Suzuki Mk1/XR14 RG500s @ Manfield

From Alans Suzuki Mk1 RG500s

From Alans Suzuki Mk1 RG500s

From Alans Suzuki Mk1 RG500s

From Alans Suzuki Mk1 RG500s

From Alans Suzuki Mk1 RG500s

The New Zealand Classic Motorcycle Racing register have been running a series of meetings over the summer. Last November I popped over to Manfield to check out one of these after hearing that Alan De Lautour was running both of his Suzuki Mk1 RG500s. You don't get to hear or see these things a lot these days so as you can see I collected some video and photos. One of the bikes was ridden by Pat Hennan from the States in the 70s in the Malboro series whilst the other was ridden by John Woodley. Alan bought them and successfully raced them in the late 70s and early 80s and has now put them back on the track. He is probably best known for his New Zealand Castrol Six Hour win with Dave Martin on a Honda VF1000F in 1984. Both bikes are mechanically tops and beautifully presented. Would be great to hear it on the track minus all the four strokes! Thanks for the great visual and aural treat Alan.

Boxing day in Whanganui

From Boxing Day Races 2010

From Boxing Day Races 2010

From Boxing Day Races 2010

From Boxing Day Races 2010

From Boxing Day Races 2010

From Boxing Day Races 2010

What to do on Boxing Day has never been an issue for some of us. None of the jostling in malls and big box stores looking for bargains, but rather sitting in a cemetery watching others eat hotdogs and drink beer whilst a crazy bunch of motorcyclists burn off their Christmas dinner racing each other. And so a bunch of us from Palmy gathered together at Manawatu Motorcycles and headed off in a westerly direction towards Whanganui. Its a great feeling sharing the road with so many bikes all heading in the same direction.
We were all very interested to see how one of own (Tim) would do on his recently acquired Honda CBR600. This would be its first outing. Tims previous bikes at Whanganui have been of a 2 stroke kind, but have proved very fragile. You can only loctite and wire up a YZ490 only so many times! He not only completed all his races, but improved his placings as he got used to the bike. Having said all that, we did miss the mighty YZ vibrating and smoking its way around the circuit. The racing is only part of the experience and along with the culinary delights of Hot Dogs and Chips, you can check out the pits and spectator bikes. I was impressed with Alan De Lautours restraint when he and Dion had an interesting discussion with an RG500 "expert" over an RG500s fairing details. Alan is probably the expert in New Zealand on all things RG500. All adds to the colour of the day. After watching the usual smorgasbord of sidecars, motard, F1, F2, Post Classics etc we decided to head home at threeish. Or so we thought! Sir Al managed to misplace the key to a lockup we had all our gear in. We had visions of sitting on the riverbank throwing stones whilst we waited for help to arrive. Luckily for us a key was found and our departure was delayed by an acceptable hour.
The tail wind home was great for fuel economy and upon arrival at home the BBQ was fired up and we had a great turnout of friends, kids, partners etc. Great to see Barry Drummond and his son on the mighty Z1 pop in on there way home. The anticipated fireworks highlight of the evening courtesy of the De Lautour brothers literally fizzed out in spite of there obvious pyromaniac tendencies. Cheap fireworks are cheap for a reason!

A Blue Haze Christmas

From Xmas run 2010

From Xmas run 2010

From Xmas run 2010

From Xmas run 2010

From Xmas run 2010

From Xmas run 2010

The weather forcast was looking a little ominous for the the Christmas ride, but on the day the weather cooperated for our morning run and saved the rain for the afternoon BBQ. I was determined to have my T500 all legal and on the road for the Christmas run. This was a challenge in itsef after having to navigate through all the paper and mechanical requirements to make it legal for the road. A big thanks to Phil Turnbull for the appropriate letter and to Paul De Lautour for the last minute brake declaration. Also thanks to Alan and his workmates at New Zealand Telephone and Cable for the Coffees and moral support whilst waiting for VTNZ to dot the is' and cross the ts'. This then was to be its first run and after the decision was made to head east over the ranges it only took until Aokautare for the realisation that something was amiss. The plugs were checked and replaced and Paul W gave it a good thrashing up to the top of the track. After a brief stop at the top we headed on down the track towards Managamaire and on to Rongomai, but the T was still playing up. The group split up with Paul De Lautour and myself heading towards Pahiatua to await the others after there loop through Rongomai. As we waited Paul pulled the carbs off the T and low and behold the problem was found in the left hand carb, a stray clip! With the arrival of the others we headed off and what a dramatic difference to the T. An excellent early Christmas present!
Our cafe stop at 'Over the Bridge' was up to its usual high standard and enjoyed in wonderful sunshine. This was all about to change as we made our way back to Palmy and the small droplets of precipitation became more numerous. Luckily Kim and Casandra had a cunning plan which involved a large umbrella and the BBQ in the garage. Great to see the two Johns arrive on their respective Kawasaki S3a and Suzuki GT750J. Its not often you get to see two 750Js alongside each other. Hop a long Don with his recently aquired bionic hip was also waiting with his stories about the very 'kind' nurses at the Southern Cross hospital. I am sure they have made a large contribution to his remarkable recovery.
Kim cranked up the BBQ and cooked up a storm to go with the great salads and puddings. The kids and ladies were a very welcome addition to the the conversations around the table and betweeen the raindrops. The presentation of a piece of Garage Art to Dion was a celebration of Dions contribution to New Zealands motorcycling heritage by recycling so many bikes (and scooters!) in any given year. The 3D CX500 turbo painting is definetly going to add to the ambience of his carpeted garage and of course a reminder of yet another bike he used to own! As the rain continued to fall people left happy after spending a great day cruising around the countryside on some classic Japanese bikes and sharing the company and conversations with a others (spouses and familys included) who have a similar passion.
A big thank you to Kim and Casandra for hosting a great afternoon.

The 500 Corner Ride

From Taihape via Apiti

From Taihape via Apiti

From Taihape via Apiti

From Taihape via Apiti

The official November VJMC/Blue Haze run took sometime to get underway. Our quick getaway was foiled by a lack of air! You would think that the word 'service' was an important word in the vocabulary of Petrol Service Stations, but no. I had to go to four stations before I was able to find an airhose that was working. To busy selling lattes and gourmet pies! Paul W was on his Kawasaki GPz 750r, Dion on his Kawasaki KH400, Sir Al on his Kawasaki KH750, Kim on his Yamaha RZ250 and myself on my Yamaha XJ750. The route was to be up to Apiti via the Pohangina Valley, through Rangiwahia and then to Mangaweka, State Highway 1 and up to Taihape for fuel. The return journey was to be through Vinegar Hill and back home. The trip up the valley required extra attention with a lot lose seal on the road and despite a subdued pace a few of us had a few whoppsie moments. At our first stop at Apiti we got to talking with one of the locals who proved to be a bit of a character. His story was he had decided to retire to Apiti and he had 'the largest shed in town. Apparently it is filled with all sorts of racing cars from the sixties along with a motorcycle that he uses to explore the countryside. Next stop was Rangiwahia with a lot of talk about the great road we had just come through. We then carried on through to Mangaweka and up to Taihape for a refuel. It was then back to Mangaweka International Airport for one of there famous toasties and a cup of tea. By now the temperature must have been getting pretty close to 30 degrees so it was good to get back on the bikes and cool down. The run down State Highway one was the usual boring one and the run through Vinegar Hill was tempered by a lot of traffic returning from the Round Taupo Cycle Race. A quick stop at Stormy point to view the scenery and we were back on the road. Paul W thought he could do the whole trip on one tank, but had to duck into Feilding to refuel.

The Gumboot Rally 2010

From Gumboot Rally 13 Nov 2010

From Gumboot Rally 13 Nov 2010

From Gumboot Rally 13 Nov 2010

From Gumboot Rally 13 Nov 2010

From Gumboot Rally 13 Nov 2010

From Gumboot Rally 13 Nov 2010

A small contingent from the VJMC/Blue Haze left Palmerston North for the gumboot rally on the 13th of November. The weather forcaste looked promising so it was decided to try a route none of us had been on for some time that took us up through Fielding, Kimbolton, Rangiwahia, Mangaweka and then to Taihape. The return journey was to be via the familiar Vinegar Hill route later in the day. What a pleasant surprise the road between Kimbolton and Mangaweka proved to be. The winding road made its way through some hilly countryside that took us along hill ridges that provided wonderful vistas through to riding through tunnels of trees in vallleys. Riding alongside the sheer papa banks on oneside and sheer drops into the Rangitikei river on the other make for exciting riding. It is not a road I would want to be on when it rains with the papa spread over the tarseal very quickly turning to a slippery muddy mixture. this is only at the Mangaweka end of the ride, but be warned. Cups of tea and coffee with a toastie were enjoyed at Mangaweka under the shade of the DC3 wing and then on through to Taihape. The motel proved to be a good venue with a good space for people to park bikes alongside a gathering area for socialising. A steady stream of bikes arrived as the afternoon progressed with Kawasaki krowd from Tauranga making a noisy entrance and not far behind the Hawkes Bay crew arrived loaded with luggage, including fishing rods. Apparently they were on a fishing holiday and had stopped off in Turangi on the way through. Didn't see any fish!
Good seeing Roger on his Honda K7 eith the original pipes. I am sure there aren't many of these around in New Zealand. It was an enjoyable afternoon checking out a wide range of bikes and chatting to like minded people. A big thank you to Trevor Opie for organising it.

A Special Sunday Ride

From Umutoi return

From Umutoi return

From Umutoi return

Dr Sprockets service at Umutoi

From Umutoi return

Johns Kawasaki S3a


The new 9:00am meeting time had us on our bikes and heading out of town for the Pohangina Valley just after 9:30. Along for the ride we had John on his Honda 900 Hornet, The Don on his well travelled Suazuki DR650, Bruce on his BMW 650, Sir Al on his trusty Kawasaki A7, Paul D on the immaculate Kawasaki H2, Kim on the improving Yamaha RZ250 and myself out for a spin on the Yamaha XJ750. Our first stop was Raumai after taking the back way via Colyton. As we made our way up the valley the temperature dropped and just past Pilgrims Rest the lovely high country vistas had sprinkling of snow on them. Just short of Umutoi we had our next stop with some taking the time to 'commune' with nature in a very simple service led by the Right Reverend Doctor Sprocket! The return journey had us stopping at the gate of the Pilgrims Rest which was unfortunetly closed so we pushed on to the Waterford. Paul D and Sir Al swapped bikes with Paul very impressed with the performance of the A7. After a some tea, coffee and a snack we headed into Ashurst and then around to Johns place to have a look at his latest purchase. He had just imported from the States a Kawasaki S3a 400 with a mere 2400 miles on the clock. Hopefully it will be all vinned and ready for our next ride in a couple of weeks.
Another great ride!

Haloween Day Run

Report by Dr Sprocket (Paul De Lautour)
Photos by Sparkie (Kim De Lautour)

From Haloween Day Run 2010

From Haloween Day Run 2010

From Haloween Day Run 2010

Six enthusiasts left Manawatu Motorcycles on Sunday 31st October heading west and away from the showers sneaking over the Tararua and Ruahine ranges. Dion on his trusty KH400, Bruce on his T350, Terry on the GT550, Kim on the RZ250, Paul on his H1 and newcomer Alan on his Kawasaki ER5 ( He is thinking about getting an older bike) headed off towards Feilding via Bunythorpe and Colyton. A quick regroup at the top of Makino road had us trying hard to keep ahead of the drizzly rain clouds coming across the ranges and on to Rewa and a stop at Stormy Point lookout. Despite the name it is quite calm with the beautiful Rangitikei Valley shrouded in mist. It was then on to Vinegar Hill and to Hunterville for a welcome Hot drink for some and a cool one for some of the bikes! Then its back to Feilding via some back roads that take us through Silverhope, Kakariki and Halcombe. We had a quick stop at Kens place in Feilding to see if he was working on his H1a (he wasn’t. We would like to think he was out shopping for some polish and getting it ready for next months run!) It was back through to Palmy and we were all still dry.
Another great trouble free ride
PS. Anyone finding a T350 baffle, Bruce would like it back

From Haloween Day Run 2010

Where is Ken? Where is his H1a?