Chanceyy's 5 day adventure/misadventure

[chanceyy]

Which really should be called Chanceyy’s love affair (yup its another Novel sorry guys)

Well its true I am totally & utterly in love with my new bike it it

I have had this bike nearly a month but only had one decent ride on it to the cold duck the day after it arrived & then home again.. Since them due to family stuff have only had one wee ride to palmy & back home again a week later … sooooooooooo

Well now the gut buster was a good wee strop for us to become intimate, but with the rosters at work giving me the Thursday off as well ohh too tempting to do a quick flick to Te Aroha to see the olds.. Therefore 5 days of biking bliss ahhhhhhhhh perfect..

After words of encouragement from the “other mother” (oscarnz) and words of wisdom from “Sensei” Sugilite regarding riding at this time of yr we were off

Day 1, Levin to Te Aroha (via Palmerston North & Vinegar Hill)

Perfect day arose to fog & lots of it.. How ever no rush & was not planning to leave early, so off to the horses to get them sorted for the morning and back home to pack the new pack rack packs & secure them to the bike.. Ohh yeah that darn biker bear was getting underfoot at every turn, he is such a bike whore & no way he was missing out.

So leaving a bit after 10am quick stop into work for photo shoot (regarding fundraising ride) it was off to Palmy to see Robert regarding dropping some cheese cutter petition forms.. & See “sensei” Paul regarding info on the bike & checking tire pressure.. Gave them a boost since she is loaded up.. Then it was trying out a fantastic bit of kit.. Chillout top.. He said it would do the bizzo & this is absolutely the bee’s knees.. Will look at investing in the leggings & socks now

Then off to gas up & Vinegar hill was calling, the bike absolutely purrs along, love the torque when passing, she is just sooooooo responsive, dips into corners with minimal effort, pipe just simply sounds awesome & not annoying when we are in cruise mode. Mindful of Sugi’s words regarding damp patches where the sun does not shine we took the corners pretty conservatively & boy oh boy does the road ride different in the other direction.. I have only ever ridden this road from Hunterville to Cheltenham must get to riding it the other way more.

By the time we reached SH 1 we were getting in the groove & this bike is just a mile eater. Stopped at Taihape for lunch before heading to Waiouru where yes there was a noticeable drop in temperature but with good kit that meant I was still snugly, quickly & efficiently dealt to “the Sisters” & had a quick stop beside the lake for the pic opportunities. Gassed up at Wairakei & dunno if it’s the rise in petrol but really noticed the lack of vehicles on the road & from Wairakei quickly passed a van & truck & did not have another vehicle to pass for approximately the next 20 odd ks.. Big ups to the biker who coming the opposite way indicated scrub off some speed.. Met Mr about 10 ks up the road but I was doing a respectable 110ks by then.

Passed 8 trucks & about the same number of cars up the big passing lane.. that torque .. & a bit more traffic that was efficiently dealt with in short order, was going to stop at either Putaruru or Tirau but nahhhhhhhhhhh was enjoying myself to much.. So rode through to Matamata & called into the supermarket for dinner (but also needed to clean the visor & my eyes. Came up behind a truck & stuff knows what it was carrying but it filled my helmet up in short order, dust in the eyes was not good

Now the Te Aroha direct road is a magic bit of road & just on dusk opened up the girl & tested a bit of that speed.. well best we do not reveal on here what that speed was

Arrived at mum & dads tucked the bike in for the nite & to be honest I could just keep on riding. Not sore, not tired riding this bike takes minimal effort it counter steers so effortlessly, just fantastic knowing this bike does it for me, the affair is in its early days but I have a feeling its going to end up by being a long relationship.

[chanceyy]

Friday dawned clear & after dealing to the olds lawns & doing odd jobs loaded the bike & headed to Tokoroa, with building traffic on the road decided that the western route was looking pretty good, so after gassing up & chatting to a couple from Sydney (a biker of course) headed to the western access & a wee bit of drizzle. Soon left the rain behind & seriously once I left Tokoroa only got to pass one vehicle until just out of Turangi, some of the corners were really wet & that nice green lichen color so took them quietly as well. Still a respectable speed was maintained

Arrived at the cabins & signed in, with a quick phone call to a worried mother telling her I made it in one piece & all good unpacked & decided a quick trip into town for supplies were in order .. hmmm I think that was a mistake

Overshot a corner & since I was on a sweeping corner with a car up the rear decided the safest place to turn around was at the next corner, only problem was unbeknown to me road works had been done right on the corner & as I went to do the turn the front end washed out & down we went, the preggers lady who was behind me got a hell of a fright but stopped jumped out & assisted me in getting the bike upright .. No damage to me (apart from pride) & bike got off rather lightly (but expensively). Due to failing light I did not check it out to much but decided to head back in the morning to check it out (and take pics ) hmm no sign posts & quite thick gravel that went right across the lane .. Not a good look.

However I must say big massive ups to the district council, I called their roading manager who was keen to see the pics & a report of what happened & upshot is they are paying for all the damage sustained so bike will be back to pristine condition (happy news through yesterday).

[chanceyy]

Sat was pretty much spent waiting for the rest of the crew to turn up & still feeling flat about the bike I shot up to the lookout & yup this bike is so much fun …

Sunday was the big ride & knowing I was probably the least experienced rider of the group but all geared up to ride the beast again. As biking turns out it was a fairly short ride which in the grand scheme of things prob was not a bad thing (busa pete who was TEC had a flat tire half way through the Taupo/Napier ride) I decided that I would stay with the petes & ride back to Turangi once it was fixed (after several hours) to ensure they got back ok .. Since the others had an extremely fast paced ride this is where the good decision came in, & we hit rain on the way back to Taupo but the others had rain & really poor visability and dark as the ace of spades to ride home in .. I was back at the cabins, nice & dry & waiting to head to the hot pools

Monday was the ride home & with the weather forecast absolutely looking like crap was not looking forward to riding through the Desert Rd, awesome company with Sels1 & Gareth51, treated the sisters cautiously & prob found the spot discount lost his bike on the weekend (read the unforgettable weekend thread) a nice track of “ pretty colors” coming down the hill, managed to ride on the inside so missed any catastrophe then hit the groove & we managed a pretty good pace. Fortunately the Desert Road was dry for the entire ride but from Waiouru the rain hit & it got pretty torrential from Taihape to Hunterville. The bike felt fantastic in the wet, really stuck to the road & absolutely no slippery moments. To be honest I actually really enjoyed riding in the rain

Stopped briefly in Hunterville but decided to push on to Bulls for brunch, apparently I missed two of the welcoming committee at the Vinegar hill turn off (must have been by minutes too) after passing Mr seen a yellow bike & Sels & I threw out a warning .. But as soon as I passed it thought I know that bike & sure enough U Turn & 86GSXR joined the crew .. Pulled up along side a passing lane to make sure he had the right bike (he had not seen it yet) so did the cuppa sign pointing ahead to Bulls.

Spent an enjoyable hour shooting the Breeze but damn it the other three were Triumph riders, however the suzi was not embarrassed at all. Said good bye to Sels & Gareth (awesome to be riding with you guys & thanks for looking after me )
And 86 & I headed back up the road to Tackle the Halcombe road back to palmy & after turning down 86’s kind offer to ride the Daytona off we headed just was totally in the flow with my bike & absolutely having a blast riding it

So thoughts totally gutted at having the drop but totally thrilled with the professionalism & dealing with the council massive ups to them , crap happens, nice to see responsibility taken. I love riding this bike & can not wait to get on her every time I ride her it totally brings a massive grin to my face. I love the handling & the fact I can ride all day & not be tired or sore. It’s been a good decision and yes it looks like I will be forever a bandit rider ..

[FJRider]

Sounds like a fun trip (apart from the last bit)... no need for the washing powder was there...no stains...any where ???

[chanceyy]

Sounds like a fun trip (apart from the last bit)... no need for the washing powder was there...no stains...any where ???

hmm no stains anywhere ... funny when I Hit the deck it was in first gear as i was doing a U turn into the corner & bang was on the ground instant, lucky the bike just went down rather than slide so damage was indicator broke approx 3 inch crack on fairing, & two small scrapes, bent rear brake pedal, scrape on engine casing & rear vision mirror, no damage to me apart from being sore the next day but the mineral hot pools sorted it out ..

[FJRider]

Just asking...

The pools are better... shared with a "friend". I spent a few years in Turangi in the mid 80's. CHOICE roads round there. 'Round the mountain was always MY favourite saturday arvo ride.

[gijoe1313]

Wow, great ride report! Makes me so jealous and a hankering to get out on the bike!

Poos and wees about the mishap, but least the council came to the party!

Ah well, lets hope your ride is back to pristine in short order and out again to test it!

[Mrs Busa Pete]

Great wright up there girl mind you it took a while didn't it.

[sinfull]

Nice bit of reading there Sandra !
On ya !

[chanceyy]

Just asking...

The pools are better... shared with a "friend". I spent a few years in Turangi in the mid 80's. CHOICE roads round there. 'Round the mountain was always MY favourite saturday arvo ride.

of course always better with a friend .. but nice to just chill out on my own as well ..

Great wright up there girl mind you it took a while didn't it.

yeah was waiting to see wot the upshot was regarding the drop & so left it til it was sorted .. hence the late post

[Grub]

Bummed about the wee lie down girl but glad to hear she's being fixed.

I was with you the whole way through your story because I get the same feeling of just riding and not stopping. Others fall by the wayside and complain of being tired but that just doesn't seeem to happen to me because its all an adventure and each new challenge sharpens you up.

Damn, I wish that I'd come for the ride too ... but sometimes just being on your own and choosing your route as you go along, stopping when you feel like it and zoning out to everything but the road and the scenery has special impact doesn't it

[sugilite:Me]

Great ride report there!

Fantastic news the council has come to the party as well

[ynot slow]

Double envious of your trip,and the bike,am really keen to suss out the one locally to see if it fits(both budget and me).Just need bloody house to sell(although have been told an XR6/8 should be bought next,maybe both?).

[banditrider]

It’s been a good decision and yes it looks like I will be forever a bandit rider ..

Not with your handle! Great write-up, shame about the little oops but fantastic about the outcome.

Ahhhh.....bandits.

[oscarnz]

Awesome write up honey. Totally know where you are coming from, I felt the same when I did my east coast ride, but wasnt as lucky as you.

Here's to many more great adventures and hopefully some of them together