New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[DJR]

Good to hear from you Slowbee. 👍

And, yes, hope you bunch of NZ Saffas are aLL ok.

[DJR]

4 hours ago, Slowbee said:

......Power outages, no internet, roads gone slips etc..........

Sounds about like ZA (Posted with the rattle and humm of the generator outside my window.)

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

15 hours ago, patches said:

Why don't you like Melbourne? Is it the excess of man-buns or the fact that people in the CBD dress like they're going to a GQ or Vogue cover shoot? hahaha 😉

Just kidding, but I never felt "cool enough" to walk around the street in Melbourne 😅

As for the load shedding, unlucky on that one, but like you say, puts load shedding in perspective.

My Mom arrived from JHB last Friday, and I thin the fact that there's no load-shedding has been the biggest 1st world experience for her so far (granted with this weather we haven't done more than the Matakana Markets and a walk down to Milford beach).

She keeps stressing when I leave lights on and I have to remind her that they're LED's and there's no load shedding, so no need to live by candle light 😅

Yeah it is amazing, almost like Stockholm Syndrome, how it becomes normal. the loadshedding routine gets ingrained, constantly turning things off, stressing about the next stage coming.
That 55min warning from Eskom se push induces panic!!

6 hours ago, Slowbee said:

Thinking of you all you guys and gals up on North Island.

 

Power outages, no internet, roads gone slips etc.

Hope you are all safe!!

Sounds like SA and we have been having quite a bit of rain and flooding ourselves. Obviously not nearly as bad as that side.

 

[IceCreamMan]

My brother just returned from a 3 month holiday in ZA. He could not stop talking about load shedding. Mate of mine went for 2 weeks over Christmas as did the owner of a motorcycle retailer down the road from ( motolegends). Both were shocked at just how intrusive load shedding is. 
 

 

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

15 hours ago, IceCreamMan said:

My brother just returned from a 3 month holiday in ZA. He could not stop talking about load shedding. Mate of mine went for 2 weeks over Christmas as did the owner of a motorcycle retailer down the road from ( motolegends). Both were shocked at just how intrusive load shedding is. 
 

 

The rands value dropping like a stone and, even though a state of disaster has been called with a new "Minister of Electricity", nothing is seemingly being done about it. Nothing meaningful at the very least.

[davetapson]

On 2/15/2023 at 3:58 AM, IceCreamMan said:

My brother just returned from a 3 month holiday in ZA. He could not stop talking about load shedding. Mate of mine went for 2 weeks over Christmas as did the owner of a motorcycle retailer down the road from ( motolegends). Both were shocked at just how intrusive load shedding is. 
 

 

Yeah - my one abiding memory of our visit to SA is dark malls.  A dark mall is an unpleasant place.

[davetapson]

On 2/14/2023 at 9:13 AM, patches said:

Just kidding, but I never felt "cool enough" to walk around the street in Melbourne 😅

Would you like a hipster boost by taking a ride of the Svartpiel?

I'd be interested in your opinion.  I'm slightly underwhelmed, but I think I'm used to 'old-timey' thumpers with long strokes and massive torque.   Maybe I should see if they have a diesel version.

I've added a ecu override chip (Fuelx Pro) which has made it much more rideable around town (is underfuelled, esp at idle, to meet emissions standards.)

Maybe I expect too much of a 373cc.  But all the fancy stuff, ABS etc is just AWESOME!!

[patches]

On 2/23/2023 at 10:06 AM, davetapson said:

Would you like a hipster boost by taking a ride of the Svartpiel?

I'd be interested in your opinion.  I'm slightly underwhelmed, but I think I'm used to 'old-timey' thumpers with long strokes and massive torque.   Maybe I should see if they have a diesel version.

I've added a ecu override chip (Fuelx Pro) which has made it much more rideable around town (is underfuelled, esp at idle, to meet emissions standards.)

Maybe I expect too much of a 373cc.  But all the fancy stuff, ABS etc is just AWESOME!!

Interesting, but I guess not overly surprising if I think about it. I imagine that the 401's 372cc engine is loosely based on the FE350 enduro bike's one, but with a few extra cc's, 1 less cam, and not-so highly strung.

Whilst my 350 was great, there was a massive noticeable difference i grunt (especially off the line) between that and my 450.

Maybe you need the 701 bigger brother 😉 

[patches]

Recent weather events have dominated the news and highlighted how many Kiwis are doing it tough out there.

Just the other day I was on TradeMe, and was again reminded of how much some people have lost...

(Flood damaged write-offs on $1 auction... ouch 😐)

[hayleyearth]

I can't believe I took my daughter to fit school clothes!! 😥

She's so skinny, the smallest size is a bag on her.

[IceCreamMan]

On 2/24/2023 at 12:33 AM, patches said:

Interesting, but I guess not overly surprising if I think about it. I imagine that the 401's 372cc engine is loosely based on the FE350 enduro bike's one, but with a few extra cc's, 1 less cam, and not-so highly strung.

Whilst my 350 was great, there was a massive noticeable difference i grunt (especially off the line) between that and my 450.

Maybe you need the 701 bigger brother 😉 

I have a 372 in an RC390 which is the same as the pilen range. It’s lumpy at low revs and it’s essential to be in the right gear or else it chugs. But it’s smooth higher up in the rev range and it’s a barrel of fun. Best handling bike I have ever owned too. Suspension fitted to it is over kill I reckon but it sure is sexy. 

[Wayne Potgieter]

On 3/3/2023 at 8:04 PM, hayleyearth said:

I can't believe I took my daughter to fit school clothes!! 😥

She's so skinny, the smallest size is a bag on her.

Oh man, cherish the moments. They go by so damn quick.

JD is in year 9, has armpit hair and his voice sounds all funny.

Erin is a senior in primary school and goes to intermediate next year. 

Weirdly, I am still the exact same age and have not grown older, slower and balder at all 😬

She look adorable Hayley.

[patham]

On 3/6/2023 at 1:09 PM, Wayne Potgieter said:

Weirdly, I am still the exact same age and have not grown older, slower and balder at all 😬

You too huh? But even more weird is the fact that the radio stations now play crap music by people I have never heard of- where has all the decent 80’s& 90’s stuff gone. That’s only like from 10-15 years ago…..tops!

[Stretched@Birth]

1 hour ago, patham said:

You too huh? But even more weird is the fact that the radio stations now play crap music by people I have never heard of- where has all the decent 80’s& 90’s stuff gone. That’s only like from 10-15 years ago…..tops!

For us here in SA, all of that music went to Hot 102.7, along with a bunch of those old DJ's.  For those of you in NZ who may not have heard, Mark Pilgrim passed away on Sunday.

[patham]

22 hours ago, Stretched@Birth said:

For us here in SA, all of that music went to Hot 102.7, along with a bunch of those old DJ's.  For those of you in NZ who may not have heard, Mark Pilgrim passed away on Sunday.

Yes, came across a post about Mark on my LinkedIn feed. He was a VoW DJ from a few years before I studied there. I think I have one of his compilation CD’s in my racks still. He had a good taste, and a calm yet engaging style that was pretty unique. 

[davetapson]

On 3/3/2023 at 8:41 PM, IceCreamMan said:

I have a 372 in an RC390 which is the same as the pilen range. It’s lumpy at low revs and it’s essential to be in the right gear or else it chugs. But it’s smooth higher up in the rev range and it’s a barrel of fun. Best handling bike I have ever owned too. Suspension fitted to it is over kill I reckon but it sure is sexy. 

I chucked a Fuelx Pro onto it. Riches up the fuelng at low revs - transforms it.

Still not a 500 tho.

Dave Moss was in town and had a suspension tuning session after a Shiny Side Up event.

That also transformed it.

It's now a lot of fun - but still not a 500.

In any case, it's perfect for what I use it for (commuting), as opposed to what I'd like to think I'd use it for (touring).

I did some riding around the Waitak's the other day, and North of Albany another day. The damage to the roads is extensive, and all over the place. Typically slips on the down hill sides of the road, talking part of the road with it and reducing roads to one lane all over the place.

There is s lot of fixing to be done, with a lot of shoring up work needed where the slips have occurred. I think it's way worse than is immediately obvious, certainly in terms of cost to repair.

Edited March 10, 2023 by davetapson