that one, hopefully the second disk is fine. Don't blame the guys I got them off, think it was the shipping company that must've dropped the box.

[CB ARGH]

Oh crap that would suck.

[Biggles2000]

Hi
You dont need a GPS, it can only tell you where you are. And don't worry about being on a 250. It will still get you a speeding ticket on the open road. The NZ Motorcyclist atlas is brillant cause it lists out all the great riding roads and what to look out for on them. Apart from that get your @ss in the saddle and go exploring, trust me, you will never know what you will find. Love the dog.

[Grub]

Anybody know of a list of things to bring when going on a long ride?

Steve you don't have to take much but there are some things I don't feel comfortable without ...

- Tyre repair kit ... worth every cent!
- At least the bike's standard tool kit
- One set of warm clothes
- A set of A4 sized and one set of 'sandwich' sized Glad Ziplock bags

That's pretty much it. Wear more layers on the bike than you think you need because even if you're too warm when you start the wind-chill factor will just keep cooling you. If you're unlucky, they all get soaked but the wind won't cut through and make you freezing. When you get to a backpackers, you have a nice warm set. In the morning, even if it didn't dry completely, put your damp gear back on ... don't get your dry gear wet.

Put everything in the ziplock bags - maps, clothes, phone, camera, snack bars, torch etc .... they can just about float in water and still keep the contents dry.

I will be looking into a tank bag. TradeMe generally stocks shit, but to be honest I don't know what to look for. Yeah.

Agreed ... you have to really be able to try a few. We went to all the bike shops one Saturday and tried different ones and then looked at Tardme to see if we could get at a decent price. A few things to check out
- Not too big for your tank?
- Will it wrap around a small 250 type tank? Some have quite a stiff bottom.
- Do the magnetic flaps contact metal so ti gets a proper grip?
- Are there enough magnets to keep the tank there at 110kmh (Nasty's Tardme one flew off and planted itself in her face)
- How high is it, does it allow you to bend over the tank comfortably when running at 100kmh and leaning into corners? (mine on the CBR600 doesn't - it's too deep)
- Will you be able to fit a chamois under it to stop it scratching the tank (you must do this)

One of the things I discovered was that I was getting 'stone chips' in the top of my tank. I couldn't figure it out for ages ... (duh) I carried extra tools in the tank bag and every time I hit a bump they'd bounce too and their sharp edges would have a go at the paint through the bottom of the tank bag (duh!)