Trail bikes & riding back in the good ole 70s & 80s

[DR Girl]

fridayflash & XRJohnny just put me on to a thread on OFF ROAD. . XR200 Tips Wanted. On 2nd page was a link by merv to a 2005 Thread called 'More Old Pics' which got the boys (& me) v excited. Old XL 175/ XR200 fotos, comments re SL125s, MTs, XLs, XRs, TSs. . . Said to them. . . it's a shame we haven't got a thread going on the Adv/Dual Purpose Forum. So here I am home for lunch . . . . :facepalm:
Worth a try as we all had them! :woohoo:
The first bike I bought (before I could ride) thanks to that fab "NO1 UNDER THE SUN " TV ad by Honda was an SL125. Use to ride ride to school when not push biking. Then changed to the cool looking but gutless MT 125. Didn't keep for long. Bought & absolutely LOVED :love: my orange XL175. Did a Sth Island trip on it from Palmy (my home town). Moved up to the Bay, rode here on it. Then ordered from Dave Whittaker Honda my '79 XR185 (from fotos & a great mag write up) before they had arrived in NZ. Dave told me I got the first in HB. . . bet he told all told all the girls that !!!LOL.
Have some good pics that need scanning to put on KB but alas able son at uni for a few more weeks.

[merv]

Hey good to hear from you and yes I had a wonderful time riding on the old trail bikes. I grew up in Napier and rode with my two brothers back then. I left Napier in 1973 and took off to Christchurch but returned regularly to the Bay to ride with my oldest brother who remained in Napier until he died of cancer in January 2009. The other brother took off overseas in 1977 and has never owned a bike since. I've since ended up in the Wellington area and still ride, just not as often as I did when I had my riding buddy bro' to ride with.

Hawkes Bay is a great place to ride.

[rogerh]

Yeah, that thread made me come over all nostalgic as well.

I did a lot of riding around Karori and Wellington when I was living there in the early 80's. Out through some of the areas Merv was talking about were particularly good. I lived in Karori, and only had to cross the road to get to Wrights Hill Reserve (from Parklands Ave), and worked out at Quartz Hill at Makara, so had a bit of access out the coast way as well.

There was an interesting bunch of guys that rode around that area at the time. Never knew many of their names, but we often met up, and swapped bikes, so I got to ride all sorts in some of those hills. Everything from TY trials machines to YZ490 death traps. Loads of fun, and some of those guys taught me a lot about riding, just following them and watching. Riding with better riders than yourself is always good.

My daily commute out to Makara was also fun on a CB750 and the likes. Not sure I have any photos at all though. Life was one long intoxicated haze at the time.... The CCA last time took me around a few of those old haunts. Way good fun.

From some of Merv's comments, some of that riding may still even be open if you want to pay.

[fridayflash]

i got a got of mileage out of those photos too, my riding of dirtbikes started about 1985 on a tl125 and mates who had ag100's cheap and simple and we rode them
EVERYWHERE we could possibly gain access, later when riding on the road
napier hill was our funzone attacking stairways, alleyways etc
my then cg125 was truly my first adventure bike!

[Motu]

Trail bikes started in the very early '70's when the Japanese got into it,before then you had to want to ride off road - the trail bikes gave us a bike we could ride to work during the week,then go off road on the weekends. In Auckland we rode in all the wrong places - on all the volcanoes...One Tree Hill,Mt Eden,Mt Wellington,and mostly for us Mt Richmond. Mt Richmond was closer to home and not as many people went there - I took my kids there about 10 years ago and could see all the kumara pits damaged from motorcycles riding though them. We used to ride on any barren land - Winstones Quarry,and some in St Johns,also over the Shore where The Warehouse is now. That's where I smacked up my brand new Yamaha CT2 - collided with another on an identical bike he bought 2 days before me...my bike was one week old. No worries,2 weeks later I stuck it into the side of a Trekka at 60mph.

I really liked those old small trail bikes,and years later the XR200 brought it all back to me....but I could ride a lot faster. I got into trials in the early '80's,and got back into it in the 21st century...still riding my 1987 TLR200 when I can.

[merv]

Nice one Motu. I loved my XL175, but getting the XR200 just made my day back in '83. It was such a step improvement in engine and chassis I couldn't believe at the time how it could be so much better. Better bottom end stonk of the engine, 6 speed gearbox for better range of ratio, and it was so unbreakable and just built for the reliability required in enduros. As I've said many times, I could drop that bike, damage nothing, pick it up and keep going. 15 years later I sold it without ever even having to have replace a clutch or brake lever.

The way we could ride anywhere in the 70s was something else too. My XL175 went places that these days have the equivalent of "fuck off" signs welcoming you.

My WR in characteristics feels a bit like riding the XR200 but I've broken one clutch lever on the WR and I've only had it 7 years lol. Wish it had the wider ratio six speed gearbox too, so I don't do the road kms on it that I did on the XR.

[sudman]

This is a great thread, I start out in 1972 riding a 1965 Yamaha Landscout with low chrome pipe at age 9, got it from Tim Gibbs in Palmerston North it cost $65, then trade at the same shop to Yamaha HT-1 90 the best bike ever (in the mid 80's I found the bike again in a local workshop still very tidy but the owner would not sell it) next came a fully kitted 74 TM125 at 14, then it was time to ride to school so trade it for a TS185 which also took me to my 1st job in Levin for 2 years, then the PE's came out I had to have one, in 1980 I got a new PE175T all road legal and it's still in the shed today and still tidy as with all the road gear still there.
That's the first 10years

[Motu]

getting the XR200 just made my day back in '83. It was such a step improvement in engine and chassis I couldn't believe at the time how it could be so much better.

The Pro-link in '81 was just such a huge step up,and really it's only been fine tuning from then to today. Getting a twin shock into 3rd gear on rough ground was an invitation to getting the back of your head smacked with the seat - I did a few totally scary flying W's before I decided to take it easy. Getting on the prolink XR200 I could ride across rough ground in 5th gear using up all the suspension and not even think I was going too fast. It was like becoming a good rider overnight,but really nothing had changed apart from the bike.

So why do I ride a twinshock trials bike today,when I could be a so much better rider with a good bike? Because I like that it's such hard work - I think that it should take effort and commitment,that there is no reward in cruising through something because the bike did it all for me. The ready made excuse for not doing well is a major benefit though.

[unstuck]

Had a swag of cool old stuff, XL,s XR,s stripped down AG,s turned into hard out bush bashers. Was riding a XL185 and went to a PE 400, man what a difference.Used to ride around the albany area a lot in the early 80,s Where all the motorway and stadium and all that is now, what a blast.:woohoo:

[Ocean1]

The way we could ride anywhere in the 70s was something else too. My XL175 went places that these days have the equivalent of "fuck off" signs welcoming you.

I was talking 70's bikes with a mate a couple of weeks ago, said the same thing: "You're not allowed to ride there any more". He said "dude, you wern't allowed to ride there then either, you just didn't give a fuck".

And yes, I had an XL175 too, taught me how beat my mates with way less power.

[pete376403]

I bought one of these in 1972 - $1169 brand new. Everyone else around the Hutt Valley had Suzuki TS250s and Yamaha DT250s. Oh, how I was gonna show 'em. (oh how I was wrong)

[Motu]

So did you play around with the fully adjustable forks? I was always impressed with that,but never found anyone who actually moved them from stock. And having a carb sticking out the side of a trail bike - they never expected anyone to really take them off road did they?

[pete376403]

The 27 way adjustable Hatta forks? Yes I did try all the combinations, but I didn't have the riding skill (was on back-order when I went to the shop to get some) to be able to tell the difference.
Side mounted carb was well enclosed, and I never broke the cover (despite trying REAL hard) and it was sealed well enough to keep water out even when the tide was up to the cylinder head.
Did have a few problems with the magneto flywheel shearing the woodruff key, eventually fixed that by lapping the hub to the crank taper.

Wonder what became of it.

[86GSXR]

Ahhhh, those were the carefree days alright.

Pre teen me and my brother used to fang around on the friends Honda 90 farm bikes. I had a massive crash one day and still have an amazing scar :yes:

My first bike was a 1979 XL250 which took me all over the Wellington region, South Coast, Red Rocks, Wainui Coast and the firebreaks up there, Wrights Hill, Makara, Taka's and there was a pretty decent track up behind Houghton Bay too. Even rode it up to Sweetwaters :rockon:

My brother and mates had TS185's, SP370's and an XR 500, what a weapon!

Seem to be drifting back to that style having just got a 10 DR650, and even the Tiger looks like a big trailie :yes:

[DR Girl]

Great reading so far from you all. Any chance merv you could flick some of those great old photos over or scan some more for us. Shame we didn't have videos from those days. Tim Gibbs is sure another name from the past sudman, me being a Palmy gal.
After some riding lessons at Stan Keys Motorcycle School ( Stan being the local Cobbler who owned & always rode a Matchless 500? with sidecar) & then getting my licence I would head out with a couple other mates from Freyberg High School to the new sub divisions in the weekend & stream banks. A def no no now days. The 3 local beaches of Himitangi, Foxton & Tangimoana were great play grounds. We use to try to get to the beaches riding mostly the grass verges.The boys were great at donnuts, me not so much. Have a great photo of me on the ground (sand) with the MT125 with tank cover, remember those ? LOL.
Open faced peaked helmet, jeans, sweatshirt & Perth kneehigh gumboots.
Also out on the way to Himitangi were the monthly "Day in the Dirt" days. They were awesome :woohoo:.. . .trying to keep up with th MX boyz on their TMs, RMs, CRs. We would regularly do North Range Road (between th Gorge & the Pahiatua Track). In winter was the best, as you could walk away from the bikes in full stand up position & the mud would hold them up. Boyz (note, not me) would sometimes head out at MIDNIGHT (esp with a full moon) after a get together :sick: & do North Range Rd :facepalm: They would have a blast!! I would choose to ride home :innocent:
One DAY on Nth Range Rd I actually hit a sheep, ate dirt & broke my brake lever off. Was more worried about the sheep than my SL. Typical GIRL LOL. God the Good ole days!:violin:
We would also do some tracks or loop at Tokomaru. Summer time swimming in the Tokomaru River to cool off. SO much fun.
Hey . . . Why don't Adv Riders stop for swims now days when we do rides ??

[sudman]

Sounds like you were riding a lot of the same places as me, we used to ride from Foxton beach to Tangi down the old sand track, it's gone now but was used for coast watch back in WW2 it was just behind the 2nd row of dunes, done a few days in the dirt as well, we used to hold street mx's in Levin the black and white's would turn up in there MK3 Cortina's we would take to footpath or head down the railway tracks to get away, we end up coming out at Koputaroa, you would not get away with it today.

[DEATH_INC.]

No worries,2 weeks later I stuck it into the side of a Trekka at 60mph.
I hope the owner of that fine machine thanked you for putting him out of his misery :laugh:

One of My cousins had an old Kwakka 250, something like the Bighorn of the early 70's, with a 360 (I think) kit on it. What a f*cking weapon, it was guaranteed to kill anyone/anything that looked at it the wrong way, let alone those of us stoopid enough to try and ride it....

Way back when I first moved to jaffaland, we used to ride at the old quarry at the Wiri container terminal, and a few other vacant lots around the area. Most don't exist now, and you'd never get away with it anyway...

[Motu]

I hope the owner of that fine machine thanked you for putting him out of his misery :laugh:.

Everything was tougher in those days - car,bikes,and riders. I tore 2 slots down the side of the Trekka,one with the clutch lever and the other with the gear lever. There must've been some good flex in them as from the left lane I cleared the road and footpath and landed on the grass verge. I picked the bike up and rode home with bent handle bars and a sore foot.

[pete-blen]

Everything was tougher in those days - car,bikes,and riders. I tore 2 slots down the side of the Trekka,one with the clutch lever and the other with the gear lever. There must've been some good flex in them as from the left lane I cleared the road and footpath and landed on the grass verge. I picked the bike up and rode home with bent handle bars and a sore foot.

brings back so meany memorys...
falling off was just part of motorcycling back then...
Remember one night in ChCh riding though Woolston on
ferry Rd.. This dam prat tuned in front of me in a EK or EJ
wagon.. i can still see him though his front screen as I sailed
across the bonet... Pick yerself up go pick the S3 up.. put the
front wheel between yer legs..pull the front end straight...

Or you & a few mates standing on the summit road at 2 am
half pissed..wondering how far down the bank yer mates T350 went..
That was quite common..get half pissed then have a grand pix along
the summit Rd at some ungodly hour of the morning.." no cars up ther at that time"

Don't know why I'm still alive...but the 70s were fun..

[NordieBoy]

Pick yerself up go pick the S3 up.. put the
front wheel between yer legs..pull the front end straight.

Going down a steep firebreak on a mountainbike with v-brakes. Did a flying W and landed flat on my back.
Put the wheel between my legs and bashed the bars to straighten them.
Burnt both legs on the rim...

[cave weta]

[QUOTE=DR Girl;1130168287]The first bike I bought (before I could ride) thanks to that fab "NO1 UNDER THE SUN " TV ad by Honda was an SL125. Use to ride ride to school when not push biking. Then changed to the cool looking but gutless MT 125. Didn't keep for long. Bought & absolutely LOVED :love: my orange XL175.[QUOTE]

I now believe in Parrallel universes! you and I have to be of a similar age...

I was 13 when I discovered trail bikes.... I stole my first bike.
My big brother finished work 1 1/2 hours after I finished school so I used to ride his 1972 Kawasaki 100G5 round and round the shed then rake all the gravel back before he got home! I learned to ride it litrally by reading the owners manual!
He sold it to me shortly afterwards and then started the progression to where I am today....

SL125 - MT125 (my flywheel dropped off regularly too) XL175 with a bassani power pipe. TS185B was my first brand new bike paid for by growing 1/2 an acre of watermelon and selling it on the side of the road. Ive had exotics like an Ossa 250
and a BSA Bantam lol. My XR200B with the prolink was my first bike that I didnt constantly loop over backwards- man I could wheelie that thing! all the way up prospect hill in Pukekohe in front of the school bus! I forget the order that I owned some of the bikes but Ive had, DT360, PE175N PE175T XR500B SP370, TT600Tenare RZ350, MVX250 XL250motorsport CBR600 GSX-R750 Mudbug, VanVan, ATC110 all before 1990- then I had a break while I played with tunnel hulled powerboats for 6 years and then I started the 'current era' of KTMs DRz400s and CRfs...

Aah its been great - thanks for letting me remenice......

[Big Col]

Dt360 Yamaha was the first bike I owned, used to ride around red rocks coast, got a ts 400 and rode that bike all round the town belt and anywhere there was dirt, subdivisions, wrights hill akatarawas plimmers steps to get away from popo. had a street legal yz400 (easy back then) Had a couple of tt500s was great times. riding gear was gumboots jeans rugby jersey helmet and gloves of course. later on was a new belstaff jacket. distance was never a problem we would ride all round the north island. Great thread this has sparked a few memories.

[DR Girl]

[QUOTE=pete-blen;1130170339]

Or you & a few mates standing on the summit road at 2 am
half pissed..wondering how far down the bank yer mates T350 went..
That was quite common..get half pissed then have a grand pix along
the summit Rd at some ungodly hour of the morning.." no cars up ther at that time"
Don't know why I'm still alive...but the 70s were fun..


So true, thats what the boyz I road with would do. We would be at some ones place whose parents were away for the weekend, have a few drinks then trail ride ideas would come up & off they would go! :woohoo:
I would never know till the next day when I phoned if they made it back all in one piece. No cell phones, also no cops with breathalysers. Plus no dilemma re having the right tyre for the ride, we only ever had one set !

[george formby]

Had a swag of cool old stuff, XL,s XR,s stripped down AG,s turned into hard out bush bashers. Was riding a XL185 and went to a PE 400, man what a difference.Used to ride around the albany area a lot in the early 80,s Where all the motorway and stadium and all that is now, what a blast.:woohoo:

My mate has a PE 400 sat in his shed waiting, waiting, waiting.......

When I get the time I might pop over & cajole him into giving it a couple of kicks to see what happens.

I learned to ride in the early 80's on a KMX 125 followed by an XT 350 with a liberal & frightening sprinkling of DT 400 & less frightening but more nimble DT 175 which is still going strong with a DT 125 R front end & decent rear shock.

I used to watch in awe the riders on CR's, IT's & PE's. My heroes at the time. Ring ding ding.

[XRJohnny]

One of my earliest cool trailbike memories, was in 1973 when i was a 3rd former at St Johns college in Hastings. One of the older boys, Chris Maindonald, had a green Honda SL100 that he rode to school. A REAL NICE looking bike. In the weekends he raced it in club motoX, & i saw him once beating all the real race bikes!
To see that little Honda parked up at school on the monday all covered in mud was WAY COOL! And that had a lasting impression on one very bike keen schoolboy.
Chris went on to be one of NZ,s best motocross racers of that era & also competed overseas. Today he owns a KTM shop on the Gold Coast.

[MD]

Me too! 70s trail biking was fantastic. They hadn't gotten around to fencing off all our rivers, beaches hills etc. We could just about ride anywhere. Yeah, Summit road was good. Find a spot, turn off the road and bump, bounce, slide, crash your way down the hill. Pop out in some Farmer's back yard.

My first bikes were trail bikes from 75 onwards. First was a XL100 followed by several SL125s. They were awesome. Cheap, ride em, wreck em, sell em, buy another one..repeat process. Just like DRGirl, I had an orange XL175. About the newest dirt bike I ever owned. It got washed away crossing the Waimakariri River in 76. Hilarious insurance claim. Got called in to the Insurance co. office. "Sonny we don't pay out on losses incurred on river banks, see page xxx". "That's great but as I wrote on my claim, mine was lost in the river bed. I actually said to them, do you require a dictionary, there is a difference between a river bank and a river bed. They paid out. Six months later it resurfaced and a fisherman tried to claim it, the insurance co. won. They rung me, which was kind of nice.

Anyone on here remember riding the dirt mounds affectionately referred to amongst us Christchurch dirt riders as 'Annex Road' in Chch in the mid seventies. Between Blenheim Rd and Lincoln Road. Probably a supermarket there now. It was a popular playground.

I tried a XL250 but it just wasn't as much fun as the legendary SL125

All those adventure rides and not a single photograph taken. Should have carried our cell phones with built in camera. The only pic I can find is the XL250. Posted this on here before - note I was wearing the fully OSH compliant safety gear at the time. Really needed sun screen.

[pete-blen]

Anyone on here remember riding the dirt mounds affectionately referred to amongst us Christchurch dirt riders as 'Annex Road' in Chch in the mid seventies. Between Blenheim Rd and Lincoln Road. Probably a supermarket there now. It was a popular playground.
[/QUOTE]

I use to live in Redcliffs...
Over that side of ChCh we rode at the back of the
Bromley Crematoryum off Linwood Ave.. All houses in there now..
also the sand dunes along north beach up to Spencer park..
Dam yer would get shot if went any where near there now on a bike..
I had a 74 TM125..Use to ride it there,,never got pulled up..

[86GSXR]

Here's a pic of a recent blat around in the Himatangi forest via the beach. Don't think we were supposed to be there but didn't see any signs :innocent: Note my mates 78? XT500 leaning against the tree. The Yamaha still does the business pretty darn well, apart from a bit of blue smoke which made it easy to find when it disappeared ahead in the trees............

[XRJohnny]

Yes those orange XL175,s were sure a popular & much loved bike. I used to ride one to high school in 1976. In the christmas holidays while working at the local freezing works, i would take off the removable muffler [ modified by previous owner ] at lunchtime & ride it with a straight pipe to the nearby riverbank for a bit of a skid around. Boy i must have been keen! Those SL125,s & XL175,s were probably the BEST bikes ever made. It,s quite funny that Rick Seimen, editor of Dirt Bike Magazine, wrote an article calling the SL a " Turtle Chaser " because it was so slow & the XL " Expensive Pork " because of its excessive weight. That magazine never received as much Hate Mail as it did for those two articles! :doh:

[warewolf]

Will have to see if I can dig up any photos of my riding in the '80s. I started riding on mates' farm bikes in the Aussie wheat-sheep belt. The bikes were mostly run-down hacks I couldn't identify if they were my mates rather than their dad's. There was a CT125 Ag with dual-range box, need to be in about low 3rd to see it actually move! One of my mates left school the end of 5th form (i think you call it that here) to start working on his dad's farm as an employee rather than child slave labour, and was given his own brand new farm bike as part of the package: a 1985 DR250S monoshock! Man that thing had some suspension travel compared to the other hacks. Pillion pegs were near useless in rough terrain as they were swingarm mounted.

Sometimes we'd skive off school and all go riding out of town in a bush reserve. I had my first ride of a YZ250 then, was instantly seduced by the two-stroke MX power and handling. Couldn't wait to get the thing wailing in band, blurring the countryside, it just seemed to soak up anything thrown at it, didn't care how sideways it was as long as the power was on and the front wheel pointed where you wanted to go. :woohoo:Wicked fun. Made his XR200 seem pretty tame.

Another interesting bike & place I rode was a CT200 Ag on the shores of Lake Hume, Very flat land with massive erosion gullies you could play hide'n'seek in (and sometimes they'd be hard to see, approaching flat out in top :bye:), ringed by huge steep hills. The hills were so steep if cattle turned downhill they'd be forced to run and couldn't stop, and if too far up their heart could give out before they hit the flat at the bottom! :gob: The CT200 had an auto clutch, so you could leave it in sixth and it would be difficult to stall, but of course using the gearbox yielded the best performance. The other very useful thing for this bike in that terrain was the zip start: yep, like a lawnmower it had a pull cord. So when you bailed off on the hill and it did stall, you could stand on the fallen bike with one foot to stop it sliding down the hill :shutup:, pull the zip start, then worry about trying to right the bike and get mobile again. You couldn't actually stop the bikes when they were anything but across the hill, the angle was well past the friction of two locked tyres and two feet down, the whole kit and kaboodle would just slide downhill.

Of all the fellahs I knew with bikes, there was only one road bike, a 250 twin custom cruiser thing. Faaark was it smooth compared to the trail bikes, but pretty unexciting. Sure there were plenty of rego'd trail bikes like XL/XR/TT250's, but this was the one and only roadie.

Fun times, fortunately there were enough bikes around for me to blag rides on.

[merv]

I never did Annex Road MD, we seemed to spend more time either on the Port Hills or out at the Waimak near McLean's Island.

There was also the small track the Council set up at the end of Wairakei Road near the airport and of course we just rode anywhere the gates weren't locked
or we could lift the bikes over them.

DR Girl have you seen these old threads or posts of mine?

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/13566-Anyone-recognise-this-place-and-can-you-still-ride-in-there

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/32133-You-want-to-see-old-pics-do-ya-here-s-some-from-1976

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/13647-I-m-still-scanning-my-old-slide-pics

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/37879-Pics-of-my-old-bikes-pre-Kiwibiker?p=800613#post800613

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/13568-More-old-pics

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/6893-What-were-you-doing-in-the-70s-*PICS*?p=125941#post125941

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/6893-What-were-you-doing-in-the-70s-*PICS*?p=126033#post126033

[bart]

Wow. You guys must be old. I was still at primary school in the '80s. :shutup:

OK, I often rode the 7km of gravel to school on a TS185 mudbug. :scooter:

[pete-blen]

Wow. You guys must be old. I was still at primary school in the '80s. :shutup:

OK, I often rode the 7km of gravel to school on a TS185 mudbug. :scooter:

:angry:
young dam wipper snapper...
I was talking mid/late 70s....

[Woodman]

DT175 was my first bike, thrashed the tits off it up and down the crazy ever changing beach at Greymouth. There was a crusher plant bordering the beach at Blaketown with huge piles of gravel that we used to race around and try to jump over. My mates had xl125's which were the cool bike to have, but they were gutless compared to the DT. When we got our licences we used to hoon about in the hills at the back of Camerons and Kumara. Cockeye creek Noname road areas etc, there were some cool old bullock railways from the goldmining days that we used to ride along. There were no keep out signs anywhere. There was this huge sawdust pile at Camerons which was mega fun but had some nasty bike swallowing holes:facepalm:
And yea having a few beers and running from the cops, once had to go up the cemetry stairs lights off and then hide in a ditch with the bike, watching the cops spotlights looking for us.
Upgraded to an IT175j which I used to ride to school, constantly assing off on wet roads with 'not for highway use "knobblys which always got a warrant somehow.
Couldn't wait to get home from school to go riding. Great days.

[MSTRS]

1973 I bought a TS125 (the last of the low chrome mudguard models). Rode that bike everywhere. All over the firebreaks above NaeNae and right over to the back of Wainui coming out at Brookfields Scout camp. BrownOwl to MacKays Crossing. On the housing development site/s beyond the dairy in Kelson. Farms down Stratton Street behind Normandale. Lots of road trips too, as far as Taupo...a long way for a 15yo on his own.
Got into road bikes after that with a T500, but I briefly had a TE250 in the late 70s in Levin. Rode that pig mainly in the sand dunes at Hokio Beach and the forestry at Waitarere.

Does anyone from the Hutt Valley remember the unofficial MX track located right where River Rd starts at the lights by the Silverstream bridge?

[Kickaha]

Or you & a few mates standing on the summit road at 2 am
half pissed..wondering how far down the bank yer mates T350 went..
That was quite common..get half pissed then have a grand pix along
the summit Rd at some ungodly hour of the morning.." no cars up ther at that time"


We used to do the same

Best "trailbike" memory is watching my mate slide across the BP Dallington forecourt on his arse following his PE400 through the rubbish bins and windscreen washer buckets after his throttle jammed and he stomped on the back brake

I pretty much learnt to ride on a friends XL500A, had an IT250, a YZ125 with a DT1 motor then went to an XR250 with disc brake front, used to spend heaps of time down the Waimak or Amberly beach to Waipara

[Ocean1]

Does anyone from the Hutt Valley remember the unofficial MX track located right where River Rd starts at the lights by the Silverstream bridge?

First rode that on a 250 James, it was a couple of hundred yards further north than that, closer to the entrance to St Pats block.

Spent many hours playing down that stretch, got very damp and cold outside of the summer months. There was a firebreak begining near there, very challenging hillclimb right at the begining.

Do you remember the one at the top of Kelson? about where Ilam grove is now...

[MSTRS]

Do you remember the one at the top of Kelson? about where Ilam grove is now...

Nope. Just the earthworks. The shop (there was just a dairy then) on the first flat part, was where the houses stopped at that time.

[pete-blen]

I briefly had a TE250 in the late 70s in Levin.


Suzuki TE250..prob the first real enduro bike..
TM250 MX with a light kit...
Only ever seen one TE..
Suzuki had the RH250 enduro .. Pre PE
I did see a RM370 with lights... Don't
know if it was a factory mod or a back shed
special...

[DR Girl]

[QUOTE=DR Girl;1130168287]The first bike I bought (before I could ride) thanks to that fab "NO1 UNDER THE SUN " TV ad by Honda was an SL125. Use to ride ride to school when not push biking. Then changed to the cool looking but gutless MT 125. Didn't keep for long. Bought & absolutely LOVED :love: my orange XL175.[QUOTE]

I now believe in Parrallel universes! you and I have to be of a similar age...

I was 13 when I discovered trail bikes.... I stole my first bike.
My big brother finished work 1 1/2 hours after I finished school so I used to ride his 1972 Kawasaki 100G5 round and round the shed then rake all the gravel back before he got home! I learned to ride it litrally by reading the owners manual!
He sold it to me shortly afterwards and then started the progression to where I am today....

SL125 - MT125 (my flywheel dropped off regularly too) XL175 with a bassani power pipe. TS185B was my first brand new bike paid for by growing 1/2 an acre of watermelon and selling it on the side of the road. Ive had exotics like an Ossa 250
and a BSA Bantam lol. My XR200B with the prolink was my first bike that I didnt constantly loop over backwards- man I could wheelie that thing! all the way up prospect hill in Pukekohe in front of the school bus! I forget the order that I owned some of the bikes but Ive had, DT360, PE175N PE175T XR500B SP370, TT600Tenare RZ350, MVX250 XL250motorsport CBR600 GSX-R750 Mudbug, VanVan, ATC110 all before 1990- then I had a break while I played with tunnel hulled powerboats for 6 years and then I started the 'current era' of KTMs DRz400s and CRfs...

Aah its been great - thanks for letting me remenice......

Pretty amazing re our early trail bikes, obviously we had the same bike passion for small Honda's. Do check out mervs great photo's he sent the links for on page 3. Awesome !!!:woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:
Love th SL125 in the snow sliding, the river crossings, the XL175s. . . .:love:

cave weta you carried on to ride some v cool/mean bikes :yes:
I left Hawkes Bay in 1981, parked my XR185 in my parent's garage in P Nth with strict instuctions to my little bro & headed to the UK for almost 4 years. Came back to a dent in the tank :crybaby: but in gen the XR was ok as my bro had bought himself a new DT175 which he thought superior! Rode my XR back up to the Bay but reluctantly sold it a few years later when the family started increase.
Then had a 20 year gap till I got my DR200 brand new in 2007 :yes:

I got my SL when I was 15, half way through the 5th form. 6th form was a fun year as Ben in my class had a Yamaha 90 trail bike & Greg in another class had a TS100. We hooked up & went out most weekends.
I bought work shop manuals for all my bikes learnt to do heaps. . .oil changes,filter etc replace inner cables,levers, clean out carb,follow wiring diagram & solder together the broken wire. . .

[Virago]

...The first bike I bought (before I could ride) thanks to that fab "NO1 UNDER THE SUN " TV ad by Honda was an SL125...

http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/sellebration/view.php?id=146

[DR Girl]

http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/sellebration/view.php?id=146

YOU ARE MY ABSOLUTE HERO !!!!
Have tried to find this but without any luck.
Just so awesome & for me. . . . where it all started :love::love::love:

[Virago]

YOU ARE MY HERO !!!!
Have tried to find this but without any luck.
Just so awesome & for me where it all started :love::love::love:

Lol - you're welcome.

Another from the same era:

http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/sellebration/view.php?id=154

[pete-blen]

Steve McQueen / CR250
was played at the movies in the 70s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8nJvgSlSiM

[Rhubarb]

http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/sellebration/view.php?id=146

I've still got an SL125 in the corner of my garage.

I've had a few offers for it (one was outrageous - in a good way) but it has so many memories for me I'm happy to hang on to it.

[DR Girl]

I never did Annex Road MD, we seemed to spend more time either on the Port Hills or out at the Waimak near McLean's Island.

There was also the small track the Council set up at the end of Wairakei Road near the airport and of course we just rode anywhere the gates weren't locked
or we could lift the bikes over them.

DR Girl have you seen these old threads or posts of mine?

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/13566-Anyone-recognise-this-place-and-can-you-still-ride-in-there

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/32133-You-want-to-see-old-pics-do-ya-here-s-some-from-1976

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/13647-I-m-still-scanning-my-old-slide-pics

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/37879-Pics-of-my-old-bikes-pre-Kiwibiker?p=800613#post800613

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/13568-More-old-pics

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/6893-What-were-you-doing-in-the-70s-*PICS*?p=125941#post125941

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/6893-What-were-you-doing-in-the-70s-*PICS*?p=126033#post126033

JUST LOVE THESE THREADS & FOTOS :love:
Sumner in the snow with your XL175, th SL125, XL250 & TS185(185?) are great.:woohoo:
Rode my XL175 two up (boyfriend at the time on the back)up to the snow with my mates to the TV?/radio tower at the top of the Saddle Rd out of P Nth. The ice was a killer coming down but boy did we make a good snowman. Took my camera that day.
I so wish like you I took my camera all the time.
Your fotos merv are brillant!!

[DR Girl]

Lol - you're welcome.

Another from the same era:

http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/sellebration/view.php?id=154

ANOTHER GOODIE !!!:love:
Gives you goose bumps with the Endz Boys (who weren't famous then).
Despite being a Honda girl I was in awe of that ad also.

[DR Girl]

Steve McQueen / CR250
was played at the movies in the 70s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8nJvgSlSiM

I can see I'm not going to get to sleep tonight LOL
Love it & Steve McQueen.
Got treated to a copy of 'On Any Sunday ' from XRJohnny a couple years back FAB :first: :drool:
Amazing to see the hare scramble go through the little town of Elsinore where the CRs & later MTs got their name from.:heart:

[XF650]

Showing my age but bought one new in 1974 - my first road legal adv bike. It was very easy to ride & stable in even the thickest pea gravel. Rode it to West Otago to my first job, where on my days off I would ride it up the forestry tracks on the Blue Mountains. Happy days & I sold that bike for more than I had paid for it.

Later on I bought another to use as a farm bike & it towed a trailer for most of it's life.
248731

Saw this one racing at CAMS meet @ Ruapuna on Sat. It wasn't the slowest in it's class, it often got the "hole shot" & it's owner was having a ball.
248722248723
Great bikes for their time & very versatile.

[Kickaha]

Saw this one racing at CAMS meet @ Ruapuna on Sat. It wasn't the slowest in it's class, it often got the "hole shot" & it's owner was having a ball.
Great bikes for their time & very versatile.

Yeah, that's Tony Macs bike, he got a second in race 1 on it

[Ocean1]

Yeah, that's Tony Macs bike, he got a second in race 1 on it

Obviously an expert, he's got the rear shocks maxed out for travel. :done: