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 .
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.
Just found this photo on the net and I immediately thought of my brother who is a real collector of quality japaneses motorcycles that happen to be in need of some attention. He has a mini version of this and all he needs to do is get rid of the clothes line and paint "Pauls Paradise" on the roof to complete the picture.
Alan De Lautour just sent these photos of the 1967 Yamaha V4 125 racer featured at Classic meet at Pukekohe. What a gem. I am sure Paul Q could have made good use of its 9 speed gearbox in his YL1 on Monday.
The VJMC/Blue Haze Manawatu group spent Easter Monday wandering around the backroads of Feilding and Halcombe with two stopovers at Stanway and Sanson. Great to see some familiar and new faces and bikes. Paul Qs little YL1100 twin drew a few smiles and Warrens KH400 was very much appreciated by the Kawasakites and for me the company of another Yamaha XJ was welcomed with Paul K on his XJ550. The De Lautours were enmasse with Paul on his H1b, Alan on Pauls H2 and Kim on his trustworthy H2. Paul W fronted up with his GPz750r and Tim K on my KH250. Rounding out the group was Dave Mac and son on his Ducati 1000. A group of eleven bikes set out from Manawatu Motorcycles and set off towards Feilding with Paul Q making the most of the tail wind. After our stop at Stanway Paul Q used his vast racing experience to draft the bigger bikes as we headed back to town and into the south easterly headwind. Following Paul Q on the YL1 through a curving dip I witnessed yet more of his racing expertise as he went flying around the outside of Kim on his Kawasaki H2. A sight I will never forget! We stopped off at the Red cafe just as you go into Sanson from the north. Good food and coffee at a reasonable price. The only other incident of note was myself starting the XJ whilst off the bike and in gear. This catapulted myself and the bike into a fence that was only a few metres away. Thanks to the lads for their quick thinking with the only damage being a broken turn signal.
Had a pleasant run up to Hunterville on Sunday with a good turnout. Paul W on his recently on the road kawasaki GPZ 750r, Kim on the mighty H2, Dion on his Honda grenade, (just kidding Dion, it goes really well!) otherwise known as MVX250, Alan on his Suzuki TS250, Don on his GT500, Bruce on his BMW F650, pretending it is his Yamaha RT1, myself on the KH250 and Paul D on his immaculate Kawasaki 500H1. It has to be seen to be believed as it is no surprise that it won peoples choice at last years VJMC rally in Stratford. Sorry about the poor video quality. Didnt take my "flash camera" this time. The sad part of the day was the demise of 'Sir Alans' beloved Suzukis gearbox just before Hunterville. Luckily it managed to limp home. We probably wont be seeing it on any runs for a wee while! But rumour has it that Sir Al has a stand in waiting the wings! Hunters Cafe in Hunterville is becoming a favourite place to stop for fluids and food.
The Manawatu VJMC Blue Haze club had a strong delegation attend the annual VJMC national rally at Kaiapoi near Christchurch in New Zealand. This included Kim on his H2, Paul De Latour on his GT750 Suzuki, Bruce on his fill in for his RT1, his BMW, Paul Whiting on his recently restored GPz 750r, Tim on his R1, Don on the mighty GT500 Suzuki, Dione on his Kr1 and Alan on his A7 Avenger. The trip over on the ferry was pleasant but riding between Blenheim and Kaikoura everyone encountered a horrendous storm with huge winds and hail with Dione suffering the most. Some had to pull over and wait for the storm to pass as it became very dangerous with bikes being blown across the road.
Some great bikes were seen at the rally with a highlight being a local with an extraordinary collection of Yamaha twins. Another highlight for the team was Alan winning the peoples choice award with his A7. The trip back was far more pleasant with sunshine and a stopover in Nelson. An excellent trip with everyone looking forward to next years rally and a big thank you to Ross and Judy for making it all happen.
Suzuki celebrated there 50th year in New Zealand. A rally was held in Wanganui to celebrate this. A group of us travelled over from Palmerston North. Don on his recently rebored Suzuki GT 500, Paul on his Kawasaki H1a, Dion on his Honda MVX250, Alan on his Kawasaki A7, Kim on his Kawasaki H2a, myself on the XJ750 and Alan De Latour came down from New Plymouth on his Suzuki RG500. Some interesting bikes but a distinct lack of Suzukis. We were all really impressed with Alans RG500. He has done a magnificent job on restoring it and the chambers on it make a wonderful crisp sound. great to see a nicely modified Kawasaki Z900 as well along with a lovely sounding Laverda Jota. the Blue Suzuki GS1000G was another standout bike.
Squids and cows...
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So, after posting the video of my near miss with the calf, another YouTuber
asked if it was ok to include it in one of his compilation videos. I said
yes,...
