As outlined in the last episode, my bike (affectionately known as Anastasia) conked out during last week's Northland road trip.
Harley Assist were on the ball, quickly recovering Anastasia from the remote back blocks of the Old Russell Road and repatriating her to Auckland Harley on Thursday evening. Despite my best efforts, many phone calls and emails, it was not until today that Tony called to advise that Anastasia has suffered a terminal heart attack (something far too technical for me to understand involving oil pumps, surging and scavenging), and requires a complete engine transplant, thankfully under warranty. Unfortunately, CVO engines are not an "off the shelf item" - a replacement needs to be manufactured in the USA, and the plant is still locked down. What would normally be 2-4 weeks could now be 3-6 months... Ray from Auckland Harley has kindly provided me with a near new Streetglide to ride in the mean time. Sad Mel phoned me last week, prompting a Road trip to celebrate the return to Level 2 – and a plan was quickly put together, invitations sent out and booking made – the Duke of Marlborough in Russell being the destination of choice.
10 were scheduled to depart Wed, but Mickey didn’t turn up (which is not unusual for him), and off we went. Of this group 3 were only with us a for a couple of hours, each having family commitments at home that prevented them from coming all the way. As he’d shown an interest, and currently an unemployed airline pilot, son Wade joined us on a hired Harley (thanks Dad) – he is a good rider, but as the day progressed it was apparent that he was not used to the longer rides we prefer, and on an unfamiliar bike, suffered slightly. First stop in Matakana for coffee, then up through Mangawhai Point, Lang’s Beach (beautiful), Waipu for lunch (very nice roast pork sandwiches at a café) before tackling the Old Russell Road, the final stretch for the day. Unfortunately for me, 2/3 of the way through this very windy road, Anastasia decided to stop whilst going up a hill. Very unusual, but after much roadside debate, eventually we managed to coax her back to life. Alas, 5 mins later, she conked out again and that was that. Whilst not ideal, there was a silver lining - we had the good fortune to have ended up outside a farm that is the home of Rusty Demons Dirt Bike Rental – very helpful chaps with an eclectic collection of worn out bikes were only too pleased to store Anastasia in their workshop pending collection by a man in a van from Harley (apparently she’s now at Auckland Harley – phew). They did point out that if I’d broken down a couple of km further up the road, the Head Hunters motorcycle gang would have also offered to “Take care of Anastasia”…. That meant I was to become a pillion passenger – not something I am used to at all. The afternoon quickly deteriorated into a series of misadventures that saw us all get split up, some taking circuitous routes, others, specifically Richard, my pilot and I take a short cut that whilst considerably quicker, was 20kms of metal road. From my precarious position on the back, I acknowledged that my life was very much in Richards hands, and whilst visions of ploughing into a fairly substantial roadside kauri tree, or disappearing over a 100m bank into bush (eaten by wild pigs and never to be seen again) did cross my mind, he never faulted. We emerged from the bush just in front of Jeff who'd taken the "right road", and being alone, he'd fanged it, enjoying the corners and had covered twice the distance as Richard and I , but without the metal. Butch and Mike C realised that they had taken a wrong turning when they too ran out of road – passing an unmanned “tribal check point” then a section of metal, followed by a boat ramp proving this beyond any doubt. This meant having to retrace their route, and again rushing the checkpoint – unfortunately Butch suffered a finger injury during one of the transitions between metal and seal, but stoic as ever managed to self-anaesthetise at days end. Phew, eventually we all arrived at the historic Duke of Marlborough Hotel and settled down over a few drinks to swap stories before dinner. Unfortunately Covid rules meant that the bar was out of bounds, but Richard proved to be a great host. Rather surprisingly, the dining room was actually quite full, but it was fortunate that most of the diners had a head start on us – as the night progressed, more vino flowed and we became more rowdy – there were a few slightly seedy bods at the breakfast table this morning. Onwards – having to allow for my lack of wheels, and rather than suffer the discomfort of being on the back for the trip home, Wade opted to fly from Kerikeri – probably a good move. Wade now appreciates that riding a motorcycle for long distances is like any endeavour – no one sets out to run a marathon without tackling shorter distances first…. anyway, another adventure, old buggers enjoying each others company (sorry Wade), and looking forward to the next time. |
Don MalcolmA perfect day involves being on my Harley with a long ride ahead.
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