Tool Kit in a Bottle

Whats with the lawn mower Dion?

Three generations of twostrokes

Just needs a Kenny Roberts signature 

Always a nice little stop

Time for a cuppa

Labour Day looked like a good opportunity to head out for a ride around the district. With many of the troops off doing other activities over the long weekend a hardy bunch of four of us lined up at Manawatu Motorcycles. And hardy we needed to be with a gathering wind strength and chill factor we headed out towards Pohongina for our first stop and then back through the flowing curves to Colyton. The T500 was in its element with its long and low profile sweeping through the corners and looking in the rear vision mirrors, the usual smokey accompanyment wasn't visible. Hopefully the addition of some Wynnes Engine Oil Stop Leak might delay replacement of the crank seals. Alan on his trusty A7 was giving his new Hagon shocks a workout whilst Bruce was seeing if his now completed paint job on the RZ made his bike go faster. Geoff on the KR150 was enjoying the sights and sounds of old two strokes as he continued to impress with the performance of 150ccs of recent two stroke technology.  After skirting around the back of Feilding to our next stop at Stanway the conversation was around "Where did Spring go?"and the cooling temperature had us looking for a hot cuppa. We made our way through Halcombe and back to Feilding a cafe. We had one unintended stop before we arrived with my side cover flapping around in the breeze and minus the knob. Nothing like the old T500 vibes for unscrewing things. Luckily I have a spare at home that I picked up from the local Suzuki dealer for a whole $12 (ex Japan!) Geoff carried on home and we joined a growing number of locals refueling after the previous nights rugby revelry. It was a great little ride and a nice reminder about all the great roads we have close by. The only downside to the ride is the tool kit in a bottle sort of worked, but not enough to avoid the motor coming out of the T500. Time to roll my sleeves up!

Caption Competition II

Popped into Manawatu Motorcycles the other day and Kim showed me a very interesting newspaper clipping from the not so distant past. This is Alan on his Kawasaki A7 at Manfield having not such a good day. I bet he was hoping that this was well behind him! To celebrate its discovery lets have a caption competition. Look forward to your contributions
 My caption would go something like.....
 "Mr De Lautour maintains that his fall was deliberate and his way of introducing a new form of personal expression to the world that he calls 'kinetic planking'".
Update: Upon good authority, the bike in question is a Yamaha TR2. That lovely front brake gives it away!

Spring has Sprung a Honda NSR 400

It has been a while since I last posted, but things happen in ones life that require all of ones time and attention. Paul and I would like to thank all those who have expressed there condolences with the passing of our mother. Like all mothers, she had always been concerned about her children's safety, but as my brother and I have ‘matured’ and continued our interest in motorcycles she was always interested in what the Blue Haze were up to. It was great to talk to her about the great roads and countryside we traversed but more importantly the company we shared it with. For me it is a timely reminder that life needs to be lived to the full and for me part of that is riding old Japanese motorcycles with like minded souls. So get out to the shed and get that bike on the road! 





The last month has seen some great weather during the weekends which has had some of members out and about. The month started out with a great afternoon run up the Pohangina Valley and return. Dion turned up with the latest addition to his stable, a Honda NSR400. He has had this on his wish list for some time and with the departure of his KRs and GT250 his shed now had room for such a machine. Also along for the run was Alan on his H2, Bruce on his RZ350, Kim on the RE5, Don on the GT500 and myself on my XJ750. The road was in its usual condition; that is watch out for loose gravel on certain sections and by keeping ones speed down the vistas with snow capped peaks could be enjoyed a little longer before they disappeared for summer. The first stop at Totara Park had Dion removing his helmet with a Cheshire cat grin. As we stood there admiring the lines of the NSR with its Rothmans crest (imagine paying money today to buy a brand new motorcycle that advertises cigarettes!) next to Alans H2 the jump in technology between them is amazing. Both put out just over 70 hp using two stroke triple motors, but one does it with 400cc versus 750. Imagine where things might be now if they had continued developing large capacity two strokes? We were soon back on the road and heading past Pilgrims Rest towards the ranges then headed in a westerly direction just past Umutoi.



Our arrival in Apiti had us making a decision about where to feed and water ourselves, and the Apiti Tavern was chosen for a change. We usually arrive in Apiti in the mornings before they open so this was a first, and what a great place. Next time we come we will bring our tennis rackets as it looks like the Apiti Tennis Club and local pub are one and the same. The locals were great with some appreciation shown for our ‘old jappas’ which was a nice change from those ‘potato potato bikes everyone has these days’. One of the locals turned up on his old Trumpy that looked like it was his daily transport but last registered in the sixties. A great place to enjoy some refreshments and local colour. Bruce and Alan departed early for the return home so those of us left retraced our tracks back down Pohangina Valley. Another great run and Dions smile was even bigger by the time we said our goodbyes and headed home.



Last sunday proved to be another perfect day for a ride so a group seven decided to forgo a sleep in and turned up at nine at Manawatu Motorcycles. A run up to Hunterville via Mangamako Road to Ohangaiti and down to Hunterville. This is a first for some and Mangamako Road proved to be a great choice with some great flowing corners and scenery. The return south via Vinegar Hill included meeting ‘Wayne/Brent’ going the other direction on his GSXR at a rate of knots that would have won Crosby a 500GP race. Check out his video to see what traveling from Stormy Point to the top of Vinegar Hill in 9 minutes and 27 seconds looks like. This included a compulsory stop near Rewa! See if you can spot the troops @ 48 seconds. Thanks for getting in touch and leting us know about your video.

Roll call
Kim De Lautour - Suzuki RE5
Paul De Lautour - Suzuki GT 750
Dion Tornquist - Honda NSR 400
Ross Charlton - Suzuki 1200 Bandit
Bruce Sagger - Suzuki T500
Paul King - Yamaha XJ550
Alan Clark - Kawasaki 350 A7b Avenger

 
Update: Dion has just popped in for a cuppa and has pointed out that his bike is an NS 400R, not NSR 400.

A Perfect Winters Day for a Ride!

It was definetly a perfect winters day that greeted the crew for our end of month ride last Sunday. Not a breath of wind, the sun shinning brightly and a nice dry road. A group of nine eventually lined up outside Manawatu Motorcycles ready to head out for another wander around the district. After some discussion Hunterville was the chosen destination via Halcombe and some back roads that avoided State Highway One then home via Vinegar Hill. First stop was to be Kakariki but Steves RZ350 decided otherwise and Newbury had Steve pointing his bike homeward to sort out what looked like an electrical problem. After turning off at Mount Stewart and passing through Halcombe a regroup at Kakariki had all of us enjoying the sun and looking forward to a good coffee at Hunterville. Just north of the Marton turnoff the troops took the back roads to Hunterville whilst Dions 1974 Suzuki GT250 decided to communicate its need for a thoroughly good tune up by running on one cylinder. Dion decided to turn around and head on home and the rest of us headed for our coffee stop. It was a great coffee and after watching a number of other bike groups ride by we joined them and headed out to Vinegar Hill for the ride home. It was a great run with very little traffic which we extended by coming through the back of Feilding via Makino road. After a brief stop we all headed off home with that wonderful feeling you only get from a great ride with people who have the same passion and topped off with a 'chocolate box winters day'

Question time # 01 Updated!

What is this and what bike is it off?

All answers to gazz@ihug.co.nz

From some of the responses I have received so far it looks like more assistance is needed for this. The down side to this is that the prize for guessing this is going to progressively shrink from a chocolate fish to a chocolate raisin. This is the next clue to takes it to a small chocolate fish.

Congratulations to Alan Clark for being the first to come up with the correct answer. This is part of the infamous CDI unit from a Kawasaki 500H1 that according to legend interfered with TV reception for a radius of half a mile. If your TV reception is playing up, Paul De Lautour is probably out on his H1!   

Two Strokes to Tui

Its about this time of the year we look back to summer with great fondness as we pile on the thermals and zip the liners back into our jackets and leggings. I was looking for some photos the other day and came across some I hadn't put up from February this year. They definetly gave one some "warm fuzzies" with all that sunshine, tee shirts and beer! This was a little jaunt a few of the troops went on and as the tittle of the blog suggests it was all two strokes. Not a four stroke anywhere. This is becoming a rare occurence on our runs and another reminder of how times have changed. The photos are also a reminder of Dons hip replacement surgery at the time and his remarkable recovery that has him wandering around North America yet again. Go Don!

Roll call
Paul De Lautour - Kawasaki 500 H1b
Kim De Lautour - Yamaha RZ250
Bruce Andrews - Yamaha RZ/RD350
Alan Clark - Kawasaki H2750
Gary Whiting - Suzuki T500II
Dion Tornquist - Kawasaki KH400

 Rug up everyone as the weather forecast looks a bit grim for this weekend or better still get out to the garage and do some work on your bike/s ready for next fine day!

Deals Gap 2011

For all you two stroke fans out there, here is something you might like to add to your bucket list! The Deals Gap two stroke meet sounds like the place to be at the end of May in the states.  These guys and gals do this for a whole week! What about doing a similar thing here in good old NZ? Check out this forum for some photos from the the latest meet.