Bikes and Gear

The bikes

Over the time we've made the journeys that feature in this blog we've owned and ridden a number of bikes.

Honda CBR 750 Hurricane 1989

Bought in 2005 for $4,500 to see if I really wanted to get back into motorcycling. A lovely bike to ride - on sealed roads. It turned out to be a smart move to start off with an older bike. I dropped it a total of 5 times, all at slow speed or while parked, as I re-learned my motorcycling skills, and re-learned the old lessons. I was surprised to find that I could break the open road speed limit in first gear on this bike, just. A far cry from the bikes I rode so many years ago.  It was a fast, comfortable, and reliable touring bike, but I never felt at ease riding it on unsealed roads. Being a Honda, it of course was trouble-free.

Suzuki VZ800 Marauder 2005

Bought new, to get back into riding. A comfortable cruiser-style bike, easy to ride, though not ideal for swooping along twisty roads. Soon traded for a sportier bike.

Suzuki Bandit 1200 2006

The natural step up from the Marauder. This was a stunning bike; comfortable, fast, reliable, easy to ride. An excellent touring bike, very capable on the open road, and surprisingly sure-footed on unsealed roads, with care.  In addition to being a very nice bike to ride on the open road, this bike confidently managed the Hakataramea Pass, Dansey's Pass, The Mackenzie Pass and many other rides on unsealed roads. Long after it was sold there were fond memories and the occasional yearning to ride this lovely bike again.

Honda VTR 1000F Firestorm 2005

This was the successor to the CBR 750 Hurricane. Purchased as an ex-demonstrator, this bike has now run over 60,000km without missing a beat. It's a delightful open road bike, especially at home on roads like the Lindis Pass and the Hunderlees climbing up from the Kaikoura coast where its smooth handling, good brakes and acceleration have you sweeping up the twisting, climbing roads with ease.  I rode this on a track day at Levels Raceway in Timaru and had it up to 200 km/h on the back straight.  I subsequently met the owner of another VRT100F and mentioned my track day ride. His mates seemed amused - turns out that they had ridden over the Haast Pass that day and the VTR had clocked 250 km/h coming down the side of Lake Haewa. So much for my 200.  This is a great touring bike, easy to ride for 600 km a day, and surprisingly sure-footed on unsealed roads. I still have this lovely bike.

Suzuki DL650 V-Strom 2006

For me, this is the ultimate affordable dual purpose bike.  I read all I could find in magazines and on the internet before choosing this bike, which I still ride.  I test-rode the DL1000 at McIvor and Vietch in Dunedin before buying this bike, but prefer the lighter, more manoeuverable  650.  It's at home on the open highway, and can foot it with the rest of the pack for any sensible highway cruising in such comfort that a 500 or 600km day ride is easy.  It's got me safely to the top of the Old Man Range, across the Old Dunstan Trail, over the Gentle Annie from Napier to Taihape, and up the Lees Valley.  The 22 litre fuel tank and economical fuel-injected K7 motor can get me 500km  or more on a tankful.  It's a delight to ride over the Lindis Pass where is sweeps through the 65 and 70 km/h corners at 100 km/h - or even more.  It's been totally reliable, and trouble free.  The only change I've made is to swop the standard windshield for a second-hand shield off a Honda CBR1000RR, which has virtually eliminated the wind buffeting problems associated with the V-Strom.


Honda VFR800 2007

Some reviewers call this the ultimate sports tourer. Others say it is so "perfect" that it's characterless.  One of us found it to be a smooth, easy riding bike, with great handling and great brakes. The other found the V-Tech engine annoying, with a surge of power as the V-Tech came in something that he never quite got used to. As it turns out this  bike had a relatively short stay in our stable. It came to a sticky end one day by being dropped at an intersection in town and being subsequently written off.  We have the feeling that we never quite got to know this bike.

Kawasaki KLE 500 2006

This bike was bought at short notice the day after the VFR800 was dropped and written off, on the morning we were due to start a 2-week tour of the North Island.  In some ways it was bought because it could be registered and got ready by lunch time that day. It managed the 3000 km North Island trip with gusto, and proved to be a great bike for riding unsealed roads, and ok for longer touring trips on the tarmac. It was the perfect bike for our Maniototo rides, and the ride to the Obelisk on the Old Man Range in Central Otago. It's probably the best bike we've ridden on unsealed roads. Its only shortcoming was that it was not ideal for long touring days, and after 500 or 600 km enough was enough.

Kawasaki Concours 14 2008

This absolutely stunning touring bike was the answer to the KLE 500's shortcomings as a long-distance tourer.  It's a stunningly competent bike with enormous power, exceptional brakes, a most comfortable riding position, adjustable windshield, and the ability to eat up the miles that makes a 600 km day trip an absolute breeze.  We occasionally took it onto unsealed roads which it managed surprisingly well.

Kawasaki Versys 2009

Kawasaki's answer to the Suzuki V-Strom? Maybe.  It's a sprightly dual-purpose bike, smaller and lighter that the V-Strom.  It's very nimble on both tarmac and unsealed roads. It has tons of pep, and travels well laden with touring gear.  It was bought to accompany the V-Strom so we could tour long distances in reasonable comfort, and still go up any rough little back road we want to explore. And it fits the bill just fine.

Other stuff

Rain-Off gloves:

These wonderful New Zealand made gloves fit over your riding gloves and keep your hands warm and dry.  Sometimes worn as over-gloves on cold days just to keep the hands warm. Wonderful, and highly recommended.

GPS:

I have a little 2005-vintage Navman ICN520 which I can fit to both my bikes. The maps are a little dated now, but for 99% of the places we go it's just fine.  It's been invaluable in finding our way in remoter places where the signposting isn't always where you want it to be. I'm surprised to find its maps more complete than Google Maps for some areas. For example, Google Maps doesn't show the vehicle route for the Old Dunstan Trail from Alexandra to Paerau (unless you ask Google to show the walking track), yet the Navman guided us unerringly across this little-used road.  The same goes for the road from Fruitlands in Central Otago to the top of the Old Man Range. The Navman knows the road is there, and navigated right up to the Obelisk at the top of the range.

One feature of this particular GPS I find very handy is the map view that shows the next turn in a large scale graphic that takes up half the screen, together with a count-down of the distance to the turn in large digits, and a graphic showing the intersection layout.  It's great for reading quickly in poor light, or when you can only glance at the screen in heavy traffic.

You can still buy these second-hand on TradeMe for about $150 - $200 (as at Jan 2010)

Ear plugs:

I have a thing about constant noise, and I want to preserve my hearing, so earplugs are an essential part of my kit. I've tried out just about every earplug you can buy in NZ, and without question 3M 1100 plugs are the best for me.  They have a rounded tip, are rated at -29bd, and are comfortable and effective. I used to be able to buy them at Mitre 10, but for some reason they stopped stocking them. About 3 years ago I found a supplier on the internet and bought a box of 200 plugs which we're working our way through.  Here's a link to a local (NZ) supplier. I've not dealt with this company and have no association with them.

Crash Helmet:

I bought a $199 helmet when I started riding again, and wore it happily for a year or so. Then I visited McIvor and Vietch's in Dunedin and was persuaded, gently, to try on the Shoei Multitec helmet. Sold.  So comfortable to wear, with a flip-up visor (must-have for me) and a clever removable double glazing-like inner portion to the visor the does a very good job of reducing fogging. It's a quiet helmet, too. When worn with the 3M ear plugs I hear just enough to know what the motor's up to, and not much more.  We have a thing about not buying the same gear, but we both have one of these.

Jacket and trousers

I started out with a Neo jacket and trousers, and they were ok.  Wore them for a couple of years. But on another visit to McIvor and Veitch in Dunedin I tried on a Revit jacket and trousers, and was sold on them. I can't remember the cost now - probably around $600 the pair - but it's a choice I've never regretted.  Great fit, comfortable, warm when you want it warm (zip-out liners), cool on a hot day (zip-opening vents on the jacket). Reasonably weatherproof, although I wear an over-jacket and trousers in the rain.  Pockets everywhere. Good protection. Nice gear.

Weatherproof over trousers and jacket.
This is due for an upgrade. Currently I wear gear I bought for $80 at the Warehouse, and it does the job just fine.  I sometimes wear the overjacket for wind protection on really cold rides - we seldom let inclement weather stop us.  But I will hunt out good overall-type overclothing some time soon.