Xmas Trail Ride

 Yesterday was the Bush Riders Xmas Trail ride.  Today I am sore...

Totally worth it!

The ride was just 40mins ute drive from my place and by the time I got there, there were plenty of vehicles parked up and bikes being unloaded.  I parked between two very flash utes towing even flasher trailers, one of them had led lighting and a fridge was keeping the drinks cool.  I had ice in my camel-bak...

After the rider briefing (where we were warned of wet slippery grass), we were led out on the opening 15km+ lap and I can confirm that the grass was slippery - for those that don't know, a 450 goes sideways on this stuff when you think of touching the throttle or changing gear.  Yes, it is still fun.

After a pretty quiet first lap, I didn't stop back at the pits but carried on into my second lap with the grass just the a little bit less slippery - a couple of hundred bikes had kinda fixed that.  As I made my way around I kept an eye out for a decent spot to take some photos, have a breather and kill some gorse.

BTW: the chap in the first two pics below must have been in his sixties and he's riding a TS185 that was probably over 40 years old too!

Ending lap two, I pulled into the pits for a more decent breather.  It was definitely hot work out there and I needed to get my breath back a bit.  This stop turned into an early lunch where I was more interested in getting water in than the tucker.

Back out onto lap three and I was riding a lot better and was pretty quick on the quick bits and not making too many mistakes elsewhere but I was already starting to feel it a bit.  There was one really bumpy hill climb that you really felt through the arms and of course my legs were tiring too.  But I was still having fun.

After that lap I had a quick stop again in the pits, using fuel as an excuse.  I only put about 4L in the bike so it was a pretty flimsy excuse as the bike carries just under 10L with it's upgraded tank.

Anyway, I made it a quick stop as I found that the longer you stayed stopped, the more things start hurting.  Lap 4 was a cracker with some good pace but by the time I had dealt with that hill climb and some of steep descents I figured that was enough for me.  Probably just under two hours riding all up.

Back at the ute, I quickly loaded up so I could then get out of my hot, sweaty gear and start rehydrating in earnest.  It was hot.  And it was a hot drive home to a hot house and an afternoon consisting of not much...

Still, awesome fun.  Love these trail rides and getting out on the yella terra!

Sunday Saunter

So, yesterday it was raining in Colin's neck of the woods but it wasn't here and I didn't care anyway so decided to zip up to Taihape to catch up with Glen.

After a nice little warm up around the Manawatu Scenic Route (including a couple of lovely sections of un-signposted new seal) I hit the cruise control for the short bit of SH1 and rolled on into catch up with Glen - who wasn't there ☹️.  Oh well, never mind, I grabbed a quick lunch at the Scottish restaurant and worked out a new plan.

After opening all the vents on my gear I carried on North in a reasonable breeze to Waiouru and then turned off towards Ohakune.  Rather than take in the delights of 'kune, I decided to turn down Fields Track and make for the Paras.

Fields Track was a hoot on the Tiger, its great handling did a great job of all the narrow, bumpy and windy roads.  As it was a fairy (ahem) leisurely cruise I made time for a few photo stops.

Popping out onto the Paras, it was time to start making my way homeward.  The Paras were their usual fun (except for the 3 sets of traffic lights still in place) but one bee/wasp spoiled my day a little when he decided to enter my helmet and give my nose a seeing to.  With nowhere to easily pull over I had to put up with him for a while before finally pulling over outside the Kakatahi School.  My crappy eyes couldn't find a sting so I just ignored my nose and carried on.

Just South of Upo I turned off for the normal Okoia shortcut through to Fordell and another quick photo stop to take more pics of the pretty new bike.

From there it was onto Turakina Valley Road to make my way to Marton.  Along the way there was time for some more pics of a crouching Tiger by a bridge.

Just out of Marton the fuel warning came on and the bike informed me that there was about 62km left in the tank.  This would have just got me home but as our servo is currently in pieces, that could of been a problem.  Putting 26L or so in at Marton fixed that little problem and a quiet cruise home via Halcombe and Colyton got me home just after 3pm.  Nice little ride of around 350km with the bike now having about 1,500 km on it and no chicken strips...

Intermission

 While the new Trumpy was getting its first service I had a few hours to kill.  And the bike shop gave me just thing to go for a short pootle.

The tiniest 1200 twin I've ever ridden.  And what a little cracker!

It was easy for short me to be flat footed and the bike was not very long so felt like it wanted to turn in pretty quickly but was actually nice and stable.  The motor was absolutely lovely too - plenty of torque everywhere and I dunno if the pipes are standard but man she sure sounded good!

My pootle took me around the bays to Days Bay where I had an eggs benny, made a couple of calls and generally fended off people drooling all over the bike.

I then carried on a bit further to the end of the road (where I discovered where potholes go to breed) before turning around and getting some more pics of the bike just past the Wahine memorial.

Then it was back to the shop where I had to give it back ☹️

Lovely little bike which was great fun to ride quietly (except for the music it made) around the bays.  I really needed an open-faced helmet and an old leather jacket...

Come on lotto...

Merry Christmas

 to me...

This post starts with me buying my T7 and then kitting it out to be the great long distance adventure bike that it is.  After getting it, my intention was to part ways with the Super Tenere and use the Connie for road stuff and the T7 for adventure riding - including rides like the TT2000 where there is often some Adv options.

Fast forward to October this year and the Super Ten was still in the shed and she ended up getting loaded up for a quick trip South to do our second attempt at this years TT2000.  Unsurprisingly, the bike performed absolutely flawlessly (after all it only has 94,000km on it), gobbling up the big k's easily and in comfort.

Fast forward a few rides, and Colin and I were tackling the shattered roads on Route 52 between Weber and Wimbledon and the same bike was slaying the road, shrugging off the shocking road conditions that would cause a sports bike rider to dissolve into tears and delivering a great riding experience.

Yes, the T7 shines on Route 52 but on those big cruises it's just not quite as comfortable and the brilliant little motor is not quite so effortless as a big bike.  Maybe I need to look at something else...

So, over the past few months I've been looking at all sorts of things, but mostly at the big, more road oriented Adv bikes.  And there's a lot of them out there with more on the way (Suzuki has a nice one coming by the looks).  BMW XR1000's and even GS's, Kwaka Versys (and even the H2-SX), Yamaha Tracers and the like.  None of them really seemed like the ideal thing and most of them still wear chains where I love shafts on tourers.

Eventually, something strange happened and I ended up looking at Triumphs.  Then I started looked harder at them and devouring videos with the 1200 Tiger really starting to look good.  And then I started looking at what was around.  Eventually a very good deal was done on a demo GT Explorer with 74km on the odo.

Last Saturday was pickup day, so Dad and I shot down to the Hutt to pick it up.  I got to ride it home and he had to make do with the ute 😜

To get a few kms on the bike (first service already booked a week later), I met Colin (after me getting lost in Lower Hutt on a busy Saturday morning) at the bottom of the Rimutaka's and we then shot over the hill before lapping Lake Wairarapa and then making our way Northward to Martinborough for a cold drink.

The trip over the hill was a good first taste of the bikes handling and I couldn't find too much to complain about.  The bike was setup in road mode and suspension setup just a little on the firm side of the range.  The rear brake pedal and gearshift were a little lower than I would have liked but I'm no used to them so haven't adjusted them and the motor was very sweet with just a nice little growl when giving it a wee handful.

From Martinborough we carried on North to take in some more nice roads with plenty of corners.  This is exactly how I like to get to know a new bike - working it through corners to get the feel for the handling, engine and brakes.

North of Masterton, it was time to hit Route 52 through to Pongaroa where we stopped again at the pub for another cold drink (it was hot out) and a snack.  The bike looked good outside one of our favourite haunts.

Rather than carry on up and try the new bike out on that really rough section of 52, we turned off for Dannevirke and then headed home via Pahiatua and the bikes first taste of the track, it liked it 😉

Next day, it was time for a little shed time.  With the bike coming with pretty much everything (I do need to find a GPS mount), there wasn't a box of farkles to fit but I did manage to make the bike mine.  I also linked my phone to the bike and then the bike to my Sena - easy as.  This even gives me basic navigation (voice and on-screen prompts) via the Triumph App on my phone.

Sunday's weather wasn't that flash but I did have to get the bike out for a trip to the olds and then another couple of hundred km to get those k's up.  I also did my first fill - 26L...

During the week there was a few trips to work on the bike (22km each way) before an early start on Saturday to pop down to the Hutt for that first service and the installation of the panniers.  There was no big gallivant to get home this time but I did take in the Paicock Hill to confirm the bike's great handling and get a few more snaps.

Then it was time for the second fill (27L) in Paraparam and the reasonably boring ride home.

Well, there'll be more soon and I'd say the bike will get a bit more exercise over the Xmas break before tackling its first TT in February.  Bring it on!

2023 NI800 Part 2

Ok, it's been a while since the first NI800 Post and there's a reason for this.

Following our burgers we climbed back into our wet gear and headed back out into the night.to carry on South.  Glen got away on us as apparently his fire needed some company so Colin, Brett and I let him clear the path for us 🚓.

As we pottered through Taihape, I noticed that Glen had only just beaten us as I spotted him getting off his Tenere to open up his garage.  We pulled into the BP for some gas and to say see ya to Brett as he was heading all the way down SH1 while Colin and I made a beeline for my place so I could swap bikes and grab some more gear before carrying onto Colin's place - early ferry in the morning.

Here's where things go a bit wonky...

Colin and I had a good trip down but when we got to the SH1 turn-off South of Levin we were confronted with lots of flashing lights and a cop stopping us to warn of a bike accident and to take it easy.  As we turned the corner I even spotted a bike parked off the side of the road.

Fast forward to the next day and Colin had learned some bad news.  Yes, the rider was Brett.

He had been cruising quietly home at the 80km/h speed limit when a car turned in front of him.  His only memory is something green and then waking up in the ambulance so whether he even saw the car is unknown.

What is known is that the driver was tired (it was probably around 10:30pm) and she was driving to Hawkes Bay.  And of course, she didn't see Brett...

She is now facing a dangerous driving causing serious injury charge but she's lucky.

Thankfully, Brett had some luck on his side and is still with us (and is acting pretty positive giving his circumstances) but he is now facing month's of rehabilitation due to some fairly serious injuries.  But still, it sucks to be him and he shouldn't be where he is right now - a moment's lack of concentration from the driver is all it took.

Obviously this was not the way we wanted the 800 to finish for us and while Brett was in hospital we were heading South again for more fun on two wheels.  ☹️

10/12/2023

I started the above post a few weeks back but have been hesitant to post it as it isn't nice subject matter and I might still have been fuming over the drivers actions.

I'm still fuming over the drivers actions but have had some messages and a chat with Brett.  He is still in very good spirits considering and went home about a week ago.  But, he's still got months of healing and rehab to go.  At least he's looking at bikes on Trademe...

Look for bikes!