June - BMWOR

Transcription

June - BMWOR

YEARS
30
Special 30 Year Anniversary Souvenir Issue
NEWSLETTER
June
2005
BMW Owners Register Newsletter
1
June 2005
Online Payments
now Active!
http://www.bmwor.org.nz
Send editorial copy
including advertisements
to:
Dave Morris & Cheryl Marquis
12 Tarras Grove
Kelson, Lower Hutt
New Zealand
[email protected]
All other
correspondence to:
The Secretary
BMWOR of NZ
P O Box 109-245
Newmarket
AUCKLAND 1001
NEW ZEALAND
PRESIDENT
Graham Smith
09-235 2414
[email protected]
SECRETARY
Alex Breig
09-629 2963
[email protected]
TREASURER
Barbara Ennor
06-843 2543
[email protected]
EDITOR
04 565 3592
[email protected]
MEMBERSHIP
John Wuts
06-844 4751
[email protected]
REGALIA
Maria Walker
09-813 2310
[email protected]
Please Note:
Any material intended for publication
in the newsletter should reach the editor
no later than the 15th of the month
preceding publication. The newsletter
is an open forum for all members.
Views expressed by members may not
necessarily represent the views of
BMWOR of NZ. Publication of all
material is subject to the Editor's
discretion.
CONTENTS:
Features:
A Glance of Our Past: One Member’s Story
A Wet Day’s Reminiscing
Cruiser Celebration
First Newsletter
Flyer for first run
Mount Cook
Photos From the First Inaugural Ride
R1200RT Review
Taranaki Adventure
Wellinton Folding Night
By the time you read
this you should be
able to pay your
membership subscription online. The
service will soon extend to Regalia.
VISA
and
MasterCard will be
accepted.
Please be patient as
it has been difficult to
ensure that the club
is getting the best
possible deal and at
the time of writing
not everything has
been finalized.
Please visit the
website
at
www.bmwor.org.nz
and have and
browse the Regalia
section. Support the
club by wearing an
item with the club insignia.
A. Breig. Secretary.
11
25
20
7
6
22
8
28
31
30
Regulars:
Area Reports
Calendar of Events
Market Place
Minutes
Upcoming Events;
Henry’s Wicked Weekend
Hot August Night
Subscription Renewal
19
29
30
Advertisers:
Baehr
BMW (NZ)
Experience BMW
Motohaus Tyre & Service Centre
Te Waipounamu Motorcycle Tours
40
39
9
27
6
5
3
38
36
Events Calendar:
Meetings and events, North to South.
BMW Owners Register Risk Management Plan
Introduction:
The BMW Owners Register is an organisation whose members join together for rides to nominated venues and for other social occasions. The organiser nominates the destination and
regrouping stages along the way, but otherwise has no influence upon the way that riders behave on the road. There is no element of organised competition in the rides.
Riding Code:
1. All register members on register rides shall do so as individuals responsible for their own
safety and shall take into account the safety of others they encounter on the ride.
2. Register members are responsible for ensuring that their motorcycles are in a safe and legal
condition, the minimum being to Warrant of Fitness standards.
3. Riders, pillions, and sidecar passengers where required, shall have as a minimum Standards
New Zealand approved motorcycle helmets, and stout footwear, gloves and clothing that will be
capable of protecting their body in the event of a mishap.
4. Register members are to go to the aid of any others suffering a mishap.
5. Ride organisers shall nominate the destination for the ride as well as any regrouping locations
or other stops. The organiser is not responsible for other rider’s behaviour or safety.
6. Riders shall ride at a speed and in a way that is comfortable for them. Do not ride outside your
personal comfort envelope.
7. If the rider is unfamiliar with the route, they shall arrange to follow another rider who does
know the way and who travels at a comfortable pace.
8. Riders who decide to travel as a group shall adopt a staggered riding formation such that
there is an accepted following distance to the rider immediately in front. A reasonable following
distance is indicated by a time of two seconds between riders for dry conditions, and longer for
inclement conditions and on loose surfaces.
9. The Organiser and or the Register are not responsible for participant’s safety, and all participants participate at their own risk. All participants are aware that they are travelling on open
public roads and are responsible for their own safety and compliance with all Road Rules and
Laws.
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June 2005
Auckland:
June, Sunday 4th. 30th Anniversary ride to Orere Point. A perfect opportunity for all those classic bikes (and their riders) out
there to come and join us.
June, Sunday 19th. Ride North to The Matakohe Kauri Museum.
Meet at BP North Motorway Dairy Flat for 0900 leave. (Last on-ramp for BP is Oteha Valley Rd.)
July, Sunday 3rd. Lunch ride to the Puhoi Cheese factory Meet there at noon.
Bronz Ride Right Ride Safe. This is a good way to get to know your new bike. Normally held on the 3rd Sunday of the month
at the Whenuapai Airbase.
Contact Peggy on (09) 6389227 or Finn on (09) 6255533 for details.
Waikato
Any Sunday Morning for coffee and /or breakfast at Zigilini’s Café, on the corner of Grey and Wellington Streets, Hamilton
East. Meet 9.00-9.30am. An impromptu ride from there.
June, Saturday 18th /Sunday 19th. - East Cape Overnighter Ride (1,000 km) staying at Te Puia Springs Hotel. They have
a good range of accommodation available at reasonable prices. Book your own requirements on 06 864 6755. Meet at BP
Service Station cnr Tristram and Collingwood Streets, Hamilton ready for departure at 8.30am. Please register with me by
8th June and riders outside Hamilton can meet us on the way.
Bay of Plenty
June, Sunday 5th. two 30th Anniversary rides:
Ride 1: depart Caltex Whakamarama at 06h00; ride with Peter Lyner to Experience BMW in Auckland for breakfast, and
join the planned day’s ride to Orere Point. Please remember to make your breakfast booking on 09 529 1120.
Ride 2: depart Caltex Whakamarama at 09h30, ride to Clevedon for lunch where we will join up with the official ride.
June, Thursday 9th. Social Night from 18h00 onwards at The Tasty Thai, corner 4th Avenue and Cameron Road, Tauranga.
June, Sunday 19th. Monthly Ride: depart Caltex Tauriko at 10h00 for ride to Bryce’s Café at Wharepapa South for coffee.
Hot August Night 2005: The premier BMWOR event of the year is back! Please see display advertisement, page 29.
Taranaki
June, 18th. Meet at 3A turn off at 11am.
July. Will have a overnighter out of town at Hot pools. More info in next newsletter.
August, Saturday 20th. Hot August night Omokoroa Tourist park. Details to follow in Newsletter
Rangitikei
June, Sunday 19th. We will be having a Winter run on this day. Could be a Brunch ride. Details to be emailed.
June, Tuesday 28th. Tea meeting at Stellars Restaurant, Victoria Ave. Wanganui 7.15 pm.
Wellington
Winter Programme.
We are now in our Winter programme for the Wellington region and will be doing shorter runs but always with a lunch/cup of
tea stop, where we will find the time to eat, gossip and discuss the finer points of BMW motorcycles. So please come and
join us in the following months. Also please wear your name badge so that we know who you are.
June, Sunday 12th – Tour the Wairarapa. Lunch at the Gladstone Inn.
Meet at Caltex Rimutaka for a 10.30 departure. For further information phone Bill 587-3234
July, Sunday 10th – Staglands - Akatarawa Valley for lunch. Cafe with roaring fire if a cold day. Meet at Caltex Rimutaka for
an 11.00 departure. For further information phone Bill 587-3234.
Nelson
June, Sunday 19th. Ride to Lake Rotoiti. Meet 11.00am at the Railway carpark. Bring a picnic lunch. Lunch will be at the
waterfront.
Marlborough
June, Thursday 9th. Monthly Coffee night. 8-00pm onwards Bellafico Cafe Maxwell Rd Blenheim.
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June 2005
Smithies Soapbox.
By the time you read this newsletter we will have had our 30th celebrations. I would like to thank Terry Ellis-Smith for
his incredible effort in organizing the event. Also Experience BMW for the breakfast and drinkies!! And BMW NZ for
their support.
Don’t forget we still want a new Executive!!!
Also a reminder to book for the AGM and the summer rally. First come first served!!
July is Henry’s wicked weekend which I understand is filling up very quickly. So hurry up and get organized.
OK that’s all from me. Good riding and keep the shiny side up!!
Graham.
Editorial – Celebrating 30 years!
What an exciting time. 2005. Here we are now celebrating the Thirty year Anniversary for the Register this month.
From the seeds of a club for this marque planted back in 1975 to a National organisation in excess of 500 members:
- The New Zealand BMW Owner’s Register. The event just had to be celebrated with a special Newsletter, so here is
a bumper: The biggest ever, 40 pager! This could not have been done without the help from the contributors, so a
special big thank you to them. See the credits with each article. Photos are from members’ collections and are
featured here to show the club’s activities and members, from those earlier times.
First thoughts to commemorate the occasion was to have colour photos; perhaps the centre 4 pages. But the cost
involved was around 2.1/2 times greater than our usual monthly invoice. So as an alternative idea, an extra large
edition is presented with our usual “good stories” and a pictorial history: Our Passing Parade!
Happy celebrations,
Dave & Cheryl
A message from the top:
There will be no June monthly meeting, as we have our 30th celebrations.
Now is the time to be thinking about filling the executive positions, coming up for election in October.
The three positions are: President, Secretary and Treasurer.
The first two must be in Auckland, (or be prepared to travel to Auckland for all meetings), but the Treasurer can be
anywhere in NZ.
We also need suggestions for guest speakers at our monthly meetings; they don’t necessarily have to talk about
bikes, as long as they are interesting!
The Callendar’s Site - New Plymouth
Yesterday
Today
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June 2005
AREA REPORTS
Auckland
Been There Done That…..
If you
look on your road maps there are still a
lot of roads shown as unsealed which
have been ‘upgraded’.
The road down the eastern side of Lake
Waikare is one of those. Having
checked it out previously it was
incorporated into the ride along the
wetlands to Willow Glen Gardens at
Gordonton, which was our ride
destination for April.
The day of the ride was of the Indian
summer variety and twenty-six
machines and their riders and pillions
assembled for what was to be a late
leave.
As we now have several members
residing on Waiheke Island the timing
of the morning vehicular ferry meant that
a 9am leave did not leave enough time
to reach Papakura. The first two ‘lads’
made by 9:20 with Michael who knew a
short cut arriving shortly after.
The selection of tail end Charlie was a
mere formality with the honour falling to
Steven Lowe who was riding a mates
Harley. Something about if it’s left too
long it won’t go?
As normal we immediately headed for
the hills, leaving our roadside markers
for Steven to pick up.
Once we had crossed SH2 we followed
the eastern shores of the wetlands, the
home of the Taniwha and the source of
many headaches for the builders of
SH1.
A short stretch of the Te Kauwhata road
and then onto Waikare road, which has
stunning views across the lake for the
pillion. The rider however needs to keep
their mind on the job as this road has
not been engineered and follows the
original track, with a few deceptive
corners. It’s a neat road!
Onto the faster Tahuna Road then
through straighter, flatter roads until we
reached 1A at Taupiri and then a cruise
along to the gardens where the staff
attempted to arrange the parking. I
thought we did all right on our own.
We adjourned to the terraces to await
sustenance and admire the gardens,
which are coming back to their former
glory. As we waited we were joined by a
few late risers who had made their own
way down.
Having deposited 30 or so motorcycles
in the Waikato I was not surprised at
multitude of routes taken for the return
trip.
I felt duty bound to take a couple of our
late arrivals back along our track and
as Maria had opted for a ride home with
friends in a tin top I had a chance to
give the edges of the tyres a workout.
The lunch ride to Morris & James at
Matakana was well attended with 15 or
so in attendance and SH16 appearing
to be the route of choice.
Another Indian summer day just made
for riding and relaxing but from what I
heard not for buying pottery.
No L
Waikato
April/May has seen some good turnouts
at Zigilini’s with plenty of great rides
around Waikato’s secondary roads
including the back roads to Pukekohe
– both the V8 Supercars and the 300
km NZ Motorcycle Endurance races
were visited.
This month’s organised ride is the
“Round East Cape Gem” – refer to
Events for details.
Bryan
Bay of Plenty
May. Autumn continues with its excellent
weather. There have been several rides
including the planned ride to Ohinemuri
Winery in the Karangake Gorge;
impromptu rides to the East Cape to see
the Southern Cross boys clock in at the
lighthouse; for fish and chips at Kaiaua,
and a lovely ride into the central
Waikato.
This month’s social night was well
attended, and was most pleasant, with
a lot of interest in Selwyn’s new road
rocket, the 1200 S. Much discussion
was had regarding Ray’s next set of
wheels. It seems a Scarver is to have a
new home. Nevin and Lindy were keen
to tell us about their South Island
adventure. Apart from all the fun, they
report that a K1200 RS has no limit to
its luggage ability. To be part of the
action, see the Events section for next
month’s social night details.
This year’s Hot August Night planning
is well under way, with the first bookings
having been made. There are plenty of
places available, but it is best not to
leave it too late. For those frozen to the
bone last year, a large heater has
already been hired. All will be toasty
warm this year. So please book now!
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The 30th Anniversary Celebrations lie
ahead. Some of us will be up for the
whole weekend. For those with other
commitments there are two rides leaving
on the Sunday morning – see Events
section for details.
Clive.
East Coast
The last dinner night saw just two
couples enjoy a meal and catch up on
the latest purchases. But a few more of
us enjoyed the evening of Robert’s 60th.
Birthday party
Mothers Day saw some meet for a
coffee ride on a warm Sunday. Due to
this event we had to hunt for a coffee
venue, but it also gave us an excuse to
stretch the ride a bit further. General
chatting accompanied the cuppa and
cake/breakfast (looked good Les). This
was followed by a short ride out to watch
the Mini Moto Bike races near Hastings.
We all were amazed and chuckling at
the first sighting of these bikes with their
adult riders squeezed on top of them.
But the racing was good to watch and
the racers were keen to talk about their
hobbies. Several hours passed easily at
what was a well organised and fun event
to watch
Taranaki
Ten bikes gathered to ride down to
Palmerston North to test ride some
BMW bikes. The weather was great
when we took off but as we went further
south the worst the weather got. At
Patea the riders gathered and a few of
us decided to turn back home. The
riders that did carry on were impressed
with the test bikes. The group that turn
back enjoyed a warm cuppa at Dairyland
(Hawera). I reckon I have never been
so cold in my whole life. By time I got
home I couldn’t feel my fingers or toes.
Time to invest in some heated grips.
Valma
Rangitikei
Sunday 10 April. The visit to
Thompson’s Motorcycle Museum
was covered very well by Norman
(Wellington.) in the last Newsletter. This
very worthwhile establishment is so
close to us here in the Rangitikei and
yet this was the first time I have seen it.
Interestingly there was more to see than
just motorcycles. We had a good turn
Cont. page 7
June 2005
Te Waipounamu Motorcycle Tours
28B Byron Street Chistchurch
Steve Bailey a motorcycle technician with 17 years experience would like to offer his services
to any BMW motorcycle owner in and around the Canterbury district.
What can we offer?
BIKES FOR SALE
Good selection of fully serviced R1150GS’s . from $11,995; R1150R’s from $12,995 and one last F650 at $4,500.
- Please phone for photos and details.
Sales
Te Waipounamu M/C Tours
03 372 3537
www.motorcycle-hire.co.nz
Service
Steves Workshop
03 374 9254
6
June 2005
From page 5
out from our members joining with
Wellington and Taranaki and to enjoy
lunch at the Barrdroc cafe by the bridge
in Bulls. Richard McLean was on his way
to work at Ohakea and seeing all the
BMWs at the cafe stopped by and
chatted with a number of us. It was great
to see him. A few keen souls then set
out for a short excursion around
Rangitikei roads. This seemed to be
enjoyed by those partaking and one by
one riders peeled off to make their way
home after an eventful day.
Sunday 24 April. The BMW Ride
Day. From what I saw the day was a
success. There were a good number of
bods in attendance for John Glasswell’s
presentation on the K1200S and there
were lots of bods still there late in
the afternoon waiting for a demo ride on
the new bike of their choice. The bikes
finally got ridden (and packed) away at
about 4.30 pm. We seemed to have had
riders from the H.B., Wairarapa,
Taranaki, Wellington and up the main
trunk. Several members we haven’t
seen before made their presence felt
which was good. One 70 plus year old
seemed to enjoy pillioning his partner
on the F650 Scarver. Wonder if he will
get her one. I know that the Ulysses
people enjoyed the opportunity to see
and ride the Beemers. Thank you
Motorad, Wellington and BMW NZ.
Wellington
BMW Ride Day in Palmerston North
Our thanks go to Graeme Flyger for
7
conceiving this event and then spending
a great deal of time and effort in
advertising and promoting it. BMW NZ,
Motorad, and Jeff Grey European also
played a large part in making the day
the success it was. Thanks to them all,
we were able to enjoy ourselves riding
someone else’s bike (and someone else
even paid for the petrol). Thanks again.
Five Ride to Rangitikei
Well it
makes a good title, and that was the way
it seemed to be heading for our May
monthly run. Graeme Flyger had
organised a ride through the Rangitikei
region on our behalf. The forecast
weather was not good but the actual
weather wasn’t bad, so I had hoped for
a bigger turn out even though it was
Cont page 29
June 2005
Photos from the first inaugural ride
Photos from the first inaugural ride to Orere Point. From the
Paul Edlington collection.
1.
2.
Right: This is our first President and holder
of the unique Membership card number 1,
the illustrious Ross Oldfield aka
“Hayseed”. The /5 on the right hand side
was ridden by the late Barry Williams.
Below: Four rear ends! From Left;
Diane Humphries, Dave Rogers, Sara
Rogers and the Morgan ragtop.
3.
Above: Some of the brand
new and shiny /5 machines.
On the left hand side is the
front of a 1962 Morgan + 4
sports car driven by Diane
Humphreys (ex Barnard).
4.
Left: The white R69S was ridden
by Dave and Sara Rogers.
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June 2005
9
June 2005
The Mind: Incredible how simple it is to read the following...
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty
uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg The
phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan
mnid Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at
Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t
mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in a
wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is
taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the
rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl
mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit
10
a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the
huamn mnid deos not raed ervey
lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a
wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I
awlyas thought slpeling was
ipmorantt!
June 2005
A Glance of Our Past: One Member’s Story
A walk through time from the eary days of the club to the present time. From the Paul Edlington collection.
1. Left: 1976.
Register run Karapiro.
Oct 1976.
3. Right: 1976. Woburn Rally.
2. Left: 1976. First
Woburn Rally,
November.
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June 2005
4. Left:
1978. Bill
McLellan.
Far
North
Rally.
February.
5. Left: 1978.
March.Walter
De-Beurs,Ray
Holmes, Meryl
De-Beurs at
the Shell 800
March 1978.
6.
Right: 1978. Jean
Southern (now Jean
Hayes.) & Frank
Panes. Wanganui,
Easter 1978. Frank
was the Honorary
Member of the
Register, and Jean
is now a Life
Member.
12
June 2005
7. Above: 1978. Waingaro Springs (Raglan) Register Run. June 1978.
8. Right: 1979. Gordonton Rally.
9. Left: 1981. New Plymouth Rally. Pete Butterworth.
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June 2005
10. Left: 1981. John Salmon our second president.
11. Below. 1981. Barry Stephens at New Plymouth Rally.
12. Above: 1982. Ross Oldfield, our first President.
13. Left: 1988. Richard Barter getting instructions
from Phil Scott. Taupo Oct. 1988.
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June 2005
14. Left: 1989. National
Rally Lake Okataina.
January 1989.
L to R. Rob Laidlaw,
Bill McLellan, Bill
Biber, Alan Falconer.
15. Left: 1989. Bob’s
Ranch Run March.
BMWOR Signpost
made by Clarry
Petterson.
16. Left: 1992. Colatting &
folding the Newsletter, at
Darryl Applegate’s in the
early 1990’s. Darryl
Applegate, Nick Arnet,
Alan Coombes and Finn
Nielsen.
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June 2005
18. Above. 1993. Test day at Taupo 1993 of the new Boxer.
Clary Peterson in the forground, walking to reader’s left.
17. Left: 1992. Bill Obers. AGM Rotorua.
19.
Above: 1993. AGM Napier.
20. Above 1995. Twenty year ride. Roger Scholes
and Alison Newman.
21. Far left, below: 1985. Twenty
year ride. Starting point. Terry EllisSmith in foreground.
22. Left and Below:
1995. Twenty year ride. Orere
Point.
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June 2005
23. 1995. Twenty year pin award. Neil Barnard.
24. 1995. Twenty year pin award. John Samson.
25. Above: 1995. Rag Rally 1995. L to R Steve
McGlashan, Clifford McClenaghan, Greg Watts
and Paul Nydam.
26. Above: 1997. National
Rally Wanganui.
27. Above: 1997. Classic race meeting at Pukekohe
Feb 1997. John Surtees on the 1939 BMW
Kompressor.
28. Above: 1997. Register members at the
International BMW meeting at the Isle of Man 1997. L
to R; Dennis Slater, Pete and June Standring, Darryl
Applegate, Paul and Gill Edlington, David and Alison
Newman and Greg Watts.
30. Left: 1997. The Big Boy’s Toys
Show. The Register Stand.
17
June 2005
31. Above: 1998. Max, Rastus and
Gaynor departing the BMWOR Rally,
Greymouth. Jan 1998.
32. Left: 1998. Rag Rally, 1998.
Ohakune.
33. Left: 2000. AGM Taupo. Peter Kurz,
Darryl Applegate and Noel Walker.
34. Left: 2002. Henry’s WQicked
Weekend at Waitomo. 2002 L to R; Maria
Jericevich, Rob George, Marie Nichol
and Bev George.
18
June 2005
Experience Motorcycles invites you to :
Henry’s Wicked Waitomo Weekend
“Goodies and Baddies Night”
Which one are You ???
Saturday, 9 July 2005
The Caves Motor Inn, State Highway 3
Cost - $80.00 per person
Includes, Dinner, Bed, Continental Breakfast,
and a “ Good BAD” night out!!
Bookings to:
Henry Plowright
4/24 Irirangi Road
One Tree Hill Auckland
Cell: 021 320 650
Phone: 09 622 0212
Entertainment – by the baddest of them all, ”Pauly Baddy T”
Be quick – first in, best room
19
June 2005
CRUISER CE
The BMW Cruiser was launched
in 1997. It caused a stir amongst
the motorcycle fraternity as the
design was a radical change from
BMW tradition. It was intended to
take on head first, the North
American Market. Engine capacity
were the 1200 and additionally for
Europe, the 850 version.
The Cruiser spawned a myriad of
one off models from companies
like Gruter + Gut of Switzerland,
AC Schnitzer of Germany, Grinnell
(U.K.) and AMC. Many companies
made available after-market
accessories including, ZTechnics,
Wunderlich, Wudo of Germany.
G&G, (Switzerland) and Falcon in
the U.S.A.
1.
2.
1. Modified fender with lights
2. “Splas
4. Modified Cruiser. Finished in bronze
5. “Silhouette.” Photographic study. R1200
By 2005, BMW was taking another
direction with its bikes and the
Cruiser range was dropped from
production in 2004/05. Cruisers are
still available while stocks last.
4.
8. G+G Quad
9. 2004 Montauk
11. Rear view
9.
5.
8.
12. 2003 R1200CL
13. Grennell Trike b
11.
12.
13.
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June 2005
ELEBRATION
Dave Morris.
3.
sh!” An R1200C gracefully negotiates flood water.
3. 2001 R1200C Cruiser
6. White Cruiser with “Jumbo bags, windscreen and Wudo fender
0C
6.
7.
7. 1999 Cruiser with Falcon
floorboards & other accesories
based on R1200CL
10.
10. Cruso
14. Wudo
15. Independant
14.
21
15.
June 2005
f
Judy and I had planned to take the
motorbike to Mt Cook to visit daughter
Rachel who is managing the Coffee
Shop there. A phone call from Stephen
alerted us to the fact that he was leaving
for Japan in a few days, something we
knew well but had misplaced in our
minds with the thought of a few days
away with Rachel. Judy, always looking
for an excuse not to have to go on the
bike quickly volunteered to stay behind
and help him get ready for his trip. I left
on Tuesday as Rachel had Wednesday
and Thursday off. Finally summer has
come and it was a blistering day. Teeshirt and leather jacket was still too
much but I wanted some protection. The
sea breeze up the Otago coast was very
pleasant. I turned off at Weston, the
back country farm road through to the
Waitaki Valley with its twisties and stray
lambs grazing on the road edge
providing some much needed
excitement. It was hotter in the valley
and there were signs of tar melt. The
lakes were a picture as they sparkled in
the hot afternoon sun. There was no
breeze and I wished that I hadn’t put on
winter sox as the heat from the motor
was by now frying my toes. Switching
to my jandals didn’t appeal so I pressed
on. Just before Omaramara I noticed
two bikes ahead so switched to cruise
mode to catch them. At the Give Way I
asked one guy where he was headed.
“Mt Cook”, came the reply.
I replied in the affirmative and an
American drawl said
“Right, let’s do it”.
Sounded okay to me but when their
speed crept up to 125 kph I decided to
let them entertain the cops by
themselves. I was riding into the sun
now and it was incredibly hot. Only 152
kms to go. It’s a real blast from the main
road into Mt Cook and the views of the
mountains (Sefton and Cook)
unimpeded. I slowed at Mt Cook village
wondering which way to go when a car
flashed its lights at me. It was Rachel
on her way down to pick up someone
from the airport. I followed her up the
hill and found a good place to park the
bike where hopefully the keas wouldn’t
have the seat cover demolished by tea
time. Although it was 5pm there were
things to do, so she took me up the
Tasman Valley and to the lake. When
Judy and I had come here on our
honeymoon we were looking at the
Tasman Glacier now it was just a lake.
An elderly couple were struggling down
the rocky path so I asked them whether
this was the greatest adventure in NZ.
Their reply in French indicated that they
MOUNT
COOK
knew no kiwi so Rachel launched to my
rescue and chatted away to them.
Rachel gets all meals provided so she
went off for tea and then on her way
home cleaned out the coffee shop
shelves as it was about to close and all
food serving the 5 star hotel must be
thrown out every day. A steaming hot pie;
a meat roll and ham and egg
sandwiches were followed by custard
tart with blueberry and peach slices.
I could see that this was the making of
a good weekend. At 7.30 DOC put on a
slide show presented by a girl who had
spent the last 5 NZ winters in Greenland.
I had brought a folding bed and mattress
so crashed on Rachel’s floor for the
night.
Rock wall climbing was the first thing
that I was to be shown the next morning
but the rocks were too sharp for my
hands and bare feet. We wandered the
village and checked out the staff
houses, school (9 pupils) DOC
headquarters, YHA hostel, new backpackers motel and the hotel itself where
rooms start at $500 per night. The
reception area and dining rooms go with
the 5 star rating. We went to the coffee
shop for coffee and sat on the balcony
and looked at the majestic Mt. Cook
gleaming in the sun. Bus loads of
tourists were arriving and disgorging
their wallet laden passengers. Another
$1,000,000 would soon be spent.
Rachel pointed to Mt Sefton and said,
“Daddy, I want you to take me to the
Sefton Bivvy tonight”.
I peered up at a scrub covered ridge that
rose high into the snow laced mountain.
“Know how to get there?” I enquired,
“Yes, Dion told me yesterday”.
I asked what we needed to take, and
was told that there were no beds, no
water and no toilet. I had my mattress,
22
sleeping bag, raincoat and boots and as
the weather was predicted to be perfect
for the next few days, reckoned that we
would be okay. Whenever Rachel met
her friends she told them of our plans.
Their eyes danced and they asked who
was taking her. “Dad, she replied”. They
all wished that they weren’t working and
could come too.
It seems that not everyone has climbed
the 1000m. We checked in at DOC and
told them of our intentions. Don’t go too
early we were advised as it is ‘terribly
hot out there’.
“We have a radio schedule at 7pm and
will call you guys last but as it takes 3
hours to walk to the bevy I doubt whether
you will be there in time.”
We set off up the Hooker Valley and met
along the way hundreds of Japanese
heading back from their 1 hour walk.
They looked quaint in their white gloves
and those with any sort of ailment
wearing face masks. Rachel met her
Japanese friends who guide these trips
and we stopped and chatted. I learned
some of the greetings and started
“konichiwa” and “ohiogazamas”. One
man said something different in reply so
I asked Rachel what he had said. She
laughed and said he said that your
Japanese is perfect.
We crossed two swing bridges as
instructed and at the third turned to
follow the true right of the river.
“Where do we go Rach”, I enquired.
“Not sure Dad, but Dion said something
about not crossing the river.”
In the distance I could see the towering
ridge leading to the bivvy but getting to
it was the problem. I wished I had heard
Dion’s instructions. We pushed our way
tentatively into the scrub and soon found
tracks leading through it. We
disregarded Dion’s advice not to cross
June 2005
the river and found it quite easy to make
our way up the river bed. It took about
30 minutes before we were under the
towering bluffs of the Sefton ridge.
“Where too now Rach?”
“Not sure but we have to find cairns of
stones and we follow from one to
another”.
Now cairns of stones, where there is
nothing else but stones, is like looking
for a needle in a haystack. I glanced up
at the vast ridgeline wondering which of
the dozens of steep gullies we might
have to ascend. We certainly didn’t want
the wrong one as this was mountain
goat country. I grew just a little nervous
as it was 6pm and we were heading into
unknown country high in the southern
mountains. Rachel found the first pile
of stones; - three set on top of a huge
rock. Soon others followed and we
climbed and looked and slowly found our
way up and up. It was very hot and the
three litres of water was soon gone. How
could it be so hot when we were
surrounded by snowy mountains? It
was a steep climb from the start, then it
became very steep, then I looked down
and wished I hadn’t.
“Blimey, Rach, we are on a 500m bluff
and one slip and its straight down. Don’t
look down baby and make sure that
each hand grip and foot is firmly
secured”.
I was beginning to understand why her
friends were so envious of her father
taking her to this bivvy. If only her father
had known! We slowly climbed and I
tried to convince myself that we did
know what we were doing and that this
was a piece of cake. There wasn’t much
room for thinking anything else if we
wanted to get out of here alive. It was
hands and feet securely anchored for
about 10m of near vertical climb then
thankfully it levelled back to just steep
again. A beautiful sight burst into view.
It was the newly painted red bivvy and it
wasn’t that far. I glanced at my watch
and it said 7pm. Only 2.5 hours and I
thought that I might make the radio
schedule. I left Rach and raced up the
rocks and leapt onto the snow
clambering sideways for the last 100m
up the bivvy. The radio was silent when
I arrived, my watch read 7.10pm. We
had just missed DOC headquarters
calling all the huts in the area and the
groups and individuals with mountain
radios. We had also missed the weather
report but that wasn’t an issue as all
reports were good. I dropped my day
pack and dragged my aching body
outside to watch Rachel make her way
up the slope. The view was amazing. I
was looking down to the Hermitage
1000m below and onto Lake Pukaki. All
around me were towering snow covered
23
mountains. Behind and another 700m
higher was Mt Sefton, the lower slopes
of which were fragmented by glaciers
with their fractured ice faces. It looked
dangerous but very beautiful.
******
We ate our tea and sat still in the hot
sun and watched as the sun set at 8pm.
It had been a fantastic day even with its
scary moments. As we sat and ate we
heard the boom of distant avalanches
rocketing off down a mountain. At 9pm
we were still enjoying the beautiful
evening. The light in the night sky
reflected off the snow leaving us with
almost daylight. We were tired so
spread out our mattresses and hit the
floor. No sooner were we down when a
huge explosion had me reeling for the
window. An avalanche closer than the
others set my adrenalin flowing but we
saw nothing. Sleep came to me very
quickly, and I failed to hear another
mighty explosion. About midnight
though I was awake again. The wind had
got up and was screaming through the
mountain tops. It was frightening and I
thought back to the hut that had blown
off a mountain some time ago, killing all
four in it. I had noted that this bivvy was
set down into the ground and had 1m of
rocks piled around it but I still wondered
June 2005
whether this night would be our last.
Then I thought of the climb back down
the hill again and quickly concluded that
there was no way we could possibly get
down in that wind. It seemed we could
be destined for another night on Mt
Sefton. I heard Rachel stir and discover
that she hadn’t been asleep yet. It
seemed that she wasn’t without some
fears as well. At 2am I got up to do what
old men have to do and as I walked past
the corner of the hut the wind tried to
fling me over the cliff. Scary stuff. I lay
awake for some hours before sleep
overcame me again. I was awakened
by Rachel yelling, “Dad there is a
fantastic sunrise!”
I rolled my aching body off the thin
mattress and tried to get up. Bits and
pieces didn’t work all that well. I
struggled out to find that I was seconds
too late and all I could see was this huge
ball of red blocking out visibility to the
valley. I was amazed and delighted to
find that the wind had disappeared as
mysteriously as it had come. I enquired
as to how Rachel had slept only to be
told, “What with your snoring, the boom
of avalanches and the scream of the
wind I didn’t sleep a wink”. We ate
breakfast and left at 7.30am. It was hot,
it was very hot. I couldn’t believe that it
could be so hot so early in the morning.
Still it was downhill. That however didn’t
make it any easier as knees and legs
had to act as brakes all the way. I was
apprehensive about the steep bit we
took it quietly and there were good bits
to hang onto. It got even hotter and I
could feel my face burning. Even though
it was shielded from the sun, it seemed
to be on fire. It was a long way down
and as I looked longingly at the shadows
in the valley far below they retreated
faster than we could walk. Ninety
minutes later we were in the snow fed
stream and I told Rach that I would need
to rest under the shade of a big rock. I
slipped off the pack and buried my head
in the icy stream. That was so good. It
took about 15 minutes and many dips
before I felt I was ready to move on. We
were soon on the Hooker Valley track
and met some of the very early walkers.
They blinked in amazement as we
approached, wondering what we were
doing coming down the valley so early
in the morning. Soon we met one of the
Japanese guides. Akiko was ecstatic to
see us and in rapid Japanese explained
to her group that we had overnighted in
the bivvy. Those with binoculars could
see it gleaming in the sun. When she
finished her explanation they all clapped
and bowed. The hour walk out the
Hooker Valley was mercifully all in the
shadow. We had lunch with the
restaurant staff and ate the food from
the 5 star menu then I decided that I
had better go home. It was 4.15pm when
I left but the sun had lost none of its
intensity. As I rode I hooked my boots
over the rear pegs to try and get some
breeze into them. I tried to get a little
cooler by winding the bike up through
the nice twisties out to the main highway
from Mt Cook but the air was already
hot. It was a quick trip down to
24
Omaramara but still there were no
clouds in sight. “Oh Lord”, I prayed, “Just
a little bit of cloud to protect me from
this hot sun”. But there was no answer.
As far as the eye could see there was
endless clear blue skies. I shot down
through the lakes but they too were like
mill ponds without even the flicker of a
breeze on them. It was a wonderful ride
down through the valley and thankfully
the traffic department was too busy with
naughty campervaners to worry about
me. I took the shortcut again from
Duntroon to Weston where I joined State
Highway 1 to head south. I hadn’t gone
for more than 30 minutes before all my
earlier prayers were answered. But I
didn’t find a cloud; instead I found a
freezing costal mist. For the first two
minutes it was wonderful then it was just
cold and finally very cold. My coat was
tied on behind me but I kept believing
that in a few more minutes I would burst
out into hot sun again. My hands started
to freeze so I turned the hand warmers
on to full. That just managed to keep
the cold at bay. At Waikouwaiiti the sun
peeped out and my hopes rose. But not
for long, for as soon as I neared the
coast again back came the mist. As I
approached Dunedin it turned into a pea
souper and suddenly the visor was
dripping and visibility seriously reduced.
I shivered for half an hour in front of the
heater after I got home but the
memories of a great weekend were still
very warm.
Thanks Rach.
Roger.
June 2005
A WET DAY’S REMINISCING
With the Register’s 30 year anniversary
almost upon us I began to reflect on
where those years had gone, the places
I’d been, experiences I’d had and who
I’d met through being a (BMW)
motorcyclist.
My first experience with motorised two
wheels began while still at college in the
1960’s. I had a daredevil friend who
liked nothing more than seeking out
motorcycles for sale in the paper and
taking them out for a test ride with me
on the pillion. He had no intention of
buying a bike but it was a great way to
have fun and we tried all sorts of bikes,
from a lowly BSA Bantam to a very new
Honda Dream 305.
My first machine was a Triumph Tessy
scooter of German origin that I learnt to
ride in the backyard. When the Speedo
cable broke and I couldn’t find any parts
it was sold and a new “Rabbit” 125
scooter was purchased which I used to
deliver the Dominion newspaper to
households on the Western Hill suburbs
of Lower Hutt and as transport to
college. Honda 50 and 90 Stepthru’s
and a range of scooters such as
Lambretta, Puch, Vespa, Triumph
Tigress, and Nzeta, were popular with
other students and friends and after
school or weekend drag races were
common.
Later I bought a Honda CB72 sports
but again it was a rare bike and I didn’t
keep it long. In my mid teens and
working as a Fireman, I bought a 1962
AJS 650 and together with a friend on a
BSA Lightning we each strapped a
suitcase on the back and took a trip to
Wanganui to chase up some young
ladies we had befriended. Unfortunately
I didn’t know much about maintenance
at that time and seized the engine.
Two wheels gave way to four over the
next couple of years and it was while
working in Australia in the early 70’s that
I decided to buy a motorcycle for the
next stage of my OE - travel in Europe.
Having hitched and carried a pack on
an earlier trip I decided motorcycling
could offer more independence and a
sense of adventure, so after careful
study of numerous magazine articles it
became clear that the best bike for
serious touring appeared to be a BMW,
they were advertised as being the
machine “To take you to the end of the
world - and back again”! With this
1. After the bike’s first wash. December 1973. London.
choice in mind I began to pay regular
visits to the local dealer to admire the
one in the window and watch and listen
to the bikes arriving and leaving the
shop, marvelling at the quiet and
sophisticated way they transported their
riders. Making a choice was easy, it had
to be silver in colour and I wanted the
biggest engine they made (750cc). In
those days (1973) you could purchase
on the Export Delivery Scheme which
meant ordering from and paying the
local dealer then collecting the machine
in Germany.
In June of ’73 my order was placed and
delivery arranged for December in
Munich. At this time the Honda 750/4
was new on the market and as I watched
them go by with that wonderful burbling
exhaust note I sometimes wondered if I
had made the right choice!
The cost of the bike was A$1477 and
various optional extras were selected;
24 litre tank, Km speedometer, quartz
iodine headlight $9, steering damper $5,
mirrors $4, locking petrol cap $4, crash
bars $23, metallic paint $20,
international plates $12, and 2 months
international insurance $37.75. this
gave a grand total of $1767.75 and a
refundable export deposit of $170 was
due to me once the bike had left
Germany.
This might sound
inexpensive now, but back then I could
have bought a new Mercedes 220 for
$2500.
25
It hadn’t occurred to me that delivery in
December (mid winter) was not a good
time, weatherwise, to be riding a
motorbike! After a few days in London I
set off to collect my bike and hitchhiked
through the night to Munich, rides were
easy to come by with the truckers who
enjoyed the company and I got to
practice my limited German vocabulary.
As I had a couple of days to spare, I
took in a variety of Munich’s sights
including the BMW museum. I had
difficulty locating the delivery outlet but
eventually I was led to my bike and was
surprised to see a line up of new /6
models sitting there – bugger, my pride
and joy had already been superceded!
I must admit I felt hard done by as the
new models sported front disc brakes,
separate instruments, and a 5 speed
gearbox, but my envy was tempered a
little when staff said problems had been
experienced with some of the new
gearboxes. Anyway, it was too late for
me to change now so after a short
familiarisation session I rode out the
door and headed for London.
On the Autobahn the snow was thick and
I had to ride in wheel tracks left by the
trucks. Running-in procedure required
frequent variation of engine speed and
a gradual build up to a maximum 4000
rpm. As this equated to 110 kph in top
gear it just wasn’t possible when riding
in these conditions so I often stayed in
a lower gear to compensate. With no
fairing for protection I had stuffed
several newspapers down the front of
June 2005
my waxed cotton jacket but after 20km
my knees were stiff with the cold and
my fingers numb. Frequent stops were
made to thaw out and the ride became
onerous but I met up with an Australian
riding a bike and we decided to travel
together. We stopped in Luxembourg
one night and in the morning it was such
a frost the engine wouldn’t turn over with
the starter and when trying the kick start,
the engine was so tight that even with
my full weight on it, the lever moved so
slowly that insufficient momentum was
available and we had to push start it
downhill.
Eventually we returned to the UK and
during the time not spent working, I rode
through much of England, Scotland, and
Wales. A summer job was secured
driving a camping tour bus so the bike
was parked up and used only between
bus trips. At the end of that season I
knew Europe well and after leaving the
job it was a pleasure to return to my
favourite places on the bike. A trip to
Scandinavia was planned and I rode
through Sweden, Norway, Denmark,
and Finland before returning to the UK
and ultimately shipping the bike home
having ridden 28,000km. It took 6
months for the bike to reach NZ due to
dock strikes in Tilbury, England and as
it had been imported into NZ duty free,
a fee of $523 was payable if it was sold
within two years.
Before arriving home I had no idea if
there were any BMW’s in New Zealand
and the first one I saw was at the BMW
dealer on Kent Tce Wellington (Shelly
Motors I think). . In the winter of 1975 I
went to the Cold Kiwi rally and met John
Samson (R75/5) who introduced me to
the BMW Register and I joined soon
after.
Moves were made by the Register early
in 1976 to provide membership cards
2. Cold Kiwi. 1975.
to help members obtain discounted
spares and tyres from the dealers.
The first rally I went to was in Blenheim
1975, it was a camping rally as many of
our early gatherings were and we had a
great time. I recall another biker there
who turned up on an MV Augusta 750
America and what a delight that was to
see.
Other rallies were held at “Woburn
Estate” in Waipukurau - the home of
Peter Russell who had a collection of
vintage cars, Rotoiti Lakes in the South
Island, Gordonton, New Plymouth,
Okataina, and Wainui. These rallies
were very informal and because they
were often self catered we all pitched in
to help with peeling the veg, stirring the
pot, dishing out, doing dishes, and
cleaning the facilities before we left. The
AGM was often at Taupo.
Members bikes seen at these earlier
events included a variety of Earle’s fork
3. South Island Rally. 1976.
26
models, R50/5, R60/5, R75/5, R60/6,
R75/6, R90s with the inclusion later on
of /7 models and some with side cars.
Hans Kolinko had a very nice R60/6
which he had ridden around Australia
and this bike now resides in Southwards
Museum at Paraparaumu. Visitors and
some members also rode Ducati, Moto
Guzzi, Laverda.
Organised rides were not common in the
early days around Wellington and it was
no problem to go out of town or even to
Auckland to meet up with other BMW
riders for a ride. During the fuel crisis
when fuel was unavailable on weekends
a 4 gallon container was strapped to the
luggage rack so a reasonable distance
could be covered.
Phil and Gail Scott (founders of
Motomail) lived in Taupo for a time and
were very hospitable. They held a film
night in 1977 and some riders even
came from Christchurch. After a bbq,
drinks, films, slides, and supper, those
who were staying overnight pulled out
sleeping bags and fought for floor space
while trying to avoid being trampled by
Phil’s Old English sheepdog. As a fitting
lullaby, Phil cranked up his sound
system and played a sound track of
John Surtees winding up his MV
Augusta! Phil also provided a trials bike
with side car at one event and this
evolved into a fun competition with much
hilarity for those willing to have a go.
Bob Pinker was often seen lurking about
with a large telephoto lens taking candid
shots from a distance and also the group
photo of those attending a Rally while
John Samson was always there taking
his movies which provided a great
June 2005
4. 1979 BMW R100RT Oct 1983.
source of entertainment. Frank Payne
was a delight to listen to as he told many
a tale and imparted his technical knowhow in a wonderful broad Gloustershire
(I think) accent. For the uninitiated,
Frank would take you for a spin in his
side car.
When the R90s arrived on the scene,
Bryan Bird from Auckland quickly set
about making fibreglass moulds of the
cockpit fairing and those of us with
unfaired bikes were keen to have one,
complete with optional hand guards.
Sales of VDO clocks and voltmeters
rose in proportion to the number of
fairing sales. Another member made
stainless
steel mufflers, and copies of Krauser
panniers were available from Australia
at very reasonable cost.
Technical tips were often included in the
newsletters to help with member’s
projects and repairs/modifications.
Some early topics related to converting
to Keihin or Mikuni carburettors, failing
rear main seals, suspension set up, front
end wobbles, gearbox bearings, and
general maintenance. A Technical Tips
Index was kept for a while and the
Touring Guide came into being.
In 1979 I took my bike to Australia for 2
weeks with friend and whilst it worked
out ok it was a reasonably expensive
exercise. There are not many parts of
NZ I haven’t covered on the BMW and
although I don’t ride it quite as frequently
now it has covered 240,000km, runs as
well as ever, and after almost 32 years I
still enjoy riding it.
In the early ‘80’s, some members
travelled to the USA where they bought
BMW’s, travelled a while then shipped
the bike back to NZ. I took advantage
of the contacts available in 1982 and had
a great time, purchasing a 3 year old
R100RT with 30,000 miles for US
$3500. With my girlfriend of the time
we rode 9000 miles, saw wonderful
sights in the USA and Canada and went
to some BMW Rallies. The Rallies were
amazing as participants came from
everywhere and numbered in the
thousands, spares and accessories
were for sale, and the “Door Prize” at
one event was a new bike! Although it
was a tough decision, I sold the RT for
a handy profit some time later in NZ.
The passing of time has seen many
changes to the Register and its
members, not least is the fact that those
of us who joined the Register early on
are now well into middle age, several
have died and many are no longer
members for a variety of reasons, but
the Register carries on and although it
is a different entity today, the spirit and
camaraderie it evokes remains the
same and I’m grateful for the pleasure
and friendships I’ve made through being
a part of it.
Barry Stephens
MOTOHAUS TYRE & SERVICE CENTRE
If it means getting YOUR hands dirty
... bring your bike into our workshop
and let us get OUR hands dirty.
We supply all brands of tyres to meet your needs.
If it’s available, we can get it!
MotoHaus 6 Western Springs Road, Morningside, Auckland.
Phone (09) 815 - 8384
27
June 2005
R1200RT
I first ordered my last new bike (again)
early February 2005. The first bikes
were to arrive in March all fully speced
at $39,000. No way that’s too much &
don’t want radio, CD, cruise
control, heated seat and all that
crap. This is a motor bike I ordered isn’t
it, so I reordered 1 March. Just Billy
basic model please, $32,000 Garnite
grey metalic & dark slate metallic, due
to arrive by 20 April. We will go up
North Anzac weekend to run it in
(1,000ks) & get it serviced on way back
to HB.
I Ring Henry 5 April for eta on the bike?
“I’ll ring you back.” he says.
Phone goes. 20th May but he still but
can’t confirm.
He rings back again; now early June
confirmed.
Shit, that’s too long to wait so start
negotiating a semi spec bike he has on
the floor that is the colour we wanted. I
will ring you in am after discussions with
the pillion passenger I say. More
negotiating in an attempt to get a better
deal; (but getting close now).
“I will ring you back in 10 minutes.” I say.
More discussion at home & I ring Henry
at 10am & say I’ll take it & pick it up this
afternoon. “Workshop very busy, but
O.K.”
“Then I will meet you at Mercer for tea.”
I left home at 1:30. A wet trip until
Taupo. Arrived at Mercer at 5:45 & had
a
Pokono
bacon
and
egg
toasted sandwich as usual. Henry
arrives at 6:15 & complains about the
traffic and had the same for tea, I sign
the papers and we go outside to get the
run down on the bike & its raining bugger!! Ride back to Hamilton in rain,
heavy traffic & kms of road works. Not
what I want on the new bike. Stayed with
my son in Hamilton but didn’t sleep to
well (not the bed’s fault) & was up
first. We all inspected the bike & played
with the knobs etc etc then I headed for
Hastings, arriving home to show the
new bike to its pillion passenger. It
started to rain but she insisted on going
for a ride; like right now, and the rain
turned out to be more like a thunder
storm but she had her ride. So that’s all
that seemed to matter.
Well, this bike is a huge leap forward
from my (our) not so old 1150RT. It is in
every way improved - gearbox, lights,
horn, steering, weight, engine, screen,
brakes, performance, torque looks &
handling etc etc. 1 or 2 up there is no
real difference in handling. Even at very
low speed it is good, whether in a
straight line or tight roundabout or doing
a U turn.
It also handles much better on the
shingle even with bigger rear tyre & two
up, the motor seems very happy at 90k
in 6th gear. 100k/hr =3,250 rev approx.
Thanks Mr BMW for such a great bike.
PS. We are still negotiating with BMW
for this advert!!!
68WRU
Warren W.
1,5000km in the first 4 days by one
proud (biased) owner & still can’t fault it
although after 2,000k in 5 days
(including delivery of old bike) and on
last 400k afternoon ride, bum starting
to complain a little, but could it be
something to do with age and circulation
problems?
Fuel consumption dramatically
improved & running smoother now.
First tank full 400ks approx & 3rd
tank 550 approx. Still running in so
keeping under 161km hr.
I couldn’t find the valve to check front
tyre pressure - it comes out of the spoke
at a right angle so very easy to use once
you have found it!! (Smart thinking.)
Rear mud guard has a pull down mud
flap.
New members:
Annette & Darren Stockman.
Auckland.
Susan Morgan & Dion Harrison.
Auckland.
Judy & Graham Beal.
Woodend, North Canterbury.
Verdict; 10 out of 10 at the moment and
looking good.
Tip - if you think you can’t afford one
don’t ride it because if you are into
tourers you will just have to have one of
these!!!
28
June 2005
Hot August Night 2005
Bay of Plenty BMWOR invites you to the warm and sunny BOP. The Oracle has
spoken; the weather will be good.
Venue:
Omokoroa Tourist Park and Hot Pools.
165 Omokoroa Road.
Telephone (07) 548-0857.
Date:
Saturday, 20 August 2005
Programme:
On Saturday afternoon there will be a demo bike for your use, plus a hands-on technical session of
interest to all bikers. In the late afternoon, there will be a very Hot Happy Hour, guaranteed to please all gourmets (all
drinks and eats will be provided). To get the most from the afternoon, it is suggested that you arrive by 15h00 to allow
time to settle and to prepare for the activities.
A tasty dinner will be provided on the Saturday evening, this year with an entirely new menu. Please remember to bring
your own drinks to dinner. New for this year will be heating in the dining area – no more cold feet.
On the Sunday morning there will be ingredients to cook your own breakfast.
Sunday morning will include an optional short ride over roads that only the locals know.
All this for only $30 per head. To save the BMWOR treasurer a huge headache, please send your cheque to:
Clive Dominy
3, Eighteenth Avenue
Tauranga
A receipt will be forwarded by return post – a self-addressed envelope would be appreciated.
Please book your accommodation directly with Omokoroa Tourist Park – first come – first served. And please make
every attempt to fill as many beds in each unit so that the maximum number of club members can attend the night. The
campground owner would love it if you did choose to stay for both the Friday and Saturday night, but this is your choice.
We look forward to seeing you at Omokoroa!
From page 7
Mother’s Day. Six of us set off from
Shell Mana at almost the appointed
time, one rider being Steve Harris, a
new member, riding an 1150 GS. It is
good to have new members joining us
on rides. During the uneventful journey
to Ashhurst we were joined by 2 more
riders at different points north and
eventually arrived ahead of any other
groups at Ashhurst Domain café for
morning tea. Progressively more riders
arrived until we had 15 bikes parked in
the Domain. The café was new and
very nice, in a scenic setting, and even
provided live music. All this before
11.00am.
After refreshments we split into two
groups, the tar seal tourers and gravel
road thrashers, with Graeme leading
the seal party and Grant leading the
smaller gravel group. The idea was to
travel separately up through the
beautiful Pohangina valley and meet
again at Apiti, so off we went. The ride
for me was lovely with the Pohangina
valley living up to its name and
reputation, as the roads were good,
scenery magnificent and the autumn
colours just wonderful. At Apiti we
waited and chatted, chatted and waited
and eventually decided to wait no more
but to head off to Feilding for lunch at
Farlanes café and hope that the gravel
riders would eventually turn up safely.
We were joined at the café by Graeme’s
other half, Carole, and Lance. It was just
as well we had abandoned the gravel
riders, as the café was extremely busy,
probably due to Mother’s Day, and a
staggered arrival was easier on the
waiting staff. They eventually arrived
safe and sound with smiles to show they
too had enjoyed their ride and joined
us to make 24 for a noisy and enjoyable
lunch.
Eventually, it ended as all good things
do, and we gradually drifted off in our
own groups and made our way home
by a variety of different routes.
For me it was a 400 + km day out, riding
in good company and keeping up the
tradition of plenty of eating, drinking (tea
or coffee) and chatting. Throw in a
mixed bag of weather, with none being
too extreme and only brief showers to
contend with.
Pub night at the Parrot and Jigger.
This turned out to be extremely well
patronised, with 20 members enjoying
an opportunity to eat, drink, mingle, and
29
tell stories about BMWs and past rides.
We even had two of our newer
members join us, Ponch and David T.
Nice to see you both there. We chose
a good night as the pub wasn’t busy,
which was just as well as I hadn’t
booked (how many do you book for, 6?
or 40?). All in all we had a very pleasant
sociable time which was all rounded off
by lots of “we must do this more often”
comments. So maybe we should.
Perhaps someone can suggest an
alternative venue that would suit our
needs.
Hope to see you out there next month.
Norman.
Nelson
Nelson Run to Portage. 15th May. A
group of 10 bikes and 13 people met at
Millers Acre Carpark at 10.00am, for a
ride to Portage.
It was an overcast day with possible rain
on the way. We left the carpark and
headed out of Nelson, over the
Whangamoa’s and on over the Rai
Saddle. This is a brilliant road for a
Motorcycle, being windy and quite often
without a lot of traffic. From the Rai
Saddle we headed through Rai Valley
Cont page 34
June 2005
WELLINGTON FOLDING NIGHT
Dave Morris
The Wellington branch of the Register exercise
some team work in the production of the
monthly Newsletter. When I was elected as
Editor at the last AGM, Norm immediatly come
forward and said; “Don’t worry about the folding
night, I’ll take care of that. I will ring around
and find volumteers and a location for folding.”
Each month, he liases with Cheryl and I to
coincide the night with the delivery of the
printed copies from the printers. (Astra Copy,
Lower Hutt.) David and Elizabeth Boyes have
offered their home for the folding night.
Members look forward to those evenings as
the hospitality is always good and we are
regularly favoured with beer by David and
supper by Elizabeth. Here are some photos
of members hard at work.
1
1. Above: Helen Doomen and Fran
Croasdale take the best chairs in the
house!
2. Left: Marie and Norm Nichol
display team work; even on a folding
night.
3. Dave Oldershaw and Bill
Croasdale: Misappropriation of a
chair and end table. “...So what?”
2
3
Photos by David Boyes.
30
June 2005
Daves’ Excellent Taranaki Adventure
This all started over a problem solving
night on the BMWOR Editor’s computer.
Dave Oldershaw had come over to sort
out some virus problems. The night’s
casual discussion turned to
motorcycling touring, and one thing led
to another. The girls couldn’t make it for
one reason or another, so it was a week
on our own, touring. Ah, yes.
Monday 2nd May: Wellington Weather Overcast, threat of rain. Met
Dave at Shell, Mana 8.30am. First stop
at Clydesdale Café & Museum, south
of Shannon, just for a coffee. Travel via
Palmerston North; detour through
Bunnythorpe and Fielding. It’s about
here on the main Highway, I spot an
aerial top dresser coming in very low at
11 o’clock; - a short moment of fear,
what’s it doing? It was close. Then later,
we’re cruising along the highway
somewhere before Hawera and a smell
of silage wafts into our helmets “Ah, the
smell of the rural; a farmer has spread
it out on a paddock”. But strangely, after
about 500m the smell is still strong.
Then over a brow in the road and, “DaDah!” There’s a tractor towing a trailer
full of the stuff on the main highway. It
didn’t take too much to pass him. We
made it into Hawera by 2pm as we had
allowed time to visit the Tawhiti
Museum.
Kimbel Bent. Now this whimsical name
caught my attention. What sort of
person would have a name like this?
Well he was born in the 1800’s in
America and ended up in the British
Army. This eventually saw him posted
to NZ during the Maori wars. One night,
after a minor offence he deserted and
joined the Maoris. He lived with them
and became known as “Pakeha Maori”.
- Just one of the displays at the Museum
First night at Wheatley Downs Farm
stay.
Tuesday, 3rd May: Weather basically
wet. It was half a kilometre or so from
the gate to the house. Tricky it was with
silver birches and agapanthus lining the
sides; two deep tracks with a grass
centre. With my low cruiser floor boards
I was a little concerned about clearance,
no worries to Dave with his GS. Anyway
we got out of there safely.
Well it’s true if you can’t see the
Mountain, it’s raining. We woke up to a
grey low cloud day. Our plan was to ride
the Forgotten Highway refuel at
Tamaranui and carry on to Mokau for
the night. “Let’s see how the weather
goes through to Whanga; we can
always turn back.” Just out of Stratford
there was an information sign that read:
“Tamaranui Open”. On the way up there
were a number of minor slips that came
onto the road. One slip was oozy slushy
bright orange mud (“...rich, radiant
colours”) well the sign was only just
right! (How could we think that 2 days
later a mail plane would crash near the
road just a few km out of Stratford.) Well
we stopped at Whanga but we were too
early for a coffee. The businesses
opened at 11am and it was 10.30am.
We decide to push on.
From here this was new ground for both
of us. We knew there was 11km of metal
road ahead, and all the reports we had
told of a hard compacted
surface. After going through
the tunnel (well, as I went
through and
looked up, I saw
rafters. It’s not a
tunnel, there’s a
roof up there, so it’s a cutting).
The reports on the road
conditions were right.
Tamaranui – We fill up at the Caltex
Station, our bikes were filthy dirty after
the Forgotten Highway trip in the rain
and at the service station we espied a
connected hose reel by the pumps and
set about washing the excess mud off.
That was a bit better. Said thanks to the
Forecourt attendant, we really needed
to do that and really appreciated being
able to use the hose. After a bite at the
Rivers Two Café we were off again, up
to Mapiu and westward through to Aria.
(Now that was an interesting place,
about 30-40 homes and a hall and that’s
about it.)
A short chat with an “Arian” on his quad
with wife and pup, confirms our route
and we are off again. Very shortly we
are on Highway 43 and heading toward
our next bed in Mokau. We arrived
31
June 2005
without incident although a wheel
wobble on wet shiny tar seal had kept
me alert to road conditions and riding
awareness. Somewhere between
Tamaranui and here Dave is riding in
front, we’re in twisties and all of a
sudden a turkey is startled (so is Dave).
Somewhere else earlier today we noted
about 6 turkeys perched on a farm gate.
What better place then Mokau to enjoy
Whitebait, we ordered whitebait fritters
for our dinner and watched outside as
a heavy shower came down. That was
it, after dinner a still clear night. Cell
phone reception was best at the
Lookout over the road from the
“Whitebait Inn”, so I made my calls from
there. We rang both river boat cruises
but there was to be no sailing on the
morrow. After reading a “Tourist Times”
visitor newspaper we opted for a lifeboat
cruise when we were in New Plymouth.
Wednesday, 4th May:
Weather –
clear skies wind increasing. Well today
promised to be a good day for weather.
We checked out the Mokau Museum
and it was worth the visit. There is a
very good display of local historical
photos. The small tramps (ships) and
Bridge history is particularly well
documented.
On the road to New Plymouth there’s
the Waiau Estate. We checked that out
and had lunch there. The staff were very
friendly without sales pressure.
From there was a short ride to New
Plymouth; we turned left onto Mountain
Rd to visit Inglewood, and that proved
interesting. We had to battle a head
wind, but even with that we still passed
a goods train, and watched as the
containers on the flat decks seem rather
precariously balanced, and as the train
rattled along the track they swayed and
jerked all independently, quite
dangerously. We stopped and checked
out the “Fun Ho” Museum in Inglewood.
We were lucky, we happened to be at
Fun Ho just at the right time. One of the
staff started a conversation and we
ended up in the current “factory”. It was
a room where the toys for sale are cast
in sand the old fashioned way.
We spent the afternoon checking out
the shops after checking in at the
Sunflower Lodge in New Plymouth.
Thursday, 5th May:
Weather –
excellent, temperatures shown on the
TV were reported at 21degrees. For the
morning we’d planned the short ride out
to Okato and Okurakura. There was an
art & craft guide in the Backpackers that
listed places of interest. The road out is
a very good one, a short distance, but
good. We noticed a couple of surf board
factories out that way, and at one art
shop called “Alley Cat” we got chatting
to Susanne who was a potter. She had
been in the area 14 years and remarked
how the house prices had shot way up.
The residential road along the beach
front featured some very nice homes.
Well we made a call back to Chaddy
Boat Charters for the boat cruise but in
the end he didn’t go out, so we had to
flag that one. What did we do in place?
Made a visit to Pukekura Park. My last
visit was when I was 10 and it hadn’t
changed. A really nice
place lot’s of new
additions, like the Zoo and
amphitheatre. There was
a Pukeko so tame there, I
was able to stroke him.
Later that afternoon we
strolled past the Callender
Motorcycles site, a
building 3 stories high is
under construction.
guys that follows the surf. He was an
Australian who has surfed in Sri Lanka,
Indonesia and Australia. He’s now living
at Okato for the surf.
It’s and hour or so from New Plymouth
to Opunaki so when we got to Opunaki
we asked at the motel for the best road
to Dawson Falls. We went through
Kaponga and turned off there. The road
up to the Dawson Falls Lodge was very
similar to that we had travelled on
earlier; the road is wet and slippery, but
spectacular & beautiful. Its 2pm, time
for a coffee. We were greeting by a
friendly girl behind the counter who
commuted 1/2hour each day from
Eltham.
After arriving back at Opunaki we
checked out the beach and shopping.
Dave had bought a souvenir T Shirt from
Karam’s, and we found out later this
building was originally a saddle/canvas
repair shop. The original front doors
were wide enough to drive a car through
to repair the window curtains in vogue
at the time. There was a turntable built
into the floor so the car could be turned
around and driven out headlights first.
Opunaki had novel street lighting in the
Main Street. Not neon, but similar. There
were moving pictures of different sports,
i.e. a diver jumping off the board and
into the water. Eating places here were
Friday, 6th May: T h i s
was a travel day. Original
plan was to
go around
the mountain to Opunaki
via the top road, but, a
bum steer took us out to
Egmont Village so we
took the trip up to North
Egmont. The road was
quite wet and slippery with
the green algae on the tar
seal. The visit was
worthwhile. After heading
back we ended up and
decided to stay on the
Surf Highway 43, a short
pit stop at the “Waiting
Room” Café. The chap
there was one of those
32
limited, although if you are into fish and
chips it would be a hard choice where
to buy. We opted for “Muzzas”.
Saturday, 7th May: Well, the last day
of this excellent adventure finally
dawned; the day to come home. The
night had been a clear cloudless one
and the grass was heavy with dew. We
left Opunaki around 20 past eight, it was
a good ride; no traffic, and good
weather. The quintessence of
Motorcycle touring. Just had to watch
for those wet shady areas of the road
right through to Waverly. After a short
stop at Waverly and Levin and a long
June 2005
lunch stop at Palmerston North we
arrived back home in Wellington at
3.30pm.
Touring on the bike:
It’s a great
way to go. It can be done comparatively
cheaply and is lot’s of fun. Some thought
needs to be given to clothing required
for the trip and souvenir purchase is
limited in size. (One can of course
courier back to oneself.)
It really does pay to plan the trip and
have accommodation booked in: Base
different motels on the time to reach
there, juggled with the length of trip. If
you are simply moving from point A to
point B without detours or attractions, a
greater distance can be covered in a
day. For example, look at our trip; 2 days
in and around New Plymouth and the
next Motel Opunaki, was only 59 kms
away, so we had used that day to visit
North Egmont and Dawson Falls on the
way to Opanaki.
Summary of Accommodation: All
from internet save Opunaki.
Hawera: Wheatley Downs Farm Stay.
Backpackers’. $25 each a night.
Comfortable; isolated.
Mokau: Palm Cottage Backpackers.
$20 each a night in the heart of town.
Wobbly beds and dining table. Owned
by same person as Wheatley Downs so
makes for convenient booking.
New
Plymouth:
Sunflower
Backpackers. $25 each per night. Twin
share. In the Heart of town. Good value
for money, Walk to anywhere, TV in
room. Lock-up garage (no extra cost.)
Opunaki: Opunaki Motel and
Backpackers. Old converted house
moved onto site. Very comfortable. TV.
$20 a night per person. Phoned for
booking found in A.A guide.
Two Elderly Men
Two elderly men were sitting on a
bench during break time and one
turns to the other saying,
”Slim, I’m 73 years old and I’m just
full
of
aches
and
pains. I know you’re about my
age. How do you feel?”
Slim says, ”I feel just like a new
born babe.”
Rather amazed at this reply, Slim’s
co-worker repeats his statement
back in the form of a question.
“Really? A new born babe?”
“Yup,” grins Slim, ”No teeth, no
hair and I think I just wet my pants
again.”
Dave Morris
Only in the U. S. of A. !
33
June 2005
Members in the Wellington/Rangatikei ride:
Above left; Ashurst Domain; relaxing before the adventure. Above right; Neville and Steve sit and sip. Ian the
resident muso entertains.
Below; Apiti. The Tar Seal Tourers, wait in vain for the Gravel Road Thrashers.
From page 29
and over Pelorus Bridge and on to
Havelock.
At Havelock we stopped at the Slip Inn
for a coffee and a chat. Then it was out
of Havelock and over the start of the
Queen Charlotte drive to Linkwater
where we turned off and headed out the
narrow windy tarseal road to Portage.
This road was in good condition this
trip. The Portage road is very narrow
and twisty. The average speed along
this road would be about 60 kilometers
per hour, or possibly at bit more. Along
the road in one part there was a slow
piece, very twisty, was an advisory
speed sign of 65kph. On seeing this
sign I checked my speedo and was only
doing 60kph. I wasn’t game enough to
speed up for the sharper corner.
We arrived at Portage where we met
up with a couple from Blenheim. It was
on to the shop for lunch, and to catch
up with the Blenheim couple. After
lunch we headed back out, through
Havelock and onto Pelorus Bridge
where 4 bikes stopped for more coffee
before heading on home.
In all an excellent ride enjoyed by all.
We managed to miss the rain as well.
Canterbury
May 15th, slightly grey, slightly cold but
with the weather forecast telling us that
it would be finer inland. 9 bikes and 15
riders met at The Peg to head north up
the main highway to the Leader Valley.
As we rode northwards the promise of
finer weather seemed to be one of
those weathermen jokes, the mist
came down and the air temperature
dropped as we rode through Greta Valley. However, soon after it began to
brighten up and by the time we stopped
for a morning cuppa at Cheviot things
looked a little more promising with the
sun managing to break through the
cloud. We were met by another bike
and two riders and after a petrol stop
for some, and warm drinks all round we
headed on towards the Leader Valley.
The ride through the valley is an annual event when we combine with riders from the local Retreads Club to
enjoy the autumn colours. Unfortunately, autumn can be a bit fickle and
we had obviously caught the tail end of
the autumn leaves with many branches
already bare, however, the winding and
very quiet road through the valley provided a good opportunity to open up and
34
blow the cobwebs out. Before long we
reached the Rotherham Hotel for our
lunch stop – it was just warm enough
for us to be able to take over the slightly
run down beer garden and chomp our
way through bar meals, snacks and
drinks and enjoy the conversation.
Finishing our lunch we headed back out
to the Christchurch/Hanmer road and
made our way home with a short stop
at Pukeko Junction for some (the excuse was hot drinks to warm up but it
was noticeable that several of the group
just had to sample some of the excellent desserts!).
Gill and Geoff Odell
“Knowledge is a process of
piling up facts; wisdom lies in
their simplification.”
Martin Fischer:
Cont page 38.
June 2005
Letter to the Editor.
INTERCOMS
I enjoyed the contributions to the
Intercom topic over the last few
Newsletters. I have been using (and
modifying) 2 intercom models from Dick
Smith Electronic (DSE), selling for
around $40 and $100 respectively,
before buying a Baehr Basic. The
following is my experience and personal
opinion only, so some of these may not
apply to your situation. By the way, I
used all intercoms without wearing
earplugs under the helmet.
The extremely cheap DSE model was
almost unusable as it came out of the
box.
The volume control was
ineffectual, the cables and plugs flimsy,
and the microphones designed for an
open-face helmet. I modified the
circuitry to improve the volume control
to what it was designed to do, and
adjusted the frequency response to
make it usable for speeds above
50kmh; however at about 80kmh the
wind noise drowned out any chance of
communication and it had to be turned
off to protect your hearing. The flimsy
cables and connectors had to be fixed
after every 3-4 days of riding.
The more expensive DSE model had a
far more sophisticated circuitry,
separate volume controls and a clever
connection system, that would
disconnect the power whenever either
cable was disconnected from the
helmet. Compared to the cheapest
model the unit itself was big and heavy
(powered by 4xAA batteries), not
something you would like to carry
around in your jacket all the time. The
performance was somewhat better than
the el cheapo model, but wind noise
made it painful over 80kmh. Even
though cable and connector
construction was much better, it needed
ongoing repairs after every few days of
use.
Having spent countless hours on
improving and nursing these units over
a few thousand km, I bought the bottomend Baehr unit on a visit to Germany. I
had heard a lot of good things about it,
so I decided to fork out the $500 odd at
the time. At first I was dismayed that
the tiny unit did not have any dials or
controls. What, no controls? I need at
least to be able to adjust the volume for
the pillion and myself separately, or so I
thought. How can one volume setting
be OK for all riding conditions, all
helmets, for rider and pillion? Instead it
had a set overly heavy plugs and cables
in the box.
Fitting the bits to the helmets needs a
bit of ingenuity and bravery (working out
how the lining can be removed without
damage, cutting away Styrofoam and
re arranging of the lining material so that
it looks like before). Fitting the unit to
the bike is simple (if you don’t mind
electricity :-)
My first impressions of the new system
blew me away. How can a unit with no
controls be perfect for all riding
situations? No idea, but it works! The
pillion’s voice is clear and pleasant over
the entire legal speed range. Just a little
wind noise is discernable over 100kmh,
depending on the pillion’s helmet
position in the turbulences behind the
rider. Mind you, this is the “Basic”
system with no squelch (called VOX
feature elsewhere) or anything
sophisticated like that. It is simply “on”
at all times. Whether it adjusts its
frequency response or amplification
depending on the wind noise, I don’t
know. But there is no “pumping” of the
volume or anything of that kind. This
unit does not feed back your voice into
your own headset (although this seems
standard practice for airline pilot units).
This needs getting used to a little at first
(as you won’t hear your own voice), but
helps keeping overall noise levels
down.
Now for the little gripes, or perhaps
dislikes. I don’t like the chunky 5-pin DIN
plug at the helmet. The helmet won’t
rest properly on the ground anymore,
and you and your pillion look like
Teletubbies. Given that this unit is mono
only, a discreet 3.5mm 3-pin socket
would have done the trick. Baehr will
have had their reasons; the DIN plug is
fully waterproof and robust, and will
probably withstand a nuclear attack
(very useful in cold-war Germany). The
plug is indeed well sealed, so much so
that you need 2 hands to unplug
yourself and jerk the helmet off your
seat if you’re not careful, or, in case of
unplugging your pillion with the head still
inside, you will deal out an almighty
hook to your buddy. You quickly learn
to unplug the other end (with its own
little quirks) and find a way to hide the
cable inside your helmet or jacket
pocket. If you ever come off (in which
case the 5-pin plug might be the least
of your worries), or you decide to go
sightseeing, helmet in hand, with the
cable still attached to the bike, the plug
35
connection is so strong that it
permanently stretches the cable-coil
before it lets go. Not a biggy really, but
the cable looks floppy from that day on.
After testing the system for a while
around our home territory, we set out
on our big bike-OE around Oz (you may
have read about it in the Newsletter or
recently in the Bikerider Magazine).
Remember that we got caught in a
blizzard near National Park on our trip
north? The next day the rider ’s
microphone quit. We swapped cables,
connections, everything else, but it was
clearly the mike (or its cabling inside the
helmet) that had stopped functioning.
The night had been cold and wet! There
was no opportunity to do anything about
this until we arrived in Brisbane.
Thinking that Baehr would surely have
an Australian distributor, we found out
then that Tony at Challenger Motors is,
in fact, the only importer/distributor of
Baehr systems in the South Pacific, and
contacted him by phone. Tony was
happy to send me a new mike, but didn’t
like honouring the warranty, because I
didn’t buy it of him. Fair enough, I
guess. After a few more phone calls to
Germany, arranging for a free
replacement, Tony was happy to send
me a new microphone. The bike (with
the Baehr unit onboard) arrived 3-4 days
later, and at this stage the helmets had
a chance to dry out for several days in
the nice, warm Queensland air. And,
you guessed it, the system worked just
fine again! We didn’t want to hang
around the big city for much longer,
cancelled the mike order and set out
on our trip. The Intercom has worked
flawlessly all around Oz (35.000km),
plus another 10,000km or so here in NZ.
The rider’s mike has since conked out
once again on a wet, cold day in Otago,
so I would suggest the microphone is
susceptible to malfunctioning in those
conditions. But then, it may just have
been this one piece, a Monday
production perhaps. Tony supplies
individual mikes, headset speakers or
complete helmet units for a reasonable
price. How many other intercoms can
claim that?
The Basic model has one extra input
for a Walkman, CD-player or whatever
secondary sound source you like. They
use a funny plug here, for which they
want you to buy a special Baehr cable
if you need to connect anything useful.
I regard this use of proprietary hardware
as mean-spirited (Sony is really good
at this too!). OK, again, Baehr will have
Cont on page 37
June 2005
Minutes of the BMWOR of NZ INC Committee Meeting Auckland,
Monday 9 May, 2005
Meeting commenced at 8.10pm
Members in attendance: 26
Welcome: All present and new member Dion.
Apologies: Martyn Freer, Ian Hawken, Kevin and Karon Sargent, Roger Scholes, Jennifer Ellis-Smith Wayne and
Helen Cann.
Minutes: Last minutes true and correct move: Jill Barter seconded: Peter Kurz.
Correspondence: Usual Mags and newsletters.
Treasurer: Presented cheques for payment.
Move: Noel Walker.
Seconded: Rob Hargreaves.
Regalia: Maria suggested a special item for the Anniversary; it was undecided between a mug or a t-shirt.
Area Auckland Rep. The ride to the Willow Glen Café was attended by 26 bikes and 30 bikes arrived at the café.
The lunch ride to St. James saw 15-20 bikes attend.
No rides were listed in the May newsletter as Noel’s email disappeared in cyber space. Noel has invited people to
turn up on classic bikes for the anniversary ride.
General Business:
Henry’s Wicked Weekend is filling up fast, book now to get a good room. It was decided that there we be no
monthly meeting in June, due to the anniversary celebrations.
A brief discussion on possible speakers for the monthly meetings followed. If you have any ideas contact Graham or
Alex.
The meeting closed at 8.34pm
Following the meeting Steve Sunde gave a brief talk on the work he does as a volunteer for the social services. This
type of community work can be very demanding and stressful. Steve has found that riding his bike provides the
perfect antidote for this.
Alexander Breig
Secretary
Advance Notice:
Advance Notice:
Now is the time to start planning for
Now is the time to start planning for
The Annual General Meeting
Suncourt Motel. Taupo
The Annual Rally
Flock Hill
October 1st , 2005.
January 7th and 8th, 2006.
Please book your own accomadation and mention
BMWOR.
Do you need to book the ferry?
Please book your cabins and put
the dates in your planners.
Also book the ferry as well.
More detail will follow.
More detail will follow.
36
June 2005
Market
Place
The purpose of Market Place is to provide a service for members of BMWOR of NZ. Advertisements will be accepted
from members, commercial traders and non-members when it is considered in our members’ interest to do so.
Currently, no charge is made for insertions and non-commercial advertisements. The Editor and other Executives
reserve the right to reject any advertisement considered inappropriate and take no responsibility for errors or
omissions, the quality of items, claims made, or for any transactions that ensue.
Ads are run for 3 months unless advised.
BIKES FOR SALE
Paris Dakar 1000. Mother of All
Adventure Bikes. This 1991 Classic,
and sure to be Collectable. It is
resplendent in Red & White and
features White Power & Progressive
suspension upgrades. New Tyres,
battery and full service history. All this
and more for only $7,500.00. Phone
Andy at home on: 09 2753358. (1)
R1100RS, 1993, 33,000km, ABS,
heated grips, great condition.
$9,000ono. Phone Dave (06)7550688.
(1)
R1000GS 1993. 85,000Kms. Panniers
good condition, $7,995.00. Contact
Trevor, (03) 547 2685
BMW F650GS.
In immaculate
condition and travelled just 26k. Comes
with a full set of BMW System panniers
and top box, heated grips, hand guards
and givi screen. Will consider a trade
on an older model 650 plus $$$. $9,500
ono Pictures can be emailed on
request. PH Malcolm or Linda (07) 8717187 or 027 421 1080. (1)
Forced sale due to ill health. Ph: 04
9729891. (2)
BMW K75C, 1987, Royal Blue, good
condition, 100,000K. With BMW
Panniers. $5,000 ono. Phone Terry
Riley at (03) 544-6248. (1)
R100 GS/PD 1989, red and white.
78000km. WOF and Reg. In very tidy
condition with factory panniers. Near
new dual purpose Avon tyres. Has had
new drive shaft fitted and gear box
bearings replaced. Braided front brake
lines and 4 pot Nissin calliper. Ohlins
adjustable rear shock and progressive
front springs. K&N filter. Visi Lights.
Original toolbox and manual. Lots of
paperwork for work done and some
spare parts. $6750.00 ono. Contact Tim.
07-5482982 or 027-2922682. [email protected] (2)
BMW 1996 R1100RT, full luggage
kit. All factory extras, runs very well
7,6000kms, $12,750.00 PH (07) 573
7510 or AH 027 289 8040. (1)
R1150RT, 2003 Twin spark model,
metallic grey, ABS, 7,000km. Pristine
condition. Has number plate R1150.
Includes side cases and top case with
back rest. Extra brand new windscreen
included. $27,995. Ph: 021-294-0232.
(2)
BMW K100 RS 16V. 127,000 Km. 3
Owners. ABS, Fox rear shock,
“progressive” fork springs, Givi top box,
BMW panniers, engine protection bars,
new front tyre, fork seals, steering head
bearings and WOF. Fully serviced
From page 35
had its reasons, this connector is good quality, with goldplated contacts (no kidding), probably waterproof, and will
survive the war as long as the 5-pin DIN plug, but somewhere
it has to plug into your humble 3.5mm jack, used on 99.5%
of all audio devices. So I cut this stupid plug off and connected
a standard 3.5mm jack.
The sound quality of anything other than the pillion’s voice is
less than satisfying. I have heard this from other users of
the Baehr (or any other system for that matter) too. The
bass notes of any music played through the system are totally
inaudible. This is already the case at very moderate speeds.
When you stop it is fine. This obviously means that wind
noises in your helmet drown out any low frequency sounds;
your brain effectively filtering sounds so that all you hear is
the treble of the music you’re playing through your system. I
think that it is not Baehr’s fault, but the wind-noise that gets
to your ears. If you want good quality audio, you need to get
a really quiet helmet! I’m personally appalled that helmets
are tested to all sorts of safety and quality standards, but not
the rider’s noise levels! Many fellow riders wear earplugs,
but I found that even the otherwise wonderful Baehr system
doesn’t perform well using earplugs!
R850R Black, 18 months old,
11,000km, BMW heated handgrips,
BMW luggage racks, single-seat option,
Givi screen, Excellent condition,
$17,000 Contact Sue 027 280 1521. (3)
BMW R1100RT 1996 Mint condition,
ex-pat, 20K miles (30K KM). Main
dealer serviced, full luggage kit
Cont page 38
advised, or similar situations where an immediate pillion
dismount is required. This results in a spine-tingling “klack”
in the remaining rider’s headset, and after 2 or 3 of those
incidents it damaged one of my headset speakers, now
distorting at higher volumes. That you aren’t supposed to
disconnect one of the units while the power is still on, is
probably spelled out somewhere in the manual. But this is
not too unusual an occurrence in the “real world”, and I believe
this could have been solved electrically/electronically.
The last thing I would like to mention is the ability (or rather
the lack of it) of temporarily switching the unit off from the
handlebars! I can think of 2 kinds of occasions where this
may be desirable: It does happen (only occasionally for male
riders) that one stops and asks for directions. During this
rare occurrence one may yell into the helmet “where the f…
is Wilson St?”, the kind of language – and volume – the pillion
might not like to listen to. Other times I wish to be able to
mute my mutterings, is when riding off-road, perhaps noticing
a pothole a little too late, the inevitable “ooh, …bugger” is
usually meant for my ears only :-)
Work around those gremlins, or buy the more expensive unit,
Baehr is great!
On more than one occasion my pillion decided to walk off
and unplug herself, with the motor running and therefore the Matthias Otto #1810
power to the Intercom still connected. This may happen when
we encounter an off-road obstacle, where riding solo is
37
June 2005
From page 37
comprising side panniers with linings
and top box, full factory spec plus
mongoose alarm system and intercom.
Age and mortality forces reluctant sale,
$13,000, Phone 09 422 0004 or 021 645
341. (3)
BMW K1200RS Red. 1st reg Nov 97
(see photo.) Licensed to 20 June 05.
42,300km. Panniers with inner cases
BMW tank bag with rain cover. BMW
rear rack and soft case, with new rain
cover Comfort screen. Checker decals
fitted from a yellow Dakar K12
Conversion lead to standard. Cigarette
socket for 12v outlet K&N serviceable
air filter element, Ventura headlight
guard, Oil cooler cover. High power high
beam bulb. Diff seal and rear brake
pads replaced about 40,000km. Battery
about 18 mths old. Oil change and filter
at 42,000km Be quick, flying out to USA
27 June 05. $15,500 firm. Phone Fred
King, 06 757-8921 021-1020060.
E-mail : [email protected] (1)
BMW R80RT 1986 Excellent nick, full
BMW panniers, 72,000km faithfully
maintained, no outstanding known
maintenance issues. Fully Regd and
WOF, genuine classic. I am only selling
as I have bought a F650GS. Ph John
0800 160 861 [email protected]
(3)
R1100RT 2000, 21,000km in Metallic
Green. Excellent condition. Heated
grips, cruise control, electric screen,
ABS, head protectors, alarm and
immobiliser, BMW side panniers and
top box, tank bag with map pocket,
Radio fittings (no radio). Asking $18,000
pr p/x an older R/K plus cash. E.mail
[email protected]
or Ph 07 863 4792 or 027 444 1256 (Bay
of Plenty) (3)
R100R 1993 78,000km 2 owners,
BMW panniers and Givi top box.
Excellent condition, $7,000 ph 03 385
8698 or e.mail [email protected] (3)
PARTS FOR SALE
K1200RS Remus performance
exhaust system Very easy to fit, saves
about 9kg Noticable power increase
over 5500rpm $1,600 new, OFFERS.
Pair brand new tyres for K1200RS
Never fitted, Metzler. Rear is a 170.
OFFERS.
Oil filter, filter tool, spark plugs, and front
brake pads for K1200RS OFFERS.
For Sale: K1200RS
Magnetic Oxford tank bag Excellent
condition $65. Be quick, flying out to
USA, 27 June 05. Phone Fred King, 06
757-8921 021 1020060. E-mail :
[email protected]. (1)
Ohlins rear shock for R1150RT, this
shock has travelled 40km and has just
been fully rebuilt in Hawera (Receipt
Available). The shock “Transforms” the
handling and ride of the RT ... the difference is unbelievable !! Price $1,15000. New replacement is around $1,600.
Phone Stephen 021 754647 or e-mail
[email protected]. (1)
Monolever Parts. Panniers & frames,
Tank, Seat, Panels, Mudguards,
Subframe, Front end, Rear shock,
Lights, Raask rearsets, Other bits &
pieces. Also Ducati Darmah front
mudguard, Brand new Royal Enfield
dual seat. Ph: Paul 09 459 5502 (eves.)
(2)
Number Plate – 1100R. $595. Ph: 021294-0232. (2)
Number Plate – 1150R. $695. Ph: 021294-0232. (2)
CLOTHES FOR SALE
Heingerick Leather jacket best money
can buy new medium-large sizing with
many features. Must see. Only
$650.00.
Belstaff wax cotton jacket new in red/
black colour. Great jacket small sizing.
$150.00.
Unisex jacket small-medium sizing excellent condition only $85.00.
Givi new throw over panniers cost
$350.00 sell $200.00 top quality.
38
Pinnacle rear expendable back pack little use $100.00. Phone (07) 849 3309.
(1)
Draggin jeans, never worn, ladies size
10/12 short leg, black, $125. Fox
180 kids motocross pants, blue, new,
size12/14, $100. Ph: Paul 09 459 5502
(eves) (2)
WANTED TO BUY
A pair of Givi panniers for a 2000
R1150GS. I already have mounting
brackets. Phone Terry Riley at (03) 5446248. (1)
Hard panniers and fittings for 2002
Dakar. Prefer BMW but open to other
makes. Contact Dave Thomson 0274
506 605 (work) or 04 2381 505 (home).
(1)
Wanted for restoration project; BMW
R90S. I would like a bike that is tatty
and in need of restoration, but would
consider any of this model.
Phone Bruce (07) 308 5828
Wanted to buy, BMW Savanna jacket
and gortex liner, black, medium size, Ph
Tony (027) 2777 277 or e-mail
[email protected]. (2).
Hey, Lance......
Did you know the Mokau is the
Demographic centre of NZ? Half of
NZ’s population lives north of a
horizontal line drawn through
Taupo. Half live east of a vertical
line drawn through Auckland. The
two lines converge at Mokau. Half
of the population lives north of
Mokau, the other to the south; half
live to the west and half to the east.
June 2005
39
June 2005
Registered at NZ Post Wellington as a magazine
12 Tarras Grove
Kelson
Lower Hutt
NEW ZEALAND
Area Representatives
NORTHLAND
BAY OF PLENTY
RANGITIKEI
NELSON
Ross McAulay
09 431 2311
[email protected]
Clive Dominy
07 577 0117
[email protected]
Graeme Flyger
06 357 3424
Gavin Tait
03 540 2677
AUCKLAND
EAST COAST
WELLINGTON
Noel Walker
09 813 2310
NOEL-BLONDIE-WALKER
@xtra.co.nz
David Clark
06 844 1599
[email protected]
By Committee
Norm 04 479 1591 or
Bill 04 586 3234
CANTERBURY
WAIKATO
Bryan Hoffman
07 838 0340
[email protected]
TARANAKI
MARLBOROUGH
OTAGO & SOUTHLAND
Valma Kuriger
06 755 0688
[email protected]
Kelvin Watson
03 577 6822
[email protected]
Barry Richardson
03 476 2772
[email protected]
[email protected]
40
[email protected]
Geoff Odell
03 329 4655
June 2005

June - BMWOR

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