Welly to ChCh on a 250 - what roads?

[Teezer]

Call me a stupid bastard if you want (you won't be the first, or the last) but I've bought myself a TDR250 and as the wife is away I plan on riding it from Welly to ChCh late August/ early September over a couple of days.

The bike has been heavily modded so it has no trip meter, a bicycle speedo, and no reserve on the fuel tank. I'm guessing running out of fuel is guaranteed. In addition, it's uncomfy after 100kms and hates straight roads.

To add to the fun, I'm a pommie who's over for good (just got permanent residency - seems they'll let anyone in these day eh?) but who's yet to actually ride a 'bike in NZ.

So, over to you lot who've been there, done it, got the t-shirt - what do I need to look out for on the ferry crossing, what'll grab the attention of plod, and then what roads do you reccommend that'll be twisty enough to keep me interested, and that'll take me a day and a half or so to get to ChCh? Oh, and it has to be in daylight as the lights on it are legal, but useless.

Any ideas?

Oh, one final thing. Knowing my luck with classic strokers, it'll probably seize on me on the way down - who's best for recovery in NZ. Anyone other than the AA I should look at?

Cheers folks,

Teezer

[Drew]

I wanted a tdr for a very long time after working at a bike shop and having a go on one.

They're so de-tuned I wouldn't say seizure was a certainty.

Get to Blenheim, turn right, follow the road till you get to westport, turn left and follow that till you get to Ashburton, turn left, and an hour of 80kph sees you in Christchurch. Dead fuckin easy. Day and a half is relaxed for that trip, and friggin spectacular roads.

[Subike]

lol drew. +1
get to blenheim, turn left,(SH1) follow that road till you get to christchurch via the east coast. Friggin spectacular roads too!
Less hills, less blind corners and you can stop at my place ( gretta valley) on the way for a beer and an over night kip before arriving fresh and comphey in CHCH the next morning.
Your 250 will do it, no problems, there are fuel stops more regular than the other side, IMO, Easier to find you if you have an engine failure, only one road to search.
I did that trip on a 125 suzie wolf 30 years ago, two up, at night, via the unsealed inland route, if that could do it, you can.
Have fun and welcome to our island, the MainLand!

[FJRider]

The inland road from Kaikoura to Waiau and south IS SEALED now...worth a look. Hamner hot springs are nice... REALLY nice..

[Teezer]

I wanted a tdr for a very long time after working at a bike shop and having a go on one.

They're so de-tuned I wouldn't say seizure was a certainty.

It'll be my first. I've had numerous TZR250's in the UK - all the 1kt/ 2ma version. Had a road one, and then went on to race them, but never got the chance of a TDR.

It'll be the tool for Summit Road here.

Get to Blenheim, turn right, follow the road till you get to westport, turn left and follow that till you get to Ashburton, turn left, and an hour of 80kph sees you in Christchurch. Dead fuckin easy. Day and a half is relaxed for that trip, and friggin spectacular roads.

Sweet man, cheers for the nod.

[Teezer]

Less hills, less blind corners and you can stop at my place ( gretta valley) on the way for a beer and an over night kip before arriving fresh and comphey in CHCH the next morning. !

Nice one fella - yer on!

Your 250 will do it, no problems, there are fuel stops more regular than the other side, IMO, Easier to find you if you have an engine failure, only one road to search.!

True - hoping not, but I'm cursed when it comes to long journeys. M25 around London, 2am, freezing fog, and the lights on my TZR give out. Bloody fuse holder had snapped. Chewing gum and the silver paper it came in saw me up and running again. McGuyver - eat yer heart out

I did that trip on a 125 suzie wolf 30 years ago, two up, at night, via the unsealed inland route, if that could do it, you can.
Have fun and welcome to our island, the MainLand!

That distance, 2 up on a 125? Rather you than me!
Dude - hero status is yours.

Cheers for welcome, it's good to be here and even better to soon be back on 2 wheels - been over 1 & 1/2 years. The road to Akaroa is a-callin'

[Griffin]

Not sure about the roads you should use... SH1 is the only one I know... but I can highly recommend that the Wgtn to Picton part should be done on a ferry. Otherwise it gets a bit wet.

Ok... I will shutup now

[Teezer]

Not sure about the roads you should use... SH1 is the only one I know... but I can highly recommend that the Wgtn to Picton part should be done on a ferry. Otherwise it gets a bit wet.

Ok... I will shutup now

No fuckin' way?! I was planning to do an Evil Kneivel and jump the puddle

Saw somewhere that I need tie downs to do the ferry part - don't the ferry folks supply them? Anyone advice on that score?

[gammaguy]

welcome to the small but very elite group of TDR owners!!first things first-run the best 2T oil you can,i use Rock oil but anything fully synth.is ok.make sure the oil pump is set up as per spec.mine gets about 200km per tank of petrol on a good day with me being gentle.which is never,cos TDR rs love to be thrashed (sympathetically)lol

so in the real world,look for gas every 160km or so like i do.which basically means a stop at Kaikoura for gas after getting off the ferry and filling her to the brim in picton(the old "forecourt wiggle"as us 2T owners call it)
that should get you thru tu CHCH where you can repeat the exercise.BTW 91 octane is all you need,so a bit of a saving there

i rode mine all the way to AKL and back last summer and had a ball,so enjoy your trip,and feel free to pop in and se me at work with the beast when you get here,we can bore each other shitless for hours discussing power valves,four piston calipers and how much fun we have blowing off people in boring four strokes who think we are riding a trail bike until they see TWO pipes disappearing off in front of them

[Richi]

Dont get boozed up the night before the ferry not a good 3 hours

Its a nice drive down SH1 pretty straight after u get past kaikoura though. wtf how come its got a bicycle speedo

[Teezer]

Gammaguy - wicked to hear there's a few of us out there. Just don't feel the need for anything more than a 250, as I simply believe that I'd top myself in a matter of days. Even a 600 on the roads around here seems a bit OTT.

Saw a place selling Motul 600 which was my fully synth of choice in the UK so will go that route. Best oil is - of course - premix Castrol A747. Ahhhh.... I love the smell of 2 stroke in the morning.

So, assuming this is a standard engine, who's reputable for 2-stroke tuning here in ChCh? I'd be looking for a bore and hone, have the ports tidied up a bit, and the p'valves matched etc - maybe a little added compression from a head skim... hmmmm... my wallet is flinching already

I'll deffo look you up once the bike is here - be great to meet some like-minded stroker fans.

[gammaguy]

i use HPE(03 3794166,tell em steve sent you) here for all my machining work,he spends a lot of time rebuilding jet ski and MX 2T engines,he did all the work on my TDR when it was time for a freshen up.course,you could always send the engine over to Stan Stephens.....

catch up when you get the thing here,look forward to it

[TimeOut]

The ferries do supply tie downs but can be a bit dodgy, better to take a couple of good ones with you.

[bismarck]

I rode my 250 from Gisborne to Christchurch, that was lots of fun!
Book the ferry ticket online and print it out will save your time.

[lostinflyz]

depends when you wanna get to CHCH. SH1 is fast to CHCH and pretty boring for about 120-140 kms north of CHCH. Take the scenic road inland just after kaikoura for a more entertaining ride. takes aboue an hour or so more.

if you have the time go over west coast ways. windy as roads that were made for motorcycles. not nealy as much traffic either but weather can often be dodgy. alot longer to go that way but if your coming for a ride, thats the way to ride.