Can

“ you go and have a chat to Coady and check out this Buckley he ’ s rebuilt ?” “ Sure thing . What ’ s a Buckley ?” Nothing like starting from scratch . Brendon Coad will be known to many of you who are racing fans . He lives a long way out of town , so I leap aboard my trusty Africa Twin and lane-split for thirty minutes through Auckland ’ s afternoon traffic . It ’ s nearing three so I ’ m expecting lunacy , but something has happened to Auckland in recent months ; we seem to be at peak car , van , truck , SUV and festering ute . Lunacy is an understatement ; every second driver seems to have the middle finger raised . Finally , nearing a lovely beachside suburb , the traffic dissipated , and I slipped down Brendon ’ s driveway and parked outside the open double doors of his neat , densely packed garage . Tools , lathes , wood , cars , boxes , gym equipment and motorbikes line the walls and cover the floor , overseen by race and offroad tyres atop the walls , which are also stacked with brimming shelves . There ’ s enough raw material in here to build twenty bikes , but commanding the space in the left bay are two pristine racebikes , glinting with lavished attention , hardwork and polish . My eye is drawn to one in particular .