The Japanese Corner @ Manawatu Classic Motorcycle Clubs 30th.

From Manawatu Classic Bike club30th

From Manawatu Classic Bike club30th

From Manawatu Classic Bike club30th

From Manawatu Classic Bike club30th

There was a nice turnout of Japanese motorcycles at the rally and we were given our very own special corner. Bikes included Owen Morrisons Honda CX500, Mark Whites Suzuki GS1000, along with the Blue Haze contributions. Phil Wilson from Waitara was also in the our corner with his absolutely immaculate dark green Honda CB350 four.

The mighty little BSA Bantam

From Manawatu Classic Bike club30th

From Manawatu Classic Bike club30th

From Manawatu Classic Bike club30th

From Manawatu Classic Bike club30th

It was great to see a couple of these bikes on the run. They struggled a little bit up the hills and into the headwind, but got there in the end. Hard to believe that between 250 and 500 thousand of these things were built between 1948 and 1971. A great little bike that started the motorcycling lifestyle for a lot of New Zealanders. There is even Bantam racing in the UK. Cool.
http://www.bsabantamracing.com/.
I am assuming that the restored Bantam belongs to Ken Bain from Lower Hutt. The plunger rear suspension suggests it is a Pre 1958 model.

Comrade, A Russian Blue Haze !

From Manawatu Classic Bike club30th

From Manawatu Classic Bike club30th

From Manawatu Classic Bike club30th

One bike the members of the Blue Haze really enjoyed seeing and hearing during the Anniversary ride was Kerry Griffiths on the families 'last up worst dressed' bike, the mighty 1972 350cc Planeta. I am sure one could get 10 Razz scooters out of a recycled Planeta! The speedo is a hoot as you have a choice between km or Yacs per hour. Whatever they might be. It was a poignant reminder that had the cold war gone the other way we would all be restoring and waxing lyrical over such magnificent machines. Maybe Kerry and his family are viewing the Planeta as part of their retirement plan and hoping it gains cult status and value like the East German Trabant. For the 40th Anniversary I have found a couple of photos to help with the restoration. Either go original with a sidecar or the bobber path. Look forward to seeing the result.
Thanks guys for bringing along such a fun bike for us to enjoy.

From Manawatu Classic Bike club30th

From Manawatu Classic Bike club30th

Manawatu Classic Motorcycle Clubs 30th Anniversary Rally

From Manawatu Classic Bike club30th

From Manawatu Classic Bike club30th

From Manawatu Classic Bike club30th

The Manawatu Classic Motorcycle Club celebrated there 30th Anniversary this weekend with a rally at Camp Rangi Woods in the Pohongina Valley. A wide range of bikes were represented from the 1920s thru to the seventies. Most were British with Triumph definitely the best represented. Our Blue Haze group showed its support with Dione on his X7, Alan on the A7 and myself on the KH turning up for the bike line up and judging at 9:00am. An excellent range of machines with some very interesting 2 smokers amongst them. The Planeta and Bantam went really well on the run following the lineup. We left the camp at 10:30 and followed a route taking in Cheltnham, Feilding and stopping in Ashurst for lunch then over the road to Laurie Gudsell's Aviation Museum. Nothing like hearing an Allison V12 in someones front yard!
A huge thank you to Dave Robinson and his crew for the huge effort they put in.
I will put more videos and photos of the day up as time allows.

250s Only!

From Blue Haze run 22/11/09

From Blue Haze run 22/11/09

Dione, Alan and I decided on a short run down to the Route 66 Diner in Foxton. This is a great place to stop for a quick bite, beer or cup of tea. We made our way via Taikorea and came back via Linton. a nice short run and a good excuse to get the bikes out after three lousy weekends of poor weather. Dione was testing his fairing on the X7. After swapping bikes it was definitely nice to be out of the wind and would be brilliant on a long trip. Riding Alans Suzuki TS250 was a pleasant surprise. Really scoots up to 100ks with ease. on our return we shot around to Alans place to check out the latest upgrades. Looking good for the Manawatu Vintage Motorcycle Club Rally on the 28th of November.

Ride to Halcombe

From Blue Haze run 26/07/09

From Blue Haze run 26/07/09

Here are some photos of a run we did on a glorious winters day in July to Halcombe. Some members were down with the usual winter ailments but it was good to see Steve on the run on his low mileage H2a. Paul came along on his H2a with Dione on the mighty KR250 and myself on the KH250. It was great run with a coffee stop in Feilding on the way home.

Blue Haze/VJMC Ekatahuna Run 01/11/09

From Blue Haze/VJMC Ekatahuna Run 01/11/09

From Blue Haze/VJMC Ekatahuna Run 01/11/09

Alan fronted up today with his Kawasaki A7 Avenger and was keen to see how it would go on a run. No sign of the gremlins from last week so Alan, Kim, Dione and myself departed Palmerston North and headed over the Pahiatua track. A quick stop at the top to enjoy the view and down the other side to the Mangamaire turnoff. Just before Ekatahuna we stopped at picnic area and played musical motorcycles. Really enjoyed Alans A7. Very surprised with the amount of power it has and definetly the next best sound a two stroke triple! After a cup of tea and an excellent Mince and cheese pie at Ekatahunas only cafe, we decided to take a back road to Pahiatua. The Mangaone Valley road is a gem and really suits our style of bikes with some short straits and lovely sets of flowing corners. After a quick stop in Pahiatua we headed back over the track. Managed to hit reserve at the bottom of the track with Alan doing the same on the A7. Luckily unlike Alan my reserve works and Alan was left in Aokautere waiting for his wife to deliver some petrol. The strong westerly had knocked the fuel economy down to 33mpg! The worst number all year. Still not as bad as the KH400 I used to have that I managed to get down to 19mpg.

Blue Haze run 06/09/09

From Blue Haze run 06/09/09

From Blue Haze run 06/09/09

From Blue Haze run 06/09/09

From Blue Haze run 06/09/09

Another beautiful day in the Manawatu saw the Blue Haze club do a short run through the Manawatu Gorge and back over te Pahiatua track with two stops along the way. The first was to Steves to check out a Kawasaki A7 Avenger he was selling. It was in great nick with most of the restoration work completed by Steve to a very high standard. It didn't take Alan long to make the decision to purchase the bike; especially with a number of Blue Haze members indicating an interest in purchasing it if Alan didn't! Our second stop was the Brown Owl cafe at the Balance Bridge. A good chance to discuss the important things in life; 60s, 70s and 80s bikes!
Great to see Dione riding his Suzuki X7. A great little bike. Paul turned up on his immaculate Kawasaki H1a Mach III that absolutely glistened in the sun. Kim on his trusty H2, Alan on his TS250 and myself on my KH250.

Blue Haze/VJMC Hunterville Run

From Hunterville 25/10/09

From Hunterville 25/10/09

From Hunterville 25/10/09

From Hunterville 25/10/09

Had an interesting 160km run today up to Hunterville via some back block roads from Marton. We waited in vain for Alan to turn up on his recently acquired  Kawasaki 350 A7 Avenger. He finally arrived on the mighty TS 250 all hot and sweaty due to the A7 not cooperating and giving him a 'push me home' work out. After a quick run through Halcombe via Mt Stewart and Marton we enjoyed  some great 360 degree views across the Rangitikei region at the top of Cutler Road. Travelled over some gravel roads much to the consternation of Dione who was concerned over  stone chips on his plastics. Should have bought his X7. Seventies bikes have no problems with gravel roads! Had a great stop off in Hunterville at the Second hand shop. An amazing collection of 50s, 60s and 70s cars and the odd bike as well. A neat Yamaha Chappy and Puch moped. The cafe across from the public park and toilet served an excellent coffee and reasonably priced food. After topping up with gas we had a great run back via Vinegar Hill. Was having to ring the neck off the poor little KH250 up some of the hills, but managed to keep the KR250 and H2 in sight. At least I had some company with Alan on his TS. We then went back to my place via Colyton and Hiwinui to share the sound of the mighty GT550! Alans TS250 started making some ominous noises from the transmission area once we got back to Palmy. At least Alans got Labour Day to sort both his bikes out!

From a Yamaha CS3 to a Suzuki RG500

From Blue Haze run 16/11/09

From Blue Haze run 16/11/09

From Blue Haze run 16/11/09

Here are some photos from a run we did in November last year. Ross Charlton and Murray Smith on a couple of Yamaha 350s and Jenny Mollar on her Suzuki RG500 came up from Wellington and joined us. Our run went out to Mt Biggs and across to Tokomaru for a coffee at the Horse Shoe Bend cafe. The RG500 was quite a contrast to Nigel Wales little Yamaha CS3.Unfortunetly it didn't get to far out of town before one of the exhaust flanges loosened off and it had to be taken home! Paul turned up with his immaculate Kawasaki H1b, Kim was on his H2 and myself on my Yamaha XJ750. Another great wander around the Manawatu countryside.

1976 Kawasaki KH250

From

From Motorcycles

Here is a photo of my 1976 Kawasaki KH250. Its done around 23,000kms and in fairly good condition. The top end is getting a bit rattly, but for now its great for the Blue Haze runs around the Manawatu. It struggles a bit up some of our stepper hills and the fuel consumption isn't great for a 250 at around 37 - 40mpgs.

One very fast Benelli 2c

Although the Japanese dominated the two stroke scene in the seventies a number of European brands made there way to New Zealand. The Benelli 2c was one of the better known bikes from that time and it was great to see two of these at the New Zealand Classic Motorcycle Racing Register (http://www.nzcmrr.com) round at Manfeild in August. 159 is being ridden by Terri Prangnall who at this stage is leading the 250 Post Classic class and the other one had some issues that kept it off the track.

Blue Haze / VJMC run 23/08/09

From Blue Haze/VJMC run 23/08/09

From Blue Haze/VJMC run 23/08/09

This is a run we did over the Pahiatua track and the Saddle Road finishing up at the Ashurst Domain Cafe. Dione had his daily workout starting the KR 250. Bikes on the run were Paul de Latour on his Kawasaki H1b, Kim de Latour on his Kawasaki H2a, Allan on his Suzuki TS 250, Dione on his Kawasaki KR250, Paul Whiting on a Kawasaki KH250 and myself on a Yamaha XJ750

Nice Yamaha RZV 500R and Honda CBX 1000

From Motorcycles

Spent a little time today at the Vic Motorcycle Club day at Manfeild. Some great racing with good numbers in all the races. Some interesting bikes in the Post Classic class including this Yamaha RZV 500R. Nicely presented. A spectator turned up on this immaculate CBX 1000. Love that motor!

Welcome to the Blue Haze!

This is going to be an occasional blog about motorcycles, and mostly 2 strokes. Like a growing number of 45+ blokes and ladies, I am now revisiting the vehicles from my youth. They happened to be a long line of 2 strokes from all the Japanese manufacturers and it wasn't until the early eighties that I got my first four stroke. I am a member of a small but very active group of like minded enthusiasts living in Palmeston North, New Zealand. We are also the local chapter of the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club and go for at least one run a month around the motorcycle friendly Manawatu countryside. Most members run 2 strokes but everyone is welcome. Between our group all the brands are represented, but the dominant one is definitely Kawasaki.

You are more than welcome to come along and join us. We usually go for a run on the last sunday of the month and leave from Manawatu Motorcycles at 32 Andrew Young St at around 10am. Paul and Kim de Latour at Manawatu Motorcycles can give you more details.

Phone 06 357 7216.