More of Dad's racing pics (1982)

[nudemetalz]

Greetings,

Here's some pics of him racing his wire-wheel Katana at Pukekohe and Mt Maunganui.
Check the CB1100R's too
Also you see a glimpse of Dave Hiscock on his monocoque Suzuki (silver one)
Very trick in it's day !!

[nudemetalz]

Now him racing his 1973 TZ-350A.

Remember him saying went like a bat out of hell but didn't handle.
Had the common RD-350 disc front-end conversion.


Cheers
Chris

[nudemetalz]

Who remembers Dallas Rankine ?


Cheers

[Indiana_Jones]

I take it that's a Katana in the first set of pics? Wicked looking bike :D
Like the Daytona 650 and GPZ900 :apint:

-Indy

[nudemetalz]

Yup that sure is a Katana. The spoked wheel version was a very-limited version of the normal Katana (which had normal cast wheels) . Had 120hp as opposed to 111hp. Hey, back then it was a lot !!

[FROSTY]

. I remember that bike and those pictures. I think Ive got pictures somewhere of those meetings from a different point of view.I was in the lowly 250 production area
For the record it was called a wire wheeler

[nudemetalz]

Umm,...I would but he's been dead for 14 years now, unfortunately.

He loved his wire-wheeler (yup he did call it that, thanks for reminding me :) )

I remember as a 12 year old boy hanging on for dear life on the back of the Kat as he wound it up past 200km/h down the Takanini Straight on the motorway late one Friday night !!!!
Damn, believe it or not the strap on the seat could stretch !!!

[Dadpole]

Great old pics Nudemetalz. Thanks for posting them. The WW Katana vs CB1100R battles at the Castrol 6 Hour were great racing.

[nudemetalz]

Glad you liked.
From what I remember, the WW Katanas were actually South African models and Suzuki NZ brought them in to counter the 1100R's in the racing, like the 6 hour.

Cheers
Chris

[Dadpole]

As I recall. they were made for the NZ market. Suzuki followed them up with a 1000cc version for the rest of the world. Not sure what they got in South Africa, but they seemed to have power/altitude problems with standard bikes - pre fuel injection.

[nudemetalz]

Uh okay,..I always believed that they were only sold here (as you rightly state) and South Africa. I remember working as a young boy in the school holidays at Mike Vinsen Suzuki and them telling us when the first one arrived.
Maybe I got it wrong.

Yes, the 1000 was made for the other markets but they never had the spoked rims only the std cast wheels.

Ah, the old memories !!

[Bonez]

Uh okay,..I always believed that they were only sold here (as you rightly state) and South Africa. I remember working as a young boy in the school holidays at Mike Vinsen Suzuki and them telling us when the first one arrived.
Maybe I got it wrong.

Yes, the 1000 was made for the other markets but they never had the spoked rims only the std cast wheels.

Ah, the old memories !!Good info here- http://www.suzukicycles.org/GS-series/GS1000SV_Katana.shtml

[Brian d marge]

Yup that sure is a Katana. The spoked wheel version was a very-limited version of the normal Katana (which had normal cast wheels) . Had 120hp as opposed to 111hp. Hey, back then it was a lot !!

thats right I remember being at Ruapuna and seeing them ..they were the tool back then .......

oh sod it now I feel old
Stephen
:whocares:

[LB]

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Great photos nudemetalz - brings back the memories alright.

Yes, the wire wheeled Kats were fast. And that 80's hair and clothes!!!

We also got "fast" wire wheeled GSX1100's, which the likes of the Hiscocks and Robert Holden used to race. NZ and Australia were different from other countries as we production raced big bikes - both sprint races and the likes of the Castrol Six Hour. Suzuki Japan made some bikes for us especially because it was such a big thing out here. My understanding is that Steve Dundon (half-owner of Wellington Motorcycles) used to regularly go to Japan to tell the factory what we needed, and the factory would make it. My understanding also is that we got big tanks on the GSX1100's because we did long distance touring a lot here. I don't think any one from Australia collaborated with the factory as much (if at all) as Steve Dundon.

Remember Dallas Rankine? Sure I do. He's still around, lives up north now. He's a good bloke. I remember him bringing that Harris Kawasaki back from the UK.

He owned/ran Bike Clinic for a long time, then started up British Spares (which he sold a few years ago). He was also the MV Agusta/Husqvarna importer for some time. He's now retired (at a relatively rather young age!), but still has a great interest in bikes.

He and Bill Biber raced a Cagiva Navigator in the last Four Hour at Manfeild.

(sorry to hijack the thread away from your Dad nudemetalz)
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[Kickaha]

I remember that bike and those pictures
For the record it was called a wire wheeler -sometimes also a black piper

If I remember correctly the black piper was a wire wheel GSX1100 not a Katana, wire wheels,black pipes and different carbs, supposedly built overseas and homologated but a lot of people seem to think they came out of local Suzuki workshop


Who remembers Dallas Rankine ?
Cheers

I remember him racing his Ducati 600 at the Sydenham street circuit in about 82 (I think)

[White trash]

Funny that the "Wire wheel" Katanas are considered to be such a collectors item here. I remeber some stroker telling me about one he'd sold for some astronomical sum in Japan. Which everyone knows is a load of shit. There was no such bike in Japan.

They're very similar machines to the KR1S SP that were homologated here. Built by Boyle Kawasaki, re-crated then uncrated for an MNZ official for homologation. Ah yeas, the good old cheating days of NZ road racing. Still goes on too.

[Bonez]

Funny that the "Wire wheel" Katanas are considered to be such a collectors item here. I remeber some stroker telling me about one he'd sold for some astronomical sum in Japan. Which everyone knows is a load of shit. There was no such bike in Japan.
A lot of of 70/80s 1000,1100 were exported to Japan, because of the 750 limit over there at the time on new sales IIRC, from NZ and Australia. There was even a GS750G made for the Jap market. So he may have just been telling the truth, Remember fact is stranger than fiction.

[LB]

If I remember correctly the black piper was a wire wheel GSX1100 not a Katana, wire wheels,black pipes and different carbs, supposedly built overseas and homologated but a lot of people seem to think they came out of local Suzuki workshop


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Ah, that's right....the "Wanganui Specials"....it's all coming back to me now.
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[Sniper]

Those are neat mate :niceone:

[nudemetalz]

I'm glad I posted these.
Once again, the old memories from people get triggered and some really interesting info gets posted.

Excellent !! (As Monty Burns would say)


Cheers
Chris

[gav]

Nice stuff Chris, yeah your recollection of the wire wheel Katana's is pretty much right. As Kickaha posted the "black piper" was the special GSX1100EX models, the big ungainly unfaired beasts. The "wire wheeler" refers to the Katana's like your Dads, these were pretty much manily for the NZ and South Africa market. Dave and Neville Hiscock and a South African Robbie Pederson were the main Suzuki "guns" racing them in both countries. Think Neville was sadly killed in a race in South Africa. Dont think they were ever sold elsewhere, but some did end up getting bought up and sent to Japan along with CB1100R etc.
PS the early "black pipers" were same shape as this.

[onearmedbandit]

WT - The wire wheel Kat's are worth big dollars in Japan.

[FROSTY]

Its turned into a pretty lucrative buisness.Old Z1 kwakkas and suzuki gsx's in origonal condition being sent to Japan and the states.
Heres my prediction for the future ---Anyone with a clean tidy origonal low milage GSXR750H and GSXR1100h should hide it away somewhere --I think theyre gonne become the collectors item of 2010 or later. That and possibly the Gpz900 ninja

Sorry my mistake re black piper --yep its old age setting in--the old gixxers were the first to be called black pipers
But Im sure (as in I think I recall corectly) there were some very hot kats with black pipes ,wire wheels and flat slide carbs

[Bonez]

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My understanding also is that we got big tanks on the GSX1100's because we did long distance touring a lot here.
We tended to get Australian models here Linda which needed big tanks. The GSX750ex I've got still has it's Aust compliance plate fitted. While we're on the subject, it's a good idea to fit the 750 oil pump to the 1100 as it has a higher output capacity.

[gav]

Hey Frosty, heres another prediction, just between you and me, :psst: petrol will hit $1.50 a litre :devil2:
Those bikes mentioned are already collectable, esp in Japan because the bigger cc bikes werent aviable for a long time, but saying that if you go to some of the Yahoo Japan auction sites, there is a hell alot of them over there now!

[Bonez]

Great old pics Nudemetalz. Thanks for posting them. The WW Katana vs CB1100R battles at the Castrol 6 Hour were great racing.Only when the CBs engines were intact :dodge: The GSX engine was unbustable in comparison.

[gav]

Sadly not all them are "unburstable" http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbike-Parts/Frames-bodywork/auction-37326266.htm

[nudemetalz]

Looks rather weird with the modern forks and wheels, like it's sitting too low at the front. Never mind, each to their own.

[Bonez]

Sadly not all them are "unburstable" http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbike-Parts/Frames-bodywork/auction-37326266.htm
Probably would have been ok it he hadn't fiddled with it :) Fitting gsx 750 oil pump may have helped also.

[nudemetalz]

Back when the Katanas first came out, the styling made quite an impact. Some (most) liked it, but some didn't.

I remember one of the disrespectful nicknames that was bandied around Auckland at the time was "Sultana Banana".....

hmmm,...

[Dadpole]

The "black pipe' GSX1100 started with the T model with an improved X model later. I had the X model. They had wire wheels (for the wider rims) different carbs, youshi spec cams and a heavy duty clutch. The X model had a tube steel swingarm (less flex than alloy one) and different springs and damping in forks.
To think I dumped it for the Z model 1100, but I transplanted all the go-fast motor bits too.

[FROSTY]

Hey Nudemetals --no intent to upset ya re dad dude. No offence intended :slap:
It brings back strong memories to me--He was one of the "big boys" whilst I was on a tiddler 250 proddy bike.

[Bonez]

Back when the Katanas first came out, the styling made quite an impact. Some (most) liked it, but some didn't.

I remember one of the disrespectful nicknames that was bandied around Auckland at the time was "Sultana Banana".....

hmmm,...Personly I didn't like it at the time. But it grew on me over the years. Prefered to ride the more stade looking 750, which was more comfortable for my 6' frame. Which could incidently keep up with the bigger boys up to the Puhoi pub in the early 80s. It must be true about what they say about shinking with age though. I'm finding the '81 750EX I have a bit tall now.

[nudemetalz]

Hey Nudemetals --no intent to upset ya re dad dude. No offence intended :slap:
It brings back strong memories to me--He was one of the "big boys" whilst I was on a tiddler 250 proddy bike.

Hey no worries, Frosty, not a problem :)

I've written about him in a very long and emotional thread here in Gen Ravings, so have a squiz in there if you get 5 mins.

Cheers

[roogazza]

[QUOTE=nudemetalz]I'm glad I posted these.
Once again, the old memories from people get triggered and some really interesting info gets posted.

Thanks for the photos bud ! They bring back a lot of memories of production racing, starting in about 70, 71 ! We had quite a large group of very good riders from the Hutt Valley in the Seventies and we are still in touch to this day. Every few months we have a gathering , drink, talk shit, laugh at who's the fattest or baldest, but we're still friends after 35 years ! I reckon that is really neat. G.

[FROSTY]

Just read your other threads. Pretty amazing stuff
-I missed them somehow--probably whilst in the gargre

[badlieutenant]

Its turned into a pretty lucrative buisness.Old Z1 kwakkas and suzuki gsx's in origonal condition being sent to Japan and the states.
Heres my prediction for the future ---Anyone with a clean tidy origonal low milage GSXR750H and GSXR1100h should hide it away somewhere --I think theyre gonne become the collectors item of 2010 or later. That and possibly the Gpz900 ninja

Sorry my mistake re black piper --yep its old age setting in--the old gixxers were the first to be called black pipers
But Im sure (as in I think I recall corectly) there were some very hot kats with black pipes ,wire wheels and flat slide carbs
I think your probably right there frosty on your predictions.
A little of topic but I had mate who had a "black piper" and he went on to bigger "better" bikes, ask him now tho and he will tell you that bike gave him the most fun out of all the road bikes he had.

[FROSTY]

well If we're talking old pictures --Um heres an oldie for ya I found it burried deep in my pile of stuff.

[nudemetalz]

Is that an old GPz ?

[FROSTY]

no mate Its an XJ750--if ya remember bay park --thats the right hander -the ONLY right hander. First race I ever won that one.
Holey cow---ya know it looks like I'm wearing the same leathers Ive got today :devil2:

[nudemetalz]

What was the XJ like to race?
Did the shaft drive jack the rear end up and down a lot?
Guess smoothness would be the order of the day.

Mind you, Dad said the big Kat could bite back if you weren't riding very smooth. Not a "I'll change my line halfway through the corner" machine.

[FROSTY]

-funny how time blurrs ya memory"as i recall'' the XJ was nimble and would out brake and outhandle a gixxer600---Yea rigght.
actually for its day it was a fine handling bike fairly predctable and as long as ya draged a bit of back brake it was cool.
I used to scare the shit outa guys if i got the hole shot into turn 1
Just as I was exiting Id give a big haul on the bars and she'd shake like crazy--everybody woud wait for me to crash -worked a treat every time
Long time ago that

[nudemetalz]

Was it like an XJ900 with a 750 engine?
Or like one of those 1982 Police like ones?

[FROSTY]

lemme see if I can find a pic of one --russle russle
Yep It was one of these

[What?]

If I remember correctly the black piper was a wire wheel GSX1100 not a Katana, wire wheels,black pipes and different carbs, supposedly built overseas and homologated but a lot of people seem to think they came out of local Suzuki workshop
The "Black Piper" was a GSX1100 which had two black headers and two chromed headers. They were a six-hour special built in South Pacific Suzuki's marine shop in Wanganui.

[Bonez]

lemme see if I can find a pic of one --russle russle
Yep It was one of theseAlmost bought one of those new. Wasn't too keen on the fancy dash and remote front brake resivour, which was actuated by a cable from the lever IIRC. Funny how little things affect purchase desisions. Got a 50,000km CX500 insted. Now if it was in the style of the original XJ650 things would have worked out a little different I think.

[FROSTY]

funny that dude--It seems lots thought like that. I had a Jap??? import XJ750 for ages--looked like the 650 and it wasn't a homebuilt special -it had the electric tach like the 750 but to look at it youda sworn it was the 650
OK now Im showing me age

[LB]

Think Neville was sadly killed in a race in South Africa. Dont think they were ever sold elsewhere, but some did end up getting bought up and sent to Japan along with CB1100R etc.
PS the early "black pipers" were same shape as this.
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Neville was killed racing at Kyalami in Sth Africa. I think it was in about 1983?
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[What?]

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Neville was killed racing at Kyalami in Sth Africa. I think it was in about 1983?
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T'were exactly 1983.

[pete376403]

The aluminium monocoque Suzuki mentioned at the beginning of this thread was sitting (if it's still not there) in Maidstone Yamahas (Upper Hutt) showroom not that long ago. I was told the owner was looking for a set of genuine Yoshimura pistons to get it going again, after some bodge work had caused big time grief in the motor. I understand that the alloy bike wasn't as fast as the plastic one that came later, but lordy it was pretty - stunning workmanship.

[FROSTY]

pete--Um the owner is "big mac" um sorta a relly of mine
Theres a bit more to that story than meets the eye

[What?]

Out with it, Frosty - stop being a tease...