Good Morning boys and girls, hope you all had a great Easter. I got lots of emails last week mostly about people out riding, bikes being built and interesting builds that are going on. It really makes me smile to see so much work going on. I've had a busy old time as well. Got plenty of bikes done and up for sale now, so all I have to do is sell a few. Had some dramas with a couple of ST4's and am now starting to believe that the things are haunting me. When you work on bikes you start to see things that could have been done better by the manufacturers. I mean removal of an entire fairing just to get at a battery is plain ridiculous but thats the way they are. As you know I have put my name forward to be the Northern Race commissioner for MNZ. Some say I'm crazy, some say it's a thankless task and you will be vilified by all and sundry for not getting things done in a timely fashion. But I'm pretty sure that I am up to the task. You see I love motorcycles, I love the lifestyle and in particular I love racing motorcycles. I want to see our sport progress, I want to see the younger guys progress, and I want our riders to be back up on the top of world racing again racing on the international stage and doing well. So with that goal in mind I am going to forge on and see what I can do. Wish me luck and if your here in New Zealand and belong to a club with a racing license get in there and vote for me.
On another note, I am not too sure if you guys and girls have heard of a gentleman by the name of Mike Sinclair. Mike, started out as a spare parts guy working in a motorcycle store in Christchurch and ended up being crew chief for Kenny Roberts'Yamaha Grand Prix team, working with Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey and many others. During this time of great change both politically and technically Mike was a leading technician in 500 cc racing era. Mike started his career racing old British motorcycles, but with the two stroke he really found his way and started developing his ideas on how to make them fast. As he progressed his ideas and embarked on this journey of discovery with increasing contact between overseas and local riders, it didn't take him too long for this kiwi to realise that we could cut it with the very best and the 500cc championships became his goal. Mikes career provides us with an amazing insight into that period of racing when change was both rapid and compelling. Not only was he a major player in the technological advances of that period but he initiated most of that change. Now the reason I am saying all of this, is that Mike has written a book about this period of racing. It provides such an interesting insight into what went on, how things happened, the personalities, the things you never hear about, the things you never see. It gives such an insightful look into the lives of the 'Gods', that we watched racing every weekend that this book should grace the reading table of every self respecting motorcycle fan. It's a hard read it has to be said full of technical references, and technical issues, but once you have read it you will have a fantastic look through the keyhole into how hard these 'backroom boys' worked and what happened when our heroes like Roberts, Rainey and Lawson raced. I'm reading it now for the second time as it is quite technical, but shit is it interesting, and I don't want to miss a thing. So go and get the book and set some time aside be prepared for a great read.
OK then, that's all for this week, grab your goggles, get your bike and get out there.
And least we forget the boys and girls who laid down their lives so that you and I can can do this sort of shit. God bless them.
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