Coromandel Loop[ ride weekend

[tmkaos]

Hi all,

Had a cracker weekend last weekend, myself and 3 mates took the weekend and did a ride. Weather was spectacular, roads were great and overall we had a blast. Route map here ]https://maps.google.co.nz/maps?saddr=1010+Kaipara+Coast+Highway,+Kaukapakapa&daddr=Tuakau,+Auckland+to:Waingaro,+Waikato+to:Ngaruawahia,+Waikato+to:Paeroa,+Waikato+to:Waihi,+Waikato+to:Whitianga,+Waikato+to:Coromandel,+Waikato+to:Whitianga+to:Tairua,+Waikato+to:Kopu,+Waikato+to:Ellerslie,+Auckland&hl=en&sll=-37.157451,175.19785&sspn=1.22363,2.554321&geocode=Fb1E0f0d95NmCikzO1EfTBoNbTGdNKwGgMB3Jw%3BFU9Nx_0dbm5tCilz_cvtulRtbTGAEKNDYe8ABQ%3BFUDZwP0d0T5uCimF5HWWmS1tbTGg2KJDYe8ABQ%3BFaw9wf0dJY9wCinb1YmUjzptbTHA6qJDYe8ABQ%3BFfqXxf0dZ494CikBJFFuv5xtbTFQ86JDYe8ABQ%3BFWV0xf0dXx17CilpKt7nAo5tbTGQEqNDYe8ABQ%3BFbskzv0d2Pl4CimZNVaykF5ybTEwHKNDYe8ABQ%3BFTkRz_0dkON1CikJtWI8pvFybTHQvaJDYe8ABQ%3BFbskzv0d2Pl4CimZNVaykF5ybTEwHKNDYe8ABQ%3BFSB8y_0dAUF7CikXp1-jeG5ybTGgB6NDYe8ABQ%3BFS6fyP0dZPx2CikX4ckaTX5ybTEwz6JDYe8ABQ%3BFRH8zP0dwF9rCinpMNnk4kgNbTGgwaJDYe8ABQ&oq=Tuak&t=h&mra=ls&z=9]

There was a couple of Suzuki SV1000's, a Triumph Speed Triple and me on my '92. This was the 1st chance I'd had to take the girl for a big run after my rebuild so it was interesting to see how she went. Definately not down on power, I managed to get around the outside of the Speed Triple under full throttle in 2nd and 3rd at one point but I'll admit I was probably earlier on the gas than him. The fork brace I'd made up seems to help, bike is a bit stiffer and has more feedback, but I've completely chewed out my front tyre, I reckon it's working harder now.
Still scraping my muffler on tight right handers, I really need to do something about that, it makes me a lot more cautious than I should be, I'm noticably slower through right handers.

Anyway, mounted a shit action cam and got some video, for anyone who wants a 10min snap-shot of a typical Kiwi coastal road, here it is.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNE967M-p_Y This is the 2nd day of the trip, from Whitianga to Coromandel Township.

We left on Sat morning, I'd stayed the night at a mates place north of Auckland so I had an half an hour of country roads then half an hour of motorway to get to the meet point at Bombay. Gassed up and then we headed south east out through Tuakau, down the old coast road towards Raglan. This was a little bumpy for my liking, and some of the corners had an unsettling tendancy to tighten up, but overall, pretty good. We headed inland again after that and passed Waingaro Hot Springs, just a pub and some pools in the middle of nowhere but some twisty roads around it and came out in Ngarawhahia. Some pretty tight curves but again, a lot of it was a bit bumpy and poorly maintained and it wasnt as enjoyable as I thought it could have been.
From Ngarawahia we headed back up State Highway 1 for a few km's then diverted out into the heart of the Waikato and took some back country farm roads to get us to Paeroa - this was actually great, a combination of straights and linked corners that felt like home to the FJ, and we had a blast. Paeroa was a pub lunch of fish and chips, damn tasty actually. From Paeroa you head south west through the Karangaheke Gorge, which is as twisty as it sounds, but full of cagers gawking at all the scenery and old gold mine workings. Waihi turned up next, fueled up the bike, turns out the FJ is the most economic even though it's 15 years older than the other bikes, has more cc's, and is carbed instead of injected and has over 100kg of extra weight. The other's were quite dark about that, actually.
From Waihi we headed for Whangamata, this was a spectacular road, tight but really good fun. From Whangamata, we ran into a traffic free zone and had the best 30km's so far of the trip. Winding up and over a saddle through pine forest, awesome corners, the FJ was humming. 
Anyway, bed time is calling here, so I'll finish this off tomorrow.. Put some pics up too..
Ride safe,

James

[Capn Ron]

Hey James...Thanks for sharing this ride with us!  Watching you run through the twisties has me wanting to take the bike out!  Very nice roads and scenery there...

Cap'n Ron. . .

[tmkaos]

Anyway, bed time is calling here, so I'll finish this off tomorrow.. Put some pics up too..
Ride safe,

James

So where were we? Oh yeah, that's right, got some pics to post.
This is the opencast goldmine at Waihi. I know compared to mines in both Australia and the US it's nothing special, but I still think that's a damn big hole..

The FJ taking a rest next to it's slightly sleeker friends..


Spot the 4 chumps at Whangamata beach - think blazing Kiwi sun, white sand, 1.5m breakers coming in, blue sky above, blue ocean in front, chicks in bikini's and 4 sweaty men in jackets and pants looking longinly at all that cool water..


Looks inviting, huh? Whangamata (Fon-ga-ma-tar) is a well-known surf beach and holiday destination


Spot the pack-horse.. I carried 2 days worth of clothes, toiletry bag, shoes for in the evening, toolkit, chainlube, spare bulbs and fuses, and my laptop. They had a small backpack each. The weight didn't slow the FJ down any..


This is at a rest stop on the 2nd day, top of the saddle between Whitianga (Fit-e-anga) and Coromandel Township. The FJ enjoyed the view, and a chance to get out of the rich exhaust fumes of all these other bikes.


This is where the next vid kicks in, with a steep descent down the other side of the saddle into Coromandel Township. Really good fun, but I've always found descending twisties harder than a climb. The FJ still dips at the front when I grab a handful of brake, she's heavy, zi'm heavy, it's a bad combo. On the way back up though, I scraped the muffler 3 times around right handers..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfQyHqK0Jn0

We decided to return the way we had came, rather than carry on around the Coromandel as the road from Coromandel Township is known to be extremely tight (15kph corners) bumpy, narrow and generally not as great as what we'd just done. So we saddled up, turned around and did it all again. Bloody good fun.
I managed to keep all 3 of those modern sports bikes in sight, which I reckon speaks volumes for just how good the FJ still is after all those years. I gave the guy on the Speed Triple a fright by blasting past him at one stage, and even though he gave it full noise just before I passed him he reckoned I was long gone. He was suitably impressed with the old girls straight line power, and remarked he wasnt so keen on following me as he tended to focus on how close I was to grinding pegs, mufflers and centre stands instead of looking at his lines!

Anyway, it was a great weekend, I enjoyed knocking the Coro Loop off my bucket list, I plan to do it again ASAP. I'm lucky, the guys I ride with are all good fun, and even though our riding styles and abilities differ we all keep the same pace and safely, too.

Anyway, night all, take it easy..

James

[PaulG]

Those were some awesome roads and videos.  One of the advantages of living in an island nation with lots of hilly bits.  I can see why you shredded your tire, which reminds me I need a new one.

As of today the snow is finally gone here, and hopefully within a month I'll start to carve out some asphalt too.    Hard to believe there was 2ft of snow on my lawn only two weeks ago.

Curious to know a couple of things: what camera do you use (I have an Ion Air Pro), and are you able to ride year round in some parts of NZ?

Thanks for the ride!   

[Bones]

Curious to know a couple of things: what camera do you use (I have an Ion Air Pro)

Thanks for the ride!   

As soon as the video started and I heard that noise and saw the footage, I'm pretty sure it'd be one of these.



Please correct me if i'm wrong.

                                                                     Tony.

[tmkaos]

Those were some awesome roads and videos.  One of the advantages of living in an island nation with lots of hilly bits.  I can see why you shredded your tire, which reminds me I need a new one.

As of today the snow is finally gone here, and hopefully within a month I'll start to carve out some asphalt too.    Hard to believe there was 2ft of snow on my lawn only two weeks ago.

Curious to know a couple of things: what camera do you use (I have an Ion Air Pro), and are you able to ride year round in some parts of NZ?

Thanks for the ride!   

Hi Paul,

Yeah I had fun making the videos that is for sure. I have a few more from the same weekend I need to edit and post. The camera is just a shit Chinese no brand action cam. Looks similar to the pics below but not as flash. Love a Go-Pro but haven't got the dollars.

And yes, you can ride year round, particularly in the North Island, it never snows here. South Island, maybe 2 to 3 weeks out the year might be too cold but other than that, 365 days of riding weather.

[PaulG]

Save up for a good camera - the quality of video is worth it. They are getting extremely good.  I wouldn't be surprised that in a few years you'll be able to buy a helmet with a camera integrated into it.

If you haven't checked out my videos to the MotoGP in Austin, TX last year (just look for the travelogues in this section), check them out and you will see what a difference it makes by using a camera capable of HD quality.  It's not a perfect camera (doesn't like the cold), but it has it's pluses. Sony has one out now thats waterproof to 100 ft (Why? Cuz they can!) for about the same price as a GoPro or Ion (i.e. ~$400)

We just went through the 3rd coldest winter on record.  It snowed in November and stayed 'til April -    Needless to say I am quite envious of you.  Hmmm... wonder if I could emigrate?  Do you think I would be accepted if I said my only reason was to ride 365/yr?