Street races "old farts memories"

[codgyoleracer]

Here's a thread for the old (& not so old maybe - some of us are still out there......) to tell a story on your best or worst experience of the good-ole-days when street circuits had plenty of exposed curbs & waratahs + a bunch of other stuff to negotiate on the way round.
The list from memory for non-current street circuits in no particular order is: Manukau, Gisborne, Lyall Bay, Gracefield, Hamilton lake, Onekawa, Hawksbury, Whangarei, Auckland downtown, Paritutu new Plymouth, Taupo, + the many more I cant remember......... :wacko:

[terbang]

I remember going to an Avondale street race when I was a teenager. There were some guys racing Moto X bikes on street tyres (like TM 400s). Way before I'd ever heard the term Motard.

[t3mp0r4ry nzr]

geez, showing your age grandad:wari:

[pritch]

I was a track marshall at a "round the houses" in Porirua once.

Before there was racing at Paritutu, there was racing around a road circuit at Tikorangi near Waitara. That was followed by the use of a track around the roads of the old Airport at Bell Block. This latter was one of those quaint arrangements that were almost completely sealed...

[Reckless]

My mum used to take us to Gracefield races every year. Bring a blanket and food and sit at the end of the main straight. On the inside of the left hander where the first set of traffic Islands are! Bloody good family day out, can't remember it ever raining either. Good racing and some good prangs. I saw some guy pulled out of the creek at the top end one day after he went straight on and through the crowd.
Bloody good days probably set me up for my love of street/road circuts when Karting. I did Masterton, Cemetry, Manfield, Puke, Taupo, Napier and a few others I can't bloody remember. Most of the Race track meets where kart only meetings but most of the street ones where with the bikes. Great days out!

[roogazza]

I can remember having a big one at the end of the straight at Onekawa in about 1973 . Kawasaki H2 into bales and a phone pole ! While lying in the ambo, the B grade Prod race came on and my mate Bill Biber (Mach 3) was run over by another Kawa H2 after falling in front. We went to hosp together and I can remember lying there with Bill on stretchers thinking "is this it " ? I pissed blood for a week after that. We were not well chooks at all.
But six or seven weeks later I won at Gracefeild , so thats the good and bad of road racing. Gaz. :wari:

[Billy]

I was a track marshall at a "round the houses" in Porirua once.

Yip,Did my first racemeeting at the old Porrirua Grand Prix,1971.Frightened me shitless and Ive never recovered.Still it was a good experience to meet and race against such legends as John Woodley,Stu Avant,Geoff Perry and many more

[roadracingoldfart]

At last ..... a thread named after what i am :2thumbsup:blink: ROADRACINGOLDFART .

Gracefield, Lyall Bay, Masterton, Wanganui, Hamilton, thats the road circuits i have raced on and i loved them all. I have never done or in fact never been to Pearoa so i must get there one day.
If i had to pick a fav it would be Gracefield as it was on my back door when i lived in Lowry Bay and had a girlfriend in Wainuiomata and you just have to get the hang of the corners when you travel the road everyday aye .:whistle:
Did the Malboro series and Brut 33 series, then countrywide series.
I never won a thing but i had a ball trying to finish .
Cheers Paul.

[GaZBur]

Next to last lap in the all in production race - sometime in the mid-late 70's. I though i was pretty hot while getting the 400 Kawasaki triple slightly airborne over the rail track on the main straight, until Graeme Crosby lapped me and I swear his handlebar went over my head. Fair put the bloody willies up me he did.
Lets hope the new Dunedin circuit goes ahead in May 2008 as planned, good luck you guys.

[merv]

Gaz I've had a look through my photos and sadly I can't find any of 111 before Aaron Slight claimed that number.

[roadracingoldfart]

Here's a thread for the old (& not so old maybe - some of us are still out there......) to tell a story on your best or worst experience of the good-ole-days when street circuits had plenty of exposed curbs & waratahs + a bunch of other stuff to negotiate on the way round.

I remember a certain Kawasaki rider having to stop to refit his seat and then spend the rest of the race pulling giant weelies for the crowd at race speed.
Dallas Rankin was shaking his head everytime that rider passed the pits.
Does that ring any bells at all Glen????

[merv]

I remember going to an Avondale street race when I was a teenager. There were some guys racing Moto X bikes on street tyres (like TM 400s). Way before I'd ever heard the term Motard.

Didn't Robert Holden win his first championship on a TM or RM125?

Couldn't find any pics of him, but here's Simon Turner (I'm pretty sure) in his early days on an RM125 at Lyall Bay.

[merv]

Dallas Rankin was shaking his head everytime that rider passed the pits.
Does that ring any bells at all Glen????

You mention Dallas, here's pics of Dallas on the 600 Ducati at Lyall Bay for you.

[roadracingoldfart]

You mention Dallas, here's pics of Dallas on the 600 Ducati at Lyall Bay for you.


Rob Holden went on to make that bike a giant killer. It was at Lyall Bay where he demonstrated the plastic fantastic if memory serves me rite .

[sidecar bob]

I remember in '87 my first year swinging for Scrivy, We were at Wanganui.
It started to rain lightly & Scrivy was so wired he didint notice the spits on his visor.
We started passing other competitors that we had never passed before & Scrivy thought he was on fire, but i knew that we were simply in the shit.
we got to the bridge & it locked the front wheel & we went straight ahead into what seemed like (from my position kneeling on a piece of ply 4 inches off the road) a fifty foot high wall of hay bales.
We went straight through them & took out the TV crew, knocking one poor bastard out & smashing his teeth, & did a few injuries to ourselves & the machinery as well.
Last time i saw the crash on TV was when a helicopter crashed in Milford sound while filming for the Holmes programme, killing one of the occupants, it was the same poor bastard we had smashed up at Wanganui & they showed highlights of his time with TVNZ.
Of course Scrivy is a lot more sensible these days.:eek:

[merv]

Rob Holden went on to make that bike a giant killer. It was at Lyall Bay where he demonstrated the plastic fantastic if memory serves me rite .

Not sure about the Duc I think the one Robert rode was a different frame to that earlier one.

Yep I posted those pics for you a while ago here http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=1464

[gav]

Didnt Robert ride the ex Bob Brown Ducati from Australia? The one Kevin Magee made his name on in his early days?

[merv]

Didnt Robert ride the ex Bob Brown Ducati from Australia? The one Kevin Magee made his name on in his early days?

Yep some of the time he did, but these others were Dallas Rankine's bikes.

Did you see my pic of Kevin at Gracefield back on this thread http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=1428 ?

[codgyoleracer]

I remember a certain Kawasaki rider having to stop to refit his seat and then spend the rest of the race pulling giant weelies for the crowd at race speed.
Dallas Rankin was shaking his head everytime that rider passed the pits.
Does that ring any bells at all Glen????

I wish I could say it did, - but you have in mind my namesake "Glen Williams" the 1st !
(although I new Glen all those years ago, I was only really starting when he was in the later part of his career. We did finish first & second though on GPZ600's in the 2 Hour endurance race at Pukey though one year)
Oddly enough we are both pretty handy Golfers as well - + also skinny Ginga dudes.
Sorry for the confusion dude - might catch you at the next Vic round ?

[scrivy]

I remember in '87 my first year swinging for Scrivy, We were at Wanganui.
It started to rain lightly & Scrivy was so wired he didint notice the spits on his visor.
We started passing other competitors that we had never passed before & Scrivy thought he was on fire, but i knew that we were simply in the shit.
we got to the bridge & it locked the front wheel & we went straight ahead into what seemed like (from my position kneeling on a piece of ply 4 inches off the road) a fifty foot high wall of hay bales.
We went straight through them & took out the TV crew, knocking one poor bastard out & smashing his teeth, & did a few injuries to ourselves & the machinery as well. Of course Scrivy is a lot more sensible these days.:eek:

Bob, you're so full of shite!! It wasn't the rain that had us f@cked - it was the constant finger pointing from you to all the gorgeous woman in the crowd that took my attention away from the racing!! You try racing hard out when ya passenger is creaming himself from perving too much!! I guess that's when all your poon obsessions started?? :lol::2thumbsup:whistle:

[Joni]

Bob, you're so full of shite!! It wasn't the rain that had us f@cked - it was the constant finger pointing from you to all the gorgeous woman in the crowd that took my attention away from the racing!! You try racing hard out when ya passenger is creaming himself from perving too much!! I guess that's when all your poon obsessions started?? :lol::2thumbsup:whistle:This version of the story I seem to believe... gotto know Bob to undertsand his errrr obsessions. :bleh:

[Goblin]

Bob, you're so full of shite!! Yup! You got that right.:Pokey:

[codgyoleracer]

I remember in '87 my first year swinging for Scrivy, We were at Wanganui.
It started to rain lightly & Scrivy was so wired he didint notice the spits on his visor.
We started passing other competitors that we had never passed before & Scrivy thought he was on fire, but i knew that we were simply in the shit.
we got to the bridge & it locked the front wheel & we went straight ahead into what seemed like (from my position kneeling on a piece of ply 4 inches off the road) a fifty foot high wall of hay bales.
We went straight through them & took out the TV crew, knocking one poor bastard out & smashing his teeth, & did a few injuries to ourselves & the machinery as well.
Last time i saw the crash on TV was when a helicopter crashed in Milford sound while filming for the Holmes programme, killing one of the occupants, it was the same poor bastard we had smashed up at Wanganui & they showed highlights of his time with TVNZ.
Of course Scrivy is a lot more sensible these days.:eek:

Simialr story from the Gracefield circuit, Got a blinder start in the 600 proddy class on the trusty RZ350, after two laps confidence was high & my tail was up as I moved my way to the pointy end of the field. Unfortunatley it all ended whilst coming into the left hander (just before the bridge) when I remember thinking , "this is pretty cool" as i had just got underneath J McEwen whereupon I promply lost the front on one of Gracefields many potholes, discovering just how soft n squishy haybales are. Ended my day as the wheelbase on the RZ was slightly under factory spec after that one :argh:

Would like to hear from anyone who rode the Hamilton road cicuit (the one that went down to the lake & then back up over the hill. To say that it was a tad bumpy is a slight understatement........

[scrivy]

This version of the story I seem to believe... gotto know Bob to undertsand his errrr obsessions. :bleh:

Joni - was that tongue licking deliberate?.......:lol:

[pritch]

Yip,Did my first racemeeting at the old Porrirua Grand Prix,1971.

That'd be the one. I had a Yamaha RT360 then, so they put me with the Tawa Bikies...

I couldn't have looked more different; they in their bikie gear, me in my pretty blue nylon jacket.
At lunch, them with their warm beer and cold pies.
Me, half a roast chicken with salad and small bottle of chilled dry white.

I had to endure jokes about ricies all day but some of it was quite clever :-)
" Hey Trev why don't you race your Bonnie?"
"Nah mate I might fall off and get gassed to death."

I seem to recall at one point there were some guys in white coats loading bikes in to a truck. Some thoughtful person asked a member fo the constabulary if indeed they were supposed to be doing that. Apparently not!

[duckonin]

Gracefield was a top day lived in Wainui-o-mata when they were runnning some mighty prangs and great production bike racing,many a rider almost ended up in Feltex carpet factory..Had a Matchless 500 single in those days only 15yr's trying to kick that bitch over..my how things have changed:niceone:

[roogazza]

Would like to hear from anyone who rode the Hamilton road cicuit (the one that went down to the lake & then back up over the hill. To say that it was a tad bumpy is a slight understatement........

I only went to one at Hamilton Glen, I was on a T350 Suzuki so it must have been early in 70 or 71 There was a big hump or bridge and at the bottom went to the right of a roundabout I think ? yeah lots of bumps but I was 20 then so they didn't matter much !!!!!!! A mate was riding one of Dickie Lawtons specials a 3 cyl 350 of some sort ? Gaz.

[Billy]

I only went to one at Hamilton Glen, I was on a T350 Suzuki so it must have been early in 70 or 71 There was a big hump or bridge and at the bottom went to the right of a roundabout I think ? yeah lots of bumps but I was 20 then so they didn't matter much !!!!!!! A mate was riding one of Dickie Lawtons specials a 3 cyl 350 of some sort ? Gaz.
Ah yes the old 380 Suzuki desleeved to 350 and watercooled,Was as quick as any TZ350 and Ginger Molloys Aermachi 350 and usually unbeatable with Dale Wylie on board,A real piece of Kiwi ingenuity like so many of Dickies specials.Last time I saw thay it was sitting out the back of Co-op Honda and belonged at the time to Geoff Sell

[speedpro]

Hammy lake, where they didn't remove the low poles from the edge of the lawn down by the lake and one of the Aussies tried to park his bike there but it all got a bit messy. The single hay bale for each pole didn't really help.

I was about 50 yards behind when that guy(Kerry Larkin?) crashed his McIntosh at Gracefield over the railway lines, what a farkup that was. We did two laps after that. I recall this German guy who rode a RGB500 at Gracefield as well. He was doing OK but was a bit cautious through the intersection to the Wainui turnoff by the Feltex factory. The track there is only a slight kink right and drops off a bit. He'd back off every time and I'd go past, leant over with the front about a foot in the air. I don't remember his exact comment later but it involved a lot of head shaking and arm waving.

Wanganui was fun, apart from the holdups. My bucket was the most fun there, trying to outbrake two or even three F3 bikes into "flower garden" after the esses. They'd hold me up through the esses and then drag me off to the corner. The only way to get them was either fire it under them as they tipped into the esses(dodgy as) or hang back a bit and keep it nailed through the esses and get a bit of a run on them at the exit and up the the garden.

Street circuits I've done - Manakau, Lyall Bay, Onekawa, Gracefield, Wanganui, Masterton, Hamilton Lake, Whangarei, and Whakatane and Foxton which were bucket only meetings. I suppose Ohakea bucket GPs count as well as they did go on streets round the base a bit and probably the Wigram GP for the same reason.

[gav]

Heres Bill Biber on the BMW. No ones mentioned this track, part of the circuit used public roads. Any one know it?

[ajturbo]

last centry (1995)... yer , yer, i know it is NOT that long ago, BUT.. i remember my first time at a street race in greymouth... all the newbies were alowed out for a couple of sighting laps....

SIGHTING LAPS... yer right...

i managed to get around 2 corners and just started to think about slowing for the first left hander.......... when i was over taken by a beautifully restored cb350 twin, this thing was spotless, there was not a speck of dust!.........well that was before it was sliding along the ground... passing me... sparks, grinding foot pegs, the works... talk about give me a fright!...

[roadracingoldfart]

[ I recall this German guy who rode a RGB500 at Gracefield as well. He was doing OK but was a bit cautious through the intersection to the Wainui turnoff by the Feltex factory. The track there is only a slight kink right and drops off a bit. He'd back off every time and I'd go past, leant over with the front about a foot in the air. I don't remember his exact comment later but it involved a lot of head shaking and arm waving.


The german guy was on a RGB500 with the letter " K " and he shit himself at all the road circuits. I cant remember his name but have a few pics of him.
The same year which i think was 84/85 Brut 33, Paul Iddon was there on a 2 stroke something and the Moriwaki team with 2 japanese riders , Yatsishira and someone else starting with an H and they had an awesome transporter truck with heaps of spares and from memory they used all of them up crashing in practice. The same meeting saw the debut of Jim Goodins rear engined Kwaka sidechair as well . Ahhhh the good old days are only alive because us old farts have a small amount of memory left. :rolleyes:
Cheers Paul.

[Billy]

Heres Bill Biber on the BMW. No ones mentioned this track, part of the circuit used public roads. Any one know it?

Looks like Golden Downs out the back of Nelson approaching the last corner.If it is they only ran it once maybe twice.Irode there in 88 was a wicked track til someone forgot to stop the traffic that appeared in the middle of the start finish straight during practice

[Cleve]

Basically you are all a bunch of mad old buggers then...
ok so I did Paeroa in '89.. want to do it again and Wangers too... but respect to all you multi street circuit, fellow older farts.

[pete376403]

Heres Bill Biber on the BMW. No ones mentioned this track, part of the circuit used public roads. Any one know it?
Is that bike a K100? At some stage of its life did it drop a rod and punch a large hole in the crankcases? And ultimately get written off whan it came off a trailer?

[gav]

Looks like Golden Downs out the back of Nelson approaching the last corner.If it is they only ran it once maybe twice.Irode there in 88 was a wicked track til someone forgot to stop the traffic that appeared in the middle of the start finish straight during practice
Yes Golden Downs, only ran for one year, 1989. Carter Holt who owned it, were keen to spend money and develop it into a permanent circuit but was then sold to overseas company who sadly weren't. It sure did have potential. I was on organising committee and raced in Clubmens. Heres a couple more photos.

[boomer]

What an awesome thread....keep 'em comin, i'm enjoying the stories:2thumbsup

[Billy]

Yes Golden Downs, only ran for one year, 1989. Carter Holt who owned it, were keen to spend money and develop it into a permanent circuit but was then sold to overseas company who sadly weren't. It sure did have potential. I was on organising committee and raced in Clubmens. Heres a couple more photos.

89 was it.Memories a bit vague on the whole weekend really.Im surprised I even remembered it at all,Had a blast though,Rode Karel Pavichs TZR to 5th place in F2.Drank 66 500ml cans of DB at the after match they held in the hall afterwards with Neil Smith and his Mechanic Simon tyring to negotiate a deal on a new TZR for the next season (nobody could remember the outcome the next day)AWESOME meeting.Another one I havent seen mentioned is the Gumboot GP held at Taihape

[ajturbo]

Yes Golden Downs, only ran for one year, 1989. Carter Holt who owned it, were keen to spend money and develop it into a permanent circuit but was then sold to overseas company who sadly weren't. It sure did have potential. I was on organising committee and raced in Clubmens. Heres a couple more photos.

allthough i was not on the race committe , we did go out and help asses the site... magic!...hey gav do you know what the hell i was doing back then?

[gav]

There was also the street race they held around New Brighton here in Christchurch that a certain Joey Dunlop rode at!

[gav]

allthough i was not on the race committe , we did go out and help asses the site... magic!...hey gav do you know what the hell i was doing back then?
Probably same as now, fark all? :devil2:
Dunno, maybe painting?

[sidecar bob]

Is that bike a K100? At some stage of its life did it drop a rod and punch a large hole in the crankcases? And ultimately get written off whan it came off a trailer?

Dont know about that, But Bill became famous for doing a lap of Manfield wearing no more than his helmet during practice, at every Shell Two Wheeler they ran.

[pete376403]

OK its just that a mate of mine bought a write off K100 some years ago and got it on the road again - it was a bit of a bitsa, but in its past life it had dropped a rod while racing. When we had the motor apart we could see where the holes in the cases had been welded (also where one of the rods had been put in wrong way round)

Just didn't think there were *that* many K100s on the track

[roogazza]

Dont know about that, But Bill became famous for doing a lap of Manfield wearing no more than his helmet during practice, at every Shell Two Wheeler they ran.

Robert H doing the wheelies with Bill hanging off the back and an NZ flag , naked as, but for helmets and boots !!!!!!

Anyone remember the Levin Circuit and cabbage tree corner ? Gaz.

[Billy]

Robert H doing the wheelies with Bill hanging off the back and an NZ flag , naked as, but for helmets and boots !!!!!!

Anyone remember the Levin Circuit and cabbage tree corner ? Gaz.
Yip the lefthander at the end of Lakebend,Another neat track closed up because of noise and development.UP the short straight after cabbage tree to the righthand hairpin left at pitcorner and left again at castrol and back on to the start finish straight,Saw Dr rodg cartwheel his H2 exiting castrol so hard he lost his glasses.Those were the days

[codgyoleracer]

Racing at the Taupo street cicuit - was my first experience of riding with Robbie Deans, an unbelievably determined guy at hanging on to the thing & refusing to fall off.
We were cranking through a lefty - i think Paul Paveltich was leading with Robboe close behind & me at a distance observing. Robbie lost the rear exiting a right hander - exited the track & jumped the kerb through (luckily) a space in the crowd (who were incidently standing all around the outside of the corner.....), he then went through a low wooden front fence of one of the very few residential houses on that circuit. On my next circuit round - theres Robbie riding up the footpath on his GSX1150 with 60ft of wire fencing & warratahs trailing behind.
He gets to the next corner but had to stop due to the fact that his tyres are off the rims now & the rims are dented almost to the hub.
He never fell off it though.......... :no:
Unfortunatly the guy whos fence he went through was one of the few protesters to the council against the race being held there..........

[codgyoleracer]

Heres the list so far of street circuits no longer used - but fondly remembered

Manukau
Gisborne
Lyall Bay
Gracefield
Hamilton
Onekawa
Hawksbury
Whangarei
Auckland downtown
Paritutu
Avondale streets
Porirua
Tikorangi
Bell Block
Masterton
Golden Downs Nelson
Taihape
Sydenham
+++++ ???

There is also a bunch of bucket meets that partially or fully use street circuits - should these be included ????, - Let me know your thoughts

[sidecar bob]

Racing at the Taupo street cicuit - was my first experience of riding with Robbie Deans, an unbelievably determined guy at hanging on to the thing & refusing to fall off.
We were cranking through a lefty - i think Paul Paveltich was leading with Robboe close behind & me at a distance observing. Robbie lost the rear exiting a right hander - exited the track & jumped the kerb through (luckily) a space in the crowd (who were incidently standing all around the outside of the corner.....), he then went through a low wooden front fence of one of the very few residential houses on that circuit. On my next circuit round - theres Robbie riding up the footpath on his GSX1150 with 60ft of wire fencing & warratahs trailing behind.
He gets to the next corner but had to stop due to the fact that his tyres are off the rims now & the rims are dented almost to the hub.
He never fell off it though.......... :no:
Unfortunatly the guy whos fence he went through was one of the few protesters to the council against the race being held there..........

Thats a perfect round up of exactly how it happened.
Rob is a close mate & has related that story to me on several occasions almost exactly as told.
Many of you may not know that Rob is an identical twin & has a brother, Pete.
One year at Wanganui, Rob had a major bin & was recovering in the ambulance, when MNZ officials descended on his tent to check wether he was fit to continue racing for the rest of the day.
Pete was his pit crew & was in the tent fixing up the damaged bike, The MNZ officials gave Pete a serious once over & deemed him to be fit to race.
Eventually Rob returned from the ambulance in time to compete in his next race.
Over the years, Jim Tuckerman at least, has worked out that he was tricked (although not deliberatley).

[Billy]

Heres the list so far of street circuits no longer used - but fondly remembered

Manukau
Gisborne
Lyall Bay
Gracefield
Hamilton
Onekawa
Hawksbury
Whangarei
Auckland downtown
Paritutu
Avondale streets
Porirua
Tikorangi
Bell Block
Masterton
Golden Downs Nelson
+++++ ???

There is also a bunch of bucket meets that partially or fully use street circuits - should these be included ????, - Let me know your thoughts
Taihape and Sydenham

[smithy09]

Just a short list. Hawkesbury, Paeroa, Wanganui. Gave them up after Wanganui 2004. Balls not big enough. Pics below tell the story. Yes, I also pissed blood for 2 weeks after being flown to Welligton Hospital. Highlights? Getting a Catheter inserted wrongly....

Richard Scott had claimed Pole. It was his first race back at Wanganui for quite a while, on a shiny GSX 1100 with all the Yoshi fruit. He was looking great until I took him out...

Cheers, Smithy.

[smithy09]

Greg Shaga Sharpe on his 50th Birthday, Paeroa. Highside from hell. Helicopter to Auckland hospital... Dumped by old girlfreind, found new love in intensive care...

[smithy09]

Pete Daniels noting for the crowd going over the bridge at Wanganui. He loves this photo so much it's the screen saver on his mobile!! Great Post Classic shot though..

[smithy09]

Croz at Wanganui. Love his style.

[merv]

Croz at Wanganui. Love his style.

Yep that's the summer of '76/77 Marlboro series. The following year 77/78 Croz was on the Z1R with the H number board.

[merv]

Richard Scott had claimed Pole. It was his first race back at Wanganui for quite a while, on a shiny GSX 1100 with all the Yoshi fruit. He was looking great until I took him out...


How the hell did you do that with your bike going totally arse over kite and heading backwards into Scotty?

[roadracingoldfart]

How the hell did you do that with your bike going totally arse over kite and heading backwards into Scotty?


Looks like a serious dose of tooooo much front brake.

That thing of Scottys was a missile, and it turned and stopped too.

Wanganui Post Classic is the top class to watch, (we old farts can identify the bikes ) i love the little bikes giving the big unns a hard time.

Hopefully Wanganui 2007 is the venue for my last race ever anywhere.
Cheers Paul.

[NordieBoy]

I remember going to an Avondale street race when I was a teenager. There were some guys racing Moto X bikes on street tyres (like TM 400s). Way before I'd ever heard the term Motard.

<img src=http://motorsport.nelson.geek.nz/road/Nelson%20Port%20Races/20060102%20Nelson%20Port%20Races/slides/20060102-103017.jpg>

[sidecar bob]

Croz at Wanganui. Love his style.

Look who's parked next to Croz on the 850 Commando, None other than Robbie Dean, He still owns the Commando, Its in safe storage while he is busy in Australia.
Im quite sure he will return to compete with it in post classic sometime.

[Kickaha]

None other than Robbie Dean, He still owns the Commando, Its in safe storage while he is busy in Ausstralia.
Im quite sure he will return to compete with it in post classic sometime.

I remember seeing him race that at the last Hawkesbury meeting

[ajturbo]

i love the little bikes giving the big unns a hard time.

Hopefully Wanganui 2007 is the venue for my last race ever anywhere.
Cheers Paul.


yer.. like the time i lined up on my DT100... BETWEEN 2 750 waterbuses...AND beat them to the first 2 corners.....:whistle:

(greaymouth street races 95)

[sidecar bob]

yer.. like the time i lined up on my DT100... BETWEEN 2 750 waterbuses...AND beat them to the first 2 corners.....:whistle:

(greaymouth street races 95)

So this whole shameless thing isint new for you then? :bleh::dodge:

[GaZBur]

Next to last lap in the all in production race - sometime in the mid-late 70's. I though i was pretty hot while getting the 400 Kawasaki triple slightly airborne over the rail track on the main straight, until Graeme Crosby lapped me and I swear his handlebar went over my head. Fair put the bloody willies up me he did.
Lets hope the new Dunedin circuit goes ahead in May 2008 as planned, good luck you guys.

No pics of Croz but found a couple of pics of me from that day, the Kawasaki really didn't like the bumps of that circuit. 410 production class it was in those days, which meant 2 Kawasakis against aout 30 Yamahas.

[deanohit]

Lovin this thread guys, just spent most of the morning so far reading it. It's a damn shame that theres so few street races now. I remember watching the Wellington street races back in the early 90s I think, was only a kid. What an awesome thing to see. Went to Paeroa for the first time this year, god those guys fly along the straights.
Keep the storys coming.

[roogazza]

If I remember correctly there was only one reasonable guy on a 400 triple in 410 and he came from Palmy I think ? But you are right, I have seen fields of 43 RD's Gaz. :woohoo:

ps. anyone remember Dave Hissy winning 33 starts in a row ? Then finishing it off by beating Randy Jannola in a head to head at Ruapuna ? ( and he was wonderfully modest in his whole approach too! ) Gaz.

[GaZBur]

If I remember correctly there was only one reasonable guy on a 400 triple in 410 and he came from Palmy I think ? But you are right, I have seen fields of 43 RD's Gaz. :woohoo:
... Gaz.
Well i sure wasn't me doing well. I only ever got to mid field on that Kawasaki as it was a real bastard!!! I could never get the thing to run right - it was so tempremental and the way it cycled oil from the cylinders meant you ran a different heat range plug in each cylinder. If it ran right it would beat the Yamahas in a straight line, but most tracks have bumps and corners and my Kawasaki triple didnt like either of them.

[codgyoleracer]

ps. anyone remember Dave Hissy winning 33 starts in a row ? Then finishing it off by beating Randy Jannola in a head to head at Ruapuna ? ( and he was wonderfully modest in his whole approach too! ) Gaz.[/QUOTE]

Dave H, - Ever the gentleman

[avgas]

i remember sitting on the back of a shiny newish XS850 triple blasting through the gorge to my first Paeroa.
Chasing some dude on a brand new 1100 kat and another guy on a Z900.
Every piece of land round the track looked like the pits.
Some dude wiped out on the last half of the back straight and slid a good 200m into the hay bales....only to have his 750 tiger follow him soon after.

[twinshock750]

Heres the list so far of street circuits no longer used - but fondly remembered

Manukau
Gisborne
Lyall Bay
Gracefield
Hamilton
Onekawa
Hawksbury
Whangarei
Auckland downtown
Paritutu
Avondale streets
Porirua
Tikorangi
Bell Block
Masterton
Golden Downs Nelson
Taihape
Sydenham
+++++ ???

There is also a bunch of bucket meets that partially or fully use street circuits - should these be included ????, - Let me know your thoughts

Manukau City - Dec 1980 - only ran once too - badly hurt a few people at the chicane where it crossed through a median strip on Wiri Station road.

Whangarei was quite fun on a 125. the trip home was even better....

[steveb64]

Another one I havent seen mentioned is the Gumboot GP held at Taihape Ahhh, yep, yep, yep. That was a fun wee circuit. Got to race the McIntosh there - problem was, I broke the gear linkage rod getting the bike off the trailer, and the only fix was to run with a reverse pattern shift. OK if you're used to it - but trying to learn/remember in the middle of racing was kind of exciting. I recall Robert Holden coming up to me after one of the races, saying I was "going well, but what happened on the straight over the back? The McIntosh suddenly leaped sideways and got all twisted up?" - I had to admit to changing gear the wrong way - didn't like it when it was tapped in third, went for fourth, and got second! :Oops:
Also remember Andy Kippen looking a little tatty at the end of the day - he'd flipped his outfit, and got stuck underneath it all. Trouble was, he was running it on Methanol - and it was burning. Andy reckoned he never knew he could lift a sidecar on his own - from underneath! Luckily, he got away with just some singed hairy bits...:beer:

[sidecar bob]

Ahhh, yep, yep, yep. That was a fun wee circuit. Got to race the McIntosh there - problem was, I broke the gear linkage rod getting the bike off the trailer, and the only fix was to run with a reverse pattern shift. OK if you're used to it - but trying to learn/remember in the middle of racing was kind of exciting. I recall Robert Holden coming up to me after one of the races, saying I was "going well, but what happened on the straight over the back? The McIntosh suddenly leaped sideways and got all twisted up?" - I had to admit to changing gear the wrong way - didn't like it when it was tapped in third, went for fourth, and got second! :Oops:
Also remember Andy Kippen looking a little tatty at the end of the day - he'd flipped his outfit, and got stuck underneath it all. Trouble was, he was running it on Methanol - and it was burning. Andy reckoned he never knew he could lift a sidecar on his own - from underneath! Luckily, he got away with just some singed hairy bits...:beer:

That was a massive weekend. I remember the party in Andy's room in the Royal Hotel better than the racing.
We stripped the stereo out of the van, complete with the van battery & re assembled it in the room, (yup, you were there Stevo, wether you remember it or not) It was pretty full on, & the following day we (sidecar guys) went to Vince Steur's place in Bulls for another session. Ahh, Great times!!!

[steveb64]

That was a massive weekend. I remember the party in Andy's room in the Royal Hotel better than the racing.
We stripped the stereo out of the van, complete with the van battery & re assembled it in the room, (yup, you were there Stevo, wether you remember it or not) It was pretty full on, & the following day we (sidecar guys) went to Vince Steur's place in Bulls for another session. Ahh, Great times!!!

Ohhhh yes. I remember. Blurrily. Also remember another night at Vinces, after the final Nationals round at Manfield - and Vince and Dave had won the championship... and had a party... Recall things like large chunks of meat going directly from freezer to barbecue, Robbie Dean trying to drive off, and his ute falling in the ditch instead, and other activities which I think it's MUCH better to NOT put in print...:Oops::beer:

[sidecar bob]

Ohhhh yes. I remember. Blurrily. Also remember another night at Vinces, after the final Nationals round at Manfield - and Vince and Dave had won the championship... and had a party... Recall things like large chunks of meat going directly from freezer to barbecue, Robbie Dean trying to drive off, and his ute falling in the ditch instead, and other activities which I think it's MUCH better to NOT put in print...:Oops::beer:

I remember that one at Vinces too, Yes i agree, much of that would be too sensitive to print.
Probably the most out of control party i ever attended.

[roadracingoldfart]

hell...................... out of control parties were awesome (when i was younger) and the best one was the party i attended in the Hutt Valley.
This guy told me after a round at Gracefield to go back to his house and dig in to the BBQ and shit , I had know him for a while but never had been to his house. He gave me the address and off we went. Far out , a rich bugger he was by the look of it , a pool and tennis courts and shit, big inbuilt BBQ and tons of food in the fridge but the beer was just on the shelf so we put that in the freezer to chill, bad organising huh.
Well after about 4 hours this guy comes and finds us and blow me down , wrong house lol. We were meant to be at number 22 A and we were at number 22 . Quickly all over the fence and carried on with the party at the real venue but it was a real hoot when the owners of number 22 came home. :shit: :innocent: :shutup:
It kept a dozen cops busy half the night trying to get to the bottom of it .
From what we were told the beers in the freezer started to blow up just before dawn. And remember they were always the big bottles ( DB ) in those days and we must have put at least 3 crates in the big freezer in the washhouse.

Ahhh those were the days. Out of control parties are under rated.

[sidecar bob]

Ohhhh yes. I remember. Blurrily. Also remember another night at Vinces, after the final Nationals round at Manfield - and Vince and Dave had won the championship... and had a party... Recall things like large chunks of meat going directly from freezer to barbecue, Robbie Dean trying to drive off, and his ute falling in the ditch instead, and other activities which I think it's MUCH better to NOT put in print...:Oops::beer:

Steve mate, i found a great photo of your Macintosh & my GSXR1100 in a makeshift awning off the side of my old Morris J4 van at Wanganui. Im thinking it must be 1988.

[steveb64]

Steve mate, i found a great photo of your Macintosh & my GSXR1100 in a makeshift awning off the side of my old Morris J4 van at Wanganui. Im thinking it must be 1988.

Errrr you're asking ME what year it was???? But yeah - the mists of - time, we'll call it - clear, and that sounds about right... Actually, wasn't it the same year you guys took out the TV camera?

Don't suppose you can scan the photo and email it to me?

[sidecar bob]

Errrr you're asking ME what year it was???? But yeah - the mists of - time, we'll call it - clear, and that sounds about right... Actually, wasn't it the same year you guys took out the TV camera?

Don't suppose you can scan the photo and email it to me?

We took the tv guys out in '87 on the sidecar, i ran the GSXR11 senior prod in 88 through till '90 & only did wangi once on two wheels so it must be '88.
Re the photo, i'll see what can be done, but bear in mind i need to get help just to change my profile pic, so not very good with these things.
If i can, ill post it here along with a few others.

[codgyoleracer]

Thats a perfect round up of exactly how it happened.
Rob is a close mate & has related that story to me on several occasions almost exactly as told.

Caught up with Robbie at Taupo a couple of weeks ago, & he's still got that twinkle in his eye for everything that is bikes.

[roogazza]

Caught up with Robbie at Taupo a couple of weeks ago, & he's still got that twinkle in his eye for everything that is bikes.

Bet he'd give a few a hurry up, if he came out again, He's not a considerate gentleman like me ? Gaz.

[steveb64]

Manukau City - Dec 1980 - only ran once too - badly hurt a few people at the chicane where it crossed through a median strip on Wiri Station road.

Whangarei was quite fun on a 125. the trip home was even better....

I raced at Whangarei in '83 - on an IT465, with Cheng Shin road tyres (21" rib pattern front, 17" something on the back) - in the wet! A memorable day for me - my first road race, pissing with rain, blew up the old ladies HQ Holden (dropped top off piston) on the way to the track - :doh: but managed to get a mate to pick me and the bike up, and get us to the race. Didn't crash - but couldn't get any traction either...:eek: - though the front tyre was remarkably good! Just the back that was waving around every time I hit the gas. Then, to top it all off, on the way home, one tie-down cut through on the edge of the trailer, launching the bike into the air in a short arc - straight upside down, in the RH lane! :shit: The only real bit of luck was that we'd slowed down, due to some surface flooding, AND there was a gap in the oncoming traffic! :eek::shit: Hate to think what could've happened - if another car had been in the wrong place, the bike would've gone through the windscreen... :sick: The only highlight was I got my picture in the paper! A guy on an RM465 crashed behind/into me, and the photographer got it all...

Got to race there again the next year (my 2nd road race) - on my GSX11. 1st and 2nd gears, with ONE spot on the track where I could click 3rd, just long enough to move my foot, so I could change back to 2nd... Got 3rd in F1 though! :third: Then crashed in the warmup lap for the 4th (non points) race... :( That was when I learned what a warmup lap was for... :doh:

[jellywrestler]

some interesting old shit here.

[roogazza]

Gaz I've had a look through my photos and sadly I can't find any of 111 before Aaron Slight claimed that number.

341654341655
Onekawa left and Porirua right. about 1971 ? Merv. Jeeezus 50 years ago !!!!

[merv]

Onekawa left and Porirua right. about 1971 ? Merv. Jeeezus 50 years ago !!!!

Great pics.

[jellywrestler]

i'm currently compiling a guide to circuits throughout newzealand including streets hill climbs buckets (not carparks or tarmac, fixed road circuits ) so looking for old programs, happy to buy them as it will add to my regularly used archives or get photos particularly circuit maps folks, let me know if you have any and we'll take it from there, pm will be good or post on here, thanks
spyda

[jellywrestler]

Dont know about that, But Bill became famous for doing a lap of Manfield wearing no more than his helmet during practice, at every Shell Two Wheeler they ran.

with dalls rankine on the back, XJ650 one year

[jellywrestler]

I was a track marshall at a "round the houses" in Porirua once.

Before there was racing at Paritutu, there was racing around a road circuit at Tikorangi near Waitara. That was followed by the use of a track around the roads of the old Airport at Bell Block. This latter was one of those quaint arrangements that were almost completely sealed...

anyone know where the bell block circuit was exactly?

[sidecar bob]

Anyone that rode at Baypark in the '80's will know exactly what these tyres once spelt.
They haven't been seen for around 25 years, but turned up in gateway in Welcome bay road near Tauranga a few weeks ago.
The "A" & "O" are on the ends around the wrong way, leaving three tyres missing.

[jato]

I've been intimate with those tyres twice - the most frightening occasion was when my (bucket sidecar) swinger took it upon himself to decide we were going too fast to make the corner (we weren't) and so he thought it wasn't worth swinging... (the f...er). it was an eyewatering experience - weren't they filled with concrete?

[FROSTY]

A couple of "tracks" I haven't seen mentioned (too lazy to look properly) Is the Whangarei street races. Manukau shopping centre street races and a few years later (quite a few) The Manukau shopping centre Bucket street race. I know Beaumont street in Auckland central ran for a couple of years.
Nowaays the like of osh whould have a field day

[scott411]

Anyone that rode at Baypark in the '80's will know exactly what these tyres once spelt.
They haven't been seen for around 25 years, but turned up in gateway in Welcome bay road near Tauranga a few weeks ago.
The "A" & "O" are on the ends around the wrong way, leaving three tyres missing.

i saw those the other day and thought the same, cool piece of history

[jellywrestler]

Anyone that rode at Baypark in the '80's will know exactly what these tyres once spelt.
They haven't been seen for around 25 years, but turned up in gateway in Welcome bay road near Tauranga a few weeks ago.
The "A" & "O" are on the ends around the wrong way, leaving three tyres missing.

it' is interesting that these stayed pretty much together all these years later., some of the old hamilton car street race barriers are on the main road north of new plymouth.

[jellywrestler]

cool programmes turned into canvas 300 x200 x 30mm deep canvas's. $28 each, $50 for two $70 for three, PM me please.

[jellywrestler]

another six of them

[jellywrestler]

and some more.....

[Bonez]

Nice one spyda.:yes:

[Bonez]

Anyone that rode at Baypark in the '80's will know exactly what these tyres once spelt.
They haven't been seen for around 25 years, but turned up in gateway in Welcome bay road near Tauranga a few weeks ago.
The "A" & "O" are on the ends around the wrong way, leaving three tyres missing.Miss ya content mate.

[ellipsis]

Miss ya content mate.


...when you fuck off I bet no one misses the incontinence, that we have to put up with, from you...the pink pages are getting hammered by silly cunts like me who can't stop taking the piss out of the thing in the corner...

...I want two of them Spyda...I'll pm ya...

[Bonez]

...when you fuck off I bet no one misses the incontinence, that we have to put up with, from you...the pink pages are getting hammered by silly cunts like me who can't stop taking the piss out of the thing in the corner...

.You poor poor Snowflake. Come on over to the pink room. It's fun. Honest...

[ellipsis]

You poor poor Snowflake. Come on over to the pink room. It's fun. Honest...


...you get thicker by the post...

[Bonez]

...you get thicker by the post...Say the 4 be 2 lol I bet you will be in the pink room momentarily :weird:

[pritch]

Must be getting near time Bonez got the Cassina treatment. A lot less rubbish in the forums, and a salutary lesson to other fuckwits.

[Bonez]

Must be getting near time Bonez got the Cassina treatment. A lot less rubbish in the forums, and a salutary lesson to other fuckwits.See you in the pink room as well lol.:lol:

You Snowflakes just don't have a clue at all do you?

[jellywrestler]

Must be getting near time Bonez got the Cassina treatment. A lot less rubbish in the forums, and a salutary lesson to other fuckwits.

it's like going to a swapmeet with household shit there. It means my mrs will come along and pay for half of the travel, and it's easy to take six steps and walk on to the next stall simply. Let him stay, even though he's good at getting under some peoples foreskins.

[ellipsis]

it's like going to a swapmeet with household shit there. It means my mrs will come along and pay for half of the travel, and it's easy to take six steps and walk on to the next stall simply. Let him stay, even though he's good at getting under some peoples foreskins.

...I totally agree...I like the humour in my day...he has brought some kind of life back to the some part of KB...only a small portion of it though...

...Bonez, do you want to buy a print from Spyda?...if not, why dont you fuck off out of HIS thread...

...please dont reply, unless you buyin' man ...

[Bonez]

...I totally agree...I like the humour in my day...he has brought some kind of life back to the some part of KB...only a small portion of it though...

...Bonez, do you want to buy a print from Spyda?...if not, why dont you fuck off out of HIS thread...

...please dont reply, unless you buyin' man ...Umm this thread was started by codgyoleracer's in 2007. So go stick your head up your rectum dude. No make that both heads then one can suck the other.

[ellipsis]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9wGbE2LQ_oQ" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>



... ... ... .

[ellipsis]

...cheers Spyda...the artwork arrived this morning...they are magnificent...I was going to give them away as presents but they are far too cool to do that... now that I see them, they are going on my wall...

...really cool presents they would be though...

...the Halswell Hundred Road Race is of particular interest to me...Tai Tapu is the first small rural town that I go through on my way into Chch and Halswell the next bigger place down the road a bit...very relevant to me...

...Tai Tapu is also the start line for the modern, every weekend, Akaroa GP:scooter::scooter::scooter::scooter: