July EoMR with a Suzuki GSX1100 Katana Black Piper … pipe.

It was a wonderful Winter Chocolate box day for our July end-of-month ride on Sunday. The weather brought out 15 bikes and their riders, with a mix of modern and classics looking for a wander around the countryside. The classics saw a variety of two strokes and four strokes, with the three 50-year-old two-strokers providing the oldest manufacturing dates amongst our bikes. Stu’s Suzuki GT750, Paul and Alan providing Kawasaki H2s, are all 1972 bikes and they are all in excellent condition. Rounding out the seventies, we had John on his BMW R60/6 and Roger on his Moto Guzzi V50.

The eighties were represented by a first-time appearance of Warren with his Suzuki GSX1100 Katana. He had just received a NOS pipe and put it on. once it was on, he noticed that the middle diameter of the inside pipe was larger than the other pipe. It looks as though it might be a ‘Black Piper’ pipe from back in the day! (Just about as rare as unicorn pooh) The other GSX 1100 was Grant’s ever-trustworthy machine with its lovely silver and blue accent colour scheme. The 80s Yamahas were well represented by Warren on his XJ900 and Max on his 5-valve FZ750.

The moderns were in the minority with Ray on his new Honda 500X, Bruce on his Honda 900 Hornet, the two Strom lads, Richard Ian on their 650 Suzukis, Paul on his Moto Guzzi V85, and yours truely on the GSR. Graham on his lovely Retro Kawasaki 650 rounded out the moderns.

Warren led the way through a whole lot of interesting countryside through the patchwork of roads that make up the Manawatu plains to the final destination at Sam’s Bakery in Foxton. It was a perfect day to sit out in the sun and enjoy a cuppa and some carbs with some conversation against the backdrop of State Highway One roaring by just metres away!

Let’s hope for similar weather for next month’s end-of-month ride