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

[Leathel]

Things are starting to cool dawn in NZ, been several lots of snow down country further and today was the first frost of the year up where I am

Outside my workshop this morning was a little white



The frost will help dry the muddy spots on my lawn area where I nearly got the ride-on mower stuck saturday

[The emperor has no clothes]

Kind of strange seeing frost and palm trees in the same pic.

[Leathel]

The South Island has had its winter camping run "The Brass Monkey) it has it the first weekend in winter, I have yet to go to that one....I normally do the Cold Kiwi which is at the other end of winter

An article that has some pics (If it opens for you)... -11.6 deg C and a hoar frost with the local dam freezing over.....looks like a cold one this year

https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/news/104427370/central-otago-hoar-frost-enough-to-freeze-balls-off-a-brass-monkey

Let me know if the link doesn't work, I will get some images of others for a look

[The emperor has no clothes]

Worked just fine  looks a little chilly !

[Leathel]

A fine winters day today so ride time.. We did strike white out conditions in places so a little chilly for the early parts (The new batwing sure helps you keep warm)

Started fine, found some tall bamboo for a tag game on another forum...

 then as we headed south we hit the fog then out to a beautiful day and of to our favorite pub....that usually has a few bikes parked out back...not so busy today

[Leathel]

Another fine winters day today...and a Photo tag was in need of being collected on the Honda Shadow forum...seams there are not to many wooden tanks around but I know where one was so off I went to get it and the new tag picture....boat at a Wharf or the likes
 enjoyed my short 100 mile ride, just a slow cruise as the wind chill factor was there but I love the fact that summer gloves are enough with the batwing on

[Strider]

Awesome reports and GREAT SHOTS!!!! 

[Leathel]

This thread has been a bit quite lately..... I have been building a deck, then digging out the muck from building the deck and laying pavers

A few pics ..... & the reason for no ride report pics

[hubcapsc]

Nice work  ...

I just looked at the wiki page... I guess you're in winter, but it doesn't get all that cold?

-Mike

[Leathel]

Nice work  ...

I just looked at the wiki page... I guess you're in winter, but it doesn't get all that cold?

-Mike

yup winter ....at this end of New Zealand we don't get snow (well not enough to be white....twice I have seen snow flakes fall) so ride year round...... about a dozen frozen mornings but they are always followed by a fine day, Rain & hail gets you at times but its part of winter riding.......and winter building decks, makes a mess but better than doing it in the heat of summer

[Jess from VA]

Nice work.

Mine needs a bit of repair if you feel like it.   

[Leathel]

Well I had a reasonable day cutting pavers and laying the last of them








So I thought I better take a day out to ride some back roads to get some sanity time

I had not been out on these back roads on the valkyrie yet so I just cruised and stopped to take plenty of pics....but it handled the road well

[Jess from VA]

Beautiful country there.   

I've seen some cut down shields in my day, but I think that is the first two incher. 

And the last time I saw no traffic at all of any kind was.... never. 

Is there cell service out there?

[Leathel]

Beautiful country there.   

I've seen some cut down shields in my day, but I think that is the first two incher. 

And the last time I saw no traffic at all of any kind was.... never. 

Is there cell service out there?

No cell service so not a road to take risks on as you may be waiting a while if you get stuck under the bike due to avoiding cars, goats, deer or turkeys

I did see 4 cars on the ride....more than normal 

Note the lambs....almost spring time here

[The emperor has no clothes]

Beautiful country ! 

[Leathel]

A friend of mine with a holiday budget that far far exceeds mine shared this link with me and I thought I would share it, flying with Alpine Helicopters Queenstown New Zealand

A different type of ride report .... He is the big bald lad. (this is his mates video of the trip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_6wq2pAeLk


He was in alaska a few weeks back fishing ....certainly gets around

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCudOJ2pki4zRf_pHsMCOWdg

[The emperor has no clothes]

A friend of mine with a holiday budget that far far exceeds mine shared this link with me and I thought I would share it, flying with Alpine Helicopters Queenstown New Zealand

A different type of ride report .... He is the big bald lad. (this is his mates video of the trip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_6wq2pAeLk


He was in alaska a few weeks back fishing ....certainly gets around

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCudOJ2pki4zRf_pHsMCOWdg

That was badass ! What season was that for you guys ? It didn't seem like the snow was very far down the mountain.

[Leathel]

A friend of mine with a holiday budget that far far exceeds mine shared this link with me and I thought I would share it, flying with Alpine Helicopters Queenstown New Zealand

A different type of ride report .... He is the big bald lad. (this is his mates video of the trip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_6wq2pAeLk


He was in alaska a few weeks back fishing ....certainly gets around

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCudOJ2pki4zRf_pHsMCOWdg

That was badass ! What season was that for you guys ? It didn't seem like the snow was very far down the mountain.

Spring is in a couple of days..... but it's been a lean year for snow where there are no snow makers... Some smaller snow fields did not open this year

Had some late snow last week down there but not too low.

[Leathel]

A friend of mine with a holiday budget that far far exceeds mine shared this link with me and I thought I would share it, flying with Alpine Helicopters Queenstown New Zealand

A different type of ride report .... He is the big bald lad. (this is his mates video of the trip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_6wq2pAeLk


He was in alaska a few weeks back fishing ....certainly gets around

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCudOJ2pki4zRf_pHsMCOWdg

That was badass ! What season was that for you guys ? It didn't seem like the snow was very far down the mountain.

They just had there biggest snow dump for the season last night.....and winter is over, Spring snow is not uncommon though

[Leathel]

I got asked on another page about the pizza oven so I shared these pics....posting her to show it in action as well.... interestingly I have no pics of the pizza nights but then we do cook more roasts than pizza's for ourselves, Pizza is good for guests, put your own toppings on

[Leathel]

I got my daughters bike all legal for the road again..... was part of her 21st present last weekend, but she was a little tired Sunday to ride so we rode the Sunday just gone instead with a Japanese cruiser group....it was a good day out












pics with my family & daughter from the previous weekend.... Yes it was f fancy dress party but I picked the woodsman from red riding hood (to busy to get something decent) I usually wear a check shirt and beanie not that is was on with the pic with Rose...too hot

[The emperor has no clothes]

 

[Leathel]

A little of a far north of the north island mishap (Kawakawa town).... a laugh that is doing the facebook rounds.... not found it on youtube.... yet, so posting the facebook link (if it works)

https://www.facebook.com/james.mcdonald.161/videos/10157051971150616/

Moral of the story is tie the dog up well...... She did get interviewed on tv last night and she had a laugh about it

[The emperor has no clothes]

  That was great !

[Leathel]

That was great !

she said that her basset hound is usually pretty slow.....but that flag chasing it got it moving too fast for her

[Leathel]

I put a camera back on the bike to get a little more footage of the back country roads.....up by the throttle being the batwing covers where it was, this is a quick test run at my workshop

https://youtu.be/m86CqLo5teQ

I think it is going to shake to much with the tighter tire pressures and stiffer forks....time will tell

(will download the footage from a ride Sunday when I get time)

[Leathel]

A bit of video footage of the last ride down to the west coast town Raglan, This camera position was better than expected shake wise, it will be no good for rougher gravel roads but wasn't to bad on the back country roads I like.... I will shift it one day to a more central location as at the throttle end of the bars makes cornering look more even

This road is not one to ride too quick on, always has unmarked road repairs and other things to keep an eye out for

https://youtu.be/LYcvMfh0ITw

[Cracker Jack]

Love your videos and am thankful that I can see the country "down under".

But what scares the daylights out of me is MEETING ALL THAT TRAFFIC ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Love your videos and am thankful that I can see the country "down under".

But what scares the daylights out of me is MEETING ALL THAT TRAFFIC ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD.

I too love these reports and videos from Leathel. Although after riding for a week in Ireland the “wrong side” doesn’t seem to bother me .  (keep them coming Leathel)

[Leathel]

One of my cousins spent a year in Brazil, his first ride back home he pulled out of his house on the wrong side of the road and went over 2 blind hills before he realized ....lucky boy

  Jim seamed to get used to the left side of the road ok, but I guess he had someone to follow when he was on the bike I got for him to use.

[Leathel]

Ohh and I appreciate the feedback, it helps keep the motivation to post pics & videos from over here

 Not sure how to "embed" the video though, I can on the one other forum I post on but not this one

[Leathel]

Some pics from Yesterdays ride around the Coromandel Loop, lots of tights roads with a mix of flowing open sections too, A great mix of cruisers with single cylinder, parallel twins, V twin, V four, flat six

 I ended up working on a friends bike the night before so didn't get the camera on the bike, I was intending to get some of the "good bits" on video....It was a long day, 13 hours but only about 8 hours of that are riding....some of it very slow, the leader was on a M109 and did not like the tight stuff so I stopped to get a few pics at times then caught back up to the group

[Jess from VA]

Thanks, nice pics.   

So, it's warming up down there?

I like the idea of the beanbag chairs, where do they store on the bikes?   

[The emperor has no clothes]

  a very unique group of bikes you ride with 

[Leathel]

A pic from last nights regular Thursday night ride, 98 mile loop to get a Burger and a beer....different roads and pub from previous weeks

Bacon & Egg burger was OK....almost as good as last weeks burger at the Red Fox Tavern but no fries with last nights one ..... might have to retry the Red Fox tavern again next week just to confirm.. it was cheaper even with the added fries... so more money for fuel  (Fuel is $2.50 a litre atm)

[_Sheffjs_]

Wow, great post.   

[Leathel]

I had to take my daughter up to the airport so took the bike to filter through the traffic, I had fitted the camera to the engine guard so gave that a test, this is the quickest way out to the motorway

https://youtu.be/tGLKTzYT6mM

[The emperor has no clothes]

I had to take my daughter up to the airport so took the bike to filter through the traffic, I had fitted the camera to the engine guard so gave that a test, this is the quickest way out to the motorway

https://youtu.be/tGLKTzYT6mM

[Leathel]

How to Dad on the first day in summer in NZ

https://youtu.be/WBqcrinEDuI


Not far off the mark, For me it was fit a new tire to the bike and wait for the rain to stop so I can scrub the new tire in.......which was the following day, It was raining just up the road a little but the sun was out for me Sunday afternoon so the tire is now scrubbed so the bike is ready for any conditions again

Scrub in trip (a small bit of it)

https://youtu.be/3NuRziHAuqQ


Nice to be on a fresh tire face, the downside of living and 90% of the time on twisty roads....the sides wear, tire pressure kept at 42.....

[Leathel]

I've not posted a lot lately...a little update

The last couple of weeks have been my annual break time, I shut the shop for two weeks every year, not such a good break this year.... The workshop needed its internal guttering replaced so that was 2.5 days gone, the new deck needed water blasting and a couple of coats of oil, the old timber pile from the old hardwood deck needed the nails removed and I made a frame to stack it on the fence to cut up as required for the pizza oven, installed a sheet of iron on the wind/privacy wall that my daughter will paint, removed the old brush fence sections and replaced it with bamboo, helped my father clear the weed and broken tree branches from the storm, Helped a friend get his Harley he purchased while in Texas all legal & on the road (appreciate my valk even more.....so much easier to work on) I need to go back to work for a break


 I did take some time out to take the family to the beach for an evening walk







The guttering getting made....my folders are only 1350 wide so had to join sections, 2400 long to go between the beams









I also got out for a road ride with my brother.....that doesn't happen much, last time 3 years ago when he borrowed a road bike, the time before that was 30+ years ago when he last had a road bike.... he mainly rides dirt but has just got a DL1000 to use on the road





I also did a 300K ride with a friend to visit another that needed a little support, he was riding with another, leaving the car park and there was a speed bump with loose gravel, his rear wheel stepped out clipping the rider beside him who was riding with pillion knocking her off.... and she broke her neck as she hit the ground and died......all at walking pace so he was a little stressed. He had the police crush his bike, he just didn't want to see it again....... While having a coffee with him I got a call from my mother informing me one of our family friends had died in a horse riding accident..... so a bit of a shaky start to 2019......can only go up from here ......right