Auckland, Gisborne, Napier and back

[Richard Mc F]

Had a family get together to attend in Napier so decided to do the scenic route on the old Ducati ( brave or stupid ), chucked on some soft saddlebags, change the oil & filter, big time prep


Managed friday off, early finish thursday, off through Paeroa, Waihi, Tauranga and down to a Mates place in Opotiki, more bugs than I have ever seen, had to stop 3 times to de bug the visor, nice ride though, highlight was the crazy local in a falcon ute, it was dark but he "towed " me along at quite "ahem" silly speeds.

Friday morning off through the Waioweka (?) gorge, now i don't know about other people but seeing a sign indicating that the next 50 KM was of a twisting winding nature, well 1) most people are at work, 2) I am riding a Ducati, it was fanbloodytastic, did not push hard but got into a nice smooth groove, damn that is a nice ride, scenic with it .

Coffe in Gisborne, and the discovering that I had left my cell phone on the charger at work, agonised, went WTF and bought a cheap prepay, cruising off saw a bike shop, Gisborne Honda, stopped bought some light gloves, I was dripping into my winter weights, and set for Napier, about 40 km out of town the old girl did a big lurch bang type of thing, pulled over and the chain master link lock and plate had f****ed off, hrmmm ...where is that phone, the call to 018, Gisbone Honda, and a plea for help, WHAT AT TEAM, sent out a ute with trailer, dragged the sad mess back to their workshop, replace the utterly shagged chain ( hangs head in shame )with a new RK X ring, FANTASTIC people, Dave Mc Millan and his team deserve full recognition they went hard to get me on the road, and were very reasonable with their charges, 06/8689109, e mail is gishonda@xtra.co.nz.

So on to Napier, great ride, arrive about 5 hours later than planned but hey, that ride from Gisborne to Napier is another gem, strange but the persistent vague vibration had gone too

Vineyards...food.... bars...blur, yup, that was Saturday.

Did the Napier Taupo, up through Rotorua, Matamata for lunch, all very pleasant, just cruising ( 120/130 max as most if the trip) Red Fox Maramarua for a pint while I put on me wets and into the filthy pissing down Auckland weather to arrive home in rain like I have never seen, around 1250 kms, slung a litre of oil in tonight, and found a cracked header I need to repair,the joys of old bikes


now.....where to next

[James Deuce]

Sounds like fun AND you were nice to a bike shop. Top stuff.

[skelstar]

Sounds like a great ride. Will have to include the Waioeka Gorge into a trip some day myself.

[XP@]

So on to Napier, great ride, arrive about 5 hours later than planned but hey, that ride from Gisborne to Napier is another gem, strange but the persistent vague vibration had gone too

Did it twice on saturday night >;-) and came all the way up from wellington just for the helluvit :-)

It is totally awsome in the dark... and I didn't see any cops either... hope they didn't see me ;-) I just couldn't help myself on those 55 - 75 km/h bends... The buzz lasted me at least until danevirke where bits started to fall off in the cold.

[TLDV8]

Excellent reading,nothing wrong with the old Beveldrive

I still remember the dinner plate eyes on a young dude who was laying on the tank of his RGV when i motored past at around 210 kmh on the SD

fwiw... Depending on what size front sprocket you have,some of the wider O-Ring chains can rub on the engine case.
If the chain was getting on a bit it wouldn't hurt to check the lower rubbing block.If they come loose or are well worn the chain again attacks the engine case.
Also the fasteners in the rear cushdrive hub.

[emaN]

great read bro!
would love to be 'playing' in the gorge today!!!!

[Macktheknife]

Good write-up, big ups for that bike shop, cheers mate

[Highlander]

Wel done. Thinking of a couple of nights away myself basically that run in reverse (Start / stop in Tauranga though).

[Richard Mc F]

fwiw... Depending on what size front sprocket you have,some of the wider O-Ring chains can rub on the engine case.
If the chain was getting on a bit it wouldn't hurt to check the lower rubbing block.If they come loose or are well worn the chain again attacks the engine case.
Also the fasteners in the rear cushdrive hub.

All is good there, checked the rubbing block, it is fine, the last chain rubbed on the case a bit but not the new one, fasteners in the cush drive have been treated to the locktite and grunt routine.

BEVELS ARE COOL

[Tonka]

Nice read mate and what a cool sounding ride. Thre is nothing like bikers coming to the rescue to help another biker!! Awesome stuff!