Katana Kruising

**Kickaha** · 16th October 2007, 19:03

The idea for the ride came about when Divvo suggested riding up to the NZSRA have a go day in Taupo, after a bit of shagging around and thinking about it the tickets were booked and accommodation was organised, Bren_chch also decided to come along and booked his tickets a couple of days before we left

I gave the bike a quick check over, changed the oil and filter and it was good to go

I organised a Ventura packrack and Bathurst pack to go with it, Glen at Street and Sport was quite accommodating in organising the pack at short notice and Thursday night it was packed and loaded

We were meeting up at Mobil Amberley at 8.30am, and when I arrived to gas up Bren_chch was there ready and waiting, another ¼ hour and Divvo finally rolls up and were on our way

We set an easy pace up SH1 with Kaikoura being the first planned stop for gas, we come up behind a guy towing a trailer just past the old Hawkeswood cutting getting along at a reasonable pace, I shoot past him on the downhill followed by Divvo, Bren_chch is a bit slower getting past, as he goes to pass him around the river the driver cuts a corner just as Bren_chch gets alongside and nearly runs him off the road, needless to say Bren_chch is less than impressed and lets him know it

Catching up to us as we hit the Conway river bridge and as we begin the climb up into the Hundalees he gasses it up and snots off into the distance followed by Divvo while I wallow along in their wake, it’s been a few years since I’ve ridden through here and I don’t catch them until they get stopped at the bottom of the hill on the Oaro side with some roadworks

Oaro through to Peketa is now a 80km zone so we take it fairly easy through there and stop off at the Caltex to gas up, a quick fuel stop and we’re on the way again sitting on a leisurely 1@0 kmh, traffic is relatively light all the way through to Seddon where we’re stopped by the lights on the road/rail bridge, the new bridge looks completed and the temptation to take a short cut is high but there’s to many people standing around, we hit our first bit of bad weather and stop at Ward and discuss putting on wet weather gear and decide not to bother and carry on, 5 minutes down the road it clears and it’s dry to Picton

Arriving in Picton with Bren_chch in the lead and heading down the hill he rides straight past the Ferry turn off, I follow after him and when he misses the second turn off Divvo gives up and turns off to book in, catching up to him I ask him if he knows where he’s going and he replies “no” I lead him to the Ferry terminal where he picks up the tickets and when we go to head back the Katana won’t start, a quick push from Bren_chch and we shoot around to book in, a short wait and another push from Bren_chch and the Katana fires up and we load up for the trip over the water

We were on the Kaitaki and I’d have to say the facilities for tying bikes down are absolute crap, a boring 3 hours later and another push from Divvo we roll off in Welly and head off to Lower Hutt and Divvos sisters place for the night, Divvo guides Bren_chch to his brothers place 5 minutes away with instructions to be ready to go at 7.45am the next morning

Jim2 picks me up later that evening and then we meet up with Her_B4 and Craig at Little India for a feed and chinwag, bloody good job Jim2 knows his Indian food because none of the rest of us much of a clue, after dropping me off the couch gets folded out and it’s off to bed

**Kickaha** · 16th October 2007, 19:07

Duncan’s hooked the Katana battery up to a charger overnight and lends me another battery charger to take with me after we check the voltage and find it well down

I wake up at 6.30 and pack my gear up and after a tea and toast and Divvo dragging himself out of bed it’s about 8.20am when we leave to pick up Bren_chch who’s been waiting for ¾ hour, we gas up and head off over Haywards, taking the turn off at Pauatahanui we head off over Paekakariki hill with Bren_chch leading the way, when I first rode this in 92 I thought it was a bit of a goat track and my opinion hasn’t changed, although the fact I’m normally riding 1980s bikes with 1980s handling doesn’t help, I reckon if the cyclists I saw had tried a bit harder they could have got back passed me

We stop off in Bulls for Macca’s for brekky, Bren_chch gets something off the breakfast menu and then Divvo about ½ a second behind gets told breakfast is over when he objects he gets his way and then I’m told breakfast is over and I can’t have one so I order one of their crappy burgers instead

We gas up at the Mobil next door and that’s the last stop we have until Taupo, the run through is trouble free and although it’s a bit on the cool side it’s dry all the way, coming through the Desert road it’s blowing hard and there’s dust storms up the top and we’re getting knocked around a bit this dies down the closer we get to Turangi

We’ve seen no sign of the “long arm of the law” but as I pass a car chasing Divvo around the lake I see 130kmh on the speedo just as a cop comes around the corner

, I’m waiting for the lights to come on but he either can’t be fucked or was asleep

Arriving at Taupo track the first person I run into is Cajun whose standing where we park the bikes and works out who I am; a quick chat and we head off to find RiffRaff and Whitetrash, Whitetrash takes us up to the “corporate Box” but the bar staff seem to be on strike and we have to buy our own drinks downstairs

We hang about long enough to watch one of his races and then say our goodbyes and head off to the other side for the Sidecar Tech inspection and AGM where Divvo spends most of his time arguing with a tech inspector

, with all that over we head off the Scrivys where he has promised a couple of slappers, this turns out to be a total fabrication as Scrivy wouldn’t know what to do with one, so we make do with sitting around talking shyte, unfortunately I now have to buy a new sleeping bag as I had to lend it to Divvo and after he’s used it I’m to scared to sleep in it

We have to make our own breakfast the next day because Scrivy is such a crap host he won’t do it for us

Out to the track and the guys (and girls) are getting set up and Chris calls rider briefing and explains rather than the normal rule about swingers shouting a slab of piss when they’re taking paying customers out the rider pays the fine if he looses one

We’re planning on leaving about lunchtime but Bren_chch hasn’t turned up yet as he was staying at Tokoroa the night, I decide to try a couple of outfits for size and first go out with Steve Bron on the green LCR for a few laps and then on the Andersons White/Orange locally built bike with Dion riding it, the rain comes in a bit while we’re out and on lap 3 we get it a bit sideways at the hairpin and Dion pulls back into the pits

Divvos busy helping Ritchie pull the carbs to bits on there new outfit when Bren_chch turns up, despite offering to shout him a ride the softcock declines and instead does some bike maintenance instead, I bleed my front brakes as they’ve decided they don’t want to work anymore and we head back South

**Kickaha** · 16th October 2007, 19:10

First stop Turangi for BK, we’re looking at the hills and when we can’t see them we decide to put the wet weather gear on, a few km down the road and I’m thinking it was waste of time as the sun’s out when the shit really sets in, pissing rain and windy right through the Desert Road to Waioru, me and Bren_chch have a second near miss with the law when I ride past an oncoming copper at a speed errrrrrrrrr in excess of the legal limit and after talking to Bren_chch he thought he was going to be walking home, we stop at Waioru where Bren_chch disappears into the toilets to use the hand dryer to warm his hands and then we set off again

A few km down the road and the rains gone and the weather conditions downgrade from “absolutely fucking crap” to “windy as all fuck” and stay that way right through to Levin, Down the Himatangi straights we’re on a permanent lean and having to apply constant countersteer to stay in a straight(ish) line, pulling into Levin we gas up once again and carry on, we’re hitting a bit of traffic but getting through it pretty good when Bren_chch gets a police escort when they pull in behind him as we come past Raumati South, as a consequence oft his he lags a little behind and misses seeing us take the Paekakariki hill turn off, Divvos waiting at the lookout and we hang about for a couple of minutes and then carry on through to Lower Hutt

The Katana gets hooked up to the battery charger once again and we head inside to watch the Motogp and have a bit of Pizza, a txt or two back and forth from Bren_chch and meeting up at the ferry the next morning is organised

Next morning we’re up and ready to go and Divvo shows just what a softcock he really is by leaving his bike in Welly and driving a car the rest of the way home, it’s been a while since I’ve ridden in traffic like the early morning Hutt motorway puts on, arriving at the Ferry terminal Bren_chch is already waiting and we get put straight onto the boat and head upstairs for breakfast

Bren_chch and I choose the Kiwi big breakfast and apart from the eggs is not to bad, which Bren_chch spits back out onto his plate and gives up on the rest of the meal so we head off to the bar and sit about talking shit for a bit before Divvo and Bren_chch start trying to chat up the Blonde sitting next to us who turns out to be a Police recruit on her way to Invercargill

Off the ferry and we’re planning on Kaikoura being the first stop but a quick calculation and I work out I’ll hit reserve at least 20-30km short so we stop off for a quick ”splash and go” in Blenheim and then head south

We’re sitting on a steady speed slightly above the limit and passing traffic as soon as we come up behind it, we have another near miss at Seddon where the new bridge has been opened when a cop comes over the hill and we’re 20kmh over but like the others we’ve struck on this trip he just ignores us and carries on

, just by Grassmere we pass the Timaru Honda van, quite a few kilometres later and getting towards Kaikoura we hit some roadworks and have to stop and they pull up behind us a couple of minutes later which knowing how fast we were travelling means the mighty Hiace must have been pushed along a good pace

Arriving at the Kaikoura BP we gas up and have a pie for lunch, Divvo hits the road a few minutes before us in the Commodore and as we put our gear on there’s a few drops of rain but it’s looking clear to the South, the roads dry as we head around the coast, we hit roadworks just before the hill on past Oaro and idle up to the front of the queue

I’m glad I’m not directly behind Bren_chch as he gasses it up on the shingle and spits a few stones out the back and then heads off to attack the hills, it’s not until we head up out of the valley part way in that he starts getting into it and it’s not until the passing lanes the other side of the Conway that I catch sight of him again and take the lead through to Cheviot, once through Cheviot and I up the speed a little more, just past pavements corner and we catch Divvo the car driving poofter and blow on past him

Once we hit Waipara I slow it down a bit and as we get to Amberley I give Bren_chch a wave:spudwave: as he turns into the Mobil and I take the Markham street turn so I can take the back road home through to Rangiora

Finally home and what have I learnt about the bike

The charging system is shagged; probably the typical GS Suzuki shagged stator

It handles like crap, the front is under sprung and under damped and the rear is the opposite

It doesn’t like slow corners (35-45kmh) it feels like it wants to drop in and shakes the bars

At 60 kmh constant speed it shakes the bars and if you take your hands off (yeah yeah I know I shouldn’t) it gets real bad

The brakes are crap, typical eighties really but they got worse the further I rode until I bled them at Taupo

Fuel economy was around 16km/litre

An awesome trip over the four days but I’ll have to admit it was good to be back home with Jo

, roll on the next one

**dangerous** · 16th October 2007, 19:24

Originally Posted by Kickaha

Finally home and what have I learnt about the bike

The charging system is shagged; probably the typical GS Suzuki shagged stator

It handles like crap, the front is under sprung and under damped and the rear is the opposite

It doesn’t like slow corners (35-45kmh) it feels like it wants to drop in and shakes the bars

At 60 kmh constant speed it shakes the bars and if you take your hands off (yeah yeah I know I shouldn’t) it gets real bad

The brakes are crap, typical eighties really but they got worse the further I rode until I bled them at Taupo

The write up is so so Kick, anyway... if my old Kat is so bad how come I sat in the top 5 on race days... the old girls fine just hang on tighter and grow some bigger balls, the old Kats awesome glad ya enjoyed the trip bummer bout the stator.

**ajturbo** · 16th October 2007, 20:12

Originally Posted by dangerous

The write up is so so Kick, anyway... if my old Kat is so bad how come I sat in the top 5 on race days....

cause you only race the FXR 150's.... ya poof...

**Blackbird** · 16th October 2007, 20:14

Sorry to have missed you Warwick - I was with Cajun and MotoGirl for a while looking for you but I don't think you'd arrived by the time I had to scoot back to Tokoroa.

Geoff

**Paul in NZ** · 16th October 2007, 20:22

Yeah - um - sorry about missing the night out.... long story but friday was a prick of a day... Guess i owe you a beer....

**dangerous** · 16th October 2007, 20:27

Originally Posted by ajturbo

cause you only race the FXR 150's.... ya poof...

hey you... kicks Kat was my kat and it held its own very well... the supension isent the best but I bet you wont be ya best when ya 24yrs old, and the 16" front wheel is ment to cause probs but I found it great on the track as it droped well into corners just took big arms to lift it up again.

**Kickaha** · 16th October 2007, 20:34

Originally Posted by dangerous

The write up is so so Kick, anyway... if my old Kat is so bad how come I sat in the top 5 on race days... the old girls fine just hang on tighter and grow some bigger balls, the old Kats awesome glad ya enjoyed the trip bummer bout the stator.

You got top 5 because you race a 750 against a field of bikes that is made up of 90% bikes 550cc or smaller and I used to beat you on a 350 that handled even worse than the Katana

In the last four days I reckon I would've done more mileage on the Katana than you did in all the time you've owned it and just about all of yours was on race tracks which are very smooth compared to the roads I traveled on

Obviously you lack the competence to be able to work out just what the bike is doing and why it is behaving the way it does and would rather ride around a problem than fix it properly

Here's some pics, even though I took a camera I took fuck all

1) Divvo playing with his Barbie Doll
2) Divvo after a nights beauty sleep (he needs shitloads more)
3) Divvo to Bren_chch (I stuck this finger up Scrivys arse)
4) Scrivys guest bedroom (he decorated it himself)
5) My Katana and Bren_chch CBR900 street fighter
6) Breakfast at Macca's

**dangerous** · 16th October 2007, 20:46

Originally Posted by Kickaha

In the last four days I reckon I would've done more mileage on the Katana than you did in all the time you've owned it and just about all of yours was on race tracks which are very smooth compared to the roads I traveled on

Obviously you lack the competence to be able to work out just what the bike is doing and why it is behaving the way it does and would rather ride around a problem than fix it properly

Here's some pics, even though I took a camera I took fuck all

weres the pics ya darft twit???

Not lack the competence lack of time and money, granted the Kat isent the nicest on the road but it was set up for the track... and I did many a mile on the road Akaroa a few times and over to the west coast, many a trip into town and all in full race trim LOL (did have rego tho) its cool but yes hard work i was just winding you up as you know cos well lets face it youd do the same LOL... OHHH now ya put the pics up, hey look Divv's got beter tast than you CB13 nice

**Rashika** · 17th October 2007, 04:07

ohhhhh very sexy in blue Mr Bren

Now just where did you get that stunning wet weather outfit?

Seems strange to see the Katana on the road now, doesn't look too bad

**Divvo** · 17th October 2007, 07:43

Kickaha you rampant Gaylord!
You neglected to mention in your report that you and Bren were totally DOMINATED by the mighty Commodore from Picton to Kaikoura (dry all the way). So much so that I had time to fill it up, take a piss, pay for the fuel, buy a CD (radio reception is shite in the hills), and be standing out front of the BP before you got there.

**Joni** · 17th October 2007, 08:09

So Mr Divvo... are you coming with us to Greymouth or are you going back north to fetch your bike?

PS, nice barbie....

**Her_C4** · 17th October 2007, 08:22

Fantastic write up Kick... there is no mistaking the author

Originally Posted by Kickaha

Jim2 picks me up later that evening and then we meet up with Her_B4 and Craig at Little India for a feed and chinwag,

It was great to catch up with you (and Jim

) and have a chat - very small world of motorcycling in NZ eh?

Originally Posted by Kickaha

bloody good job Jim2 knows his Indian food because none of the rest of us much of a clue, after dropping me off the couch gets folded out and it’s off to bed

Much of a clue?? I reckon you could quarter that and still be embellishing it! he he he

We were a bit worried about the ordering side of things but thankfully we had an expert (Jim) doing all the ordering and so the meal AND the company helped to make it a very enjoyable evening.

Cheers guys...