Pic report of some recent rides, a touch of New Zealand riding

[baldo]

It looks like your bike doesn't have much down time......it looks pretty good for all your riding.

What a great place to have a motorcycle!...

[Leathel]

It looks like your bike doesn't have much down time......it looks pretty good for all your riding.

What a great place to have a motorcycle!...

Pretty easy to ride year round here, you can often ride around the rain in winter and even in the bad patches you can get out once a week (mostly) no snow up this end of the country and ice is gone by 10/11am on the really cold nights and means a fine day...easy to gear up for the cold, plenty of back roads so yup I love having a bike here

[Leathel]

A few pics from today, did a few local roads to get my "therapy time"



A wee land slide





Unfortunately for them they had just listed the property for sale a few weeks before the slide







One of many road slides that they just ramp each side of the slip and it takes a long time before it gets repaired..... Valk goes OK on gravel anyway











Stopped in to visit my folks and stayed for lunch

[Beer van Huet]

Hi Leathel,

Thanks very much for the nice pics. Super job!
I was wondering if there are more Valkyries out there.
I've seen posts from Spencer, Rebyl and a few others.
According to this map https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=2507461 there must be a Dean as well.
Did you guys ever meet for a ride or meeting somewhere?
Maybe the question is ridiculous because of the distances involved

[Leathel]

Hi Leathel,

Thanks very much for the nice pics. Super job!
I was wondering if there are more Valkyries out there.
I've seen posts from Spencer, Rebyl and a few others.
According to this map https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=2507461 there must be a Dean as well.
Did you guys ever meet for a ride or meeting somewhere?
Maybe the question is ridiculous because of the distances involved

Not common to see them, there is one other I have seen at an annual cold kiwi event but not met the rider... but we travel far for that event so he could be from anywhere

 I have seen a few for sale but not many.... I think a lot of owners over here must hardly ride them (in my area anyway).

[OnaWingandaPrayer]

Thanks for sharing the photos of your  beautiful country.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Hi Leathel,

Thanks very much for the nice pics. Super job!
I was wondering if there are more Valkyries out there.
I've seen posts from Spencer, Rebyl and a few others.
According to this map https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=2507461 there must be a Dean as well.
Did you guys ever meet for a ride or meeting somewhere?
Maybe the question is ridiculous because of the distances involved

Not common to see them, there is one other I have seen at an annual cold kiwi event but not met the rider... but we travel far for that event so he could be from anywhere

 I have seen a few for sale but not many.... I think a lot of owners over here must hardly ride them (in my area anyway).

Its the same for a lot of riders over here also. Beautiful pics 

[Pappy!]

Wow! Amazing photos, rides, and countrysides! Thank you so much for sharing these pics. Keep 'am coming!

[cookiedough]

WOW,  your neck of the woods is a once in a lifetime trip for most of us in the states....

Nice pics,  by the way what did the Valk run in the 1/4 mile?  under 13 seconds or ??

I hear though if lost to the VTX1800, they are no slouch either, if both tuned up just right, would be up to the best driver that day I imagine?

Been meaning to go to Bryon IL race track to see what my Valk and other bikes will do since only costs 30 bucks, but also required more riding attire I do not have like fancy high up cycle boots I would not use but one time at the track.  I think, not sure, also needs SNELL approved helmets which most also cost more than just DOT approved.

[Leathel]

Nice pics,  by the way what did the Valk run in the 1/4 mile?  under 13 seconds or ??

I hear though if lost to the VTX1800, they are no slouch either, if both tuned up just right, would be up to the best driver that day I imagine?

I had float valve issues at the time so sitting in line moving under motor had the engine flooding of the line, so the VTX left me for dead and my first sectors were slow.....then as the engine cleared I would catch him as we crossed the line and our times were very similar but my top speed was higher, I have sorted the float valves but still have more carb work when I find the time, mine is a UK model so only had 78 mains and different needles, have the bits here to complete but not the time at present.

The drags was fun racing mates.... low 14's with the issues but it will go way better when not flooding.

[Leathel]

We have a regular Thursday night ride, Some nights the weather doesn't suit so turnout can be low.... tonight it was a little wet but I needed to ride..... so I rode around the rain, wet roads but I stayed dry

A couple of pics from the night before it got dark

[Leathel]

took a couple of pics from last nights ride before it got dark..







Was a good night to ride, not quite got the warm nights yet but so much warmer than winter riding

[northernvalk]

How does the valk do next to the rockets?

[Leathel]

How does the valk do next to the rockets?

Holds its own, they have more torque and power on paper but they cannot leave the Valk behind.....but I can't pass them either but then they are 800cc bigger

 I think the Valk has its power in a larger rev range which is why they cannot leave me behind, There are two in the pic, sometimes we have three in the group, the owner of the Roadster version is a demon in the corners, but he used to race bikes, the tourer version rider is almost got his corner speed up to what I ride like so now I dont have to wait for him. They have both worked on there bikes opening up the intake and exhaust and had them reprogrammed

[northernvalk]

thanks, those rockets are impressive beasts! sounds like you boys ride them right and scrape some weight off the foot pegs when you get a chance! enjoy them summer, got 10cm snow here today......

[Leathel]

thanks, those rockets are impressive beasts! sounds like you boys ride them right and scrape some weight off the foot pegs when you get a chance! enjoy them summer, got 10cm snow here today......

Further down country they had snow over here last week.... but we don't get it up here even in mid winter

as for scraping, since I fitted slightly longer rear shocks and new fork springs I hardly scrape.... and I get to use pretty much all of the tire ...

I will be setting up controls on the forward pegs when I find time (Winter project?).... then I can fold the boards up and use all of my rear tire

[Leathel]

Took the bike out for another Thursday night ride..... 130 miles for the night

[The emperor has no clothes]

 

[Leathel]

Well it was the last day of the year so I thought an evening ride was called for, just a short stint to try out different rear shocks I had on my last bike (the YSS ones I had on are mint 2 up but a little stiff solo, getting them looked at) after 80 miles I thought I had better call the wife and say I am a way off still...told her it would be a short ride, another 100 miles later and I was getting close to home

200 miles for an evening ride to see out the year was just what I needed, at the end of it when parking the bike away I saw the bike had almost clocked up 16000 miles, Damn I should have kept riding, the bike had 8000 miles on it when I got it a year ago.... not been as many miles this year as normal but doing what the bike did in 18 years in 1 is a laugh

















A pic from yesterday out with my daughter



Things are getting pretty dry over here, a lot less green in the pics lately

[Jess from VA]

Thanks for sharing.

If I went on an evening ride my balls and other parts would freeze and crystallize, then fall off.

[Leathel]

Well its summer, but no not the last few days, a tropical storm came through...not to bad, a few trees down, some iron of the odd roof...... but it also was at the same time as a king tide.... Strong wind and King tide has smashed one of our favorite riding roads, the Coro loop is only half a loop with several sections blown to bits, Be OK for adventure bikes soon but I don't expect it to be repaired properly for a long time...... might be done by next summer?



















Some of our Thursday night local ride roads are a bit of a mess too but still plenty of good roads, I feel sorry for the people that got washed out but I guess its the price you pay for being right beside the sea..at least its not freezing cold like some have got!

[Leathel]

This and the roads to and from it took a hammering

[Leathel]

Went out with the Patriots on their annual fundraiser ride Saturday, was a good day out with a good bunch on backroads and getting some info on the historic NZ wars, Great to see the Spitfire at the end, and good to see its still able to be flown, there was also a ride in a Harvard raffled off, missed out on that one.

A video a threw together, most at 1.5 speed to shorten it... I might up the quality and do more work on it when time permits (saved the project before downsizing it) and add some pics later

First time I've seen another valkyrie on a group ride here in NZ too

The video

https://youtu.be/JoBmxl-X9a8

[The emperor has no clothes]

  very nice 

[Jess from VA]

Thanks.   

You can always tell the noobs ...... dragging their feet along (or duck-walking) at low speed. (which mostly makes it less stable than not doing it) 

[Leathel]

Thanks.  

You can always tell the noobs ...... dragging their feet along (or duck-walking) at low speed. (which mostly makes it less stable than not doing it)  

Yeah I notice the other Valk rider do that, first full day with the Valkyrie....and he is on a group ride. Picked it up the night before, Still has to pick up the factory hard bags etc, nice bike.

[Leathel]

A few more pics from last weekends ride

[Jess from VA]

Very cool. 

I believe that to be a WWII era Spitfire aircraft.

For a minute there, I thought all you guys rode over to the airport to jump out of planes.

I'd jump out of that one.... so long as it was still on the ground.

It seems to be missing the 4 or 8 Browning M2 .50 cal machine guns. 

[Leathel]

Very cool.  

I believe that to be a WWII era Spitfire aircraft.

For a minute there, I thought all you guys rode over to the airport to jump out of planes.

I'd jump out of that one.... so long as it was still on the ground.

It seems to be missing the 4 or 8 Browning M2 .50 cal machine guns.  

I've not done the research but that is a pretty rare spitfire apparently, a factory 2 seater, not sure what the tasks it was setup for

It would have been nice to win a ride in the Harvard they raffled.... they fired the spitfire up but didn't take it up.

Pretty cool.


this is the website for the rides, way out of my price range

http://www.warbird.co.nz/

[Hook#3287]

I would think the 2seater is a trainer.

[Jess from VA]

I would think the 2seater is a trainer.

That would be my guess too.  They only made a relative few F-16B models with a backseat.  Not enough that everyone in transition fighter (F16) training got to fly in one.  But I got a backseat ride in one.  And nothing will make all the craziest roller coaster rides seem mild by comparison, than a backseat F16 ride with a pilot that enjoys scaring the pants off you (which seems to be most of them).  

These are negative G's (he says over the intercom, as he pushes the stick forward and you go light in your belted harness, and your stomach moves up toward your neck).

Negative G's make some people sick to their stomach (as you will your body and mind NOT to feel sick, because puking in your oxygen mask is a nasty business).

So unlike the old Errol Flynn movies, when we want to go down hard, we don't just push the stick forward like that, we invert the plane upside down (doing it), and then dive hard (doing it), so now you are only dealing with positive G's pushing you down in your seat, and you don't feel sick (and he's right, you don't feel sick, but now you have lost all idea of up, down or sideways, looking out the top of the canopy at the ground).

Even before my ride, I got a good idea of what was coming when the old Lt Col deputy base commander was getting out of the plane I would ride next in, and he literally fell out of the co-ckpit, with a completely soaked flight suit, and his wet hair stuck straight up, and he had a glazed look on his face like he had just awakened from a coma.  Wow, this is going to be good.

[Leathel]

been a bit busy to post much lately..... just a test pic to see if I have got the post image site sussed, will post more when I find the time (not my van, was just in a car park )





Ohhh you can post the whole album with one copy

[The emperor has no clothes]

I know a couple guys that would give their left testicle for that 23 Window.  You guys have some nice vehicles for being on the other side of the world.   

[Leathel]

I know a couple guys that would give their left testicle for that 23 Window.  You guys have some nice vehicles for being on the other side of the world.   

I was surprised it wasn't in the show area, a bit of a rear beast over here, the other split screen VW was for sale.....for 80K but the 23 window looked way better

There was a few nice cars for sale, just a little out of my pay scale though

[Jess from VA]

Thanks.  I learned to drive in that Impala, and owned the same Chevelle SS, and (Mako/3d generation) Vette (not a 427, a 350/350). 

[BobB]

Sue and I visited your country 45 years ago, to down hill ski in July.  We stayed at Mount Ruapehu on the North Island.  Took a two day, small airplane tour of the South Island.  No motorcycling involved (I was riding in the dirt at that time), but we really enjoyed your country.  Safe journeys...

[Leathel]

Did anyone else do the BACA 100 mile ride? Apparently its world wide on one day....So with the time zones we got to go first...the only down fall is its a wet time of year here when they are run so all the 100 mile runs I have done we have gotten wet, but its only water and is a good cause

Here are a couple of clips I have thrown together from Saturdays ride

Part 1

https://youtu.be/jhM26PCBo50

Part 2

https://youtu.be/oyM5R-pe0vs

[Leathel]

you know its a wet ride when 2 days later the bike still looks like a clothes line for the still damp leathers

No pics of the ride as the cell phone battery was flat..... but I did run the camera on the bike but it got wet inside its case too hence the second video above wasn't to flash (that and it was still raining)

[The emperor has no clothes]

you know its a wet ride when 2 days later the bike still looks like a clothes line for the still damp leathers

No pics of the ride as the cell phone battery was flat..... but I did run the camera on the bike but it got wet inside its case too hence the second video above wasn't to flash (that and it was still raining)

I've not heard of the BACA rides. Had to look it up. That is a great cause  Thanks for doing the ride and sharing the video.  I'm going to look into it around here.

[Leathel]

I've not heard of the BACA rides. Had to look it up. That is a great cause  Thanks for doing the ride and sharing the video.  I'm going to look into it around here.

Yes its a good cause, It takes ages to get a chapter running, I think 3 years before our local was an official chapter...but dealing with kids things it should be done 100% by the book