Any long distance tips? Riding from Wellington to Auckland and back this week

[mossy1200]

Rajol is coming around and we shall have a look.Prob going to owe Sinfull some beers.

original ration is 45-16 at 2.81 turns at front to one rear wheel revo.

Its possible it been over geared also making it slave the small motor at 100 in top.

bike has no rev counter.


Should know soon anyways.Im picking this is a virago copy by the photos and specs on net.looks like nice bike for entry level in the stats.

[gatch]

Throw caution to the wind. Don't even take spare undies or a phone.

Or money for gas. Or even your bike !

A bus will get you there with change out of $50.

[Zedder]

Most impoertantly: Wave or nod to all bikers.

[mossy1200]

Ok I now owe sinfull beers.GRRRR

had a good look at bike and its in nice condition.Oil level good and not to dark no signs of metal.
Runs nice and idles good.

Issue gearing changed from 16-45 to 16-38 just way to much change for 17hp to handle.

now Rajol get 180km before reserve and refill is 6litres so with reserve 250ish instead of factory claimed 300.
Idd be picking the 50km diff is from gearing being to high.

Also the bike has stretched chain which goes from 20mm play to 50mm at its loose point so Rajol is going to get new chain before going and due to the sprokets being in good condition live with the gearing till next chain and sproket change.he only has 2 days till going but will source a chain tomorrow and if the shop wont fit cheap we will replace it thursday evening.

Rajol wants to travel Welly to Auckland on Friday taking his time with a half hour break every hour and half with a good lunch break.estimate 11-12hrs with breaks.Is going to travel main route on a Friday so should be ok with traffic.

return trip may take 2 days and travel down through National park then down desert road turning into Palmy then over the ridge if Gorge is closed then down East Coast and over Rimutaka hill to get home.

If i dont see you thurday rajol have good trip.

[Ollie.T]

I have done more or less the same trip on a GN250, it was a bit slow on hills but definitely doable (south island, just south of Kaikoura was the most painful - though still fun and the twisty bits around the coast definitely make up for it!)

Try not to wear a backpack - straps tend to dig in and the extra weight makes things a bit weird. I tied a bag to the pillion seat (and it ended up a bit like a lower back rest)

Anyway, its all good fun, though you get some strange looks when you tell people where you have ridden from on such a small bike!

[mossy1200]

I have done more or less the same trip on a GN250, it was a bit slow on hills but definitely doable (south island, just south of Kaikoura was the most painful - though still fun and the twisty bits around the coast definitely make up for it!)

Try not to wear a backpack - straps tend to dig in and the extra weight makes things a bit weird. I tied a bag to the pillion seat (and it ended up a bit like a lower back rest)

Anyway, its all good fun, though you get some strange looks when you tell people where you have ridden from on such a small bike!

Rajols got a fairly sturdy pack rack on it.Tanks very small though i dont think a tankbag would even fit on it

[MD]

Reset the trip meter to zero each time you fill the tank (assume it has one). That way you know at a glance how far you can go before having to push it. Far more acccurate than a fuel gauge with a few bars displayed on the dash of some bikes.

And as said, don't fart around recording a boring vid. (it will be to the rest of the planet sorry). Concentrate on riding

[Rajol]

Couldn't thank mossy1200 enough

Learned a lot yesterday, shop on Adelaide was closed when I went past this morning so will go this afternoon

[kiwigjt]

My first ride on my bike (hyosung GT250R) was Akl to Manawatu, after reading this thread it is entirely possible I should never have jumped straight in. Not to mention it was in July and it rained for 7 of the 8 hours of the trip.
In saying that it was the best biking adventure I have had and I learnt a lot about how the bike runs, what I was capable of as a rider and how to ride within my limits.
Just make sure you take those breaks and don't push yourself. Be comfortable, don't load the bike up at the expense of your comfort.
I am sure we will all be keen to see how you get on.

[Madness]

The cost of replacing the sprockets would be largely repaid in fuel savings from returning to oem gearing. I hope it stops raining for you man, ride safe.

[Rajol]

Just an update

All my trips i did in 1 day

Rode from Wellington to Auckland on 26/02 Along SH1
Rode from Auckland to Wellington 29/02 Along west code, through national park, ohakune, beautiful ride
Rode from Wellington to Dunedin 01/03 main road along east cost through christchurch to Dunedin

My trip went awesome, and I've definitely become WAY more confident in riding and from handling certain emergency situations differently

From Timaru to Dunedin it was dark, raining, most cars were useless at turning off their headlights and it took me 3 hours to do that last leg

I'm pretty sure I endured every hardship riding a motorbike has to offer over that week.

Good experience though
Beautiful ride,
Met some more experienced riders along the way, including a man who is currently touring nz on a bmw 1200cc bike who has done russia china, south america and australia, and an older couple on a cruise together while on the inter islander, they helped tie down my bike because the crew on the interislander refused to help -.- wankers...

Confident I could travel 800km /day comfortably if I got an early start

[pritch]

The ferry crews don't help but that's OK, most of us would prefer they stay away from the bikes anyway.

[oneofsix]

The ferry crews don't help but that's OK, most of us would prefer they stay away from the bikes anyway.

+1 can you imagine having your bike tied down like it was a railway wagon or something

Glad you enjoyed your trip and gained some experience Rajol. Note of warning, whilst you have experienced a lot of the hardships motorcycling has to throw at you don't think you've had it all. One of the joys of motorcyling is that there is always more shit to come. Umm 1/3 to Dunedin so you missed the 130k winds?

[FJRider]

The ferry crews don't help but that's OK, most of us would prefer they stay away from the bikes anyway.

I dont think they're allowed to tie them down.

[Gremlin]

I dont think they're allowed to tie them down.

Wouldn't be surprised, as it would open a can of worms for liability. One of the guys did speak to me while I was tying down, advising me to throw one round the back wheel, but I was still in the middle of checking I had her upright...