First Blue Haze EoMR Ride 2022

 

 The first end of month ride for 2022 saw 15 bikes and riders line up for a short run around the Manawatu/Horowhenua countryside. It was great to see Stuart out 're-fettling' his Water Bus again and also some other smokers making an appearance. Roger was out with his Benelli 2c and Grant had his similar era Suzuki GT250A out for its first run with the Haze as well. Sticking with the 250's, John brought out his Aprilia RS250 and what a wonderful example of how two stroke technology progressed well into the nineties. It was also good to see Paul D out on his immaculate H2 and it was running beautifully as always. Rich decided his T500 needed a descent run after an engine rebuild with Steve on his Kawasaki H1a out again for a spin. Also great to have Glen on his ruby red CBX 1000. Graham had his ever reliable GB 400 Honda out as well and John Rs BMW R60/6 out on familiar roads with Errol on his immaculate Triumph Bonneville enjoying the outing. Max's Yamaha FZR 750 was as fresh looking as always and the moderns on the ride had Bruce on a Ducati Monster, Ray on his triumph Tiger and yours truely on the GSR 750 Suzuki. All up, 15 of us meet at Memorial Park.

The route for the ride was a short run from Palmy out to Ashhurst, Aokautere and then onto our final destination in Shannon. The first stop at Ashhurst saw no problems and the diverse sounds of the bikes as they left for the run down to Aokautere was music to the ears. From Glens melodious six cylinder CBX to the triple two strokes turbine like whine and the two stroke twins unique rumble. Mix this in with the Grahams GB thumper and the other four stroke twins, triples and fours it made for quite a parade of sounds going down the road. The Aokautere stop passed without incident and it wasn't until Linton a familiar teal coloured motorcycle was spotted near the air hose at the petrol station. This is one of the really good reasons why riding in a group is a great idea. Help is not far away. Luckily for Stuart he was able to get a hold of his wife who came and rescued him.What did that cost you Stu? 

Further on down the road another familiar bike was spotted on the side of the road. Errols Triumph had decided it didn't need its tools and side cover, but luckily this was discovered early in the piece and all was retrieved. After eventually getting to The Horseman's Cafe and good cuppa, a bun and putting the world right it was time to go home. Thanks for a great morning out guy's.

Living the Dream

 Barry (the Seagull) thought it was about time The Haze had a BBQ and he and his better half, Deb's sent out an invitation to 'come forth' to the Horowhenua and partake of there hospitality. So a few weekends ago Memorial Park saw a group of us assembled and ready for a quiet meander south. Our cafe stop was going to be at Sam's Cafe and Bakery at Foxton but with a little bit of time on our hands we decided on a westward meander before heading south. We were soon on our way through our usual haunts of Colyton and around the back of Feilding and onto Makino Rd. We had decided on a stop at Stanway Hall and a time check. A shorter route to Foxton was decided on and after passing through Halcombe and Mt Stewart we arrived in Foxton.

It was here that we were joined by Warren on his recently roadworthy Suzuki T20. He has decided on keeping its original patina and it certainly looked the part in the carpark outside the cafe. After our cuppa we were on our way to Shannon and it was here one got to see the T20 in its natural habitat. It looked so small! Warren is a tall chap and this certainly emphasised this, but amongst the other bikes on the ride it looked petit. It was also very spritely and had little trouble keeping the speed limit. It was a great segue into the BBQ and the treat we were in for. Most of us hadn't been to Barry's new place, but had heard interesting reports. We were about to see for ourselves.

Barry has been a passionate member of the VJMC for many years and his collection of bikes is legendary amongst the community. He currently has a number bikes on show in the Pero museum in Christchurch and has always shown many of his bikes over the years in shows up and down the country. The last record of his collection was from a previous BBQ/shed raid a number of years ago when he was living in Wellington. And how things have changed! Besides all of us being a smidgen older, Barry has well and truly found a place and space where he is able to indulge his passion for heritage 'objects'. The last visit saw all sorts of things squished into all sorts of nook's and crannies His new place has allowed him to spread out and display all sorts of treasures. He well and truly deserves his 'museum plate'. The photographs above only show a part of what we saw. Yes, a real treat.

Then there was the BBQ! He invited a wide range of people from the north and south. It was great to catch up with a number of Wellington VJMC members and there partners. Some of them brought along there older bikes and very soon the driveway was awash with people and bikes with plenty of discussions around the finer points of Vintage Japanese motorcycle restorations. It was interesting to see Warren after spotting some T20 bits on Barry's workbench take the opportunity to compare the carbs to his own. He found out one of the carbs was incorrect and this nicely illustrates one of the great things about belonging to such a group. The mixture of helpful expertise and camaraderie around a common interest definitely adds to ones quality of life, and Barry and Debs BBQ was a nice way to celebrate this. 

After being well fed and watered it was time to head north and to home. A big thank you to Barry and Debs for the 'bit of a do' and keep on living the dream Barry and sharing it with us from time to time.