Touring NI SI Jan/Feb 2011

**sinfull** · 16th December 2010, 22:35

Nooooo don't do it !!!!!!

Oh ok if ya insist !!! I'll put ya up and feed ya (for a night or two) take ya where ya wanna go while locking ya pathetic belongings up lol, does ya mrs insist on showering every bloody day ? if so i'll find ya a friggin water fall ! or some deoderant if she's over you as much your are her ! Then we can get down to some good bloody riding once the stink settles !
Lower north Island ! Bed here till i think ya should move on !!! take you on a tour of some nasty roads if i think you can handle, or some not so nasty if i think that's where yr at ! What ever, but you'll get drunk if ya drink or you'll feel welcome if ya don't ! (feraslongasithinkyashould)
What's yr name

**puddytat** · 16th December 2010, 22:38

Yeah man , youll love it. Roads are a tad dodgey in places in the Sth Isle,crap surfaces in some areas & quite a few corners surprise you with a decreasing radius....if theyre posted at anything under 70kmh then pays to be a tad wary. The fuzz are pretty keen on ticketing for anything to. Theres some good threads on here to in regards to "the best" roads & routes as well. . Youre coming here at the right time , weather wise.
Have fun mate!!

**BritBiker** · 16th December 2010, 23:00

@ sinfull Thanks for that, sadly we are missing the lower corner of the NI.

We have planned and booked all the overnights so we might be stuck with routes to some degree, I will have a look at the threads though.

Interesting that you mention road quality because I mostly ride in London so it's the road users not the road that's trying to kill you. I will have to be careful.

We deliberately set our mileage low because the speed limits and road quality. I will be very surprised if I manage not to get a ticket, especially if they use forward facing radar on the cars. All my speeding tickets are from handheld roadside radar.

**Highlander** · 16th December 2010, 23:08

Originally Posted by BritBiker

We have planned and booked all the overnights so we might be stuck with routes to some degree, I will have a look at the threads though.

.

Post up a bit of an itinery and you might find some from here keen to join you / show you around when in their neck of the woods.

Some great roads to cover and you are probably hitting the best time of year here.

**CRM** · 17th December 2010, 08:06

Originally Posted by BritBiker

Looks like we will need a bit of security then, we will probably not have any spare room in the panniers to lock up helmets and jackets which we would normally do.

The guys we are hiring from say they leave jackets and helmets on bikes outside of towns, looks like the lidsafes from pacsafe could be useful anyway.

Lid-safes are great. Also use a mesh version over my pack and riding gear if in a place where there is a risk. They're small and easy to pack and a great deterent. There are remote places where you may think you can leave stuff unattended but as someone said there are those who target these kind of spots to rip off tourists. Generally I find in a more public place no-one will touch your stuff.

There's an excellent New Zealand Motorcycling atlas (by Hema) which gives good backgrounds and suggested routes. Well worth getting before you come and have a good read. What sort of bike(s) are you hiring?

**BritBiker** · 17th December 2010, 11:16

Just picked up the 80l pacsafe, can chuck two lids and a jackets in it and it waterproofs the pillions rucksack.

Starting to look forward to the trip now, we are doing it on Electra-Glides, although both of us normally ride BMW's.

Starting from Aukland, doing the Cor Loop, then down to Taupo for 2 days, Wellington, Nelson (2 Days), Reefton, Hanmer Springs, Christchurch, Lake Tekapo, Queenstown (Flights to Milford Sound), Dunedin, Fairlie, Christchurch.

I'm sure we'll be sad to leave.

**pritch** · 17th December 2010, 13:05

I was thinking that itinerary was missing some wonderful roads but then I remembered ElectraGlide...

The South Island Roads are generally great except a couple of times I've struck roadworks that had no warning signs. Ah well, it stops you getting constipated...

**BritBiker** · 17th December 2010, 18:49

We felt obliged to book ahead because it's high season, and we still struggled to get our first choices at the weekends. We picked a route based on 3 hours a day riding time, we have toured at 6 hours a day in the US but it got very tiring.

We want to have time to enjoy the beaches / vineyards.

It looked like there was only one road a lot of the time based on the road atlas we have. Ordered the motorcycle atlas a while ago but not arrived in time to plan with it, so we might be stuck with the planning we have.

Trying to sort out points of interest on route at the moment, will be doing that over the next couple of weeks. Most of the tour book stuff is in the North Island and we deliberately shot through to get time to cover the SI.

**NighthawkNZ:Me** · 17th December 2010, 19:03

Originally Posted by BritBiker

It looked like there was only one road a lot of the time based on the road atlas we have. Ordered the motorcycle atlas a while ago but not arrived in time to plan with it, so we might be stuck with the planning we have.

Maybe to milford and back but most there are few hidden gem motorcycling roads... :-)

Stay off State HWY 1 as much as you can there are a lot better riding roads than that.... When in dunedin let us know and we might see if we can organise to show some roads here and there...

**BritBiker** · 17th December 2010, 19:55

We are flying to Milford from Queenstown, Heli back hopefully. So we will miss the Milford road.

We had planned to go Taupo - Wellington on Hwy 1 (I think) as we wanted some time in Wellington to get a flavour. We set off quite early for the ferry next day. What's a good alternative that gets us there in 3-4 hours?

Been reading another thread about bikers driven off the roads by cars driving in the middle of the road.

We are staying at a winery in Dunedin, might be time to meet up and ride out. We will have ridden from Queenstown that day, how long a ride is that?

**Jantar** · 17th December 2010, 21:51

Originally Posted by BritBiker

.... We will have ridden from Queenstown that day, how long a ride is that?

Queesntown to Dunedin is between 3 and 12 hours depending on the route you wish to take. What day are you planning this? I may be off work and able to show some amazing country.

**Highlander** · 17th December 2010, 22:00

Originally Posted by Jantar

Queesntown to Dunedin is between 3 and 12 hours depending on the route you wish to take. What day are you planning this? I may be off work and able to show some amazing country.

You do that too?

My Family thought I'd lost the plot when I covered just over 400km to go for lunch 20km from home.

**BritBiker** · 17th December 2010, 22:00

Feb 3rd, we had planned our days around 3-4 hour rides. The other rider really wants to take it easy but we'll have to see what state of mind we're in by then. Last trip was 10 days 3,500 miles which was tiring at times.

If the road quality and weather are good 3.5 hours a day will be easy it might be nice to meet up and ride some more. If it's been raining and lots of twisty roads/long days on the way down we will be shattered and looking to put our feet up.

Just had a look at the map, that is one day where some local knowledge would be great, there seem to be a lot of options as far as roads between Queenstown and Dunedin.

**Jantar** · 17th December 2010, 22:10

Originally Posted by Highlander

You do that too?

My Family thought I'd lost the plot when I covered just over 400km to go for lunch 20km from home.

You know me Sir Jym. Why ride only 20 km when you can get a whole half day out of it?

Originally Posted by BritBiker

Feb 3rd, we had planned our days around 3-4 hour rides. The other rider really wants to take it easy but we'll have to see what state of mind we're in by then. Last trip was 10 days 3,500 miles which was tiring at times.

If the road quality and weather are good 3.5 hours a day will be easy it might be nice to meet up and ride some more. If it's been raining and lots of twisty roads/long days on the way down we will be shattered and looking to put our feet up.

Just had a look at the map, that is one day where some local knowledge would be great, there seem to be a lot of options as far as roads between Queenstown and Dunedin.

In that case I'd recommend Queenstown - Cromwell - Clyde - Omakau - Ranfurly - Middlemarch - Dunedin if its fine. Queenstown - Cromwell - Alexandra - Milton - Dunedin if its raining. Mind you if it is raining there'll be dancing in the streets in Alexandra.