alfalfa

This is the way. Definitely come along its gonna be rad!

Come and do the King Country Crusade as a test run in November!

Still punishing yourself with the 80's mitsis eh, love to see it! Those Paj's ghfwii

you bloody ripper!

Entrant list in first post updated. Great size. Look thick. Solid. Tight.

Sharing is caring I reckon I could also probably get around most of the route with only occasional phone/map consultations

Entrant list updated... Sign up sign up!

Here's a thought, is the petrol tank crossover pipe blocked? Would only give you half the usable tank capacity which would appear similar as using shitloads of fuel...

70-80 with plenty of even slower sections, the majority of roads are pretty tight and twisty!

@slacker.cam, @Beaver, @Goat, @Vintage Grumble, @johnnyfive, @Mop Head, @peteretep, @sentra, @iwanttobeamole, @64valiant, @tortron, @TheGriz etc etc etc

The Second King Country Crusade November 29th - December 1st 2024 Since everyone had so much fun last time (and J5 and bunch of small bike OS regulars missed out) we’ve decided that a repeat of the King Country Crusade is in order for 2024. The 1st Crusade Rev up your fizzholes and start prepping those small bikes for 600km of twisty backroads, narrow tunnels, smooth and rough gravel, and scenic views spread over 3 days taking in some of the best the West has to offer. It's The Second King Country Crusade (AKA West-Pest AKA Taranaki Tunnel Tour). 29th November - 1st December 2024. Day 1 - 205km We head inland from New Plymouth to Taumaranui via the Bertrand Road swing bridge (oldest in NZ!), through a few choice tunnels to Whangamomona & Forgotten World Highway. Some gravel near the start and 20km at the end, otherwise sealed. The famous SH43 Forgotten World Highway is a must ride for every self-respecting motorcyclist in NZ. Lunch stop at the classic Whanga Hotel for hot chips and a lemonade. Petrol NP (0km), Taumaranui (205km). This is a big stretch between fuel so you will likely need to carry extra. It might be a good idea to figure out what kind of range your bike gets and plan for how much extra you’ll need. Google Maps Day 1 Old Whanga Road - Extra for hardcones Part 1 https://goo.gl/maps/BUH3qGTUpXz1H7rQ6 Part 2 https://goo.gl/maps/XR8LUMGDvmnAfiFm8 Whether we attempt this or not will be very weather & pre-ride reccy dependent. The clay/papa rock surface supposedly turns slipperier than eel snot after any rain. It's also only halfway through day 1 so we don't want to have half the pack drop out before lunch! Stay: Taumarunui We’re staying at the Alexander motel 07 895 8501. The proprietor Steven has been kind enough to block out all of the rooms for that night for us. He's gonna hold them for the next few weeks so give him a call/email, say you’re part of the motorbike/scooter crew and he’ll sort you out. If they are full the Twin Rivers Motel is just over the road. There is also the Taumarunui holiday park which is 3km down the road for campers, or take your pick of abandoned house in town and mancamp in the backyard. The RSA is just round the corner for a refreshing post ride beverage and there are a selection of ethnic eateries nearby to satisfy even the most discerning palate. Day 2 - 195km Taumaranui to Awakino via Ongarue, Piopio, Pomarangai road, Waikawau Beach Tunnel. The roads today will be a good mix of gravel and sealed. The Pomarangai road is possibly the highlight of the whole ride. There's a scenic detour along the way to visit a rugged west coast beach accessed via (another) tunnel. Lunch/petrol stop at Piopio. Petrol Taumaranui (0km), Piopio (90km), Awakino (190km) I've had to split the route into 2 halves to get google maps to play nicely with following the route. Google Maps Day 2 Taumaranui - Piopio Google Maps Day 2 Piopio - Awakino Hotel Stay: Awakino/Mokau We’re staying at the Awakino Hotel and Pub. 06 752 9815. They have also kindly blocked out all the rooms for us but there aren’t that many here so say you're part of the scooter/motorbike crew and get in early. The pub might also be able to sort out other accommodation in the village so holler at em. Tent-pitchers or cabineeros can stay at the Seaview holiday park (06 752 9708) 3km down the road or at the Whitebait Inn 06 752 9713 in Mokau 5km down the road. Day 3 - 200km ish Awakino to New Plymouth via Mahoenui, Ohura, Ahititi, Urenui. Lots of gravel, lots of corners, the infamous Kiwi Road and plenty of sweet tunnels. Watch out for overly friendly wildlife on the Taumatamaire Rd first up... Lunch in Ohura last year took way too long so we probably won’t repeat that one… Roadside sausages maybe? Petrol Awakino (0km), Urenui (185km), NP (205km) Another big stretch between fuel stops. Google Maps Day 3 Same place as last time to meet up Friday morning and leave vehicles/trailers behind. Will send out details to everyone closer to the start. If anyone is keen to volunteer to tow a trailer as support vehicle that would be two thumbs up. We have one support vehicle with trailer so far. If anyone else is keen to follow the bunch in support there's a trailer in NP just waiting for you to hook up and drag along. Entry Form: https://forms.gle/NjHShDgP4b29B1VN8 Please make sure you have accommodation sorted for Saturday night in Awakino/Mokau before submitting the form - this is kinda limited and will probably restrict numbers unless you’re going to be a happy camper. Entrants: @anglia4 @alfalfa @Itchybear @Duke Blackwood @johnnyfive @iwanttobeamole @Vintage Grumble Richard S / @richiesmith Chris R / Tofa Paul McG @Tumeke @peteretep @sentra @slacker.cam @Abarth Greg H / @GregH Connor D Shaun M Darryn F (@iwanttobeamole's mate) Jose R Al N Nigel J (Support ) @Gyrocket @Gyrocket+1? Fallen Soldiers Bucket Barry Neil S Alan H Dan W @WankBankA100

The vacuum petcock on the V50 doesn't quite close up properly when the engine is shut off and it let's a slow drip through. When I took it apart most of the rubber pieces were looking pretty hard and grotty so I've ordered a new entire petcock from aliexpress which I can hopefully steal all the orings, gaskets etc and put them in the old body. In the mean-time I've chucked an inline petcock so I can just leave it on Prime and switch on/off with this. Works great so this will probably stay there for months. I also got an inline filter for the YB because the carb is way more annoying to remove to drain the bowl if any crud does get through from the tank. Matchy matchy blue

Watch this space...

Late last year one saturday night I got sent a very interesting marketplace link by bad influence @anglia4, for a 74 Yamaha V50 that was 20 minutes down the road in Inglewood. No price, make me an offer. I messaged old mate immediately with what I thought was a decent price, he came back with a counter and "please come and take it away so everyone stops messaging me". Turned up the next morning and it was mine! He said that he'd had over 300 messages by the time I arrived to collect it . The Mrs happened to be away for a girls weekend while this all went down and the timing worked so well that I picked her up from the airport with the trailer and scooter still hooked up. It had lived many years as a dairy farm workers commuter which then got abandoned on the farm to pay off a debt or something. It sat there for a year or two until the owner decided to get rid of it. He'd kept it running so when I arrived to check it out and pick it up it started first kick. Fuck yeah. It was pretty grot from sitting on a farm, cow shit and mud caked on the underside, bunch of surface rust, old cracked tyres, switch blocks busted, a couple of blown bulbs and and no rear indicator lenses. Battery is poked but like all good old bikes it runs fine without it. Ignition barrel is hotdog down a hallway loose so the key on a bungy clip so when it falls out every time I go over a bump I don't lose it. Cleaned all the crap off, threw some new Vee (for Victory!) rubber on it, new sparkplug, and a couple of new bulbs and started riding to work errday. Man it is fun. Max pest potential. GHFWII. Fastforward 6 months and @anglia4 and I decided to take our mopeds to the V8 supercars for some pest action. I thought I should probably get it registered before this. Popped down to VTNZ, filled out the form, bit of chitchat with the office ladies and a shiny new moped plate was mine. Too easy. Great weekend at the V8s was had, we did some pesting around Taupo and had them parked in front of the campsite which got lots of great comments. No major plans for future upgrades. A PW80 or V90 engine would be rad but I'm pretty happy with it as is.

Yeah my stock V50 goes great, speedo reckons I get up to 65ish on the flat and has no problem keeping up with urban traffic which is perfect for commuting/pub and general residential pesting. I have approximately zero interest in lifan (2 strokes 2 many!) but am keeping an eye out for a V70/90 or a PW80 donk to bolt in. I really need to update my thread with some V50 pics and miscellaneous tales of woe...

I'm looking for something diesel and somewhat cool to tow our old caravan that isn't a boring as fuck ford ranger . My current daily is a 3.0R Legacy that has heaps of power to tow it but I'm not sure the suspension is loving it. Replacing it with a comfy, reliable daily and tow wagon is the dream. W164 ML could fit that criteria quite nicely...

It's too late I already have several ML's saved to my watchlist you'd better hope @HumberSS has tales of woe for me

A+ I don't know how I missed this thread when you first posted it but keen to hear GL320 tales!

Shit man I can't believe you're 0/3 for foot pegs! That paint job is awesome A+

Yellow fever

Excellent work my friend!

Simmer down buddy, your V50 is gonna look better than mine after all this

@david661 whoops sorry I missed that in your last question - Engine # is A7A-421115 - matching numbers with the frame. My petrol tank has a sticker on it with pictorial instructions for washing/oiling the air filter, with some kind of Hindi or indian script underneath the english. I'll get a good photo when I get home and add it to this post.

Hey buddy - my frame number is A7-421115. Very close to yours! From a bunch of internet searching apparently Yamaha imported a few containers of these bikes to NZ in the mid 80s from India/Taiwan and sold them as 'retro' bikes. Hence when looking up on the NZTA database the YB125s mostly appear as 86-87 models - the year they were first registered.