Moving from UK - a few questions

[kevfromcoro]

nah,, trails are fine...anywhere off road, that is not deemed as a public road is ok to ride,
in my enduro days we had to cross the road several times,
had to get off and push our bikes, once in he other side.. away we went.
enjoy....................

[scott411]

What about for riding trails etc though?

all trail rides are completly off road, so nothing required,

their are some adventure rides that require rego, but these are normally also done by bikes like KLR650's, BMW's etc, not full off road, but back country roads, with some basic trail riding on farm tracks etc,

if you did need to go though the rego process here, as long as you can prove the bike is up to standard, and you have the import documents, it will be possible to register it here, it would be easier if it was rego'd overseas first tho,

[Jay GTI]

One of the issues I had, trying to ride dirt bikes in the UK, was unless you went to one of the Yamaha Offroad Experience days (or something similar), which required a whole weekend to trek into deep Wales for a guided ride, the only real riding available was pottering about on greenlanes (with the necessary good behaviour required) or riding in competitions and events. Plenty of MX tracks in the UK, but if that’s not really your thing (it isn’t mine, I’m a trail rider), there was feck all choice for a casual hobby rider.

Over here, it’s completely different. If you were to live in Auckland, you have the Sandpit an hour’s drive out of the city, MotoX Central about an hour and a half away, Dome Valley about the same away again, Thundercross similar distance (although apparently not being maintained anymore). These are all dedicated, commercial ride areas/parks, where everything is marked, directioned and run properly (maybe not so much Thundercross at the moment, but the others are). Most are seasonal, due to the impact of riding wet clay/soil during winter, but then the Sandpit comes into it’s own, being sand-based and the best riding out there is in the winter. So all year round, commercial/professional riding access. Entry is usually around the NZ$30 mark, give or take, for the full day, ride as much as you want.

On top of that, you have bike shops and guys in the industry putting on rides, like Mr Motorcycles family trail rides (if you get the chance, the Waikeratu ride is the best I’ve ever been on), the Spectro farm ride series, Power Adventures rides, WMCC rides, Epic Events in Taupo (a trek from Auckland, but definitely worth it!)... these are all rides where the organiser has access to a forest, or farm and sets up trails specifically for the event, people rock up on the day, pay the fee and ride as much as they want until the day is over.

Then there’s the charity rides, similar to the professional events above, but usually run by a rural school as a fund raiser (Waikeratu is one actually), which a local farmer (or farmers) will open access to some pretty choice riding for the day and again, pay your fee, ride until you can’t ride anymore. For accuracy, Waikaretu is the only guided ride I’ve been on in NZ, but honestly, the lead riders were so quick I didn’t have a hope in hell of being held up... but you do get a great bit of beach blasting in for your efforts, as well as riding in scenery so beautiful, it hurts to look at it.

All of the above are offroad only and so no reg required. In fact take those lights and indicators off, you’ll only break them! I’d say 80-90% of trail riding in NZ is done on a MX bike, enduro bikes are actually a bit of a rarity, beyond the popular 300EXCs...

Youtube everything I mentioned above, that will give you an idea of what’s here and like I say, it’s encouraged in NZ, it’s popular, it’s not a constant fight against some local rambler’s club or bird watching organisation to even potter along at 20mph on a local byway or greenlane... after your first big ride here (you can get 800 bikes at the bigger events!), you’ll be kicking yourself for not doing sooner!

[scott411]

O
Youtube everything I mentioned above, that will give you an idea of what’s here and like I say, it’s encouraged in NZ, it’s popular, it’s not a constant fight against some local rambler’s club or bird watching organisation to even potter along at 20mph on a local byway or greenlane... after your first big ride here (you can get 800 bikes at the bigger events!), you’ll be kicking yourself for not doing sooner!

800 is average at a Mr Motorcycles or Epic event ride,

big ones are now 1300 plus riders,

[raglanash]

The TTBRC rides down in Te Teko over winter are well worth the drive too.

[scott411]

The TTBRC rides down in Te Teko over winter are well worth the drive too.

if you are into wet like wales, Riverhead or Maramurua in winter would be your kind of fun

[raglanash]

if you are into wet like wales, Riverhead or Maramurua in winter would be your kind of fun

Nah that Te Teko volcanic dirt is primo in the winter. The 3 times I have been in there were epic.

[Jay GTI]

...and if it's not obvious yet from all the above posts, there is the only real problem with riding dirt bikes in NZ. It's not trying to find somewhere to ride, it's deciding where to ride.

There's so much choice, it's ridiculous.

[scott411]

Nah that Te Teko volcanic dirt is primo in the winter. The 3 times I have been in there were epic.

i agree with ya, best riding at tarawera,

[KTMRob]

Sounds spot on tbh - I don't particularly want to put all my front light/electrics back on - as I always strip my bikes down when I first get them

The riding sounds insanely good - but aren't most of the places mentioned North Island? I'm looking at South Island, Canterbury area.....I would've thought with the terrain, south island would have no end of riding available?

So - next question (sorry!) - is it worth me bringing over as many spare parts as possible...or are KTM/GasGas parts all easily available...I'm guessing they are....how about tyres....do you guys get GoldenTyre GT216X tyres (proper sticky ones)..

[scott411]

Sounds spot on tbh - I don't particularly want to put all my front light/electrics back on - as I always strip my bikes down when I first get them

The riding sounds insanely good - but aren't most of the places mentioned North Island? I'm looking at South Island, Canterbury area.....I would've thought with the terrain, south island would have no end of riding available?

So - next question (sorry!) - is it worth me bringing over as many spare parts as possible...or are KTM/GasGas parts all easily available...I'm guessing they are....how about tyres....do you guys get GoldenTyre GT216X tyres (proper sticky ones)..

http://www.goldentyre.co.nz/

parts will be cheaper at home for sure, small market, end of the world, frieght is not cheap,

most of the places we are talking about on here are mid to upper north island, but there is plenty of riding in the south island as well, but it tends to be more open and rocky,

[KTMRob]

Ah crap - you can't get the 216X off the GT NZ site.....that's a shame cos it's an awesome tyre for rocks...will have to do some searching

I can't remember how much it was to take the ferry across to North Island....but it would probably be worth going up for a week to do some riding there by the sounds of it!

I guess I'll just see how much space I have in the crate(s) - and start stockpiling extra parts/tyres

[BoristheBiter]

Has anyone done training with Chris Birch? Was thinking that would be a good thing to do on a regular basis....might have to drop a mail on his website.

I have done 2 lots of training with Chris. So worth the money (not all that much). You can either do a group or private session.
Just email him or look at his website.

800 is average at a Mr Motorcycles or Epic event ride,

big ones are now 1300 plus riders,

You missed Off Limits that had over 1600 at the tussock buster last year.

if you are into wet like wales, Riverhead or Maramurua in winter would be your kind of fun

Riverhead tomorrow

Nah that Te Teko volcanic dirt is primo in the winter. The 3 times I have been in there were epic.

The whole central area is best when it's pissing down, except maybe desert storm.

[Jay GTI]

The riding sounds insanely good - but aren't most of the places mentioned North Island? I'm looking at South Island, Canterbury area.....I would've thought with the terrain, south island would have no end of riding available?

Yeah all my examples are North Island and while there's maybe not as much in terms of the commercial bike parks in the SI (we are a bit spoilt in Auckland), there's still plenty of stuff to ride down South. One of my work-mates is based in the Christchurch office, he rides and has plenty of fun. Bonus for him, he gets to play in the snow during winter...

[KTMRob]

I'm more a fan of natural terrain, if it's decent, so South Island sounds spot on

I've been talking a bit with Mark from Golden Tyre NZ - and he can get the X tyre - and reckons there's good riding in the Canterbury area....so I'm happy

Has anyone done Romaniacs - flying from NZ etc - what was the price if you don't mind me asking?