Bazza's Shed Raid

Sir Al has just sent in this great write up from the weekend. Four of the troops headed south to experience one mans passion for the old Jappas. When Barry isn't trying to keep the propellers attached to Kiwi Rail Ferries he is more than likely tinkering around in his shed. When your nearest and dearest question the number of bikes in your collection, send this link to them. Thanks for setting the standard Barry!

One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor

Certainly the case when it comes to collecting old bikes.

Mother’s Day; Kim, Dion, Ian, and myself headed to the capital to visit Barry D and collect a NOS exhaust end for my Kawasaki A7. A perfect day for a ride joining the masses heading up and down SH1. After a coffee stop at Riverstone café in Otaki, we arrived at Bazza’s about 1.30pm.

Ian rode his GSX600, myself on the Aprilia (taking some stick over my choice), and Kim and Dion on Yamaha TZRs, a 3XV and 1KT respectively. The arrival of the TZRs inspired Barry to wheel out his TZR 3MA. Then the RZ 350 and RZ 250. Then the YDS1 (with interesting race pedigree) and YDS2 and YDS6. And then the DT1 and RT3. And that’s just the Yamahas! There were Kawasaki, Honda, and Suzuki. Several of each. We lined the Yamahas up for a photo session in the afternoon sun. Had a good poke around the garage and a small shed that could well be the original Tardus, judging by the selection of bikes and tyres, bars, and parts that came out of it. Clearly none of us are using the space we have at home to best effect. Every nook and cranny at Barry’s had something interesting stored away. Barry’s talent for collecting is surpassed only by the inimitable Paul W!

We headed back about 4pm and filtered through the endless stream of 4-wheeled flotsam & jetsam that clogs SH1 north of the capital on weekends. All went well until the 3XV lost forward momentum just out of Tokomaru. 6 neutrals. So it was a dub home on the Aprilia to get the van. There’s always something to work on during the week when you have old bikes.

Four Seasons in One Day

Sunday April 20th dawned overcast in the Manawatu and a group of 7 optimistic riders headed north to Taihape via Kimbolton and Rangiwahia. The roads were wet and we were getting peppered with occasional showers. The plan was to ride over to Hawkes Bay via the Gentle Annie road. After a stop at Taihape for petrol and a hot coffee, we headed off toward Moawhanga and up onto the Central Plateau. As we climbed the sky cleared and the road dried and a we enjoyed a great ride over one of the best motorcycling roads in our region. After the descent to the Kaweka forest (the part of the road originally known as The Gentle Annie) the temperature started to rise and a stop at Omahu was required to remove extra clothing layers. From there a short run into Hastings for petrol and then (eventually, after a short tour of Flaxmere) onto SH50 and down to Tikokino for lunch at the Tikokino Country Hotel. The food was good and the service quick, and we sat outside enjoying the warmth of a Southern Hawkes Bay autumn day. After lunch it was down to Dannivirke, where those of us with wet weather gear should have put it back on! As we headed toward Woodville it became obvious we weren't going to get home dry. The temperature dropped, the wind howled and then about 15km out the hail hit. Then it poured down. By Woodville it was too late to get the rain gear out and we headed into the Manawatu Gorge in very poor visibility. Surprisingly, we emerged from the George into patches of blue, and made it home on dry roads about 4.30.
Between us we had a mixture of bikes from the 70s, 80's, 90s, and modern era. All the bikes went well.
This is definitely a ride we should be organising more often. Well worth making the effort.
Riders & bikes; Ian GSX600F, Paul Moto Guzzi Le Mans, PC Honda Bros, Kim & myself on Kawasaki H2s, Evan KTM Duke 690, and Bruce BMW GS650.

Report from Sir Al

A 1992 Yamaha TZR 250 3XV8 out with the classics!

It was good to catch up with the Manawatu Classic Motorcycle Club today with a few of us popping along to there monthly meeting at the Manawatu Vintage Car Club followed by a a Track and Saddle run. There meeting was full of tales of trips around the East Coast, attendance's at rallies and events all over the lower half of the North Island as people made the most of the prime time of the year for getting out and about on a motorcycle. This included a brief report on the VJMC rally in March. After the meeting formalities we had a quick cuppa where we caught up with a few of the members who shared there passion for motorcycles that all seemed to include a Japanese motorcycle or two in the mix. All to soon we were being hustled out the door to get our bikes on the road. I quick run through town had us heading towards the hills and in no time at all we were up the top of the Pahiatua Track. we were quickly down the other side and hugged the ranges down to the Balance bridge. All ways a nice little run. We were soon at the base of the Saddle road and making our way up to the next stop at the Windmill farm lookout. You could definitely feel a chill in the air from the south easterly and it was good to have it at our back as we headed down the hill to our final destination at the Ashhurst Inn. More yarns were shared over a variety of beverages and food concluded with people heading back into town at around two 2:00pm. An excellent way to spend four hours on a Sunday!

PS. It was great to see Bruce turn up with his latest purchase for the ride. It was certainly a contrast to the rest of the bikes on the run. His Yamaha TZR is certainly a stunning piece of machinery. What I hadn't realised was how exclusive it is and like Kims bike they really are an example of how good a two stroke sports road bike can be. It is easy to see why these 80s and 90s (2000s to if one includes the Aprillia RS250) are appreciating in value very rapidly. Here is something I found on line to whet ones appetite even more!

http://raresportbikesforsale.com/titled-and-beautiful-92-tzr-250-rs/

An Autumnal Wander

A few of the crew headed out into the Rangitikei for a bit of a wander at the weekend and ended up in Hunterville for a coffee. Looks like the weather treated them well with plenty of sunshine. This is a great time of year for riding air cooled two strokes with that 'coolness' adding a few more horsepower I am sure.  It looks like Ians bike was the token four stroke! Good to see the lads getting out there and riding the bikes as intended!
A big thank you to Ian for the photos.

March End of Month Ride.

Last Sunday saw a good turnout for our end of month ride. It was good to see Paul De Lautour back in the saddle of his GT 750 after a very long hiatus due to a persistent cough. Driving around in that South Island air in his E Type Jag for a few weeks must have done him a world of good. We also had PC along on his cackling LC and Janet on her affable Kawasaki ER (Come on Janet, drag out the Bros for a run!). John McGegg turned up on a very smart Yamaha 650 Special and next to him at the Manawatu Motorcycles lineup was Kim on his TZR250 3XV, Ian on his semi naked GSX 600F, Michael on his award winning GSX 750 and myself on the XJ. Bruce had his BMW out for a spin and Sir Al on his Aprillia and eventually Bruce on his lovely red VFR750. We decided on shorter run as people were wanting to head off for other Sunday activities ( has that baby arrived yet John?) so a quick squirt over the Pahiatua Track and the Saddle Road had us heading into the Fusion Cafe at Ashhurst just under an hour later. The roads were in an okay condition, but we are still waiting for the promised upgrade to the Saddle Road or is this it? I hope not. It certainly called for some caution! We finished off with a good chat over tea and coffee and we were on our way to other destinations just after midday. Sir Al and I finished off our ride with a run down Valley Road to Colyton and then home.

2014 VJMC National Rally

Thought it was time to put pen to paper (so to speak) and through together a report on the 2014 VJMC Rally held at Tatum Park, just south of Levin. Michael on his GSX 750and Kim on his H2a made there way south for Friday evening , and by all accounts a good night was had by all. The big news for the weekend was the anticipated arrival of Cyclone Lusi with all sorts of mayhem apparently on the way. Our arrival on Saturday morning had a really good tailwind assisting our ride south. Rich on his T500, Sir Al on his H2, Dion on his TZR and myself on the mighty XJ arrived to find the display organisation well under way. It was a great way to spend a couple of hours surveying a wide variety of bikes ranging from the sixties through to the nineties and catching up with their owners as stories and restoration tips were exchanged.
The judges definitely had there work cut out for them with some spectacular bikes on show with much anticipation as to the outcomes of there deliberations. All was to be revealed later that evening after our ride up to Mangatainoka for lunch. Although the wind was strong the only rain we encountered was as we made our way over the Pahiatua track where caution was required around some of the sphincter tightening shiny corners that are becoming all to prevalent on our roads. Chasing Barry on his future 'cult classic', a Honda MVX 250F, was fun, with the bike showing some great pace going up the track. After pulling into Tui HQ and finding no bikes the penny dropped that we were to meet at the old pub down the road called the Dudley Arms Tavern. The line up of bikes outside looked impressive and the burgers and other food was excellent and good value for money. As some headed back to Tui HQ for a tour of the brewery, a pose of us headed to one of our favourite cafe haunts for a coffee. Alas the Bridge Cafe was closed due to a power cut so we headed through the gorge to Ashhurst to find a similar scenario there. Next stop was back into Palmy to the Rendezvous cafe where thank goodness the power was still on!
The run back down to Tatum Park was uneventful and after parking up the machines outside our accommodation, everyone put on there best black Tee shirts and jeans for the formal part of the weekend. We had an excellent main meal and to top it off the pudding included a wonderfully decorated cake to celebrate the VJMCs 25th National Rally with Ross picking up a special prize for attending all 25 rallies. It was great to see a couple of the local lads pick up prizes with Kim receiving the most original seventies with his H2a and Michael for best Suzuki. The band Angela organised for the evening was excellent as they played a lot of great tunes from the 70s and eighties. Unfortunately it all came to a premature end with, you guessed it, another power cut. Sunday morning found us hovering around the dinning room at 8 with the smell of bacon and eggs wafting out the kitchen. A very hearty breakfast was had by all followed by the packing and loading of bikes for the journey home.
It was great spending a weekend with bunch of people who have the same passion for old japanese motorcycles. This passion came through in the way people shared there stories and expertise. A big thanks to Ross, Judy, Angela and Barry for all the work they did to make this a great weekend.
I look forward to eating some of the 50th VJMC anniversary cake!