Riding in Hawaii

[mondo27]

Are there any GStwiners from Hawaii (Oahu) or anyone lived there before? I'm moving there in 2 months and was wondering what road conditions are like there? I'm still pretty new to riding (only 3K on my GS) and I'm used to west Texas roads. Hardly any traffic, wide roads and most cagers are pretty polite where I live now. I just don't want to get myself killed on my first ride on the island. I was going to drive most of the roads in my car and get familiar with the area before taking the GS out. I guess I might sound paraniod but after all the stories everyone here has shared about crashes, I want to have a little heads up. Either way I'm excited about going to Hawaii and taking my beloved GS with me.

[mike_mike]

is it expensive to live there?

[bbanjo]

Hey Mondo,

If you are in Texas now, and will be on Oahu soon, could you be going the Goodfellow to FSKunia route? Just a hunch but I did the same thing 20 years ago.

Yes. There are some of the coolest roads to ride on there.

and Yes Mike, it is expensive if you're not there on Uncle Sam's tab.

[mondo27]

bbanjo,

yeah i'm at goodfellow.....4 years =). i woulda wanted to stay here if it wasn't for a Hawaii assignment. are you still in or retired now? i'm looking forward to finding those roads you're talking about.

[mondo27]

btw, i know what wala kang titi means. lol!!! bastos mo!

[bbanjo]

I've been out for a long time now, but I was a 98Chuck back in the good old days. San Angelo was a great place to be, and I miss it to this day. Oahu (living on Schofield or off base) is a truly awesome experience. Take the bike as you will have a great time with it all over the island.

Take 99N out of Schofield and ride it up past Haleiwa, pronounced Ha'leh'eevah, (turns into 83), that road runs right up on the cliffs through Waimea (beeg surf brah) and follow that past Turtle Bay. You've just ridden around a quarter of the island  .

Follow the same road south and follow signs for 830 around Kahaluu. It turns back into 83, and then look for signs for 72. This goes to Bellows AFB (rent a cabin there some time, it's cheap and it's friggin beautiful)

You can follow 72 to Hwy 1. You can follow Hwy 1 the whole way through Honolulu and Waikiki and it runs right into 93 down by Barber's Point (more good surfing). You'll run out of road at some point soon, but if you back track, you can take 750n right back up to Schofield Bks.

Learn to surf if you don't already, and buy a board when you get there from a broke GI who thought it would look cool to have a board in his room.

Take a million pics too. You never want to forget the colors on that island.

banjo

[scratch]

I used to be stationed in Pearl '92-'95, on Oahu, too.  What about the Pali Pali up to whatever that mountain top park name is?

The only suggestion, er...warning I can give you is that everybody in the world vacations there and most of them drive on the other side of the road (Japanese, Austrailians), and they drive FAST over there!  Beware the buses and 18-wheelers (yes, they have them there!) that drive 65mph!  Everywhere!  If you cover your bike, it will dehydrate your battery.  Did I tell you that someone tried to steal my bike TWICE?  Once was ON BASE!  The only reason they didn't get it was because I had removed the battery.  They screwdrivered the ignition and were going to drive it off base!  The other time they did the same thing, but the battery was dead.

[mondo27]

bbanjo,

if i was army i'd be a 98J but i'm AF. hoorah!i won't be certain where i'll be working but most of us end up at Kunia. i do want to learn to surf but i'm not a strong swimmer, yet. i'm definetly gonna hit up those roads you mentioned. it's going to be atleast a 4 year tour so i'm going to take my time to get to know all twists and turns like the back of my hand. thanks for the info. hoorah!

scratch,

according to the latest stats Honolulu is one of the cities with the hightest motorcycle theft rate. but i would think a bike would be safe on a base. was it an open post back then? i didn't think about all the tourist that don't drive on the same side. i am worried about my bike being stolen. one big samoan dude can throw the gs over his shoulder when i'm not looking. =) no offense to any samoans out there but the gs is little. most of my riding will be commuting to the base where it should be safe. but i've heard about a bunch of marines that like to knock over the whole motorcycle row at Schofield just for kicks. i'll send pics of the gs with a Hawaiian sunset to remind you guys of the island. again thanks for the info. hoowah!

[facio57]

hey buddy, glad to see your going to my home! i was born and raised on o'ahu, so i know a pretty good deal.  first off, motorcycle theft is very common! my parents had a moped rental business and they were stolen all the time! i know u think it will be safe on base, and it will be, but think about whenever u take it off the base and park it.  i'm telling u, locals only need a few minutes.  invest in some really good anti-theft devices.  the north and west side of the island (actually the east too) are the most dangerous, so be careful.  as far as driving, hawaii driving is as laid back as can be.  in fact, people there drive so mello, they have a 45 mph MINIMUM speed limit on the freeways! and a 55 mph maximum.  traffic is very bad though on the H-1 during some hours, but you will learn about that when u get there. i don't think lane-splitting is legal, but most locals would be friendly enough. keep in mind too that it rains constantly. it may just be a 5 minute shower, but it comes when u would least expect it on a perfectly sunny day. that's just hawaii weather for u now for the fun part, nice roads! i would definitely suggest riding out east from waikiki past hawaii kai going on the kalani'alioli freeway.  it is beautiful!  this road basically runs along a cliff on the east side of the island with the ocean right in front of you.  amazing. if you really want to test your riding skills, u can tackle the hairpin turns on the Old Pali Road. it is a side road that you have to take off of the kamehameha highway. i promise it is worth the trip. it is also so much fun just riding on the H-2 on the east side of the island, again on a precarious cliff.  u can make it to kailua where they won't be so mean to a haole  anyway, i hope this helps somewhat, i am glad i had a chance to write so much about my beautiful home, i miss it now  well, aloha ahui ho! and good luck!

~facio

[Ed89]

Petty crimes, especially thefts, are rampant in Oahu (violent crime are much much less common), so keep everything locked and try not to make your bike a tempting target.   I have had my 5 years old, scratched and stinky entry-level solid-colored Shoei helmet with frayed straps (being a Shoei is about the only plus of that helmet at that time) stolen off the GS500 while parked outside Waikiki zoo.  Some guy just pried open my seat enough to slip the helmet off the latch, apparently with his bare hands since there was no damage to the side plastics.  Busted the seat lock, though.  So maybe it's that Samoan guy you were talking about.   Also, some poor sod got his pretty Harley stolen off the motorcycle parking lot at University of Hawaii (where I go to school--I'll be done in about 4 months), in a weekday.  The guy walked to the lot at about 4pm, and bike is gone.  I, and 40 other motorcyclists and moped riders park there.

Road surface is generally below average, so watch out for uneven surfaces and potholes (lots more of them appeared recently after a record breaking daily rain for 40+ days--a freak occurance).  People generally drive slower here, but you'll get used to that in a month or so.  However, some of the drivers are really terrible--some combinations of New York City-aggressive morons and oblivious Hawaii-carefrees that just do whatever they want to do, whenever they want to do it.  For example, some cager might realize that he is heading the wrong direction and decide to make a U-turn right there and then.    So even though drivers are generally laid back here, you have to be alert for these nut cases.

It is very hot here, almost consistently 80 all year round.  The weather is often microclimate-driven.  For example, it rains in Manoa valley every other day, but 3 miles away in Waikiki, it hardly ever rain.  But in general, the weather is great for riding all year round.  I don't think there are many places in the US better than here.

Lots of bike here.  Tons.  And the riders are generally friendly.  However, a large majority of riders don't wear gear.  There is no helmet law in Hawaii, so lots of people don't even bother with one, or ride with the helmet in the helmet lock.    So get yourself a set of mesh or textile gear.  Get it before you come here if possible since many vendors don't ship to HI or charge a whole lot more to ship.

Anyway, welcome to Oahu.  I am certain you'll like it here.

Cheers,
e.