Planning an Epic Adventure - Will trade beer for use of couches

[Danae]

Lol suzuki fail!

Pics nao plz

[PirateJafa]

Currently around 350km and one island behind schedule.

[Danae]

Currently around 350km and one island behind schedule.

Lol! Everything was going far too according to plan in the morning, we even made it to the airport on time.

[motorbyclist]

Got to airport early and at the sme time, received instructions on what to do and went to our departure gate. Got the rubber cement taken from the puncture repair kit, and the whole tool kit was disallowed.

Now, heres where jetstar give the provision to upgrade from a $60 carry on only fare to an $80 checked baggage fare. Unfortunately, "there isn't enough time to do that before check in closes" - 20 minutes away by now, 50 before the plane is due to leave - and i get stung for the whole $80 rather than buying new tools

arrive early, wait for baggage, then spend $20 between us getting to suzuki. jafa mucks around with 14 days rego and ownership at the post shop, and we then go through 4 different christchurch shops to find oil and suitable gas can before finding our way out of there via the motorway, at a hilarious 60kph.

filled everything up with gas and fixed the loose wingmirror at kaipoi and left headed north at noon....

[Danae]

Damn jetstar taking all your monies

[motorbyclist]

So after a while we swap seats and I promptly discover that not only does the bike go much betterer between 70 & 80 kph than it does at 60, but that 3rd gear ends at 60 while 4th really starts at 70....... suffice to say once speed dropped below 70 it plummets to 50.

then the gearbox started playing up, neutral gears and all.....

Managed to get her up to 85 at one point on a descent, before finding the rear brake pedal (first time i'd had to use it as the front brakes dont work) pushes back as the rear suspension moves.....

Then we hit some awesome twisties and all was well

[PirateJafa]

1 - The journey begins, with Christchurch rolling out the nice weather for us...
2 - We leave the Kaiapoi gassy.
3 - We hit our first hill!
4 - Running out of gas in the middle of the southern wastelands! :O

[PirateJafa]

1 & 2 - We survived to the coast - madness!
3 - Om nom nom - the basis of any good student's diet.

[PirateJafa]

Also, FUCK YOU AA.

[motorbyclist]

so we get to kaikoura for fish and chips at 4pm. this is currently to travel time schedule, but we're 3 hours behind.

We leave with a fresh load of fuel, but skies are darkening and our low beam doesn't work... nor does the high beam. The tail lights are strongly lit, but all the front does is a dull red glow. As we head north into the rain the light fades and it becomes increasingly apparent we won't make the evening ferry, or even blenheim. Day fades to night and we're guided by the moon, the faintest reflection of road markers directly infront of our light, which is pointed off to the left somewhere, and we're still barey holding 80kph.

Suffice to say that not one car that passed us thought to tag along and lend us light. One truckie flashed us as if we hadn't noticed out light was fucked - meanwhile i was completely blinded by the contrast.

Then came the sign (illuminated for only half a second) showing a dip ahead. then "! FORD" and into that we went. the next one was worse due to the blinding trucks in it at the same time, and the one after that was just a pain.
All in all things were increasingly dangerous as corners were mostly guesswork and any oncoming traffic was blinding.

We came across a random bar/store in kekerengu, where I bailed into the carpark to assess our options - travel into what looked like shaded roads while truck traffic was evidently increasing, or call the AA.

We elected to ask some locals if they could tail us to blenheim but to no avail, as they wouldonly go as far as 15km north, 5 km short Ward, with bar and beds. One of them waits while we call the AA. Jafa calls and after 21 minutes on hold gave up - it appeared that while Jafa has current AAplus, he is somehow not a member so can't get a towie. Fuck.

We get back on the bike and start it. This time when we turn the lights on the motor cuts out. Great.

A local pulls up and directs us towards a local B&B a few hundred meters away - our headlights never lit up the signage - and after we found it, riding by only a half moon's light hiding behind clouds as they wouldn't offer an escort, it was closed. Then right as we gave up and walked back to the bike for certain death the door lit up and we were let in!

Then we're told the standard rate for the pair of us was $140.... Some deliberation later including another call to the AA and we decide to go for it, but they don't accept eftpos!


So we're currently $130 poorer and sitting with hot chocolates under a heat pump thingy.

breakfast will be served at 8am

[nsrpaul]

that suzuki looks pretty cool, but the fastest bikes are brown

[nsrpaul]

and those fords normally make for good wheelstands

[motorbyclist]

So, obviously we're bang half way between kaihoura and blenheim after 6 hours riding, and are quite far behind schedule.

As such, the new plan is to spend tomorrow getting to nelson, where we will collect my Honda at 6pm. If we arrive early we'll try to fix the headlights and/or go for a blat, possibly a hillclimb.... When we get the honda, we will assess the headlights situation: if we can't safely ride at night on open road we will have to stay in nelson tomorrow night (paul we would be most appreciative ), then probably shack up with junkmanjoe the night after, and then conquiztador the night after that.... from napier onwards is subject to road status what with the recent flooding in the area, but the backpackers up to the cape are all deemed affordable so wherever the sun sets we stop....

[PirateJafa]

that suzuki looks pretty cool, but the fastest bikes are brown

Rust-coloured, bro.

[nsrpaul]

youngs automotive on vangard street for the cheapest bulbs and eletrical stuff

hbc batteries on the same street, also cheep

if want a bike shop would recomend mcleans, jason and lester are very helpfull