The Cemetery Circuit Ride 2020

Heading over to Whanganui for racing on Boxing Day has become a bit of ritual for many, and none more so than a number of Blue Haze members. The usual routine is to meet in town and make our way to the Church Yard cafe in Sanson for quick cuppa before heading over to the races. After waiting at Memorial Park for a while and a no show I headed for Sanson and caught up with everyone there. It was great to see the lineup of rattlers and friends outside the cafe with a bevy of Suzuki triples on show. Bruce and Stuart had there GT750 J and K's parked up with Barry and PC's GT 550s. Neat to see Dion on his NS400R and Jamie bringing out the RG400 for a spin as well. Also out for a spin was John M and Kenny on the BMW Rockstar. 

The journey to Whanganui was with plenty of traffic and once there paying a few dollars for secure parking and bagging of gear service and then into the circuit. With the event being a part of the the Suzuki Tri-series and one of the few street circuit meetings left in the world it was a shame the international contingent wasn't a part of it as it always adds a certain extra 'flavour' to the racing. In spite of this it was definitely a great day out with a real festival feel to the occasion as many of the locals make a real day of it with chilly bins full of food and refreshments.

The racing was tight and exciting. The Formula 1 and 2 provided some real fast action with the Rees brothers showing how it is done. That much power on this sort of circuit certainly seems disproportionate. The Formula 3 was as exciting as always with the Post Classics also providing some tight racing. Everyone enjoyed the sidecar racing which has always been popular at Whanganui. The Gixxer cup was also very close and so neat to see so many young ones keen to go racing. After all, they are the future of the sport. 

The real beauty with this event is being able to get close to the racing and for those of us with a photographic bent an opportunity to full our frames with some great action shots. It is something very difficult to do at the likes of Manfeild where safety dictates plenty of distance between the action and spectators. Long may this event last.

Suzuki Tri series @ Manfeild

 After enjoying the Manawatu Classic Motorcycle Clubs Champagne breakfast a few of us made our way to Feilding for the Manfeild round of the Suzuki Tri-series. The weather was excellent and after making our way via a few backroads we arrived at Manfeild. Sir Al and I had paired up for the short ride north and after lining up with other vehicles getting ready for the the Feilding Christmas Parade (which we hear was enjoyed by both big kids and little kids) we made our way to the parking area. It was great to see a few Blue Haze comrades already there, so we parked up next to them.  Heading to the gate the thirty dollar entry fee was a little to steep for Sir Al, so he headed home. I do wonder about the pricing of these events and whilst the economics dictate pricing one does wonder how many people are put off by this. 

Having said that, once in the gate the atmosphere was great and pleasing to see a good crowd supporting the event. The pits were a busy place and great to see some top people and teams supporting the event with the noticeable absence of  the usual  smattering of overseas people. Bloody covid!  It was also pleasing to see a good turnout of others supporting a range of classes these events such a spectacle. It was good to see the continued support for the Gixxer Cup that is so vital in ensuring opportunities for younger riders and for us older two wheeled petrol heads the Post Classic Class saw some classy machines and riders. 

It was good to see a Blue Hazite Tim out there in the 'Posties' doing the business on his up specced CBR 600. By all accounts the modifications he has done have made the CBR a quicker and far more pleasant machine to punt around the track. We look forward to seeing the 'Roberts T500 special' out there some time in the near future? Other Blue Hazite's out enjoying the event were Kim, Dion, Jamie, Paul D, Alan D and Rich. It was great way to spend a Sunday afternoon and nice to see motorcycle racing in such good heart.

 

A Suzuki Walter Wolf RG400 makes an appearance

 Provenance is an important word when it comes to items of a heritage nature. It is used to add more of a 'story' to these items usually associated with owners and/or events. Walter Wolf is not a name many are familiar with in the motorcycling realm, but for a while he was a main sponsor for a Formula 1 team in the seventies and sponsored the official factory Suzuki team as well and hence these limited edition bikes. They came in three flavours the RG250, RG500 and Warrens one the Japanese market RG400. They were made up until 1987 and were very much the swan song of the large two stroke road bikes along with the Yamaha RZ500. Here is a great article on an a RG500 Walter Wolf from our Aussie neighbour.

https://bikereview.com.au/classic-test-suzuki-rg500-walter-wolf-review/

Warren T has been making noises about acquiring an RG500/400 for a while now, so it was great to see him turning up with one. As you can see from the photos it is in excellent condition and it went really well on our morning run. 

This was a little pre Christmas ride to catch up before the silly season. We decided on a short run with Warren offering to take us to Shannon via some roads most of us wouldn't have been on. He even promised a few sweeping corners. Good to see Sir Al on his H2 which nicely contrasted Warrens RG400 as two generations of two stroke 'big' bike development. Warren M had his XJ900 out for a spin and Dave was out on his Guzzi Le Mans. Paul H left his Le Mans at home and brought out his new Moto Guzzi V85TT with Stuart on his trusty KLE 500 and Bruce S bringing out his Ducati 999S for a spin and Ian on his trusty W650. Rich was out adding more kays to his Vstrom 650 and yours truly on the GSR750. Warren delivered on his promise and we had a great little run with us eventually coming out just north of Shannon. 

We had a very pleasant 'cuppa' at the The Horseman's Cafe where they have a great selection of cabinet and menu food. There was talk around the table on the number of VJMC bikes emerging from garages shortly with the summer motorcycling season in full swing. I had better get the T500 sorted out to join the classics party. Dave has sorted the electrics out so hopefully just some carb fettling to do. 

It's so easy when you have a modern to 'revert' to it so a little reminder that our end of month rides are going to privilege the classic bikes for determining the 'tenor' of these runs.  

The Pie Run

We are often looking for an excuse to go for a ride on a bike and back in the day a pie run was as good an excuse as any. A couple of weekends ago we had a run up to Hunterville and it was great to have along Bruce's son Oscar for his first run out with Dad on a bike. Bruce brought along his most pillion friendly bike, his Suzuki GS750. Gary A brought out his Honda CX500 for a spin, and Warren on his XJ900, so we had a few VJMC bikes out for the run. Also out for a spin was Ian on his Yamaha Vmax, Stuart on his KLE, Sir Al on his Sportster, Rich on his Vstrom, Ray on his Triumph Tiger and yours truly on a GSR750. We met at Memorial Park and had our usual chat in the sun, but were soon off to Hunterville for a pie. Our loop today was up over Vinegar Hill via Colyton and Makino Road with a stop off at Stormy Point. Stormy point wasn't very stormy so we enjoyed the sun and view but a young lads rumbling tummy soon had us back on the road to Hunterville

Hunters cafe provides a great place to park and view the ever more busy State Highway traffic whizzing by. On a sunny day there is always a large sprinkling on motorcycles so it is definitely a place with a view, just not of a geographical nature! For Oscar the only thing he wanted to view were the pies in the warmer. Luckily for him there were still a few pies left and they were soon on a plate and making their way to an outside table. There wasn't a lot of conversation from Oscar as the pie disappeared and for the rest of us we had a pleasant time enjoying the sun, the 'view' and consuming our coffee and food. By this time Dave had turned up on his Guzzi and it was great to see Doug from Whanganui who stopped in for a chat after heading out for a ride on his immaculate Yamaha XS750 triple. Some of the chat was around the next VJMC Rally and it looks as though it is returning to The Masters Hall in Pahiatua. The date yet to be confirmed. 

Our return part of the loop had us heading towards the Rangitikei river via Rangatira Rd. We do our best to avoid the State Highways unless we need to get from A to B in a hurry and this is one of our back road choices  for this loop ride. You certainly get to see some different scenery, some great roads and a more intimate view of rural life. You do have to be careful of farming activities that use the road and of course stray animals. After coming out at Rata it is a short run down State Highway One to Porewa /Onepuhi Rd and then back out to State Highway one just north of Marton. These roads go through some lovely bush remnants that have some nice windy bits and out into the farmland with straights and more open and flowing curves. 

The turnoff at Kakariki has us heading to Halcombe then over to Mount Stewart with a stop off at Mount Biggs School for a final natter and then home. Not a bad pie run and one I am sure we will do again soon.