[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Newbie signs up – with the obligitary couple of questions #5811

cm4233 wrote:

Also, I’m keen on arranging insurance via formal membership of this august club 😉 though it’s a bit chicken and egg 🙁 I need to own the bike to join the club to get club rate insurance – but I need to get the insurance to get the bike.

Welcome to the board, Scott.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you can join the BMWOR club without owning a BMW bike. But without voting rights. Whether this membership then gets you club rate insurance or not, probably only the insurance company can answer, but since the insurance is for a BMW bike I can't see why they shouldn't.

There are supposed to be tie downs available on the ferry, but bringing your own can still be recommended. The NZ-made Aerofast are some of the best available, at least of the ones I've used for transporting bikes.

Regards, Arne

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Tires, pro’s and con’s of what you have fitted please #5743

There seems to have been a problem with some Tourance front tyres. Perhaps a bad batch.

My bike came with Bridgestone Trailwings. Didn't like them. Lasted 9000km. Then tried Michelin Anakee. They were OK, and lasted 10000km. Then a set of Avon Distanzia, which had been good on the F650GS. But they only lasted 6000km on the 1200GS. Got another set and ran them with higher pressures. They lasted 8,000. Now I've fitted a set of slightly used Metzler Tourance, but haven't had a chance to try them out. Have only ridden them home from the tyre shop, but didn't notice any wobble at all.

Of these I preferred the Anakees, and will probably go back to them at the next change. Either that or try Bridgestone BT-020 street tyres.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Auckland ride to Cafe Ironique, a tribute to riders. #5717

Thanks for the ride report and the kind words, Bwucie. And thanks for coming on the ride.

I must admit I'd taken the same route about a month previously, on a group ride to Waihi, and had timed it to 2.5 hours. And with the amount of traffic on those roads, the time is usually repeatable within a fairly narrow range.

It is also a big help when the ride leader and the tail-ender are in radio contact with each other. Steven (or Jim or Dave) lets me know when he arrives at a turn with a marker, so I have a feeling for how far the group is strung out. And I will usually inform the others with radios when we are approaching a non-obvious turn, or if there is any hazard on the road.

Some like to be informed of traffic coming the other way, but normally I don't do this, as riders should be far enough within their lane to avoid oncoming traffic. I do it occasionally on the twistiest parts of the route.

A couple of years ago I wrote a ride protocol for the group rides that I lead. Perhaps there is a more appropriate location to post it permanently, but here it is for anyone who may be interested.

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Ride Protocol

1. Always ride at a pace you feel comfortable with. Do not try to keep up with the rider in front of you if you feel uncomfortable doing so, or if you feel the pace is too fast. Also, you are free to pass the rider in front of you if you feel the pace is too slow. But make sure you do so safely!!

2. You are always riding entirely at your own risk. Nobody else is responsible for the way you ride.

3. There is a designated ride leader and a designated tail-ender. Make sure you recognize them. The tail-ender will be the last rider in the group. The leader will usually be at the front of the group. However, you may pass the ride leader if you wish, and if you are sure you know the route the group will be following. Slow down or stop and wait for the group if you are in doubt, but if you get lost from the group then you have only yourself to blame.

4. If, for some reason, you want to leave the group and follow another route, make sure you let someone in the group know this. Preferably the ride leader or the tail-ender.

5. When the leader comes to an intersection, a fork, or a turn where the route is not obvious, he/she will point and mark the spot. The rider immediately behind the leader will stop at that point in a location which is safe, but where they cannot miss being seen by following riders, pointing the riders in the right direction. The marker can join the group as soon as the tail-ender is in sight, and it is obvious the tail-ender knows the direction to ride. The tail-ender will often wave to you when you can leave. DO NOT LEAVE until you have seen the tail-ender.

6. If the ride leader does not point and mark, or you reach a turn which might not be obvious to following riders, and where there is no marker already, you are welcome to stop and act as a marker at that turn. The ride leader is not necessarily infallible.

7. Always try to keep at least one rider behind you in sight in your mirrors. At least when you have a long, clear rear view. If the riders behind you fall back too far, slow down, and the rider in front of you will also slow down when you drop out of view, and so on.

8. Do not follow too closely behind the rider in front of you. Always follow (at least) the 2-second rule. Many riders feel uncomfortable having someone right on their tail.

9. On straight stretches or motorways, if riding close together in a group, ride in a staggered formation, with every second rider towards the left side of the lane and every other rider to the right side of the lane. This gives you more space ahead for braking in an emergency.

10. Enjoy your ride. It is not a competition.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: What maps do you recommend? #5687

SH25 around the Coromandel is one of the best rides, and is sealed all the way. As is SH25A (Kopu – Hikuai), SH26 (Kopu – Paeroa) and SH2 (Paeroa – Waihi). Several of the other roads on the peninsula are partly gravel (Coromandel – Cape Colville, Tapu – Coroglen, Highway 309).

BTW TUMONZ now have an on-line version of their map available on their web site. It requires Java, and does not have all the information of the one you can buy, but it may still be a useful tool for you.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: What maps do you recommend? #5685

It depends on whether you want maps on the computer, paper maps, or maps for a navigator of some sort.

For computerized maps the best I have found is the one from TUMONZ (http://www.tumonz.co.nz) but I would not like to use it as a map to plan routes or to print out for following a route during a ride. It can be difficult to get just the details you want without extraneous information. But for computerized seaching for road names or features it can be useful.

For paper maps my recommendation is the series from Kiwimaps. There are Pathfinder maps for all districts of NZ, and Minimaps for local areas. I've heard that they are available in book form, but have not seen this. The maps have names on every road, and there are town maps for most of the towns and villages in the district covered by the maps. I don't know if they are available outside NZ, but most bookstores and map shops in NZ carry them.

If you are members of the Canadian equivalent of NZ's Automobile Association, then there are a large number of good, detailed district maps that will be available to you free of charge. But you will probably have to collect them personally from an AA office or agent. Make sure you bring your membership card.

The NZ Motorcycle Atlas can be useful, but I have two problems with it. One is that some of the maps are really old. For example the one of South Auckland shows Highway 22 south of Tuakau as being a State Highway. It is not, and has not been for many years. The second problem is that very few of the roads are named. So if you want to find out where you are by checking on road names, you are out of luck. It has a few town maps, but not very many, and only covering the CBD of the cities.

For navigators I don't have any experience except with the Navman maps (http://www.navman.co.nz). They are detailed, and all roads are named. But the route planning part leaves a bit to be desired.

If you plan on spending any time in the South Auckland/Waikato/Coromandel/Bay of Plenty area I'd be happy to give you a few route suggestions, depending on what type of ride you want. Whether scenic, gravel, twisty backroad, or just the quickest way from A to B.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Garmin 2610. Mapsource software. #5586

The last time I looked, Garmin maps for NZ were not very detailed, and certainly did not have street-level coverage of any towns or cities. Only major roads, mainly state highways, were covered.

Full coverage of NZ streets and roads has only recently become available, and there are only a few suppliers who have it. Including Navman (http://www.navman.co.nz/) and Goldfinger (http://www.goldfinger.co.nz/).

Dick Smith Electronics (http://www.dse.co.nz/) have a range of Garmin products available, but no NZ Map Source.

There are maps of NZ available, which will allow you to transfer routes to a Garmin GPS. One of the better-known ones is TUMONZ (http://www.tumonz.co.nz/). They now have an on-line map which may let you find the route before you get here.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Woodcock Road #5568

Kokopelli wrote:

Some guy is making loads of money from trees and the rest of us can pay for the roading he has ruined.

With the current high NZ dollar, and the low commodity prices, I doubt anyone is making loads of money from trees. Exporters are really hurting at the moment, while importers are making 'loads of money' by not reducing prices in line with exchange rates. Except for a few like Honda, who have reduced the prices of some of their bikes.

Trees take a minimum of about 25 years to mature. During that time the landowner is paying rates to the local council. Including roading charges for roads that are unused for all except a few weeks or months at harvesting time. Compare this to a dairy farm, paying perhaps the same rates, but being visited by a huge milk tanker almost every day of the year, for the same 25 years.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Personal messages #5528

Another thing. Because of the screen width I’m viewing this site on, the photo with the BMWOR name at the top of the screen gets mirrored horizontally to make up the full width. This results in a rather evil-looking face near the right-hand side. Is this deliberate? Or only something carefully-selected members can see?

For those who don't normally see it, I've included it as an attachment.

[Arne Rohde]

in reply to: Oil & Petrol #4973

TracyPrier wrote:

Reading on another discussion board, the Yanks all use 89 octane with no problems and suggest people don't waste the money on higher octane fuel.

So what the heck is ours made from... kero and cows urine???


You have to realize that different octane ratings are used in the US. Basically there are two ratings, MON (Motor Octane Number) and RON (Research Octane Number). US octane is an average of RON and MON, whereas NZ and most other countries use RON. US 89 octane corresponds approximately to 94 RON octane.

See the wikipedia entry for Octane Rating (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating) for further information.

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