was at the 1966 Japanese Grand Prix at Fisco in October 1966 , at the age of 30 . Anderson switched back to racing off-road bikes and decided to take on the international motocross circuit in Europe riding CZ machines , finishing in the top four positions in more than 40 races . He continued at home in New Zealand and was a multi-time New Zealand motocross champion before retiring again in 1973 , then aged 37 . A hard man to tie down , Anderson was soon again active on race tracks in the 1970s and 80s and , in 2008 , Anderson set his fastest ever lap around the Pukekohe road race circuit , then aged 72 . In the 1994 Queen ’ s Birthday Honours , Anderson was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire , for services to motorsport . In 1995 he was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame and in 2005 was inducted into the Motorcycling New Zealand Hall of Fame . The latest honour heading his way in October will see Hugh Anderson listed alongside such iconic household names of the sport as Giacomo Agostini , Mike Hailwood , John Surtees , Jim Redman , Barry Sheene , Eddie Lawson , Wayne Rainey , Kenny Roberts , Randy Mamola , Wayne Gardner , Casey Stoner , Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi . That ’ s highly-esteemed company in anyone ’ s reckoning and a famous group to which this Kiwi most certainly belongs . ANDY MCGECHAN , bikesportnz . com
2022 ’ S FIRST QUARTER SALES RESULTS ARE IN
With the Motor Industry Association releasing sales data for the month of March , we now have our first look at how the year is shaping up for Kiwi motorcycle manufacturers . It makes for interesting reading perusing the reported sales charts , with a lingering feeling that there would be a lot more bikes sold if distributors could physically get them on Kiwi soil , yet despite the supply challenges we ’ ve already seen 2054 new bikes added to the fleet this year . Another factor in the first quarter sales charts , too , would appear to be last year ’ s introduction of mandatory ABS , with a trickling of old stock slowly seeing the last examples of the ‘ good ol ’ days ’ of motorcycling simplicity leave dealerships . Suzuki appears to have been hit the hardest by this with the Japanese manufacturer dropping from its usual top spot in the sales charts to third place behind rivals Yamaha and Honda - both of whom had more robust lineups coming into the law change . As always seems to be the case , LAMS models made for the strongest segment in most manufacturers lineups . Suzuki ’ s GSX250 models accounted for 87 bikes - or a full third - of Suzuki ’ s total sales to date . This is echoed by many of the other big names in the market with LAMS bikes dominating sales for Triumph , Honda , KTM . Despite only five models notching sales so far this year , Royal Enfield just missed out on the top five in the year to date figures with 158 registrations , just two behind KTM ’ s 160 units . Fuel price increases would appear to be driving sales , with Honda selling more examples of the Dio 110 scooter than it did the popular CB500X , while overall moped sales have nearly doubled year-on-year with 903 pint sized screamers tagging in for commuter duties . The first quarter of 2022 has shown Yamaha is the brand catching Kiwis hearts at the moment , with 324 bikes plating up and hitting the road . Leading the way for Yamaha is the Tenere 700 , with 54 examples reaching owners . Yamaha might be on to the next wave of popularity with their second most popular model being the brand new YZF-R7 with 25 LAMS and 21 High Output examples hitting the streets . Are we about to see the adventure bike craze finally come to an end in 2022 ? We ’ ll have to wait and see . The numbers : Yamaha - 324 , Honda - 293 , Suzuki - 261 , Triumph - 161 and KTM - 160 .
KIWI RIDER 95