KIWI RIDER AND EUROBIKE
When Kiwi Dirt Rider was first published in May 1984 it was so different from the NZMCN of the time , being an unknown title with full colour , glossy pages . It wasn ’ t long before we had interest from much of the Industry , being Auckland based we visited local companies and phoned to reach out to others . Based in New Plymouth , Eurobike was a small business , but it had some great products . They placed some small adverts in Kiwi Rider for Koni shocks and Bell Helmets … and so it began . I first met Don O ’ Connor while he was working on a bike in the pits at Manfield in 1986 at the Six Hour . I introduced myself and he replied , “ I ’ m a bit busy right now , can we talk next week ?”. I replied , “ No problem , racing is why we are here !” We spoke later that week and that was the start of our relationship . Don has always been a man who says what he means and means what he says , a true gentleman . Over the next few years we picked up more business from Eurobike , and then one day Don rang and said to me , “ What about this for an idea ? Rather than put a sales rep on the road at a large cost , I will commit to spending $ 5000 a month for 12 months and we will see how it goes . So how much space can you give me ?” I think from memory I told him he could have as much as he wanted ! From that moment we started to grow the magazine and attracted more business , as other accessory companies took more advertising space . Don has always been a motorcyclist , and when we introduced the Kiwi Rider 500 navigational rallies in the late 80s , Don was there , along with his son Rodney as pillion . He rode several of our events over the years and helped out behind the scenes . Eventually Rodney would
become an engineer at Triumph Motorcycles and then KTM , so when he returned to NZ we got him onboard to help with testing at Kiwi Rider . I got a surprise one day after we ran Rodney ’ s first test in the magazine . I was sitting at my desk at KR HQ when Don walked in , which was unusual . He stood beside my desk and asked if I was using Rodney to curry favour with him . My reply was , “ Fuck off , he is a man with a lot of knowledge about current motorcycle design and he can ride pretty good ”. Don seemed happy with that , so we ended up telling jokes over a cup of tea . Over the years I would get calls from Don , we would discuss current events in motorcycling and the state of play , who was paying their bills and who wasn ’ t , then I would hear these words , “ Have you heard …?” then Don would tell me a joke and hang up . Don has always imported good quality products that work , and did a lot of product testing before committing to importing anything , and I ’ m pleased to see Rodney is carrying on that tradition . Some years back Don decided to make some route sheet holders for adventure rides , they are still selling today and are my preferred option for Adventure riding ; it ’ s so much more interactive than riding with a GPS . As part of the testing , I mapped a sealed course from Taupo to Te Awamutu as day one , then to Auckland for day two . Mike Esdaile , Don and Rodney O ’ Connor had a very good ride and declared the route and the route sheet holders as perfect for the job . Don O ’ Connor is one of those straight talking , Kiwi Good Bastards . It ’ s great to see Eurobike going from strength to strength with the O ’ Connor family still at the helm . Pete McPhee
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