For those people who enjoy motorcycles from the past, and in particular the 60s, 70s and 80s. This saw the rise and demise of the large 2 strokes that many of us enjoyed in our youth. This blog celebrates this time in particular but also motorcycling in general .
Showing posts with label Kawasaki KR250.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kawasaki KR250.. Show all posts
Sir Al decided to celebrate his half century with a trip to Southwards Car Museum where a large collection of motor vehicles have been restored and displayed. Paul W turned up on his Gpz 750r, Kim and Sir Al on the H2s, Dion on his X7 and myself on the KH250. Our departure from Palmy proved to be a cold one as we made our way south via Shannon. After a brief warming of the the hands stop there we continued south through the crisp air. We then joined the procession down State Highway One to Paraparaumu and made our way into the very cold museum. The staff were very accommodating with all our gear and gave us our own room to store it in and we then spent a couple of hours wandering around the exhibits. We were all particularly interested in the 70s bikes (funny that) and great to see some of the Suzuki race bikes from the era. We then spent some time in the cafe and enjoyed some of their great food. After replenishing the KHs fuel tank we then made our way back to Palmy into a solid cold south easterly. Spending to much time on the main highways definetly makes one appreciate the predominantly back roads we do the majority of our riding on.
We had to make the most of the beautiful weather, so a ride was organised to make the most of the Indian autumn before many of the the corners remained in the shade until daylight saving returned. The ride got off to a latish start with Paul Ds Kawasaki H1a refusing to spark. Along for the run were Alan on his Kawasaki A7 Avenger, Kim D on his trusty H2a, Murray on his Kawasaki GTS, Bruce on his BMW, Paul W on his GPZ 750r, Jenni on her RG500, Steph? on her baby Katana 400, Don on his GT500, Dion on the KR250,and myself two up with my daughter Amie on the XJ750. Having filled up with petrol at Ashurst and lost the group, Amie and I decided to head up the Pohangina valley thinking they were ahead of us when in fact they had ducked across to Feilding. We had a great ride up to Kimbolton where we met the group coming the other way. The return journey to our lunch stop at the Pilgrims Rest was brilliant with lovely flowing corners and very little traffic. Upon our arrival Paul was their with the H1 sparking nicely and waiting for us so he could order the Devonshire tea or ploughmans lunch. A geat feed. Dion had brought along a trophy he had made to help prolong and celebrate other peoples misfortunes. Called the "Oh Shit Award". Typical! The first recipient was Bruce because of his piston holing episode on his RT1 and part of the trophy is a holed piston out of a weedeater. So very appropriate. Today was one of those "chocolate box" rides that you think about in the depths of winter as you look forward to the legthening days of spring and summer.
For Wellington Anniversary day Kim, Dion, Alan and myself decided to use part of the day for a VJMC/Blue Haze run. The weekend had been intermittently punctuated with fine spells, but mostly rain so we were hanging out for a ride. After a few hiccups in the morning with H2 fuel taps we set off for the Pohangina Valley and the Pilgrims Rest cafe. What a great ride with the only hassle being a bit of gravel in a few places. Had a great ride on Dions KR. What a huge jump from my KH. The difference in power and handling is like night and day. The Totara Reserve section is a treat with the bush on either side of you. The cafe is recommended with an excellent $7.50 Ploughmans lunch with coffee and even an old Velocette sitting inside the cafe to look at. After a few stops for some video on the way back we finally got home for afternoon tea.
Members of the Blue Haze/Manawatu VJMC made the yearly pilgrimage to Whanganui for the annual Boxing day races. Everyone was commenting on the admission price of $30 being very borderline value for money. If it went up much more , not many of us would be back next year.
After meeting at Manawatu Motorcycles at 9:00am we made our way towards Whanganui into a a very brisk westerly. Kim was on his Kawasaki H2a, Dione on his exercise machine, his Kawasaki KR250, Alan his always thirsty Kawasaki A7, Paul W on the just as thirsty Kawasaki KH250, Don on his Yamaha RZ350 and myself on the oil dripper Yamaha XJ750. Our first stop along the way was to find Alans sidecover that flew off in front of us at Mt Biggs. By the time we got back to it, it was a mangled mess. We had a great day with plenty of action on the track. A lot of delays due to prangs had the program running way behind time. Really enjoyed the post classics of course which had the biggest field of 2 strokes.
A shame to see our very own Tim Kendall doing well on his Yamaha YZ490 have to pull out with a broken exhaust. Great to see Tony McQueen on his H2 kawasaki doing well out there.
Sean Donnely on his Kawasaki Z1000 was reveling in the conditions to take out the class.
The Classic sidecars proved as popular as ever with some great on track antics, including the 360 I managed to capture on video. No one was hurt thank goodness.
The Suzuki NZ headquarters hosted some excellent bikes outside including three examples of Steve Roberts handiwork. Good to see Dave Hiscock do a demonstration lap on one he rode back in the seventies. Beautiful bikes and great to see people like my brother Paul being acknowledged for their contribution to keeping this motoring heritage alive.
Another bike that got our attention was an immaculate Kawasaki Z1900. Not bad for 1973! It was ridden up from Wellington for the day. Often bikes like this hardly leave the garage, so good on you for getting out and about and sharing it with everyone.
