KIWI RIDERS
bought me a BMW R80 for my birthday and I got into adventure riding , having done quite a lot of enduro and motocross when I was a mad teenager . I bought a 650 Funduro , then a Dakar , and now I ’ m on my current bike .”
What bike have you got now ? “ I ’ ve had my BMW HP2 for almost twenty years now and have no plans to change . It ’ s a bit of a unicorn . It ’ s got good horsepower , doesn ’ t weigh too much , has a big boxer motor , and goes anywhere . The 240,000-ish kilometres I ’ ve done on it so far have been mostly gravel and off road tracks around New Zealand .”
Why do you keep riding ? “ I absolutely love it . I cannot think of a better way to have a look around a country than on top of a motorcycle .”
What are your favourite places to ride ? “ Well , my backyard for one . North Canterbury has got some pretty epic tracks and trails and I ’ ve got the Lees Valley on my doorstep . The West Coast is fast becoming a favourite with an absolutely epic recent trip out to Big River near Reefton , and Central Otago is one of my favourite spots with the Old Dunstan Trail , the Nevis , and all those iconic adventure routes .
What ’ s some epic trips you ’ ve been a part of ? “ My friend John Glasswell and I had a lot to do with the 10 years of the BMW Safari . They were great days ; some of the best times . There were 11 of them across the years , three or four day events . Sometimes we were dragging our stuff around with us , other times it was staying in one place and doing big loops out . I remember one really good one where we stayed at the Golden Gate in Cromwell and did three big loops on three different days , leaving the luggage at the hotel . It was all very flash .”
What ’ s your involvement with the BMW club ? “ I ’ ve been a member of the BMW Motorcycle Club Aotearoa New Zealand since 1995 . I was on the executive for more years than I can count , and President for six years . I love the people . Lots of like minded people and the camaraderie is
KIWI RIDER 29