GPZ Thrashed to Le Mans and Back
Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 3:25 pm
With the restoration of my 1985 A2 Kawasaki Gpz900R underway, an idea formed in my head as to what I would do with it once it was finished. Back in the 1980s, me and a bunch of biking mates used to book a cheap return on the ferry through Bike Magazine, and use it to go and see the endurance bike racing at Le Mans.
Ready to go:-
We used to catch an early ferry from Dover to Boulogne, and head down the N1 to Le Mans via Abbeville and Rouen. In those days, the route was signposted and easy to follow and there weren't any alternatives. They were good times.
The first year we went was 1985. We were sat outside a bar at Beaumont Sur Sarthe waiting for Dick's mates to turn up. They arrived on a spanking 900A1. I think that was the point I subconsciously decided I'd do the trip on one of those one day.
So after a lengthy and at times frustrating resto, my 900 is finally back together and had been ridden around and run in enough to inspire the confidence in it to make that trip. I bought a 1987 Michelin red map off eBay and plotted the old route onto a list of waypoints with the help of google maps. All I needed to do was go. I decided to do a round trip. I went Portsmouth>LeHavre then down to Le Mans via Alencon. Wander around Le Mans and head back up to Boulogne using the old route.
Well I'm back. It was a pure nostalgia trip. The GPZ excelled herself. It was every bit as good as I thought it would be. The noise, going up through the gears, Pirellis really biting into the tarmac around roundabouts, late on the brakes. Fantastic.
The old N1 is now the D928 a lot of the way. Sometimes twisty sometimes very long and straight. But the best bit is... it's EMPTY. Nothing on it anymore. It's just local roads status and it's not sign posted and all the old through route signs have been taken down. Most of the time I had it all to myself. So, yes, at one point I ran her up to 130 on a lovely flat straight. No junctions, traffic, gendarmes, buildings. Nothing. I've not gone fast on a bike like that in a long time.
The defunct ferry port at Boulogne where the route used to start:-
Our old hotel now abandoned and for sale. Chains hotels have taken over in France now and all these sort of places along the old route have disappeared. Sad really.
We used to go to this bar a lot :-)
Mulsanne Le Mans. Drunk Brits and Germans getting killed racing each other up and down this straight back in the 80s led to the small green bottles of Kronenbourg getting banned.
I stayed just the one night in the end in Alencon. This was because I didn't get as tired as I thought I would, as the Gpz was so fast and comfortable on those roads. It was over too soon. I went to Boulogne and had a look at the old ferry port, the start of the route. Deserted. I filled up with petrol and jumped on a train.
Oldest and newest on the train -
What went right -
Just getting on a fab bike and doing it in some nice weather.
What went wrong:-
Getting to Portsmouth and discovering I wasn't going to get very far using my wife's passport. Tried again the following night with success that time!
The clutch lever got a bit spongy at times and had to be tickled back up to full pressure.
Headlight set too low for the unlit ride down the A3 to Portsmouth.
Petrol MPG – Dunno don't care.
Oil - None used.
Would I do it again? Abso-effing-lutely.
Finally, and if you did it abroad back in the day on our bikes you'll know what I mean..... What's happened to the pinky brown powdery deposits that used to come out of the end of the exhaust pipes when you filled up with French petrol?
Bit of bug splat
Ready to go:-
We used to catch an early ferry from Dover to Boulogne, and head down the N1 to Le Mans via Abbeville and Rouen. In those days, the route was signposted and easy to follow and there weren't any alternatives. They were good times.
The first year we went was 1985. We were sat outside a bar at Beaumont Sur Sarthe waiting for Dick's mates to turn up. They arrived on a spanking 900A1. I think that was the point I subconsciously decided I'd do the trip on one of those one day.
So after a lengthy and at times frustrating resto, my 900 is finally back together and had been ridden around and run in enough to inspire the confidence in it to make that trip. I bought a 1987 Michelin red map off eBay and plotted the old route onto a list of waypoints with the help of google maps. All I needed to do was go. I decided to do a round trip. I went Portsmouth>LeHavre then down to Le Mans via Alencon. Wander around Le Mans and head back up to Boulogne using the old route.
Well I'm back. It was a pure nostalgia trip. The GPZ excelled herself. It was every bit as good as I thought it would be. The noise, going up through the gears, Pirellis really biting into the tarmac around roundabouts, late on the brakes. Fantastic.
The old N1 is now the D928 a lot of the way. Sometimes twisty sometimes very long and straight. But the best bit is... it's EMPTY. Nothing on it anymore. It's just local roads status and it's not sign posted and all the old through route signs have been taken down. Most of the time I had it all to myself. So, yes, at one point I ran her up to 130 on a lovely flat straight. No junctions, traffic, gendarmes, buildings. Nothing. I've not gone fast on a bike like that in a long time.
The defunct ferry port at Boulogne where the route used to start:-
Our old hotel now abandoned and for sale. Chains hotels have taken over in France now and all these sort of places along the old route have disappeared. Sad really.
We used to go to this bar a lot :-)
Mulsanne Le Mans. Drunk Brits and Germans getting killed racing each other up and down this straight back in the 80s led to the small green bottles of Kronenbourg getting banned.
I stayed just the one night in the end in Alencon. This was because I didn't get as tired as I thought I would, as the Gpz was so fast and comfortable on those roads. It was over too soon. I went to Boulogne and had a look at the old ferry port, the start of the route. Deserted. I filled up with petrol and jumped on a train.
Oldest and newest on the train -
What went right -
Just getting on a fab bike and doing it in some nice weather.
What went wrong:-
Getting to Portsmouth and discovering I wasn't going to get very far using my wife's passport. Tried again the following night with success that time!
The clutch lever got a bit spongy at times and had to be tickled back up to full pressure.
Headlight set too low for the unlit ride down the A3 to Portsmouth.
Petrol MPG – Dunno don't care.
Oil - None used.
Would I do it again? Abso-effing-lutely.
Finally, and if you did it abroad back in the day on our bikes you'll know what I mean..... What's happened to the pinky brown powdery deposits that used to come out of the end of the exhaust pipes when you filled up with French petrol?
Bit of bug splat
