In contrast to the
last EOM ride, the 2-strokes have resurfaced and our Waitangi weekend was truly
a Blue Haze affair. It might of
course be argued that the Suzuki RE5 of new comer John isn’t actually a
2-stroke. But it isn’t actually a 4-stroke in the conventional sense either,
and as it burns 2T (to lubricate the seals) we’ll claim it as one of our own.
Sunday served up a
perfect day for a ride around the Manawatu; warm, no wind, and blue skies. 7 of
our brethren took advantage of the still airs and headed for Feilding then up
to Kimbolton via Makino Road. We were 3 Suzuki – RE5, RGV, T500, 2 Kawasaki –
H1 & H2, a Yamaha RZ350, and an Aprilia RS250.
From Kimbolton we dropped down to Apiti and stopped at the old petrol
station for a chat in the sun. We then took the Pohangina East Road and made
our way to Ashhurst. This is the opposite direction to that which we usually
take on these roads and offers a completely different perspective to the ride.
At the Camp Rangi Woods turn off Dion and I swapped bikes and I rode the
RS Aprilia back to Ashhurst. The RS was the end-of-line for 2-stroke road bikes,
and is a culmination of Aprilia’s vast design knowledge gained achieving 18
250cc World titles. It was better than I imagined, and a more accomplished bike
than any other 250 race-rep I’ve had the pleasure of riding.
At Ashhurst Rich and I attempted to help a fellow biker from Gisborne who had broken down on his newly acquired 1947 Royal Enfield. He had in fact just collected it from Wanganui that day and was on his way back to Gisborne, or so he hoped. No amount of coaxing could get as much as a cough from the old girl, and he had no option but to push it to the garage to return from Gisborne the next day with trailer to collect it. Fortunately his wife was following in the car. I’m sure if one or two of the guys from the Classic Club had been with us he may well have been on his way, but none of us are familiar with older British bikes.
After coffee and a bite at the Fusion Café we headed back to Palmerston North.
