Had to go to Tauranga to take my BMW in to get a new dash cover and seal. For a while it has been showing condensation under the plastic on cold/wet days/nights. Being still under warranty it needed to be fixed so finally it arrived and a trip to get it done at my closest dealer was done. It was also a good chance to try out Spot again and also test out my new Schuberth C3 Pro helmet
Wasn’t in a hurry to get the so left about 4am. Stars were out but not for long and there was some rain but it did not last long and certainly not enough to get the rain suit out. It rained on and off until about Te Kuiti and then seemed to clear up but it was very cold the whole time.Had the handle bar heaters on 3 and the bum warmer on 2 the whole way up. The trip over the Kaimai ranges was good as usual with not much traffic so made for a good run. Traffic was a little heavy into Tauranga and being a tight arse wasn’t going to pay for the toll road so took the long way in.
Dropped the bike off at the Mount at the BMW dealer and walked into town to purchase a paper. Was soon back and after a 30 minute wait the dash was all done and ready to go. Was getting a bit bored of the road and route to Tauranga so decided to go home via Rotoveges, Taupo, Wanganui. Again didn’t take the toll road out on SH2 and traffic was light and even though I was only doing 90kph I made good time.
Had a quick look around Rotorua before heading for Taupo. Was soon in Taupo and weather was still not too bad but still very cold and decided to carry on home. By the time I hit Taurangi the clouds looked decidedly dark and watery over the ranges. This was soon born out as I headed for National park and started climbing the hill. It was soon raining quite hard but I didn’t stop to put the rain suit on because it always looked like it was about to clear. It rained heavily all the way to Raetihi but I was not too wet behind the big fairing of the R1200RT. The Parapara’s where mostly dry and made very good time through them with an average speed close to 100kph. I really love that road. Stopped in Wanganui for some MacDonalds and it was now about 4pm.
The final leg home and it was the most dangerous part. It was raining on and off but not bad and after Patea was going through Kakaramea and it was damp. I rounded the corner and was soon up to 100kph and leaned into a mild left corner by the school. There was a patch of slick tar with no seal about 0.5m by 2m and I went clean over it with no way around it. It was like ice and the bike was soon on it’s way to the other side of the road. I stood it up a bit so as not to low side but by now I was completely on the wrong side of the road. Luckily for me nothing was coming. I reported the road when I got home as things like that are dangerous for bikes.
Anyway got home around 5:30pm quite wet and put the bike away. It needed a wash but that can be done later. I needed to warm up and get my gear dry. Spot did a great job as did my new helmet. Only time it leaked was going through town very slowly in a heavy downpour. While moving above 40kph it never leaked at all. Not like my previous helmets which leak at every opportunity.
Anyway here is my spot track of my trip. I have included a link as well it you want to look at the full map.
Full Link to my Spot Gen 3 Trip Here