Nelson Rideouts - Where next?

[Woodman]

9ish? Just doing softck stuff tho. Wiil post in the morn.

If I can get the bike back together in time I may have a few hours to spare in the morning possibly. Will check in the morning though.

fcuken windy here

[Padmei]

I'm gonna start getting ready to head ou tthe door soon. Any takers?

[NordieBoy]

Yep. Drop in on your way through and I'll tag along.

[Woodman]

just been out putting the bike together (frikken bashplate) anyway its all good to go so am going to head up the valley now.

May see yous fullas up there.

[Padmei]

9ish? Just doing softck stuff tho. Wiil post in the morn.

thanks Nordieboy

[JATZ]

thanks Nordieboy

I think there may be a story to go with that pic......? that slope is not as innocent as it seems

[Eddieb]

thanks Nordieboy

Fook'n 'ell Padders, Whats the story?

I've binned mine dozens of times and never managed to rip the seat off.

[NordieBoy]

Not innocent at all...

We went up that road over the ford up just before the Ben Nevis turn.
They're heavily logging up there. The first couple of km's are unrecognizable.
We had a go at that little hill climb up to the right...

The hill in the pic is about a km past the top of the hill climb

Road tyres rule!

[Woodman]

jeez padmei, if thats the hill I,m thinking of what on earth made you think you could get the Beemer up there? You haven't even managed it on Gonzo.

Conversely I had a bloody good few hours up there, except for the overheating/airlock issue(thank god for camelbacks). Went up nevis, did you guys see the xr6?. Then went up ridge road etc and had a play then went down Frans hill and through the creeks and bushbashed my way through the flowering gorse, and home by lunch.

Two bloody fantastic rides in a row, shit the bikes running good at the moment.

[Taz]

........

[XF650]

looks like a good test for his battery post repair

[Padmei]

Check out the short video footage if you wish. I think Nordie has some better stuff.




Went out to Wairoa Gorge with Nordieboy on Schmidtty my BMW R80GS. I wanted to do a fairly casual shakedown to test a few things like my bar risers & stuff. We did the lower branch & headed up to my favourite part of the road.


The bottom half had been logged & as Nordie said looked very different. As we wove our way up the familiar pine needled road twisted & turned - Schmidtty was running fine - nice & smooth.



Nordie was on fire



I stopped at the base of a track that i've never got to the top of on Gonzo. We both had roady tyres on however it was pleasantly dry. nordie decided to have a little look - more of a 'see how far i can get' look. After a while he comes down & says it's not too bad. Usually at these times I should use my brain but anyway up i went.



Well i have to say that the traction ol Schmidtty puts down is very nice. It just chugs up where I'd be either wheel spinning or front wheel lifting on Gonzo. We arrived at the usual turn around spot (where Woodman usually continues up) & thought 'why the hell not'. So off we go with Nordie leading. the really steep bits are ok as long as they're straight. Coming across a rutted bit i see Nordie begin to slither & carry on up. This movement however has temporarily distracted me & I begin to get offline eventually going sideways across the track. with the steepness of the incline I toppled off & rolled a few metres down.

I got up to see Schmidtty in an compromising position with gas pissing out of the tank cap. Hmmm what do I do now? Nordieeeeeee.....



The seat was off & the tool box on the ground. i think the moving weight of the fairly chocka toolbox was enough to break the rear lock that holds the seat on. Bugger.

I Coasted back down the hill with the engine off & in gear using the clutch to slow me down. Shit I'm never gonna do that again - you guys ever heard how horrible the driveline sounds without engine noise.

Apart from the paint melting off the tank & the seat now free floating it seems non the worse for wear. i'm glad it happened on a short ride so I can make things good. I was really chuffed though how well Schmidtty did on the tyres he was wearing. With a new set of knobblies i think barring deep ruts he'll go where Gonzo goes tho maybe a lot slower.

You should have seen the smoke coming out of the exhaust when I started it up.


We carried on & followed the road towards the top of Ben Nevis. I was very much enjoying riding the GS. Nordie as always spies a track to the side of the road - 'hang on pal we're only doing soft stuff today- aren't we?'



This looks interesting



Pretty well groomed too



Nice smooth berms & hang on they look like jumps????? Oh shit Nordie we're on the downhill MTB track!!!!!!! God I hope it's not shuttle day for them.
This is the top of a very long jump & the only way out



Finally out of there




At the turnoff to Ben Nevis Nordie pleaded for secs to have a ride on Schmidtty - first time I've heard him ask to ride another persons bike & reliquish control of the DR. Seeing how his legs were origamied between the seat & pegs confirnmed the seat has to be lifted. i think he liked it



A good short ride today & high lited some more things to work on with Schmidtty. Thanks go out to my lil riding & lifting buddy Nordie.

[junkmanjoe]

you should have clear coated you tank......

[XF650]

Craig - could you give us the guts on that lid please.

[Padmei]

you should have clear coated you tank......

Yeah but I'm already thinking that white may be better than camo grey on a bike around town...

Craig - could you give us the guts on that lid please.

Ifyou mean my helmet it is a LS2 from City cycles in Nelson (formerly Maccleans classic cycles). It is prob the cheapest flip lid but I like it cos it has an internal sunvisor that doesn't cut halfway thru my line of sight & is pretty user friendly. Unfortunately today after my spill I put the bike on the stand & put the helmet on the mirror only to watch it fall off as the mirror spun round. As the lid was up it fell awkwardly & broke a bit of plastic inside.