An H2 Returns to the Fold

The forecast for the weekend looked rather grim, but as Sunday got closer it changed rather dramatically for the better. Summer was back! As we gathered at Manawatu Motorcycles our destination had already been determined. The Victoria Motorcycle Clubs first winter series meeting was on so a shortish ride finishing up at Manfield to enjoy the action. The roll call was Clint on the Katana, Dion on  his ever reliable NSR400, Alan on his faithful Kawasaki A7, Bruce on the very quick FZR 1000, myself on the progressively more rattly KH250 and last but not least Kim on his H2. Its been a wee while since Kim has been out on a bike due to a few bones in his hand misbehaving and breaking then not realigning properly. Its good to see him and the mighty H2 back together again on the road. Alan lead us out of town to Ashhurst where we then headed on down to Valley road and back into Feilding. Judging by the smokescreen from the others ahead of me the old right hands got a good workout and we very quickly got to our destination of Manfield. It really was a perfect day for racing with no wind and the temperature around 21 degrees. After having a look around the pits it was time to have the traditional hot dog (I am sure they are getting smaller). We had a chat to a chap who had a very tidy Honda XL500 set up for the road and alongside it an Alchemy Ducati. You don't see many of these around. The only other two stroke road bike in the park was a very tidy Suzuki RGV250. Not many two strokes out racing apart from the 150s. One that did get our attention was a very tidy Kawasaki KR1S. The lads struck up a conversation with the owner and he was having a few issues with disappearing water and no leaks. Dion professed knowledge of such things and so the spanners were out and the tank was off and it quickly became apparent that a KR250 was different to KR1S. It was good to have chat to a fellow two stroke enthusiast and it sounds like it is becoming easier to get parts to keep these wonderful bikes on the track and on the road. Can't wait to see Dion and Kims RG400 hit the track (not literally) to add to that fast disappearing variety of two stroke sounds at Manfield. Hard to beat that two stroke square four sound. The Blue Haze will be supporting them by donating our supermarket petrol vouchers. (They will need it). Those RG400s suck the juice. (Must be petrol and water cooled) After watching and listening to the KR1 circulating  for a while it was time to head home. Some of us headed over to Clints new pad on Stoney Creek Road for coffee and muffin and to view his rather wonderful man cave. Looking forward to a Blue Haze BBQ sometime there.

Where are all the two strokes and where do you buy the biggest custard squares in NZ?

The second part of the question is easy to answer, Hunterville! The first part is requires some consideration. The Blue Hazes latest ride wasn't as hazey as it ususally is. Only one two stroke between the six of us! Even the plumber next door who was cleaning the mud off his stock car passed comment. The only thing that was blue were our fingers and other body parts as we turned up in summer riding gear on a very wintery day! Thank goodness Sir Al turned up on his trusty A7 to keep the flag flying. The rest of us wheeled out our 1980s+ four strokes to enjoy a wander around the countryside. Following behind Als wafting haze was a reminder of why the poor old two stroke has had a hard time of it. Here were the rest us following along behind with not a hint of smoke exiting our exhausts. Bruce Andrews and Bruce Sagger were on their Honda Vfours and John Loggie on his new Triumph Street Triple that he brought for a play with Clint on his Katana and myself  on the XJ  rounding out the four stroke line up. One can't but help appreciate and enjoy the unique sound of each engine configuration as we started our engines outside Manawatu Motorcycles.
 Our destination for the morning was decided using two criteria. An aversion to rain and Bruce Andrews craving for the world famous Hunterville custard square. Our route was to be out through Colyton and then on towards Kimbolton so we could tackle one of favourite bits of road, the Rangiwahia twisties. Rather than heading all the way through to Mangaweka we would take the side road at Pemberton Corner that brought us out on State Highway One at Ohingaiti. It was then just a short run down to Hunterville for refreshments.
Alan led the way on his A7 and he certainly had it singing from Kimbolton through to Ohingaiti. It is well sorted out with the Hagons looking after the backend and the front end responding well to 90 weight oil in the forks and a surprisingly effective front brake. He has recently been experimenting with handlbars and the flat ones he had on were working really well. Alongside all this you have that wonderfull disc valve motor that pulls remarkably well from down low through to strong top end. What a shame Kawasaki didn't continue on with the development of the 500 version that they were developing at the same time as the H1. Bruce Sagger was having a great time on his NC24 as he has specced the suspension recently. Great country for these little bikes and it does make you wonder about the point of having larger high horsepower bikes. The only incidents were the sheep on the road and my headlight falling out of its fairing. Als tool kit with its velcro and cable ties came to the rescue!
Our refreshment stop was up to its usual standard with Bruce, Bruce and John enjoying their custard squares. You wouldn't want to eat to many Hunterville custard squares if you were on a smaller bike as it would over time have a detrimental effect on your power to weight ratio. Maybe thats why Bruce Andrews sold his Rz350 and bought a VFR 750?
Bruce Andrews and John left us for quick ride home down State Highway One whilst the rest of us took the scenic route following the Rangitikei river south. Bruce Sagger and Al swapped bikes with Al really impressed with the Hondas handling and its very linear power band. After heading towards Halcombe and turning off to Mount Stewart we all headed home having had a great run around the Rangitikei but all of us digging out the the liners for our pants and jackets ready for our next ride.

An Unhealthy Motorcyle Lifestyle?

 
Burgers, Rothmans and Mars Bars are words that conj our up all sorts of interesting thoughts and memories. Our more politically correct contemporary times constantly remind us that certain things that we enjoyed in our younger days are not as acceptable today. What with plain packaging on the horizon for cigarettes and calls to ban fast food advertising it makes one reflect on how 'deregulated' we were back in our youth. Our end of month ride was a nice reminder of those days with Dion on his trusty Rothmans Honda NSR400 and Bruce Sagger bringing his Rothmans Honda VFR400 out for its first spin with us and Steve Boyce on his 'Mars Bar' Yamaha LC350. Pauls Kawasaki H1c, Alans H2 and Richards T500 were also reminders of the beginning of the end for large two strokes. Dave Robinsons one owner Honda CB750 also reminds one of the wise four stroke strategy the big H followed and with John on his Triumph Bonneville how the English made such light and great sounding  motorcycles that went around corners really well only to be caught out with poor engine R&D. (Amongst other things) Clints Katana and my XJ really started to show the four stroke was the future, but as the emissions schemes became tighter there days as 'performance motorcycles' were numbered as well. As for Kim on his RZ250 his regular 60+ mpgs is proof that two strokes can be very eco friendly(we wont talk about the Kawasaki triples!).
As we gathered at Manawatu Motorcycles our 'guilt' was somewhat allayed as one of the Hot Rod lads drove past in a spectacular show of noise, smoke and flames. Pongaroa was agreed upon as a good destination with the option for those who could only do shorter ride to turn off at Rongomai and head home from their. Our first stop was at the bottom of the Pahiatua track and then on to Mangamaire and we very quickly arrived at Rongomai. We said our farewells to Steve and Paul as the rest of us headed south to meet up with Highway 52. This continues to be one of our favourite rides with a feast of corners. The other great thing about this road is the Pongaroa Tavern, A must stop place for a breather. The large burgers and drinks are very reasonably priced and the atmosphere is great. Most of us managed to get through the meal Our journey home was delayed when John discovered his Triumph wasn't in a hurry to head home. After much discussion and tinkering he got mobile and Dave offered to follow John home. (They eventually made it home with a dud carb proving to be the culprit) whilst the rest of us made our way towards Pahiatua over yet another great motorcycle friendly road. It was good to see Dave and John from the Manawatu Classic Motorcycle Club on the run.
 This was an excellent day out (for most of us!) and a great way to finish of our monthly rides for the year. Its been great to share this passion with a whole lot of people over this past year and far from being an unhealthy lifestyle (true, some of the food we eat on the rides is marginally healthy) it most definitely contributes a 'healthy' outlook on life.
Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year everyone! 

Mangahao Meander

Here is a quick view of the road to the top!

As I pulled the KH out of the garage on Sunday morning, little did I know what lay ahead that day. The Saturday before weather didn't bode well for the following day, but some faith in Metservice had me making some late night texts to gauge interest in ride out in the country. Sir Als reply was informed me that he and Bruce were heading out for some more 'Adventure Riding' out the back of Shannon. We made a loose arrangement to meet in Shannon the following day.  The less demanding terrain south of Palmy was an ideal opportunity to give the KH250 a run and so our 10am meeting time had a group of us parked up outside Manawatu Motorcycles. Richard arrived on his trusty T500, with Kim on his RZ, Shorty on his SV, Clint on his Katana and yours truely on the KH250. We made our way to Shannon via the long way down Lockwood road, Main Drain road (I wonder how it got that name?) then on to Bainese and down a back road to Foxton then finally on to the Shanon Foxton road. Nothing to challenging apart from the usual cow pooh on the roads. It was good to be out on the little KH and enjoy all the usual Kawasaki two stroke triple sensations. The new tyre on the back had lowered the gearing a tad and it was now sitting nicely in the bottom part of the power band at 100 kmh. After a bit of discussion we decided on Horsemans Cafe for food and refreshments whilst we awaited the arrival of the 'Adventure Bikers'. Bruce Sagger 'flew' in from Levin on his Yellow rocket, his Yamaha RZ350 to join us for a cuppa. The cafe was a pleasant surprise with delicious loaf shaped pies, very tasty Bacon and Egg butties all washed down with good coffee and hot chocolates. Recommended. After waiting for Al and Bruce to arrive some decided to head on home whilst Shorty, Richard and myself headed up to the Mangahao power station and a suggestion was made to head up to the first dam. The last time I was here was to have a look at the power station and the white water centre so I was fascinated to find out a bit more about The metal road was narrow and very windy as it made its way up the hill to the top of the ranges. The surface was nice and damp so no dust and as we followed Shorty up Richard and I were very pleased to be on our narrow tyred stink wheels from the seventies as he hunched over his wide tyred sports bike. As we neared the first dam a couple of bikes came into view. I think they were a little surprised to see us as we stopped had had a chat on the side of the road. They were just on there way back from having a cuppa at the last dam and informed us that the first dam was five minutes away. We said our goodbyes and parked up next to the first dam. Having never been up there it was a really pleasant surprise to see the scale of it. Walking along the top of dam I wouldn't be to sure about living in Shannon should a descent earthquake strike! Shorty was pleased for the break as his wrists were getting sore and he wasn't looking forward to going back down. Richard took the lead heading back down and disappeared off down the road on the mighty Titan. Our stop down at the power station had us admiring the wonderful 1920s architecture and admiring the whole engineering feat for the time. It was apparently the first large power station built in New Zealand and the fact that it is still operating 88 years later is a tribute to the engineers of the time. You can find more information here. Our ride back to town had me thinking about doing a bit more exploring around our region, as I am sure there are some more hidden gems like this in our region. The KH did well but maybe I need to look for something more suitable. I think Barrys definitely got the right idea. Might have to start looking for a suitable mount.....Must be a few old DTs, TSs, KTs and XLs out there!