1911 Isle of Man winner Oliver Godfrey Oliver Godfrey starts at 1911 Senior TT
By 1917 World War One was raging and the
consequences were to have a significant
effect on motorcycling in New Zealand.
During the war the centre of motorcycle
development shifted from Europe to the
United States, and by the end of the war in
1918 American motorcycles not only began
to challenge the European machines in New
Zealand, but in 1920 they outsold those
from all other countries combined. This was
the first and probably only time this would
ever occur.
The 1920s were boom years for
motorcycling in this country. At one stage
there were more motorcycles than cars on
our roads. Motorcycles were put to work
on the land. They handled rough terrain
that would be off-limits to most cars of
the day. American motorcycles such as
Indian and Harley Davidson were built for
similar frontier conditions that existed
in New Zealand at the time. There was no distinction between on and off-road
machinery. Sealed roads were minimal and a
rider could expect to face grass, gravel, mud
or dust, and sometimes all four on almost
every journey. They were sturdy machines.
Burt Munro bought a new Indian Scout
in 1920, at the age of 21, and was still
breaking records on the machine in the
1960s. Burt’s Indian will forever be one
our most cherished motorcycles. The
original Indian Scout released in 1920 was a
600cc side-valve V-twin, with the gearbox
bolted to the engine case, a form of unit
construction that offered strength and
reliability. It had a double-loop cradle frame
which delivered handling unmatched by
any other motorcycle of the era. There is
little doubt that these specifications were
radically different when Burt had finished
his development. The standard bike had a
top speed of around 100kph. In 1966 Burt
hit 320kph on his modified version.
Sharing your passion
facebo
ok.com
/Caffein
eAndCla
ssics