The Cemetery Circuit Ride 2020

Heading over to Whanganui for racing on Boxing Day has become a bit of ritual for many, and none more so than a number of Blue Haze members. The usual routine is to meet in town and make our way to the Church Yard cafe in Sanson for quick cuppa before heading over to the races. After waiting at Memorial Park for a while and a no show I headed for Sanson and caught up with everyone there. It was great to see the lineup of rattlers and friends outside the cafe with a bevy of Suzuki triples on show. Bruce and Stuart had there GT750 J and K's parked up with Barry and PC's GT 550s. Neat to see Dion on his NS400R and Jamie bringing out the RG400 for a spin as well. Also out for a spin was John M and Kenny on the BMW Rockstar. 

The journey to Whanganui was with plenty of traffic and once there paying a few dollars for secure parking and bagging of gear service and then into the circuit. With the event being a part of the the Suzuki Tri-series and one of the few street circuit meetings left in the world it was a shame the international contingent wasn't a part of it as it always adds a certain extra 'flavour' to the racing. In spite of this it was definitely a great day out with a real festival feel to the occasion as many of the locals make a real day of it with chilly bins full of food and refreshments.

The racing was tight and exciting. The Formula 1 and 2 provided some real fast action with the Rees brothers showing how it is done. That much power on this sort of circuit certainly seems disproportionate. The Formula 3 was as exciting as always with the Post Classics also providing some tight racing. Everyone enjoyed the sidecar racing which has always been popular at Whanganui. The Gixxer cup was also very close and so neat to see so many young ones keen to go racing. After all, they are the future of the sport. 

The real beauty with this event is being able to get close to the racing and for those of us with a photographic bent an opportunity to full our frames with some great action shots. It is something very difficult to do at the likes of Manfeild where safety dictates plenty of distance between the action and spectators. Long may this event last.

Suzuki Tri series @ Manfeild

 After enjoying the Manawatu Classic Motorcycle Clubs Champagne breakfast a few of us made our way to Feilding for the Manfeild round of the Suzuki Tri-series. The weather was excellent and after making our way via a few backroads we arrived at Manfeild. Sir Al and I had paired up for the short ride north and after lining up with other vehicles getting ready for the the Feilding Christmas Parade (which we hear was enjoyed by both big kids and little kids) we made our way to the parking area. It was great to see a few Blue Haze comrades already there, so we parked up next to them.  Heading to the gate the thirty dollar entry fee was a little to steep for Sir Al, so he headed home. I do wonder about the pricing of these events and whilst the economics dictate pricing one does wonder how many people are put off by this. 

Having said that, once in the gate the atmosphere was great and pleasing to see a good crowd supporting the event. The pits were a busy place and great to see some top people and teams supporting the event with the noticeable absence of  the usual  smattering of overseas people. Bloody covid!  It was also pleasing to see a good turnout of others supporting a range of classes these events such a spectacle. It was good to see the continued support for the Gixxer Cup that is so vital in ensuring opportunities for younger riders and for us older two wheeled petrol heads the Post Classic Class saw some classy machines and riders. 

It was good to see a Blue Hazite Tim out there in the 'Posties' doing the business on his up specced CBR 600. By all accounts the modifications he has done have made the CBR a quicker and far more pleasant machine to punt around the track. We look forward to seeing the 'Roberts T500 special' out there some time in the near future? Other Blue Hazite's out enjoying the event were Kim, Dion, Jamie, Paul D, Alan D and Rich. It was great way to spend a Sunday afternoon and nice to see motorcycle racing in such good heart.

 

A Suzuki Walter Wolf RG400 makes an appearance

 Provenance is an important word when it comes to items of a heritage nature. It is used to add more of a 'story' to these items usually associated with owners and/or events. Walter Wolf is not a name many are familiar with in the motorcycling realm, but for a while he was a main sponsor for a Formula 1 team in the seventies and sponsored the official factory Suzuki team as well and hence these limited edition bikes. They came in three flavours the RG250, RG500 and Warrens one the Japanese market RG400. They were made up until 1987 and were very much the swan song of the large two stroke road bikes along with the Yamaha RZ500. Here is a great article on an a RG500 Walter Wolf from our Aussie neighbour.

https://bikereview.com.au/classic-test-suzuki-rg500-walter-wolf-review/

Warren T has been making noises about acquiring an RG500/400 for a while now, so it was great to see him turning up with one. As you can see from the photos it is in excellent condition and it went really well on our morning run. 

This was a little pre Christmas ride to catch up before the silly season. We decided on a short run with Warren offering to take us to Shannon via some roads most of us wouldn't have been on. He even promised a few sweeping corners. Good to see Sir Al on his H2 which nicely contrasted Warrens RG400 as two generations of two stroke 'big' bike development. Warren M had his XJ900 out for a spin and Dave was out on his Guzzi Le Mans. Paul H left his Le Mans at home and brought out his new Moto Guzzi V85TT with Stuart on his trusty KLE 500 and Bruce S bringing out his Ducati 999S for a spin and Ian on his trusty W650. Rich was out adding more kays to his Vstrom 650 and yours truly on the GSR750. Warren delivered on his promise and we had a great little run with us eventually coming out just north of Shannon. 

We had a very pleasant 'cuppa' at the The Horseman's Cafe where they have a great selection of cabinet and menu food. There was talk around the table on the number of VJMC bikes emerging from garages shortly with the summer motorcycling season in full swing. I had better get the T500 sorted out to join the classics party. Dave has sorted the electrics out so hopefully just some carb fettling to do. 

It's so easy when you have a modern to 'revert' to it so a little reminder that our end of month rides are going to privilege the classic bikes for determining the 'tenor' of these runs.