OK, this deserves its own thread as I am sure we will be back again!
The 19th of June meant buckets and posing, a combination that resulted in so much fun that it really ought to be outlawed! Between the rx125, fxr150 and bucket sidecar I managed to discover several muscles I had hitherto not been well acquainted with, meet a whole bunch of awesome people and do some quick posing on the side….
We arrived out at the kart track at the reasonable hour of 11am and the lads were delighted to see two other bucket sidecars down in the pit area. Success, both the SMC team and the competition had managed to make it to the right place without getting lost in a kink in the time-space continuum! The other two rigs did make our high-school project look a little like a mangy mongrel, but you shouldn’t judge a dog’s bite by its bark. This lesson was learnt on the first session. Ripping up the straight Stephen (rider) and Duncan (swinger) were doing well, holding the other rig off as they topped out third gear, too afraid to change up using the suicide shifter. Hard clutch plus a hand-operated shift stick in the vicinity of the rider’s left pecs did not create the most confidence-inspiring setup, by the end of the straight they were just hanging on for dear life!
Hanging on served them well up until the second buckets round, when they learnt first hand the advantages a wider rig brings in terms of stability. First the swinger (Scott) lost his footing, then the rider (Stephen)’s foot slipped, then it was a case of left-right-left-RIGHT, airbourne. Let’s just say the two of them got a very good view of the track… This incident had to take crash of the day and it looked very impressive to those of us watching from the grid at the end of the straight. There was a collective gasp as the rig touched down tail first and upside down, then copious amounts of laughter as Stephen grinned over, giving us the thumbs up. As John remarked, the spectators were in more danger of cracking of a rib from laughing too hard than the lads were of actually injuring themselves on the machine. Fingers crossed things stay that way…
That didn’t put off the rest of us, and I was next to hop on for a spin. Turns out there are not too many places to hold onto on this rig so there may be some welding to do before it goes out again next month. But apart from that, it was the most fun I have had in ages! Left, right, left, right, I think I was almost standing across it at one point. It definitely gave me a different perspective of the track and made 40km/h seem illegally quick! It was also rather different to ride one whilst having full use of both elbows. I did hop on for a go at the sidecar have a go day down at Taupo last year, but a wrist to upper arm cast over my left elbow did restrict my movement slightly that time round! I have a feeling Stephen and I will end up owning an actual rig some time in the future when we grow up and have sensible big-people jobs though, because that sort of fun is totally addictive…
The return of three wheeled contraptions to Mt Wellington track may have stolen the limelight of the day but the traditional two wheeled variety were also a real blast. I took the rx125 round a fair few times but had to come in before the end of the session because the vibrations of that thing would beat a vibra-train any day and my arms need some serious training in order to whip that beast into shape! I am still trying to figure out the best position to sit in because it is set up for someone larger than me, meaning that if I sit right back in the seat my knees don’t actually reach the tank and I have nothing to grip onto… So I wasn’t going all that fast out there but I did get more familiar with the bike’s set-up.
I did get to go out once more in the last session of the day, this time on a four stroke. Gareth was set on taking down a certain rider and proving that a fancy bike does not make you fast. He did succeed in proving that while a fancy bike may not make you fast, neither does a $400 bitzer… they were pretty much equal but on opposite sides of the track throughout. Anyway, Michelle saw me waving him down trying to get the bike back and offered me a ride on her fxr150, which I gleefully accepted. Who wouldn’t be delighted to take a purple bike decorated with golden butterflies for a spin?! I already knew that a four stroke would feel really different to ride around the course than a two stroke, but the difference was immense. I think it was partly because I am more accustomed to riding 4 strokes (zzr, vfr, dr), but partly because the bike actually fitted me size wise. It was way easier to manouveur and I found myself scraping my toes rather unexpectedly on a couple of turns… I had an absolute blast on that machine and when I came in my grin almost didn’t fit on my cheeks. Stephen’s reaction? ‘Uh-oh… I think that little test ride may have cost me…’. I don’t think Danae will let me anywhere near her bike again now that I know just what one can do with them!
All in all we all had an absolute blast, it was great to see a bunch of the SMC guys to come down as spectators and support crew and to show off their own new road toys (Jafa!). Thanks to Big Dave for the Kiwirider photos below (when I saw him crouching in the corner I couldn’t resist!). Only 27 more sleeps until next month!
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Originally Posted by Dare
For the record Qkkid was in my bed, not the other way round
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