Feb 22 Christchurch quake. Implications for bikers. Are sportsbikes now irrelevant?

[Hamel]

I do 70% of my recreational riding on the Port Hills roads. I often have a couple of bikes and have always had a sportsbike.

After the September Earthquake our generally poor port hills roads became downright dangerous in places, with cracks, ridges and highside-inducing dips and hollows.

I decided I'd sell my full Ohlins equipped GSX-R1000K6 as it was actually unpleasant to ride and, softened enough to deal with the bumps, the handling was becoming compromised. (It got written off by its new owner literally 5 minutes after he bought it, but thats another story)

Tuesday's Earthquake was major. Having driven round a little, many suburbs have been nearly as hard hit as the CBD. (My Ducati 944 Carbon Special fell off its race stand and was suitably damaged ) Many of our roads, especially in the eastern suburbs are wrecked; your bike would disappear in many of the holes! Sure they'll patch them but that's what it'll be; a patch on a crack or a hollow.

I wont be replacing the GSX-R in a hurry. (After this quake I dont know when I'll be able to get work again) but when I do, it wont be with another sportsbike. My dream of a Ducati 1098 is permanently on hold. Sure the Akaroa road is/was great, but I'd still need two bikes (a soft one for town) and its a hike to Akaroa's roads.

As far as Christchurch goes, I think a bike like a 1098, or any modern supersport bike, may now be irrelevant on Christchurch roads.

Your thoughts?

As a foot note, please say a prayer or spare a thought for the people of Christchurch, especially those who are lost. I've been so very lucky but there are a LOT of people hurting here. It's going to take us years to fully recover.

[shrub]

Sadly mate the viability of sportsbikes is pretty irrelevant right now.

[Quasi]

errr... - in a word....yes.
Its all irrelevant.
Without wanting to appear to harsh or critical of your post - so many people hurting right now, I am sure the last thing on anyones minds is whether theres a place for sports bike on Canterbury roads right now.

[Virago]

A bit of an over-reaction I think.

If there had been a flood instead, would you be suggesting that everyone sell their bikes and buy boats?

The roads will be fixed. Riders of the Akaroa GP may need to adjust their strategy in places, and there's no doubt that the Ch-ch area will never quite be the same. But I don't think that everyone needs to sell their sports bikes.

[Subike]

The OP's post may seem to be irrelevent at the moment, but!

he makes some very good point that us who ride in Christchurch should seriously think about befor going out for a ride.

the street outside you home may be flat, but the one around the corner may not be.
many streets are as bad as offroad tracks, sports bikes and that kind of road do not mix. There are BOG holes in some, big cracks etc, your sports bike by design needs a flat surface to be safe to ride.

Even the Harley boys with their lowrider customs, those long wheelbase mobile couches, may not have the ground clearance to straddle some of the humps.

My point is, that you may be traveling behind a vehicle and not see the hump or hollow on a road that was flat the last time you rode it. If your bike cant straddle the damage, you are where? Picking up the bike or off to hospital because the vehicle behind you hit you as you fell off.

I know this is a worse case senario, but well worth thinking about before riding out and around the city.

That silt is also slipery when wet, road sports tyres do not grip it very well, another hazard.

So think about the type of bike you ride and dont become a Nick Smith Statistic.

Take care and be very aware that drivers will not drive in a straight line on many roads, A head on from a vehicle avoiding a pothole is also a very real possibility. Our small profile will not register in the brain of a person avoiding a road hazard as they cross the line into your path.

Double care people untill our roads are repaired, we need to be safe.

[Maha]

A bit of an over-reaction I think.

If there had been a flood instead, would you be suggesting that everyone sell their bikes and buy boats?

The roads will be fixed. Riders of the Akaroa GP may need to adjust their strategy in places, and there's no doubt that the Ch-ch area will never quite be the same. But I don't think that everyone needs to sell their sports bikes.

..or, buy a cruiser and head inland...

[bsasuper]

When they re-do the roads with nice hotmix, sports bikes will be back in fashion.

[Big Dave]

Unless you are track enthusiast I've been saying sportsbikes are irrelevant for years.

The ergos are the worst for unreliable surfaces, the suspension is not designed for the goat tracks of roads we have and the ease with which they exceed 140kph means they are a constant exercise in self control.

[shrub]

The Akaroa GP will be history for a long time, and I have mixed feelings about that. i loved the road and have spent many an early morning or weekday playing in the corners, but the power ranger set irritated me, especially when they tried to assert their manliness by overtaking dangerously.

The best roads in the south are not in the quake zone though, so it's not a problem for people who like to ride beyond their back yard.

[neels]

No.

I've been riding my ducati over that sort of crap on the roads around my place since september, it just adds to the excitement...

[ellipsis]

...i suppose everyone has to have something to think of in times like this...it may help you take your mind of the unthinkables for a bit...my life is my family, friends and motorcycles...at the moment I cant even remember how many wheels a m/c has...

[shrub]

...i suppose everyone has to have something to think of in times like this...it may help you take your mind of the unthinkables for a bit...my life is my family, friends and motorcycles...at the moment I cant even remember how many wheels a m/c has...

my bike is currently about 100m from the Hotel Grand Chancellor. I hope it actually has wheels when I get it. If I get it.

My keys and helmet were in my locker in the gym and once we were evacuated I wasn't allowed back in to get them and getting to my daughter was a lot more important than getting to my bike so i left it where it is. It's called priorities.

[XF650]

I'v seen lots of trail bikes getting around ChCh over the last 2 days. Rego or not, they are a bloody good option at the moment.

[rastuscat]

I'm a Popo who is working the cordons around the central city.

If ever there was a time to ride an off-roader with no plates etc on the streets, this is it. You'd be unlucky to find a Popo with a ticket book just now.

The situation will change over time, but our priorities are with bigger things, traffic enforcement is way down the list.

My personal 1150GS has been a godsend, getting to work in the central station would be a nightmare in a car. Bikes are the answer.

In a bizarre twist, I lost my house at Spencerville in EQ1, so had nil to lose this time, except my life and those of my family and friends. I still feel lucky.

Just as a small smile for me, I relicenced my bike on the interweb the day before the EQ. Now that postal services have been canned, I haven't received the label in the post. Now I get to feel like a rebel, riding my bike with an expired label, even though knowing I'm riding a licenced bike.

Oooooo it feels good to be naughty.

BTW, the donuts have dried up. What will I do.

[DEATH_INC.]

BTW, the donuts have dried up. What will I do.

Shit, time to get Dunkin dognuts to do an emergency drop! Don't want you guys stressing about donuts when there's all the other shit you're having to cope with at the moment...