First time visitor to NZ - avoiding speeding fines

[FlyingTomato]

Hi folks. I'm 63 years old and have been riding bikes in the UK and Europe for 45 years. I'm thinking it's time that I came and checked out the fantastic roads on NZ South Island. However after a little Google research I'm concerned that I could run up thousands of dollars of speeding fines on my first day on the road.

Is it possible to ride a sports bike enthusiastically (I'm talking about Twisties/country roads - not towns/cities or main highways) or do I have to settle for hiring a Enfield Bullet ?

We've some great roads here in North Wales, many of which in my view have been ruined by the installation of speed cameras - but at least these are signposted and highly visible.

Any advice greatfully received.

[Hoonicorn]

Here's a suggestion, if you want speed on NZ roads and avoid thousands in speeding fines, don't come here.

or don't speed.

[Gremlin]

Here's a suggestion, if you want speed on NZ roads and avoid thousands in speeding fines, don't come here.

or don't speed.

That's definitely your short answer

Longer answer, speed is heavily controlled. Regular open road speed limit is 100kph (save for the very rare section that's 110). If you're doing 111kph, you stand a high chance of getting a ticket, even on separated motorways. Police and camera vans can and will hide behind hills, crests etc and there is no requirement to have them clearly signed. While you might think there is a "tolerance" of 10kph, there are further restrictions in school zones etc. Most of us commonly believe that the number of police on a given road is inversely proportional to the highway number - SH1 has the most.

If you go hunting the roads one step away from gravel (or even better, the gravel and more fun ones) then they're often so twisty, bumpy etc, you're unlikely to hit the limit too often, or run into plod.

Ultimately, treat the road with respect, nothing to stop a car from driving on the wrong side of the road. Want to blast and have fun? Use the track...

[GazzaH]

Slow down, enjoy the scenery, have a great time.

Or go to a race track somewhere. Might as well be underground.

[Murray]

If you can do over the 100km speed limit most of the way to milford sound your doing pretty well. Hell its not much slower than UK considering most of Sth Island are 1 lane each way. Slow down ROSSI

[FJRider]

If you can do over the 100km speed limit most of the way to milford sound your doing pretty well. Hell its not much slower than UK considering most of Sth Island are 1 lane each way. Slow down ROSSI

This ... an awful lot of the South Island roads may have a 100 km/hr speed limit ... but it take effort and skill to achieve an moving average speed of over 100 km/hr on many of them. Avoid the East coast Canterbury highway one (south of Christchurch) and you will be quite happy with any speeds you achieve. In most cases ... the views are worth the slower speeds.

Only in the main tourist and populated areas ... are the roads being well policed. But you can expect to see them anywhere ... (or not)

[Blackbird]

Hi folks. I'm 63 years old and have been riding bikes in the UK and Europe for 45 years. I'm thinking it's time that I came and checked out the fantastic roads on NZ South Island. However after a little Google research I'm concerned that I could run up thousands of dollars of speeding fines on my first day on the road.

Is it possible to ride a sports bike enthusiastically (I'm talking about Twisties/country roads - not towns/cities or main highways) or do I have to settle for hiring a Enfield Bullet ?

We've some great roads here in North Wales, many of which in my view have been ruined by the installation of speed cameras - but at least these are signposted and highly visible.

Any advice greatfully received.

If you're a member of the UK Blackbird Forum, get in touch with Russ Quinlan. He's been here twice and will give you an overseas perspective.

[FlyingTomato]

Thanks for the frank advice. I was kind of expecting the main response to be 'don't speed'. At the same time there are loads of threads on this site started by NZ riders looking to get out of paying speeding fines after they have been caught - so I know you ain't all angels

Plenty of sports bike riders here too - I struggle to understand why anyone would ride a sports bike if you never get the opportunity to open the thing up.

[98tls]

Thanks for the frank advice. I was kind of expecting the main response to be 'don't speed'. At the same time there are loads of threads on this site started by NZ riders looking to get out of paying speeding fines after they have been caught - so I know you ain't all angels

Plenty of sports bike riders here too - I struggle to understand why anyone would ride a sports bike if you never get the opportunity to open the thing up.

Time n place blah blah,tis only speeding if you get clocked,that said on the roads a supposed "sports bike" are designed for the periods spent at lose ya licence speed are short so you take ya chances eh.Enjoy,if ya get bit suck it up.

[Temporary-Kiwi]

Hi, make sure you try to alternate routes ( I.e B roads) and you can have a lot of fun, but there are many things that you will have to be prepared to take avoiding action, as our farmers tend to use these roads as another farm track, such as herds of cattle, tractors, and the obligatory cowshit, or gravel left on the road, but still there are many choice roads where one can give a bike the full Monty.
on the main roads it's a gamble to maintain any speed over the limit, although I disagree with previous respondents that it's hard to average speeds over 100kph
às I regularly do so, I do have a good radar detector, basicly a must have for any length of high speed riding.
it won't save you in many instances though as our mobile tax collectors are sneaky, they tend to park somewhere that allows them to see /hear you , then they switch the radar on at the most opportune time ! so you have to be prepared to get a ticket while here, fines are fairly low but the demerits add up quickly , so do some research overnight so you have some roads to explore the next day.
I've found the south islands cops are more adept at getting you on there radars than the north islands , check out a book called 50 best rides in new Zealand, it has some beaut roads in both islands, have a blast while hear it's motorcycling nirvana

[OddDuck]

Yep. As soon as you're off the main highways you'd have to be very unlucky to see a mobile patrol car, and speed camera vans are almost unheard of. As Temporary Kiwi said, the fines aren't that much but the demerits add up fast, the real gotcha is getting nicked doing more than 40 km's above the limit. Instant roadside suspension of license for 28 days. Get caught doing 50 over and it's court appearance, dangerous driving charges stuff. That's being pulled over by a patrol officer, not a speed camera, so it's unlikely but can happen. Pick up 100 demerits and license gone also.

There's good reason to keep the riding sane besides the law though... as the others have said:

- loose stock wandering around
- unsigned road repairs finished with loose pea gravel
- narrow country roads and oncoming tourists in camper vans

etc etc... honestly it's a wide open, apparently empty country and people sometimes do the silliest things.

Nobody so far has mentioned petrol. Touring in the SI, sometimes it can be a fair distance between fill ups and a lot of the small country service stations close for the night around 6 - 7 pm, it might be worthwhile spending some time mapping where and when you can fill up if you're doing routes in the back of beyond.

[sidecar bob]

We have a number of race tracks, on which there is no speed limit.
If you look up these tracks you may be able to work a ride day or two into your schedule.
I personally think you would enjoy the country better from the seat of something like an R1200gs, but I'm not an expert in these matters.
If you just want to ride roads with no respect for the law or anyone else there's probably better countries to explore.

[Navy Boy]

Hi folks. I'm 63 years old and have been riding bikes in the UK and Europe for 45 years. I'm thinking it's time that I came and checked out the fantastic roads on NZ South Island. However after a little Google research I'm concerned that I could run up thousands of dollars of speeding fines on my first day on the road.

Is it possible to ride a sports bike enthusiastically (I'm talking about Twisties/country roads - not towns/cities or main highways) or do I have to settle for hiring a Enfield Bullet ?

We've some great roads here in North Wales, many of which in my view have been ruined by the installation of speed cameras - but at least these are signposted and highly visible.

Any advice greatfully received.

I think that you've now seen a common thread forming here. Compared to the UK things are a little different here in NZ and a shift in outlook may be required. Can you have fun and occasionally have exuberant moments? Yes of course you can - But you need to pick your time/place carefully. Don't do it on the Main State Highways in other words. Also the type of bike you ride here makes a big difference. A Fireblade isn't going to be ideal but then neither is an Enfield Bullet strictly necessary either.

In short if you're after a Continental-style blat then don't come here. If you're after an occasional spirited ride with beautiful scenery thrown in and an enjoyable place to come and visit then this could be the place for you.

[layton]

There are loads of sports bike here, I personally get my kicks out of just going for a good ride with loads of corners, i have geared my bike to give loads of oomph out of corners instead of top speed 100km/h is plenty for most roads, infact if you could keep that speed for a long time you would be doing bloody well, you are lucky to get a few KM before a nice 65km corner or something twisty.

If you are after some crazy speeds and doing silly things this isn't the place to visit... you will be taken out by something or loose controll.

[HenryDorsetCase]

Go as fast as you like. Go as fast as you can. Red and blue lights are optional. In fact I would say dont stop unless there's road spikes. And even then only a soft cock stops. Ride on those rims, lad!

The approved speed for any corner is kmh == mph x 2 plus 10. : so, a sign signposted for 35kph can be ridden at 80mph or around 140.

If you show up anywhere on anything less than a turbo Hayabusa, people will giggle and laugh about you behind your back. Just so you know.

You must ride with the Klingon code of honour foremost: Honour and Glory to your House! Perhaps today is a good day to die!