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 . . . .
Worth a try as we all had them!
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 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.

[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

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

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

[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 .. . .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 & do North Range Rd They would have a blast!! I would choose to ride home
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!
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 ??