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
Like the Daytona 650 and GPZ900

-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:Me]

. 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-serie...V_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

[LB]

.
.
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)
.
.

[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)