Westpac Helicopter Run

**Gixxer** · 21st February 2003, 12:39

spoke to wari ad spankme, we are looking at meeting at the auto barn around 9:45 and hang a bit then head down and have something to eat at the bloodstocks.

Cheers

**Kiwi** · 21st February 2003, 13:41

where is the auto barn?????

**Gixxer** · 21st February 2003, 14:02

the BP. gas station on the motorway heading south

**SpankMe** · 21st February 2003, 14:16

You mean the Autobahn Cafe.

**Gixxer** · 21st February 2003, 14:26

that's the one

**Coldkiwi** · 21st February 2003, 16:39

sorry guys.. can't do sunday.

have fun though and try not to use any of that sponsorship money on getting a lift from the chopper eh?

**Kiwi** · 21st February 2003, 20:46

Westpac Helicopter run

For the guys from the north shore

Meeting at Holeshot at 9:30

See ya

Kiwi

**Gixxer** · 22nd February 2003, 17:40

sweet. 0930

**Kwaka-Kid** · 22nd February 2003, 18:34

bugga, thats me out... gotta work sunday now

its a dull life. have a good day all!

**SPman** · 22nd February 2003, 20:39

We'll be thinking of you Logan - got to give that poor bloody bike a rest sometimes! - at your age,you can confidently say- theres always next year!

**Kwaka-Kid** · 22nd February 2003, 21:45

well.. not on the tyres i ride on :P

ohh just speaking of this.. my 400 is the first bike (my 4th bike) ive owned with radial tyres.. other then that i think ive only ridden a CBR250 down the road.. but OMFG! WHY DIDNY ANYBODY TELL ME HOW GREAT RADIALS ARE! jezus christ! i cant beleive it, i have a rule of thumb to ride a bike for 1 mnth before you ever start pushing things.. get to know the bike first, but jesus ive barly had the bike on the road a week and you can get them sooo low and feel so confident! the front tyre on these things is twice the size of the rear tyre i run on the '78 Suzy GS1000.. its so amazing! and if you jab the breaks on you can actually do a stoppie! my 750 has the breaks to do this, but not the tyres.. if i jab front break on (even trying my hardest to jump and lift the rear wheel) she locks the front up and you can too easily tuck it under onto the tarmac. i honestly cant beleive it, god love the man who made these wide rubbery radial tyres! all this time.. mind you, they cost a bomb, shit

ignorence is bliss!

oh and its a bit annoying, 400 + good tyres = not powerfull enough to drift

im not sure drifting is what most people want to do on a bike, but i have alotta fun most mornings going to work on the GS (with 29mm smoothbores) coming thru the blockhousebay roundabout (on the abt 9 year old cross ply avon roadrunner) and @ 3,000rpm just given her a little gas and wheeeeeeee haha the rear wheel slides around as you come outta the roundabout, gives you the biggest adreniline rush ever! (found this out accidentally in the wet oneday.. just about pissed my pants with 260kg of bike fishtailing outta a roundabout!:P)

**SPman** · 22nd February 2003, 21:50

Can you do this....?

**SPman** · 22nd February 2003, 21:58

Its good to actually experience all that sliding about and wierd handling behaviour when your are young and starting out. Gives you a better appreciation of what a good handling bike does. I reckon all road riders should do more off road riding....but, thats another story......

All us old farts who hooned around on T350 Suzukis, Kawasaki triples (the 500 was really horrendous in the handling department) and the like, actually appreciate modern bike handling and arn't too phased when it all turns bad - coz if its only half as bad as the handling of some of the olld bikes, its still a doddle....

**Kwaka-Kid** · 23rd February 2003, 06:35

haha! no i cant do that, im talking more like 10kmph drift, not 1000kmph :P

and yeah i reckon off road riding helps heaps, i started out @ 9yo on a 1967 Honda SL 125 :P then XL125, then XL250, then XR200 :P go the honda singles!

with the offroad experience im sure it does help in those "sticky" situations.. altho one thing i found is when locking up the rear on a street bike it actually seems more slippery then doing so in the dirt on a dirt bike? prolly those big knobbly tyres, either that or the cheng shins on my CB250 really are made of plastic. And also street tyres on the dirt are INCREDIBLY slippery! its possibly because they are made for the street and not the dirt... but then again, they are both made of rubber? it should work shudnt it? has anybody ever taken their Street bike motorcross styles? i remember takin the CB250 around the new lynn wastelands and jumping it, haha.

but anyways, back to the westpac ride, post here you guys who go on it today telling me how much i missed out on

off to work in a sec, cyas