Flying half way round the world to ride a motorcycle seems extreme. But then you see what New Zealand has to offer..."
The article was featured this month in Bike Magazine (UK), highlighting just why New Zealand is the perfect destination for a motorcycle tour.
We were stoked when our previous guest Barbara wrote to us to tell us she had written an article in Adventure Rider about her New Zealand motorcycle trip! Have a look.
Booking a tour or renting a bike in New Zealand should be a simple process, and it usually is, but there are some things to watch for to ensure you get the experience you want.
There are hundreds of flights into New Zealand (NZ) but there are not hundreds of good quality well maintained motorcycles under 2 or 3 years old available. If your flights are slightly different to the dates you booked the bike for you can always ask the rental company to amend the booking.
So much choice, so many routes, to stopover or not? I look on the 24 hour flight as a great chance to relax, eat, drink sleep, watch films, not reply to emails or answer a constantly ringing phone. It’s totally down to your personal preference and budget. Shortest routes are through Los Angeles and San Franscico, but Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpar are also good and all great places for a stop-over. Routing through China is an experience, as is flying with a Chinese airline…
There are no charter flights and you’re travelling on national carriers, so booking with your credit card online is OK, you don’t need a Travel Agent, but if there’s one you have a relationship with, then use them. Be aware, it takes two days to get here, so leave UK Monday, arrive NZ Wednesday, but only one day to return, as yes you’ve crossed the International Date Line.
There are more flights into Auckland than anywhere else, and the City of Sails is a great place to relax before you start your tour. If you’re starting in Christchurch, then a 1 hour 20 minute flight from Auckland costs around 60 quid.
Look for companies that are based in New Zealand. Sounds obvious but there are many marketing companies and a few specialist Travel Agencies that are based off-shore, and don’t own any motorcycles here. You are paying a middle man, and there is no reason to go through a third party to get the bike you want. Better to deal directly with the people that own the bikes. They can give you instant availability, and discuss your options with you using local knowledge.
Find companies that have some form of accreditation. Qualmark is the official quality standard for all things tourism in NZ. There are a few Qualmark licenced motorcycle tourism companies. They have all been audited and have jumped through all the hoops, so you will have a good experience booking with them. Look for companies that have been going for a few years, there have been several companies recently that have started and disappeared within one or two seasons, so 5 years is a minimum. Look at websites, have they been updated recently, or is it all old content. If it is steer clear.
While I respect your right to ride an older or classic bike, NZ has some of the most amazing motorcycle roads to be found anywhere, why wouldn’t you want to ride them on a modern motorbike, with great handling, performance and brakes, and less likelihood of breakdown (we have many areas with no cell phone coverage). Kiwis are a friendly bunch, and someone will help you push it to the side of the road. But it’s not the outcome you want, is it?
Finally, reviews. Are they independent, for example Trip Advisor, or have they been put on the website by the company, doesn’t mean they’re not genuine, but you only get one side of the story.
Do your research, ask lots of questions, and get the New Zealand motorcycle touring experience that you want and deserve.
This article was originally written for BIKE magazine in the UK.
A 2014 BMW K1600GT 6 cyl, 23,000 km. Smooth as silk, no vibration through the pegs or bars with 160Nm of torque, the bike doesn't know what a hill is. Six speed box but no engine brake unless you step down at least 2 gears. With so much torque at first I found myself riding around town and pulling up to the lights in 3rd. The gear shift is more like an electrical switch than a mechanical linkage; click into second, click into neutral, click into 1st. No need to feather the clutch or fiddle the left foot; precision.
Metzlers are OEM tyres, I put a hole in the rear on the first day. Hit a piece of sharp shale in Arthur's Pass, dodged it with the front, got it with the rear, fully loaded and accelerating. I'd only been on the bike for 2 hours, if it were the FJR a push-bar swerve would have missed the rock. The BMW dash lit up and flashed a warning before I felt the rear wobble. I left the tyre pressure displayed on the dash for most of the trip, its a great feature, first up in the morning checking tyre pressure from the dash is so convenient.
The duolever front suspension works well under brakes with no nosedive. I rode around for years on bikes with 2 rear shocks, the move to a single rear shock stopped the 2 rear shocks fighting each other, the duolever does the same on the front. To me, the FJR tries to stand up in corners and you have to fight it to keep it down (roll steer), the BMW is just neutral at all speeds and angles. The bike has Rain, Road and Dynamic settings, we had 5 wet days (and one snowing), we never lost traction under acceleration or braking, we slipped sideways slightly with the front and back once each.
We had soft inserts for the panniers and top box and loaded the topbox to the max. The box has 4 metal locking tags, 2 fixed and 2 movable, Jenny found the backrest comfortable and strong. The frame under the topbox seems to hack the pace. It's so dissappointing that Yamaha didn't re-engineer the Gen 3 topbox and strenghten the frame.
The bike is very big and heavy, as always, you only feel it when you stop. It seemed to get taller as the 15 days sped past. I'm 6 foot and managed both feet almost flat on the bitumen. Jenny found it hard to climb on but loved it when she got there. The dash showed she enjoyed the seat heaters, and I had mine on in the snow. The windscreen was very effective, larger than the FJR but it has a shallow “V” cut in the top. I could see over the top (thru the V) but the higher tips kept the helmet quiet and stable.
We rode the FJR as soon as we got home, slim, light, low, vibes that let you know its running and acceleration that is no slouch. Superb! We rode it to the BMW dealer who offered $7K for our '08 with 67K on the clock, a $31K changeover. Bullshit, overpriced.
Brilliant ! Airport pick up, the bike and inner bags were at the 1st class B&B heritage accommodation, our travel bags (army duffels) reappeared at the airport hotel where we stayed the last night. The punctured tyre happened 90 minutes from Christchurch, they were there in 60 minutes, loaded the bike on the trailer, drove to Christchurch, replaced the tyre, we made it to the first night's accommodation.
We opted for the self guided trip with B&B accom. The whole trip was loaded into the GPS with accom addresses as the daily destination. Perfect ! On only one occasion the GPS sent us the wrong way, directly away from a rainstorm, by the time we found the error the storm had passed and the road was drying. Even the stuff ups worked well.
The accommodation was great, it varied from castles to old nuneries to modern timber and glass. Only one didn't have a view and some had spectacular views of snow clad mountains or the sea or both. We went for B&B with the idea of loading up at breakfast, a coffee for lunch, and buy a evening meal. All the B&B hosts understood; big breakfasts, ommeletes, pancakes the lot. The hosts couldn't do enough for us, if we arrived wet they'd send us straight to the spa and take our gear to the drying room.
If tours needed to be booked or changed (whale watching, glow worms, jet boats, glacier flights) it was no trouble and cheerfully done. We had 2 nights in 4 places which gave us a day to do the tours above, the rest was move to a new place each day. It worked like clockwork, we were expected everywhere and breakfast was included without question.
Paradise Motorcycle Tours have other trip options, hire a bike, preloaded tours and accompanied tours. On the west coast we passed 3 bikes and the backup van going the other way. We gave chase on the BMW and easily caught 'em. At accom you'd often cross paths with other Paradise customers. On the west coast we met a couple touring on a Triumph 800 triple, ½ the BMW's size, in our youth Jen and I often toured on a 650 twin.
As an example, we paid for whale watching in advance from Aus, the operators usually don't take money until the captain decides he will sail (weather and sea). It wasn't paid for in advance so we rang Paradise. “Can you pay with your C-C and we'll sort it out”. The money was cheerfully refunded, no drama.
The road surfaces are good, there is little heavy transport, hire cars and campers are everywhere. Many drivers are from right hand drive countries and there are horror stories.
We bought a ticket in the Policeman's ball, $120 for 20km/hr over, stationary car radar, no lecture, no points. I paid it the next day at the Westpak Bank because the bike could easily get me into a court appearance, I wanted to be able to say I'd paid the fine promptly. There are cop cars everywhere, the cruise helped heaps. Saw a couple of camera vans of the old type with the camera looking at the front of the bike.
The Paradise instructions ask RHS drivers to pause before re-joining the highway after a tourist view stop. Locals also say this is the most dangerous place for cars on the wrong side of the road, in all these spots there are arrows painted on the road. One van came straight at me, thankfully he got the message and moved left. The instructions also mention possums are a pest and are regularly squashed and slippery. I saw 5, they obviously haven't dodged pademelons in Tasmania. (Possums squash easier).
Had a ball and would do it again, probably with a smaller bike, BMW don't have a 4 cyl tourer.
