Rusty Ride Reviews

Ride reviews from magazines, or club newsletters. We actively encourage contributions for this website and our club records.

Rusty Nuts events are listed under the event name, then by the year of the event.

The USA Tour 2001	While only a small number of riders took part this was by far the biggest thing Rusty Nuts organiser Lee Rusty had ever undertaken. Incorporating the Route 66 Mother Road Rally Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Route 66 USA, it seemed appropriate in the 15th Anniversary of the Rusty Nuts M/C. This story is in sections due to its length. Part 1 is Background. Some of the Photos illustrating these articles were taken by the Kiwi's others were taken by other entrants of the 2001 Mother Road Rally. I can't credit them all as I don't know who took them all. My thanks to all those whose photos I have used - if you want a personal credit I will give it where photos are identified as to the taker.
Taupo Playdays ' 93 & ' 94	From time to time the Rusty Nuts hire the Taupo racetrack and have a playday. To assist with costs they invite a few friends along. It is a chance to learn from each other and cut loose a bit.
Rakiura Sunset Rallys	There were three Rakiura Sunset Rallies held by the Rusty Nuts M/C. In 1994, 1997 & 2000. Held on Stewart Island New Zealand they were the Southern most motorcycles rallies in the World.
The Grand Challenge	The Grand Challenge was first run in 1987. This annual event is the backbone of the events organised by the Rusty Nuts M/C of New Zealand. The list of events reviewed is below story.
The Southern Cross Road Rally	The Southern Cross Road Rally was born out of a discussion over a few beers at the Rusty Nuts Ohawe Beach rally in 1990.
Sir Walter Rallys	There were 5 Sir Walter Rally's held in 1991, 1992,1994,1996,2000. The 1996 event was also the 21st Rusty Nuts M/C event. The venues were are in the Whangamomona area of Eastern Tarnaki.
True Millennium Run	Held on the eve of 2000 & 2001 the True Millennium Run celebrated the clock turning over to the new year. Run from Cape Egmont to East Cape across the widest part on New Zealand. Read the reviews of the riders who completed the run.
Double Happy Rallys	There were two Double Happy Rallys, they were held in 1987 & 1988. They were weekend events covering approx 1600km over the two days with as many gravel road section as we could fit in. They were forerunners to todays popular "Adventure Rides". Dropped from our events calendar due to limited support.
Gypsy Tours	The Gypsy Tours series consisted of 3 runs held in 2000, 2002 and the last in 2004.
RideSafe 350	The RideSafe 350 Series is still going, the first 2 runs held in 1998 & 1999 as fund-raisers for the RideSafe Motorcycle School.
Pork Pie Run	The Pork Pie Run celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the making of the great New Zealand Road movie, Goodbye Pork Pie, and retraced the route of the yellow mini in the movie. From Kaitaia to Invercargill.
Easy Rider Runs 1 & 2	Held in the Auckland area the Easy Rider Run celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the release of the all time classic biker movie "Easy Rider" Note we have NO PICTURES on this story- if you were there and took some photo's we would like to hear from you. Easy Rider 2 was held on Dec 6 2009 there is a review with pix at the bottom of the page
Wild One	The Wild One was probably the most unique rally the Rusty Nuts M/c have ever organised. Held at Pipiriki on the banks of the Whanganui River. To qualify for the badge entrants had a 40 minute jet boat ride up river, a 25 minute walk into the bush to the "Bridge to Nowhere" where they had to ride a small motocycle over the bridge and back. Then retrace their trail walk and jet boat ride back to camp. An awesome event.
Club Nite - New Eagle Hotel - Bluff	The first Rusty Nuts M/C Club, Club Nite was held in Bluff. Others will be held in the future. when & where yet to be decided.
The Fishing Shirt Rally - Ohawe 1990	This was a Rusty Nuts M/C Rally held in Taranaki, at Ohawe Beach. An overnite camp it included a ride over Ball Rd out to the Patea Dam. A winding twisty part gravel road it is so narrow, we held all riders at the end until they all arrived, before letting them start back. Yahoo! what a road.
The Big 5 O - 50th RNMC event.	50 events - a significent milestone in any clubs history. In the context of the Rusty Nuts M/c it has taken 18 years to get there. While some events have been quite small and understated, others are renowned for there toughness. Some have been one off's, others, like the Grand Challenges are part of a long running series.
20th Anniversary Icon Tiki Tour 2006	The review of the 20th Anniversary Icon Tiki Tour of the Rusty Nuts M/c is best told in the photos that the riders took on the ride. This was a particually hard ride with long days and many stops for photos at the various icons that were required. Each day had a different coloured flag required to be in the days photo. Four Riders managed to get to all the Icons listed. Day Two photos are linked to bottom of Day One and Day Three are on bottom of day two etc.
The Mini Returns John M's Story	!0 years after the Pork Pie Run in 1999, The Mini Returns run was the Pork Pie run in reverse. Starting in Invercargill and finishing in Kaitaia the 60 riders who started all finished - although some has left broken bikes in their wake.
Super Tour 10,000km 10 days, 2010.	Ride reviews of the RNMC SUper Tour, the longest, toughest, road rally ever devised in NZ. These pages are a tribute to the riders who created this little piece of motorcyle history.