Akaroa on a Meanstreak

**T.W.R** · 12th March 2007, 18:38

On the beauty afternoon that was yesterday here in Canterbury a mate & I headed to Akaroa for quick ride. Now anyone who knows the local scratch pad, it's got the works when it comes to being a bikers road.
Now my mate has a 04 Meanstreak fitted with some nice aftermarket kit

and we swapped mounts on the return journey, Don't get me wrong but my 1st thought was "HERE?". But I was pleasantly surprised how well this bike

and it was actually great fun, behaved well, and felt pretty reasonable at high speed

(had to keep an eye on what he was doing on my bike of course )

Having been a few years since riding a big block V-twin or a shafty, I wasn't sure what to expect with a combo of both. But the on/off power transfer was smooth and pretty solid

, the gearbox was a bit long & slow in action but grew on me pretty quickly. The long wheel base & lack of clearance made for a totally different approach to the tight hilly stuff but it was a fun

Tractor mode

Out on the open pieces of road between Little River and Motukarara is a mix of 55kmh - 100kmh sweepers and the Meanie just soaked them up & at about 3250rpm in top was pretty delicious, just ticking away.

We swapped back over at the Wheatsheaf and compared notes on how much fun we'd had

my mates last mount when in England was a 96 GSX-R 750 so he managed to vent some old feelings on my ZXR and is now on the hunt for a cheapish sportsbike to keep the Meanie company and I'm starting to get the 'what next' thoughts simmering

Piccy from March Hare of it