[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Abandoned weatherboard buildings -Post them here- #5175

This one is at the entrance to Waiuku Forest, at the Waikato Heads (north side of Waikato).

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Letterboxes, post them here #6786

Lady in Clevdon made this for us whilst we lived in Auckland

It could well be the same lady. Doesn't live in Clevedon now, but she sold her letterboxes in Clevedon. This is her own letterbox.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Letterboxes, post them here #6782

A local, retired lady makes animal letterboxes like this one. With various animals including horses, cows, pigs, goats, donkeys, pukeko, dogs, etc. You see these all over the country, and a few overseas. For about $100 you too could have one. But they are heavy, as I found out after promising to take one with me to Europe last year.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Letterboxes, post them here #6781

This one is on SH27, north of Waharoa.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: What optional xtras are essential? #7073

I would also consider the cylinder head/valve cover protectors or crash bars to be highly desirable. Those beasts are top-heavy, and you'll find quite a few of them bear the scars from being laid down more or less gently on their sides. Better to get scars on the protectors than on the valve covers. The plastic protectors will stand up to a drop at standstill or very low speed. There are also aluminium ones available, and crash bars of various types.You might also want to add the full toolkit, which is not included on later models.Apart from valve cover protectors, the accessories I've added are: tank bag, top case, lifting handle (it's an early model), big foot on sidestand, Laminar Lip screen extender to reduce buffeting noise, oil cooler mesh protector, headlight protector, front accessory socket, GSA 'winglets', and probably a few I've forgotten. I've also reversed the filler cap and removed the rubber extension tube inside the filler. It came with ABS, heated grips, hand protectors, and alarm preinstalled.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: R100RT Service #7038

Ian Livett of Motorcycle Surgery is a BMW-trained motorcycle mechanic, previously the head mechanic at Experience. He's located in the basement below Motomail at 41 College Hill, phone 0-9-379 2222. He did the servicing on my pre-CANBus BMWs, and I was satisfied with the results. I'm sure he'll still be happy to service airheads.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Abandoned weatherboard buildings -Post them here- #5120

This one from near Te Kuiti. Looks like the roofline has been lowered before being abandoned.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Abandoned weatherboard buildings -Post them here- #5116

It comes up with the message:"The upload folder is full. Please try a smaller file and/or contact an administrator."The file is already small, so the other option is now to contact an administrator.  😀Is there a folder for all uploads? Or a folder for each thread?

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Suggestions for a Poor Lost Yankee? #6653

For some more route and destination suggestions have a look at the ride report at:http://www.softnz.com/RoadsLessTaken/Written by an Alaskan who has visited NZ a number of times.Anyway, enjoy your trip and enjoy your stay.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Abandoned weatherboard buildings -Post them here- #5090

Here's one from Storey Rd, Waiuku, with Don Key as the leader of the house.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Suggestions for a Poor Lost Yankee? #6650

For some camping and scenic visit possibilities, have a look at the Department of Conservation webiste (http://www.doc.govt.nz/). There's all the information you should need for the 235 vehicle-accessible campsites on conservation land in downloadable .pdf files. Some campsites are free, some have a nominal fee.Many (most?) farmers in the country will gladly let you camp on their land, as long as you have the courtesy to ask them beforehand.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Suggestions for a Poor Lost Yankee? #6643

Many dealers post their new and used bikes on the Motorcycle Trader site: http://www.motorcycletrader.co.nz/ There are a few R1100GS, R1150GS and R1200GS on there.Henry at Experience also has some bikes on there. You can also try the Hamilton BMW dealer, Hamilton Motorcycle Centre. It's not too far from Auckland, and their prices are sometimes lower than in Auckland.I would add that, depending on your size, the F650GS could also be a good option for touring the country. The highest speed limit anywhere is 100km/h (about 62mph), and especially on state highways it is heavily enforced. Anything over 140km/h is considered walking pace. If you get caught you will be walking the rest of the way.The only information I can find on TradeMe about p3nut is that his name is Steve, and he lives in Christchurch.Some of the bikes on TradeMe are advertised by dealers, and in that case the name and the contact details for the dealer are given. For example there's an 1150GS with BMW hard luggage, that has only done 14,000km from a dealer in Palmerston North for $15,000.If you want some rides in the South Auckland/Waikato area I'd be happy to help with some route suggestions, or show you around some of better roads. Send me a pm if you're interested.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: what brand of seat to buy? #6560

Have a look at the forums on http://bmwsporttouring.com/ The consensus there seems to be the best seat for long distances is the Russell Daylong saddle. Do a search for 'daylong' or 'day-long' or 'russell' and you'll get several threads. But make sure you set the search for a year or more back in time (default is 1 week). Although most comfortable some consider it to be one of the ugliest seats. The Russell website is at http://www.day-long.com/There are also a couple from the Mayer family, independently of each other, making comfortable seats. Search for 'mayer' on the forums.I don't know if any of them would accept an order from NZ.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: R1200GS Headlight Bulbs #6026

I’ve gone through two headlight bulbs in two years. It seems to be a common problem with the new CANBUS bikes, but I haven’t heard of any solution or fix.

Since you get a warning about it on the instrument display it's not quite as scary as it would be on some other bikes. I just switch to high beam and leave it there until I get a new bulb. Now I have a spare bulb at home, waiting for the next time it happens. At least it's a quick and simple job to replace it.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: 1200GS Topbox #6005

I don’t want my topbox fitted permanently to the bike, so until BMW do find an acceptable solution I will keep riding with it. But it is tied down so that it should stay on the bike if the locking mechanism does fail.

For one method, have a look at the thread http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=hex&Number=469236

My solution is slightly different. The two brackets at the front that lock into the mounting plate are easy to remove, and nylon fishing line can be threaded through them before reinstalling them. A bungee cord then threads through the fishing line, and is hooked onto the bike at each end. Easy to remove and should avoid a flying box.

Previously I had a tie strap around the box and passing under the tail of the bike.

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