Sunday, April 19, 2009

Road trip to New Plymouth 18 April 2009

Alan and I have been talking about a ride to New Plymouth for a few months. The weather was looking good so on Thursday I made a booking for a motel in New Plymouth on the Saturday - commitment made we were going to NP.
Saturday morning I arrived at the Plimmerton Weigh Station meeting point on 8.00am. Alan arrived 10 minutes later, we hooked up the bluetooth headsets and headed up SH1. The first stop was in Sanson for a much needed coffee and some food. A fuel stopped followed in Waverley at 11.10 where 11.45L at 230kms was put in the tank. We planned a run around the coastal road with a stop at Opunake for lunch.










Opunake had nothing to offer in the way of decent food; we had a look at the beach and carried on. The next stop was Oaonui next to the helicopter pad; took some pics and I reminisced on the 50+ trips I had done from there to Maui A. Next was a trip down Cape Road to view the lighthouse and sea and take a few pics. By now I was very hungry and was certain we would be able to find somewhere to eat in Oakura.

It was 2.40pm before we ordered food at the Oakura Village Cafe. Some local HD riders were at the pub next to the cafe. There were some rough bikes and equally rough riders - nice sound to one of the bikes. While having lunch I contacted John (Pussy on KB) and we planned to catch up later and have a ride somewhere. The next stop was to book into the Flamingo Motel, call John and arrange to meet him at the airport to have a look at his plane.

Following some minor maintenance to the aircraft John led the way to Waitara for fuel and a ride. The bike took 9.6L at 4291kms being 270kms. John led the way north for a few kms and then right up Otaraoa Road (thru a tunnel) with a stop somewhere in Tarata Conservation area. A few photos and chat about bikes the road and we headed to Inglewood. John left us at the Egmont Road intersection for his home and Alan and I headed to the motel.

It was dark by the time we got to New Plymouth. Half and hour was spent resting in an indoor heated swimming pool and then we went out for a much needed steak. John and Annie (Gasset Girl KB) joined us at dinner. We can recommend the Steak Out restaurant.

Sunday morning was a sleep in to 8.00am. We then headed to have breakfast at the Bach cafe on the breakwater arriving at 9.00am to find they don't open until 9.30am. To fill in 30mins we took a ride around the Paritutu park and then up to Vogeltown to view the house I lived in 22 years ago. When we arrived there the owner was trimming the edges of the lawn and offered to show us around the section. It was just after 9.30am when we got back to the cafe. A cooked breakfast later and we were on the road and heading to Stratford.

At a stop between Inglewood and Stratford photos of a HP car and the mountain were taken. The weather was kind so we rode up to the ski field car park. From there it was to the museum at Tawhiti. This is a private museum and well worth the $10 entrance fee. Coffee and food in the on site cafe followed. We carried on the Ohangai road and Meremere road to SH3.

A fuel stop was required at Patea at 2.24pm. The bike having done 170kms took 14Litres to fill. Other than following a very quick RX Mazda (RX2ENV) for a while it was an uneventful trip home.

I got home at 5.45pm. A final odo reading of 4721kms and total trip of 930kms. This was an enjoyable trip and a comfortable distance to travel over two days.

Ulysses meeting Tuesday 14th

Another month has gone by and another meeting to attend. I took the bike to distribute the chain oil and release the surplus; all part of the planning for next weekend.

Easter

I was in Havelock North for most of the Easter weekend and the bike was left at home. We came back on Sunday and that left Monday for a bit of a ride. As both SH1 and SH2 would have heavy traffic from people returning home from the long weekend a different ride and route were planned.

It was nothing exciting. Alan and I left my home and we took the Johnsonville route to Makara Beach. From Makara beach we headed to Kaori and then via the University area to Aro Valley where we stopped for a coffee. Then it was to the south coast and around the harbour, through the tunnel, onto the motorway and home.

At home I checked out the bike and gave the chain a good lube; all in preparation for a possible ride to New Plymouth the following weekend.

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Sunday morning ride

Alan and I decided a ride to Martinborough or thereabouts for a coffee would be a good idea and so would leaving early. Early for us means 8.30am from Alan's rather than the Ulysses 10.00am or Kiwibiker 10.30am starts.

Our route was a loop out towards Martinborough and a loop via Greytown, Carterton and Gladstone. Once in Martinborough we both bought a Venison pie and coffee. The trip home included a diversion to Greytown to buy some chocolate.

I was home by 1.00pm with time to go shopping and mow the lawns. Early morning rides work for me.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Busa is fixed

I collected the bike from WMC this afternoon. It has a new regulator/rectifier unit.

My concern is, will this fail again? There are some comments on Hayabusa forums about the location of the rectifier and they have been reported to fail after being damaged by stones from the rear wheel. There was no noticeable damage on my bike's rectifier but it is hard to know what internal damage could occur from a high speed stone. There are stones stuck by tar to the top of the rectifier mounting bracket and in the fairing below the rectifier. These would have got there on the Wednesday night ride from the resealing at Te Marua. Time will tell but I am considering a modification to protect the unit.

Odo 3369kms at WMC