DR's (Suzuki, not medical)

[NZraptorgirl]

ride to the dam 3.jpg (248.91 KiB) Viewed 4310 times

My wife and I bought a couple of DR's last week, a 650 for me and a 200 for her. Took them out on a rough road for the first time today. A bit scary in places but a totally different experience than cruising the highways. Should add a dimension to our riding. A few photos attached.

[snapdragon]

woooow yes! they look great (beautiful country for it too). congratz on your new steeds
I did some off roading on a 200 Suzuki (borrowed bike) and it was great fun, reckon I stuffed me and the bike into any bit of available greenery and mud on Salisbury plain, got very adept at picking it up and kickstarting it (had to re-learn, it's a long time since I had to kick start a bike)

[Fausto]

Nice. Looks like some great trails there. I have a DRz 400 and it really is a do anything bike. In fact I completed an Enduro and some long distance trials on it last year but it gets increasingly difficult to find off road trails you can still ride legally around here so it mainly stays on the road. Great fun in the snow though.

I hope you continue to have freer access to good offroad riding as it is great fun.

[NZraptorgirl]

Luckily, these are both electric. Was keen on a DRZ400 as it seemed to tick all the boxes for me but the seller was "working and too busy" when I wanted to look at it. He is still selling and I have been riding for 2 weeks. The guy with the DR200, a local from your part of the world (Pom), wouldn't unload the bike from the trailer when he came to drop it off until he had the balance of my money in his hand. Trusting lot from the Northern hemisphere

It is not as easy as it should be to find some fun roads. Beaches are being removed from the "Ride Zone" all over the country as a few idiots think chewing up the dunes is what these bikes are for, and an even smaller group like to moan about everything. Many of the gravel roads are being sealed and most forests around here are either private and closed, or State owned and closed. Our current legislation places the onus on the owner to make their land safe for visitors, so most farmers now lock their gates to avoid prosecution when some drunken idiot falls over and hurts themselves.

In saying that, there are still some spectacular rides available in New Zealand, both on and off road, but we have to travel a few k's to get to them which is why we went for the bikes we did so we can ride safely on the road at the speed limit.

My son is currently at university (again) in Dunedin and they have access to really good and relatively empty roads. He is up here next week collecting his new bike, a 2002 FZ1, after his mate crashed his ZX6R. The ride back from the top of the South Island to Dunedin is 690kms and is a good days ride, apart from the revenue collecting cops in Canterbury.

Cheers

[Crap Tartan]

Electric!!!

Really???

[Fausto]

I thought that too but have decided the reference is to the electric start on both bikes as opposed to kickstarts ?

[NZraptorgirl]

Yes, electric start. My apologies but I keep forgetting to slow my thought processes down for the Northern members

Headed to the sand yesterday and learned that a DR650 is not the best on deep and steep dune tracks. At least I discovered that my heart is strong enough to let me push a big bike up a steep sand track. Didn't really need know that but at least I know.

Heading off to work later on the ZRX and Hilary will be out on her Raptor. Still trying to sort risers so will be visiting the engineer later. The offset on the mounting bolts may look nice but it does make it harder to fabricate a riser.

[shebee]

Lovely!

I do miss my old XT350 and green laneing, and the Greeves Triumph for pre 65 trials. I loved playing in muddy puddles and pobbling across the tops of the downs

[NZraptorgirl]

Lovely!

I do miss my old XT350 and green laneing, and the Greeves Triumph for pre 65 trials. I loved playing in muddy puddles and pobbling across the tops of the downs

It is a different pace. The journey does seem to be more than the arrival, just like the road bike but more so. Plan to search out more quiet places and may even pack a tent and fishing rod although Winter is bearing down on us. Rode the ZRX up to the mechanics for a service and I do love the 0 to 100 kph in the blink of an eye. Makes merging pretty simple I must admit.

The Raptor was a bit lumpy yesterday so will throw some plugs in tomorrow and may even look at the carb balance.

Enjoy your impending summer.