Robert Holdens Suzuki GSX550 Rides Again : September EoMR

 

Some might say our September end of month ride was a Suzukifest; and they would be absolutely right! One of the  the real joys of end of month rides or going to rally's or races is the anticipation of what sort of machinery will greet you when you arrive. One person amongst the crew who has contributed his fair share of EoMR surprises is Warren, and this month was really special. He had managed to put back on the road Robert Holdens original Suzuki GSX550E that he raced in the early to mid eighties. This was during the time when Holden was a part of the Wellington Motorcycles team and it was modified and raced by others over a number of years. The likes of Tim K and Paul McQ were amongst them and Warren was also one who enjoyed the 'charms' of  the this particular bike back in the day. Really neat to see this very tasteful restoration so a big hat tip (or is that helmet tip?) to Warren. 

As can be seen from the photos it was a really interesting turnout of other bikes, mainly Suzukis. It was good to see Barry out and about with his GT550 with its distinctive poppity pop exhaust sound and accompanying occasional wisp of smoke as well as Jason on his Suzuki Katana 400. Grant had his mighty Suzuki GSX1100 out for spin. Bruce and Max had there Suzuki Bandits and Ray on his Triumph Bonneville and Kenny on his BMW 1250? and your truly on the GSR.  With this being the first run for Warrens bike we decided on a shorter ride out just in case the 'fettling' got a little challenging. Warren also put out an invitation to come and have a look in his shed to see his collection of more than interesting bikes! more on that later.

A pie run to the Rusty Radiator was the chosen destination wth Warren taking the lead just in case.... He took us via our previous route through the back of Feilding and Lees Road with 'just in case' not coming about we arrived at our destination to find pie warmer adequately stocked. After plenty of discussions about many things and the pies consumed and cups drained we headed back into town with most of us following Warren on 'just in case' escorting duty. We are pleased to report that he did make it home with Warren mumbling about s few more fettling tasks needed. As you can see from the photos he has a very eclectic range of bikes in his collection and most of them are able to move under there own power. He still has a very full choice of restoration projects and as time goes by we look forward to there appearance on our end of month rides and thanks Warren for the inspiration to spend a little more time in our own sheds moving our own projects along.

Any Excuse for a Pie. August EoMR

 

As we all know, the weather over the last few months has not really been conducive to out door activities with motorcycling being one of them. Our recent Sunday end of month run certainly looked to be that way with the weather forecast promising a highly likely chance of precipitation with the possibility of 'clearing' weather as the morning progressed. Calculations were done and fingers were crossed as the GSR was wheeled out of the garage and pointed in the general direction of Memorial Park. Peering down Main street towards Memorial Park one could see a lonely figure parked up in our usual meeting spot. Roger and his Moto Guzzi V50 quickly came into view and after parking up a conversation around a fine winters day in Levin was told with deteriorating weather on the way up to Palmerston North. In short order we were joined by Warren on his GSX1100R, Paul on his Moto Guzzi V85TT and Sir Al on his CB650F. A quick scan of the skies suggested a westerly direction was our best bet to avoid precipitation with Warren having pre plotted a new route to one of our favourite destinations, the Rusty Radiator.

The journey out of town through to our turnoff at Whakarongo was uneventful, but as we headed towards Bunnythorpe the first shower made its presence felt. The turn off to the right around the world famous roundabout (smallest in the world apparently) had us heading off towards our next turn off down Reids Line. This is not an unknown route so far but continuing on down Reid line to Durie Rd and heading into Feilding was. It was then onto Kawakawa Rd and then along to Lees Rd, Rakehou Rd and finally to our destination in Halcombe. A really great variation on our usual rides. Our arrival was fortunately well timed with the clouds parting to reveal sunshine and as we ate our pies and our gear dried out some of us decided on taking the long way home via Makino Road. Nothing like a good ride, great company, a cuppa and a pie to set you up for a positive start to the week ahead.

Lets hope Septembers EoMR run is a little more encouraging with some fine, warm weather!

A Suzuki GSXR1100 G Comes Out for a Spin

 Fronting up to our meeting spot at Memorial Park at the end of July one was greeted with a very cosmopolitan selection of bikers. But my attention was immediately grabbed by a sight not seen very often these days. A 'Slabby' was amongst this mixture and it certainly stood out with its distinctive blue and white paint scheme and the double headlight arrangement. It is very much the 'uncle' of the Suzuki GSR750 I had arrived on and it certainly didn't look too elderly amongst the other bikes in the line up. It was good to be able to contrast it with the previous generation of performance bike equivalents with Sir Al and Kim bringing along there Kawasaki H2's who 10 years or so previous to the arrival of the GSXR 1100 on the the scene were cleaning up on the racetrack alongside the Z1. The amount of technical progress between these bikes is quite stunning looking back. The slabby was not only more powerful, better handling, frugal but an easier bike to live with on a day to day basis. Great to see it out and about Warren.

After a brief discussion the destination for our run was to be the Woolshed Cafe and with another lucky day weather wise we headed out Napier Road on our well worn route over to our first stop at Stanway for a bit of a chat. It is a lovely spot up on a plateau where on a good day you have lovely views north to the mountains. It was then off to our final destination via Pryces Line and Wilson Rd to the Ohakea turnoff (where the home for the Air Forces new Boeing Poseidons seems to be nearing completion) and on to Sanson and then our final destination, the Woolshed cafe. A great yarn and some great food finished off a great winter ride!

Roll call

Warren - Suzuki GSXR 1100

Sir Al - Kawasaki 750 H2

Kim - Kawasaki 750 H2

Stuart - Kawasaki KLE 500

Bruce - Kawasaki ZXR 636

Roger - Moto Guzzi V35 Imola II

John - BMW 600/6

Ray - Triumph T100 Bonneville

Gary - Suzuki GSR 750

Errol - Royal Enfield 650

Kenny - Moto Guzzi V7 850 Stone

Brent - Harley Davidson Road King

Rich - Suzuki Vstrom 650

The Widow Makers meet Walter Wolf. June EoMR

 

With the Winter Solstice just a couple of days behind us the weather gods were certainly kind to us for our end of month ride The 9:30 gathering certainly saw some blue sky off to the West and plenty of wind whistling towards us from the east and a lovely bank of clouds parked up on the other side of Ruahine and Tararua Ranges. Those who had come up from Levin said the Manawatu River was very high and the Opiki route was closed due to flooding, so no zigzagging around the countryside to the south.  So exit stage west was an easy choice to make and with Sir Al taking the lead on his Kawasaki H2 eleven of us followed along behind him as we headed out to Ashhurst. There was some evidence of rain and still plenty of wind but we were soon heading away from the ranges as we climbed up Valley Road and headed off towards the sunshine in a westerly direction. 

Colyton soon passed by and we skirted around the outskirts of Feilding as we hooked up with Makino Rd and made our way to the Stanway Hall for a stop. After a brief stop it was off to one of our favourite cafes, The Rusty Radiator for a pie and a cuppa. On a nice day the cafe has certainly become a real 'destination' for motorcyclists and other vehicle enthusiasts around the Manawatu/Rangitikei and beyond. With Stu having a catch up with the guy next door over his hot rod pick up truck and the two older gentleman out for a cruise in there 1950s Mercedes and was a great place to spend an hour shooting the breeze. 

It was good to have a few older and more modern Classic Japanese bikes joining this melee of vehicles as well. The support crew were on a variety of predominantly European modern machinery and it is always great to see sir Al and Paul D giving there H2's a bit of time on the road and Warren had his Suzuki RG400 Walter Wolf enjoying a bit of a workout. If we apply the 15 years or older VJMC classic qualification then Stuart on his 2007 Kawasaki KLE500 qualifies as does Gary A on his 2000 Honda VFR800 50th anniversary model. Also well and truely in the classic camp was Roger on his Moto Guzzi V50.  

All in all a great 'run around the block' in what ended up being some magnificent weather. Nice having Stuart B along for a run and meeting Mark V at the Rusty Radiator and lets hope for more of the same for next 

Roll call

Gary A -  Honda VFR800 50th Anniversary Model

Sir Al - Kawasaki 750 H2

Warren T - Suzuki RG400 Walter Wolf

Paul D - Kawasaki 750 H2

Stuart M - Kawasaki KLE500

Roger - Moto Guzzi V50

Dave - Moto Guzzi 850 V7 Special

Paul H - Moto Guzzi V85 TT

Bruce - MV Augusta 800

Gary W - Suzuki GSR 750

Stuart B - Triumph Bonneville T100

Stephen - Cagiva Raptor 1000