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 .
The weather forecast at the begining of the week looked promising for a Labour Day ride so the email was sent out and a group of nine gathered at Manawatu Motorcycles ready for a wander around the countryside. It was good to see Terry on his Suzuki GT550 a bike he has used as his daily commute since he purchased it in 1981. It has done over 50 thousand miles and has had nothing done to the motor. Amazing. Also along for a ride was John on his immaculate Suzuki T500 in blue with only a few thousand miles on the clock. Can't wait to see some of the other bikes he has in his garage. Geoff came arrived on his immaculate little Kawasaki KR150. A great little machine that has no difficulty keeping up with the group. Sir Al brought along his Suzuki TS250 that is running extremely well after its recent rebuild. Sparkie (Kim) decided to test his rewired RZ250 that was moving but still awaiting the repair of some 'spiked' electronic parts. Dr Sprocket (Paul D) wheeled out his immaculate Kawasaki H1a, Dion on the mighty KH400, Don on his Honda MT and myself on my KH250. After some discussion a ride was decided on. The route took in the Pahiatua track and on to Rongomai via Mangamaire and back through Pahiatua and back through to Ballance and over the Saddle road to Ashurst. First stop was at the top of the track and then onto Mangamaire. The Rongomai section of the run was as always a lot of fun with a range of tight and tighter corners well suited to these bikes. You can still have a lot of fun on 40hp or less and still get time to take in the country atmosphere. Just before Pahiatua Don went onto reserve and after filling up the calculations worked out at 25mpg! The run through to Ballance was far more interesting than State Highway 2 and then it was on to the Saddle. The run up was a bit of a struggle for those of us on 250s, but the run down the other side to Ashhurst was a ball. We had decided on the Ashhurst Inn for our morning tea but it was closed so off down the road to the Ashhurst Domain Cafe for some good coffee, food and conversation.
Another great ride.
Roll on Summer!!!
A hardy bunch of lads gathered outside Manawatu Motorcycles for a morning run into grey skies of the Manawatu. It was great to see Geoff on his very well looked after Kawasaki KR150s. A great little machine that Geoff has had from nearly new and with 32K on the clock and no engine work it ran like clockwork. Also along for the ride was Sir Al on his recently reconditioned Suzuki TS250, Don on the his GT500 fill in, the Bonneville, Dion on his KH400, Kim on Dions KR250 and myself on the KH250. After some discussion about the diection we should take we headed off for the west and after a tank topup for my KH250 at the Rangitikei St BP we headed off into a steady drizzle. Upon reaching Feilding we were about to make our cafe stop but decided to continue on towards Sanson via the Kakariki turnoff. Geoff had to leave us at this point, but the dry road ensured we had a good run through to Sanson. These backroads are a lot of fun on these smaller bikes and as we started to make our way through the coffee and pies Dion very casualy announced that he was adding another bike to his fleet. A 1984 Suzuki GSXR 400W. After some of us just about choked on our food and coffees he was asked to repeat the model of his latest acquisition.
It was true. He had finally been seduced by the dark side. Dion has been a staunch advocate for two strokes and has often given his opinion on others in the group who have chosen to purchase bikes from the dark side. (For most of us it isn't the Dark Side but the Other Side and provides a nice balance to our motorcycling lives) Dion received the necessary amount of stick about his choice of bike in light of his previous position on such matters.
The very bike that seduced Dion to the "Dark Side".
This also explained his unusual behaviour that day. His KR250 must have heard the conversation and decided to throw a real tantrum in the carpark as realised it was about to share the shed with a four stroke and refused to start. All joking aside, a great bike to restore, and as time goes by these bikes from the eighties are going to become more desireable. As a bonus, they are very rideable and provide performance not to distant from todays machines.
P.S. The main bearings on Dions KR are shot! He may have to sell the house to fix it! Maybe his KR is hoping he will have to sell the GSXR.
The Manawatu VJMC and Blue Haze Club headed out on another run around the Apiti loop. This is a great ride with some wonderful riding especially through the Pohongina Valley. Great to see Bruce on his wonderfully restored Yamaha RT1 and Philip on his trusty Honda CB750. Sadly Bruces RT1 only made it to Bunnythorpe (5 kms out of town) where it holed a piston. I hear Cindy the Yamaha lady in America is sending over a new piston and rings. Unfortunetly I was unable to go. Doctors orders. No Motorbikes for a while. I think motorcycle withdrawl is worse than giving up smoking! Popped down to see the lads off and take a few videos and photos. I hear it was a great run with an always entertaining stop off at the Pilgrims Rest for a drink and some food. Bruce even managed to get the RT home and jump on his BMW and make it out to the Pilgrims Rest by the time the others got their via Kimbolton.
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.
Dione, Alan and I decided on a short run down to the Route 66 Diner in Foxton. This is a great place to stop for a quick bite, beer or cup of tea. We made our way via Taikorea and came back via Linton. a nice short run and a good excuse to get the bikes out after three lousy weekends of poor weather. Dione was testing his fairing on the X7. After swapping bikes it was definitely nice to be out of the wind and would be brilliant on a long trip. Riding Alans Suzuki TS250 was a pleasant surprise. Really scoots up to 100ks with ease. on our return we shot around to Alans place to check out the latest upgrades. Looking good for the Manawatu Vintage Motorcycle Club Rally on the 28th of November.
This is a run we did over the Pahiatua track and the Saddle Road finishing up at the Ashurst Domain Cafe. Dione had his daily workout starting the KR 250. Bikes on the run were Paul de Latour on his Kawasaki H1b, Kim de Latour on his Kawasaki H2a, Allan on his Suzuki TS 250, Dione on his Kawasaki KR250, Paul Whiting on a Kawasaki KH250 and myself on a Yamaha XJ750
