Flying to NZ advice needed
 

I have got my tickets flying to Auckland mid December for 4 weeks, now the questions...

4 weeks of bike hire is going to too expensive where can I get a good run around that I can sell on afterwards.

I've not checked but I presume helmets are not allowed as hand luggage on flights, so any recommendations on packing one for very light travel, I dont want to get there and find my luggage was at the bottom of the container with a half ton of luggage bouncing off the lid for 24 hours

If I was to use soft luggage and have everything stuffed into a large holdall can I dump this in the airport, are there luggage cupboards in Auckland???

I plan to ride a rough figure 8 and be on the south island for new year (Dunedin) dont know why,

Helmets on planes
 

Wifey and I have flown to NZ and also Europe with our helmets. All times we have taken the helmets on the plane as hand luggage. Theres no way I would let them get thrown into the checked luggage compartment.

Marty

I have flown many times with a helmet in hand luggage. Do not put it to check in luggage.

Do what Quandary & Hemuli says. Read the anecdotal info in this thread. Almost the same circumstances as yours.

In short, carry-on your lids as hand luggage.
.

I've never had problems with helmets as carry-on. The last time I did this was a couple of years ago, tho.

Buying a bike in NZ is very easy. All you need is an address (you can us mine if you want) and the NZ$9.50 change of ownership fee. Insurance is not compulsory. The best place to buy, I think, is tradeMe. We got TradeMe before ebay took off, so it has the on-line auction market here in NZ. Here's the URL:
Motorbikes – Bikes, motorcycles, motorbike parts, motorcycle helmets and more for sale on trademe.co.nz
Otherwise you could ask around for a bike dealer that will do a buy-back. You could also register on the Kiwi biker forum and ask if anyone wants to do a private sell and buy-back. I've done that a couple of times for people, but that bike is for sale right now.
When you are in the south send me a PM, maybe we could meet up for a beer.

Cheers

Nigel in NZ

Check out trademe.co.nz for local buying of a bike and also could be sold using the same site later. I live about 6 hrs south of Auckland and am happy to help you in any way you like. You wont regret coming here, some of the best riding anywhere guaranteed. Let me know if i can be of assistance.

Thank you all. Having a shit day and you're help has cheered me up


Ta

Nick

Oddly, I've just asked a similar question on KiwiBiker so this is good to know, thank you :)
I have family in Dunedin & as yet, have never ridden a bike during my visits because hiring is so expensive. So I'm looking at buying one then keeping it with my daughter & partner.
What hasn't been mentioned is the WOF and registration costs - anything we need to know or look out for?
thank you :)

Not insignificant costs nowaday, especially the rego fees! .. :eek3:

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-S...-SqP9wr8-M.jpg

Yes, bloody expensive to register a bike here, but if you are only here for a short time you can go into the post office or AA and fill in the form there. Most people only notice the two tick boxes saying "6 Months" and "12 Months" but there is another box where you can write in how many months you want. So you can just pay for 1 month if you want. There's a transaction fee of about $14 no matter how many months you pay for but 1/12th of a year plus the fee is a lot cheaper if you are only in NZ for a month or two.
WOF (Warrant Of Fitness safety inspection) usually costs about NZ$35.

Cheers

Nigel in NZ

I am in Auckland for the next 7 months, so if you want to dump anything at mine feel free.

I checked my helmet in when I flew here with Airasia and Jetstar (budget airlines). I wedged it in my round kappa topbox with my motorbike armour as padding.. Airasia can be funny about carry on sizes, and I can't ditch a £500 helmet at the second check at the boarding gate.

Was advised if I take my topbox to the oversize luggage check in, it should get a more gentle ride to the plane, especially when the member of staff at that oversize check-in is a bike nut who takes a keen interest..

If I was flying one of the long-haul upmarket airlines (Virgin, Cathay, Emirates) I would take it carry on.

I will be traveling NZ as well in december/january. Interesting tips in here !
Any idea howmuch a WOF and Reg. would cost if you take it for 2 months ? is it just 1/3rd of the 6 month price + 14 + 35 ?

I will be leaving before you (late november), flying with korean air and putting my helmet with my handluggage. if you're not sure by then, send me a message and i will let you know if me and my helmet got there in one piece :)


... who knows, maybe our paths will cross at some point :)

Would be good if our paths could cross, keep me /us posted on how the purchase goes.

See you on the road

Yes, that's it.
Are you coming with your own bike, or buying one here?

Best regards

Nigel

Planning on buying there, and selling on. Need to start looking soon :)

Africa Twin RD04

same here, buy and sell something cheap ... looking for something in the lines of a dr650 or something. (wouldn't mind an african twin as well :) )

If you do the maths for the 3 options (buying, renting, shipping), buying one and selling with loss is still cheaper then any of the other options.

Good luck, If you spot something you like the look of around Rotorua I'd be happy to check it out for you.

Drop me a pm if you are in the area too, motorcycle travellers are always welcome here for a beer/bbq/bed if we are home bier

Cheers
Clint

Also, for those wanting to leave a bike in NZ: Put the rego on a 12 months hold before you leave, even when you come back in less than 12 months. If you then get a rego after 3 months and you know how long you will be in the country, you can get a rego to the exact date, which can safe quite a bit. There is no box for this on the form and at most post offices they won't know about this. Pick a not so busy time and insist that they call the Hotline in Wellington. The guy on the phone will then put in the date and the computer at the post office will show the price. Done it since the rego costs have gone up so much despite our protests. So, in the end they get less money from me.

Cheers,
Boarder

Typed on my phone with my thumbs and gloves on

:) thanks for the tips, I'll try and take you up on the hospitality offer too

Yes, that's correct. My wife was in the Post office a couple of days ago, and someone was registering an old car that used to belong to his father, and which he keeps at his mothers house. When he visits for a few days a couple of times a year, he registers it for just those few days.

Cheers

Nigel in NZ