I was involved in a fairly serious motorbike accident back in October 2019, suffering two broken shoulders, multiple cracked ribs, lung bleed, broken leg and a broken pinkie (incredibly, the only one that still bothers me!). I was back riding in early December that year, albeit very tentatively at first. By Christmas I was thinking about a tour of some sort. I had heard a lot about New Zealand, some of which came from watching Henry Cole riding there on his television programme. Towards the end of January I contacted a Twitter friend over there, Brendon, to ask about the best time to visit; I was thinking either the start of their summer or the end. He advised that early summer was extremely windy and so March time was the best. He also gave me the address of a bike hire company that he recommended. This gave me a bit of a problem as I had been banking on November and didn’t want to wait another 14 months. After consulting my better half, I dived in and booked flights, bike hire and started looking at routes and stops.
With only four weeks to go, with suggestions from Brendon and the hire company, I managed to get everything arranged. One of our highlights was to visit Milford Sound in the south-west of New Zealand’s South Island, but this was put in doubt as the only road was completely washed out at the beginning of February with 1125mm of rain in three days and 200 tourists stranded there.
The long way there
We landed in Auckland, in the NorthIsland, at the beginning of March – after 32 hours’ flying – and two days later picked up our hire bikes, a 1250 GS and a 750GS complete with panniers. We would drop them off three weeks later, when we got to Christchurch in the South Island.
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Esta historia es de la edición June 2023 de Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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Honda CRF1100L ES Africa Twin
Without panniers he was adventuring nowhere - so at least Bertie's got something sorted now
BMW R 12 nineT
Chad gets a track day surprise when BMW's R 12 nineT turns out to be surprisingly fun on track
Test fleet: VOGE 525 DSX
After testing the Voge's abilities on a long ride, it was time to take it to the Cotswolds and see how it would manage on the rougher stuff
Portuguese Perambulations
Nearly over before it had begun, a brief workshop stint allows Spain and Portugal to be explored
Highway to Heaven
Three friends take on the challenge of riding the length of Canada, from Vancouver in the southwest to Inuvik in the north. The road is long, the conditions merciless, and wildfires are tearing through the country. To top it all off, the final leg of the journey is the ultimate test of gravel riding skills, nerves, and courage - it's the legendary Dempster Highway...
Battlaxes at the ready!
We tend to take tyres for granted, never really looking at them in any detail, or at how they work, just hoping that they keep us shiny side up at all times. Even in the wet
Ducati Riding Experience
When I rode the Ducati DesertX to France last year, I did have a bit of an explore on some easy fire roads and gentle green lanes in the wilds of the Médoc area, but was left with the feeling that, had I the experience, the DesertX would have been capable of taking me along some more extreme trails to some even more exciting places. If only there was a way of finding out just how well the Italian adventure bike could cope with some more extreme terrain...
Four pot flyer
Many said that sports bikes, and particularly bikes in the traditional Supersports class that was populated by 600cc inline fours, were dead. Maybe they spoke too soon?...
Eastern adventurer
With an increasing interest in smaller capacity adventure bikes, the market expands with a new entry
First Time Lucky?
It's ironic that the first all-new MV Agusta model to hit the marketplace right after Italy's No.1 trophy brand was acquired by Austrian giant Pierer Mobility, owner of off-road titans KTM, should be the company's first dual-purpose model of the modern era, powered by MV's all-new 931cc three-cylinder engine that's destined to form the basis of a whole series of new models in coming months and years.
