Taupo Raining

We headed down to Taupo on Friday night, with all the weather reports and forecasts saying it was going to rain.

It did rain.


Waiting patiently in the trailer.

The Taupo track is reportedly slippery when wet - I wasn't going to do the 50-50 thing - chances are I would be on the wrong end of a dropped bike - not worth it. Disappointing. We watched for a while, and the weather didn't let up - the riders were tip-toeing around and coming in soaked. We trekked home again.

Nice drive though...

Evil Stig on GN250

Yes it is a fact, when the black Ducati 916 is getting some new brakes, we must use the GN from Haldanes to get to work.


Doesn't look too happy ;-(

The Ducati Owners Club of NZ

I have been going to the DOCNZ (Ducati Owners Club of New Zealand).


There is a gallery, events and a forum that may be of interest. I would have gone along on the Ducati Rally in March however it was right around the time I was off on the Suzuki Boulevard Rally in Napier, and brownie points being what they are ;-) I missed the Ducati Rally the week earlier.

Go check it out. I should get along to the meetings: Auckland
Headquarters Restaurant and Bar - 132 Beaumont St Westhaven - Auckland
1st Wednesday of each month, Start time 7.30pm

ciao

Hampton Downs July 10

The mighty Waikato put on a splendid day at Hampton Downs last Saturday, and we were there taking the black 'cat around the awesome track.


Black Ducati 916

This was the break in the weather we have been waiting for, and what an excellent place to spent 6 x 20minutes session of one's life.

Metzeler Sportec M5

Thanks to being at the Motott trackday at Taupo in April I found myself the owner of a new set of tyres - Metzeler Sportec M5's to be exact. I have Metzeler Marathon's on the cruiser so I knew they would be good - but with all the hype... how good?

Hi-tech Motorcycle Tyres

The Metzeler Sportec M5 is a new concept whereby the tyre has 5 radial belts that are tensioned differently, to provide better support and a better contact patch. My black Ducati 916 took 180x55 ZR17 on the rear and 120x70 ZR17 on the front.

Scrubbing In

Initial ride was to scrub in the tyres - a process that needs about 150km of running before you start to lean on the tyres in acceleration, braking and hard cornering. I chose the route from Auckland - Kaiaua via Kawakawa Bay and return through Mangatawhiri and Hunua. I did about 250km and I would say that by the end of the day I was really impressed - I was confident and relaxed and the Ducati was really working well. These are great roads to ride too. In the main the road was dry so I haven't tried them in the wet yet.

Taupo Learning Centre

MotoTT track day April 10th, pictures taken by Ian Laurie.

There were a few freelance photographers at the track - I am not sure whether they all offer pictures or not. More details and pictures of Taupo - follow the winding road.

Taupo Trackday

MotoTT track day April 10th.

We were there at the Taupo track on a beautiful clear and dry April day which started out a bit cool but warmed up nicely a bit later on. The track didn't heat up much, and I was running 30psi in the front and 32psi rear. Grip seemed good after a round in 3rd/4th to warm the tyres up before being any more challenging.

Great track, loved it! See more on the winding road.