On Any Sunday

On Any Sunday in the Manawatu you'll likely find a group of keen VJMC members gathered outside Manawatu Motorcycles at 9am ready for the off. Last Sunday was no different and proved a good turnout with 7 bikes lined up. Of particular interest were three Yamaha TZRs; Bruce S 3MA, Dion's 1KT, and Kim's 3XV. To counter the plastic invasion there was the shiny chrome and 70's paint of Paul's GT750, Rich's T500, and the trusty H2. And in between was Ian's GS450 twin. 

We made our way up to Waituna West via Hiwinui, Colyton, and Makino Rd, then on to Hunterville for coffee (and the legendary door-stop custard square - Bruce). 

After checking out Mike J Trading Collectables, we headed back via Leedstown Rd, Porewa Rd, Kakariki, Halcombe, Mt Biggs and then home. 

Then at 5 it was off to the Downtown Cinema to watch On Any Sunday: The Next Chapter. Barry and son Danny joined us from Wellington, along with Bruce A, and after the film we all enjoyed a meal at Chada Tai. A great day's biking!

Gumboot Rally 2014

Here are a few of Sir Als photos from last weekends Gumboot Rally.
"Kim & Rich & I met up with Barry, Bruce, and John (?) at Dion's, and then took them up via Pohangina, Apiti, Rangiwahia, and onto SH1 at Mangaweka. The 3 of us left to come home about 6pm and came back via Vinegar Hill."

Classics @ Manfield November 2014

RG500 from Brodiejones@gmail.com on Vimeo.

RG500 from Brodiejones@gmail.com on Vimeo.

The first weekend of November saw a few of the lads make there way over to Manfield to watch and hear the wonderful sounds of classics making there way around the race track. After taking the long way to Manfield via Colyton and It was good to see so many bikes out after the Barry Sheene classic meet at Hampton Downs the previous weekend. Of particular interest to us in the Blue Haze were the Post Classic bikes and two strokes among them. Alan De Lautour was showing the flag with his beautifully prepared RG 500 Mk1 and great to see Tony McQueen out on his now purple H2. Hard to beat that wonderful expansion chamber crackle. This is not to detract from the other bikes doing the business on the day. There was a great mixture of mainly European marques with Nortons and Triumphs making up he largest numbers. Its wonderful to see this celebration of motor sport heritage.

Barry Sheene Trans-Tasman Challenge 2014

This year Bruce A and Bruce S, Kim, Dion, Dave, Rich, and I made the trip to Hampton Downs for the classic racing. We stayed at Ngaruawahia again and in contrast to last year enjoyed a picture perfect day for the ride up.  We travelled via the Parapara road to National Park and Taumaranui, stopping at Horopito (Smash Palace) on the way. If you’ve never stopped to check this out it’s worth a look. From Taumaranui it was on to Te Kuiti and Otorohanga, then the back road to Ngaruawahia and the Arrow Lodge Motel. Across the road from the motel is the RSA where we enjoyed a beer and a meal each night.

A pleasant day was spent at the track on Sunday with good racing, open pits, and a lot of interesting machinery in the bike park. In fact the bike park was a major area of interest for most of those attending judging by the number of people wandering around and photographing the bikes throughout the day. A most enjoyable evening was spent over a few snorts and a meal at the RSA.

Monday morning greeted us with dark skies and it wasn’t long before the rain started. At times it became torrential. We stopped at Angel Louise café in Raetihi for a late lunch (good food and service) and then back down the Parapara to Wanganui and then home.

Our bikes for the trip – VFR750F (Bruce A), RG400 (Kim), GSX1100 (Dave), NS400R (Dion), H2 (Alan), and Aprilia V4 (Bruce S). Rich was 4-wheel mounted, and DRY! No real problems with the bikes which was great considering their age and riding all day in the rain on the way home.

Hope to do it again next year.
PS. Brett just sent a link through with Andrew Stroud riding his mates GSX Macintosh last weekend. Enjoy