https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/blog.php/19549-Kiwikat-No-more-training-wheels Kiwi Biker - New Zealand motorcycle community en Thu, 14 May 2026 08:58:25 GMT vBulletin 20 https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/images/BP-Brown/misc/rss.jpg https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/blog.php/19549-Kiwikat-No-more-training-wheels https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/693-Back-in-the-Saddle Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:51:45 GMT Apart from a few scars (doctors always asking "have you had your appendix out") the worst bit about smashing what was a mint Suzuki GT380, is that they (Suzuki Dealer in Feilding) rebuilt it.

The bike rode like crap after that and vibrated at over 120k. (I think they were trying to get back at me for when I accidentally crashed there bultaco trials bike when I was 14. :nono: Geez I didn't know it was grunty, I'd only ever ridden a farmbike once before.)

So back on the trusty GT, commuting home from Palmy one day, and trying to catch up to this GT750 waterbucket and this White Yamaha with red light went past me. ::whocares:

Ha ha, I thought he's going to stop that couple on the waterbucket. Too dumb to turn around he got me too. 3mths disqualified. :gob:Crap.

Sold the bike, wasted my money on crap cars, got married had kids, then oops had kid (all awesome), then after 29 years, time to buy another bike. M/C license held for 30 years. Total riding time 18 months. New bike Katana 750F K6 (the last model made).

Right Choice? Bloody Oath. I should have done it years ago.:Punk: ]]> KiwiKat https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/693-Back-in-the-Saddle https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/678-Another-crash Sun, 01 Mar 2009 09:48:31 GMT Back in 78 I traded in my Honda CB175 on a Suzuki GT380M, two stoke triple. A bike with a lot of chrome, four exhausts, and digital dash it was a reasonably advanced bike and I thought it pretty quick. I'd already come off the Honda a couple of times but thought I was invincible.

I was visiting a friend who lived at the top of the big hill just out of Cheltenham and we headed of down to the Cheltenham dairy. He was on a GT250 2 up so I just blatted past him down the hill. I didn't expect the strong side wind at the bottom of the cutting and didn't know how to recat, slamming on the front brake at speed down hill. :Oops::doctor:

It's amazing how crashes always happen in slow motion. Loading the extra weight from braking onto the front forks magnified the effect of the speed wobbles which was an unreal experience.

As I flew over the handle bars in my helmet, long leather gloves, woolen jersey and jeans all I could think about was how I was going to land, sliding on my wrists and forearms.

I was lucky, a lot of blood but no breaks. The helmet was stuffed and I had slight concussion. I slid on the leather riding gloves when I first hit the road which saved the rest of me from being too badly hurt.

A lovely lady in a new Falcon stopped and took me, bleeding over her seats, to hospital. :doctor:

My old man only asked about the bike, :angry2:which pissed me off, but now I know he didn't know what to say.

I came out with a quite few scars, a false appendix scar from my belt buckle, and the bike .... They fixed that, bent frame and all. ]]> KiwiKat https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/678-Another-crash