Lunch time ride

Lucy invited me to join a small group who work in the St Pauls area of Thorndon. I had to go home first and pick up the SV650S.

We went from Aitken Street down the motorway to Johnsonville and from there to Makara Beach. A nice slow ride on what is mostly a single lane road with lots of corners. We came back through Kaori. The road over the Makara Hill into Kaori is great for bikes; it has a good surface and nice corners. I was extra careful on the corner I lowsided on some 30 years ago.

This is a road I will visit again for practice.

1000ks service and bad news

The bike went in on Thursday for the service and is still there. Something is loose in the clutch and Suzuki NZ have asked the dealer to investigate further to find out why this happened. It seems this is not expected as things don't come loose in Suzukis? Parts are required from Japan so the bike will be out of service for 10 days. Wellington Motorcycles have loaned my a demo SV650. That is good service. I probably won't use it much though.

So now I wait.

First run up the Takas

Attended the Wednesday night cruisy ride and we headed up the Takas with the plan to go to the Tin Hut pub the other side of Featherston.

It was my first ride up the Taka's. I turned back at the top as didn't want to come back in the dark and the bike had just hit the 1000ks mark. I wasn't the only one to turn back from there.

My ride up the hill was harder than I wanted. Sels1 waved me and a group past and I had no one to follow but a few behind; so the pressure was on. Sorry guys if I held you up. Then I get passed with Sels1 carrying a pillion: grrrrrrr. I need more practice.

A great ride though. Next time I will go all the way.

Ride to end the week

The weather has not been kind this week. Although on Wednesday I went out for a short ride and to add to my slow riding and braking skills. There is a reasonable sized car park at Dressmart in Tawa that is empty of vehicles in the evening. I spent about 30 minutes here and then down the motorway to Porirua and back to Johnsonville.

Today (Sunday) the weather has cleared and in the afternoon arranged a ride with Alan. We left from home and then up the motorway past Porirua, around the inlet and up Haywards to Moonshine Road. I haven't been along Moonshine Road before. There are too many really slow corners for easy riding and much of the time the bike was in 1st or 2nd gear. Once we got to the Hutt motorway riding became easier and we had a quick run up to Kaitoki. There were a number of people visiting the park including a group with Mazda M5 sports cars. We noted they occupants were in our age group.

Back to the main highway and had to wait for a while at the intersection for a number of motorcyclist. Today was definitely and bike day. A stop at a cafe in Upper Hutt and then back home. The bike now has 918kms and will have close to 1000 by Thursday when it is booked in for its first service.

Rider training day

I attended an advanced refresher course today. The course was run by Roadsafe and was on Motorcycle Riding Techniques. I was on the course with 5 others and 3 were in my age group. It was a good group with varying experience and probably all but one with more time on bikes than I had.

The course started at 9.00am indoors with discussion, whiteboard description of various techniques and videos. In the afternoon we went to a car park in Petone and practiced various techniques for low speed riding, steering, braking, riding with a pillion and many other bike management skills. Following the car park session we went for a ride across to Wainuiomata and down the coast road. The ride finished around 6.00pm; I got home at 6.30pm. This was a long day and I am exhausted.

The course was led by Lynne and Andrew Templeton. They have a website with information about themselves, their business and riding skills. This day was very worthwhile and I learnt a lot about handling the SV1000s and my own skills. I need a lot more skill development and will need to practice the techniques shown on the course.

It is still a scary bike.

Wednesday night cruisy ride

Tonight's short ride: Elephant Pond to Haywards, Porirua (via the south side of the inlet), back road through Tawa, Johnsonville, Crofton Downs, Karori to finish at the Speights Bar in Tinakori Road.

A bit windy in around the inlet and over Haywards hill. I am getting some confidence with the bike and it helps being able to watch and follow other riders line.

Taupo Track Day

November 5th at Taupo:
Wife and I drove up day before and stayed in a motel in Taupo.

The track day was great and far more bikes there than I had expected. Most of the bikes were in the serious category. And a lot of fast riders. Worth going to.

Kiwi Biker Ride

Just back from an excellent ride with some Wellington Kiwi Bikers. This is a legal speed ride to help newer riders and those on smaller bikes. I think that is what it is for, however there are some experienced riders among the group.

We meet at the parking area by the Kennedy Good bridge at 6.30pm and after a bit of discussion decided on a ride up the Paekakariki Hill road to the parking area overlooking the sea and then back and around the inlet to a bar in Mana. About 15 riders.

What an excellent ride and great road to gain cornering skills. I was at the back of the pack and must be a lot slower as when I arrived at the parking area all but three had their bikes parked and helmets off. Good to meet up at the pub (Sandspit?). Left there at 8.20pm.

I will join this ride again - it was great.