Jatz's travels

[Box'a'bits]

More please....

[JATZ]

O.K.... where was I ?
After a decent nights sleep where only my feet got a little bit chilly (-5 apparently) I went to say "G'Day to this guy riding a Ural sidecar



He's been around a bit...



There was more place names on the guard, which I didn't get a pic of. More info on his travels over here http://www.thetimelessride.com/US/WhereisHubert.html
Some people make "living the dream" a reality, he's one of them
Waited for the frost to thaw a wee bit and packed up camp



and headed for Ranfurly and some brekky, maybe catch up with Jamie who'd left the night before (leaving me in charge of his meal voucher cheers fellah ) At this point I said to Stephen who was heading for Wanaka and found my way out of town and out towards Mosgiel



On my way I bumped into RMoto(Josh) going the other way,so I chased him down and stopped for a chat, he was on a mission to set some new Motookens and look at some new stuff, sadly I didn't have enough fuel so couldn't join him so carried on out to Mosgiel and down that piece of seal that goes from Cape Reinga to Bluff.
I got to Gore and figured that was enough for one day, so grabbed a cabin and hung up the helmet for the day.

[JATZ]

Got up earlyish the next morning, threw my crap in the panniers and hit the road for Invergiggle before the sun got up
I had a bit of time to kill, waiting for E.Hayes to open so grabbed some breakfast and chilled out. I'd heard a bit about this store/exhibit thing so wanted to check it out for myself. ... It was alright
Some interesting things to look at amongst the spanners and letterboxes.
This was pretty cool



And this thing



And this...



Lots of other cool things to look at including some old shitbox thing that went really really really fast, an Indian that they made a movie about
After I'd had my fill i headed for the door, feeling a wee bit guilty about not buying anything Saddled up and headed for Bluff



Got there alright, obviously, and rode up Bluff hill, not a bad view from up there, a little breezy though



One day George... one day we'll get there



This was kindoff cool in a broken down rotting sort of way



We headed East for a bit and got to a wee place called Fortrose



Nice little spot I wonder how long that little pillar of rock will stand there for with the see pounding away at it ? I didn't get to close to the cliffs either
Moving right along... the next stop was Waipapa point lighthouse



There was a bit of a maritime disaster here with a reasonably large loss of life, I'll let you find out about it by going along yourself....or Googling SS Tararua In person is probably best though
Next stop, Curio bay, there's some stuff there... I chose not to go check out the fossilized forest, for obvious reasons ( I needed to keep my socks dry)



Next on the list, which I was making up as I went, was a waterfall. After I'd been past this sign, I love signs like these



I hung a left at the Whistling Frog bar/cafe and went down the road to McLeans falls. Walked through here...



Crossed a bridge over this...



Waddled up these...



And got to here...



Definitely worth the walk
I got back to the bike, jumped on and headed up the hill, thinking to myself... something ain't right
Oooooo Look..... a flat tyre I chucked some air in it and made my way back to the Whistling Frog , had a beer and thought about it some more.
It wasn't going to fix itself so out with the tools and get into it



I told myself if it wasn't done by 5:00 I'd get a cabin at the campground there and sort it in the morning.... I left at 4:56 heading for a little place called Pounawea I'd heard good things about

[ducatijim]

Love your style James! Great to meet and ride with you.

That pic above is why I will never have tubed tyres again, hence the gs7 as opposed to the gs8......for the life of me I wonder why all spokies are now not tubeless compatible?

I can tell you are a man who just takes those things in his stride and keeps on keeping on......good onya mate!

Till the next time, keep up the great reports .

[RMOTO]

Another great installment of your bike wanderings, great to catch up again mate, albeit brief.

Catch up the top of the South very soon

Cheers, Josh

[JATZ]

Love your style James! Great to meet and ride with you.

That pic above is why I will never have tubed tyres again, hence the gs7 as opposed to the gs8......for the life of me I wonder why all spokies are now not tubeless compatible?

I can tell you are a man who just takes those things in his stride and keeps on keeping on......good onya mate!

Till the next time, keep up the great reports .

Good to meet you too fullah ditto the riding bit...
Not sure how I'd get on re-seating a tube less tyre, it's hard slow work with my little pump ( 873 pumps of the handle to be precise ) and a tube.

Another great installment of your bike wanderings, great to catch up again mate, albeit brief.

Catch up the top of the South very soon

Cheers, Josh

True... shame I didn't have the juice to join you on the exploring. Just lemme know when your here, might even be able to find a corner for you to chuck your sleeping bag if you need it

[Woodman]

Good to meet you too fullah ditto the riding bit...
Not sure how I'd get on re-seating a tube less tyre, it's hard slow work with my little pump ( 873 pumps of the handle to be precise ) and a tube.

Shouldn't need to reseat it if just fixing a flat. Don't even need to remove the wheel. In saying that I haven't had to fix a tubeless puncture yet, and still carry tubes on my scarce longer trips.

Good writeup, and we need to plan a ride sometime.

[JATZ]

Last little bit....
I found my way to Pounawea.... cruise through Papatowai, on to Owaka and hang a right just as you reach the edge of town. easy az, although I had to stop and check the map in the headlight a couple of times
I scored a unit for a really sharp price which was roughly 4 meters away from the high tide mark, absolute beach front This place ... http://www.catlins-nz.com/pounawea-motor-camp/



After txting the boss to let him know I might not be into work the next day and an extra long HOT !! shower I stumbled over to kitchen to cook tea and spent a nice evening yakking to a French teacher... from France , who had the weirdest knitting style I've ever seen in my life must be a European thing George enjoyed the fire too



I'd heard the sunrise here was pretty good, so got up early to have a look, although the sun didn't get up till around 8ish, so I was ready for it

It didn't disappoint





It truly was special, sitting there watching the world waking up, in a beautiful part of the planet

I wandered a round a bit, just taking my time, soaking it up.



Eventually... I knew I had to make a move, so re-packed the bags, slipped on the summer gloves 'cause I thought I'd take some more pics, and hit the road. Pretty soon the frost started to get thicker on the road sides, the temp dropped to -5.5 on the dash and I got stuck behind a cattle truck spewing poooos out the back I eventually had enough space to get past the truck, and carried on to Balclutha. I can assure you it was stunning, riding through the rolling hills with the sun shinning like diamonds on the ice crystals, but I didn't stop to snap pics of any of it due to the truck looming behind me, and I figured my hands would be next to useless ( I wasn't sure my fingers were still there ) despite the grips being on max.
Anyway.... I did stop at Balclutha, nice river



Then I HAD to stop at Waihola. I also need to cut down on coffee in the a.m.



Water slide ??



After that I just buzzed on up the main drag, calling in on XF650 in Ashvegas, who took me out to the Spring Lynne motorcycles to look at some bikes http://www.springlynnemotorcycles.co.nz/museum.html Some cold old machines there, worth a look if you can get there. I left my cameras and phone back with the bike so no pics
I accepted the offer of a bed and enjoyed sleeping in something that didn't have a zip down one side
Cheers Struan

Next day I had to get home, judging by the reply from the boss, who needed my expertise on the chain digger while it was dry, so it was just more buzzing up highway 1 with a brief stop at motomox headquarters en route.

Last couple of pics...

Lunch in Cheviot



A cracker day for a ride up the coast



That's about it for this trip... I must do it again sooner rather than later...

[Aslan]

great report and pics from your trip to the Brass and beyond James - great to spend time with you again

Riding from my daughter's at Wanaka to my son's at Dunedin last Tuesday there was a lot of ice on the road - descending to Clyde from the Cromwell Gorge, ascending the hill out of Alexandra and in the Manuka Gorge

On the Wednesday I went out to my old stamping grounds - the Otago Peninsula over Highcliff Road descending to Sandfly Bay, ascending to Sandymount Reserve and around Hooper's Inlet - some excellent gravel riding

Thursday saw me head to Tim G's at Rolleston via the Haka & McKenzies passes - really mild - 18 degrees through the Haka.

Had a 'moment' near the summit of the Haka when I met a Land Cruiser coming the other way on a narrow corner

All in all great travel - hope to ride with you again in the future - the Burt later this year perhaps

Cheers Oaters, aka Aslan or Stephen O

[Night Falcon]

yup excellent write up Jatz!

On another note.....can ya tell us a bit about the F800?

what sort of mileage ya get from a tank of gas?
is she comfy on a long days ride?
whats the suspension like?
any hassles with her....didn't ya have stator problems?
how many K's ya done?
do ya own servicing?
no reason for asking but what ya reckon bout THIS or THIS

[Moi]

class read...

as always...

[Aslan]

yup excellent write up Jatz!

On another note.....can ya tell us a bit about the F800?

what sort of mileage ya get from a tank of gas?
is she comfy on a long days ride?
whats the suspension like?
any hassles with her....didn't ya have stator problems?
how many K's ya done?
do ya own servicing?
no reason for asking but what ya reckon bout THIS or THIS

Marty - the Lower Hutt one looks good value - low kms - if i didn't own an R12GS I'd be interested in that one

Send me a PM if you want accommodation whilst taking a look / delivery - you could ask the vendor whether he'd be willing to have a respected BM mechanic on the Kapiti Coast take a look for you - I don't know the bike / owner which simply says he or she hasn't been at BMWOR events when I have - I'd say an F800GS or Tiger would be a sound choice from what I read of your dilemma - cheers Oaters

Jatz - as you were with your excellent thread

[ducatijim]

Totally off topic, sorry, but this is the machine I was talking with you James, about, while enjoying Makorora!

[JATZ]

Totally off topic, sorry, but this is the machine I was talking with you James, about, while enjoying Makorora!

Looks like a bit of a beast I reakon I could pilot it though so long as there was no narrow gates to get through or corners to go round. I'll check out that website this week sometime.

yup excellent write up Jatz!

On another note.....can ya tell us a bit about the F800?

what sort of mileage ya get from a tank of gas?
is she comfy on a long days ride?
whats the suspension like?
any hassles with her....didn't ya have stator problems?
how many K's ya done?
do ya own servicing?
no reason for asking but what ya reckon bout THIS or THIS

I'd go for the 09 one. I just prefer the looks of them.
I get about 300-350k's per tank riding sensibly that reduces considerably when riding recklessly. 17l tank and av fuel use is around 4.5 l/100 k since I've owned it.
I use an airhawk for longer/multi day rides. The stock seat on is pretty hard.
Yip, new stator (2nd one) installed, from memory it was around $380 new. It came up in my pre purchase research as a weak point so not unexpected.
I got mine at 35000k's and its done 97000 now (?) aside from the stator and wheel/steering bearings it's been great, trouble free.
I have mine serviced by a professional as they know more about the bikes than me and he's very knowledgeable and has the right tools and software to do it properly. I still have the original service book which shows the bike has been serviced/maintained at the right intervals. I change oil/filter in between 10000k serices and clean air filter. If your prepared to go deeper there's no reason why you couldn't do it yourself. I know my limitations.
Suspension has been built to a budget, it's adequate but not out standing. Of course it can be upgraded, but thats extra $$
Compared to your past rides it'll feel like an under sprung slug.
FWIW the bike fits ME and is the right balance of compromise (always a biggie with dual purpose bikes) Not as fast or as well suspended as KTM but I don't need to go faster or bounce better. however I wouldn't mind some 990 forks up front (but then I'd have to do something with the rear :facepalm : ) Also.... if it's good enough for whiny Boorman and Obi Wan to ride BMW's round the world then they're good enough for me
I suggest you take one for a looooong strop, see if it works for you

great report and pics from your trip to the Brass and beyond James - great to spend time with you again

Riding from my daughter's at Wanaka to my son's at Dunedin last Tuesday there was a lot of ice on the road - descending to Clyde from the Cromwell Gorge, ascending the hill out of Alexandra and in the Manuka Gorge

On the Wednesday I went out to my old stamping grounds - the Otago Peninsula over Highcliff Road descending to Sandfly Bay, ascending to Sandymount Reserve and around Hooper's Inlet - some excellent gravel riding

Thursday saw me head to Tim G's at Rolleston via the Haka & McKenzies passes - really mild - 18 degrees through the Haka.

Had a 'moment' near the summit of the Haka when I met a Land Cruiser coming the other way on a narrow corner

All in all great travel - hope to ride with you again in the future - the Burt later this year perhaps

Cheers Oaters, aka Aslan or Stephen O

It was a good few days riding, couldn't have been better weather wise. I only had one moment, chasing an Alpha Romeo Giulietta through the bends this side of Pelorous. Cranked over flying round a bend when I hit a large patch of shiney wet seal I did pucker up quite a bit , then slowed down.
The Burt you say.... (scuttles off to see when it is) .....yeah I could be keen, depends

[EJK]

Amazing thread!!!! You should write a photo journal book!!! One of those A4 sized big ones!