was born during the second World War , in 1942 . My father was an engineer and mechanic who ran his own garage , so I was ‘ in the grease ’ from crawling age . In those years after the war everything was scarce and rationed , and times were tough . Many ex-army Indian motorcycles were being sold at the time , for a few pounds each , and even though I was too young , I lusted after owning one . While I may have grown up amongst cars serviced by dad and my wonderful elder brother , I was always completely fascinated by motorcycles . I ’ d ride my pushbike to scrambles events - filled with longing for the sterling British beasts – AJS , BSA , Triumph , Norton , James ’, and DOT two-strokes . Still , my parents were not impressed when I came home with my first motorcycle at just sixteen . It was 1958 and I was in my first year of work , being paid the equivalent of $ 8.50 per week - but the only way to fulfill my dreams was to save as much as I could . before returning to Auckland . In these times New Zealand was a different place ; everything closed down on Friday night - even the pubs closed at 6pm - and didn ’ t reopen till Monday morning . The only exceptions were a few strategic petrol stations and the odd corner dairy . Supermarkets and the like simply didn ’ t exist . So full pockets in your riding jacket were standard . The roads round Coromandel were all gravel -

GOING WITHOUT I went without things like hamburgers and cokes , saved religiously for 10 months , and finally managed to purchase a used BSA 250 C11G for £ 65 ($ 130 ). I repaired and serviced it myself at my family ’ s motor repair shop , proudly emblazoned “ W . M . Boyle Motor Engineer ” out-front . It was originally sited opposite 277 Broadway , in Newmarket , Auckland , but in the depression years the family operated from our home . I ’ d learnt to ride on mate ’ s bikes - CZ Jawas and BSA Bantams , great bikes of the day . But even before that , and long before the advent of BMX bikes , we made what we called ‘ stockbikes ’. These we cobbled together from bicycles dumped in roadside rubbish collections . We ’ d strip them down , rebuild them and then race them on a dirt track which me and some mates dug out by hand , on One Tree Hill .

A DIFFERENT TIME – 24 HOUR TRIAL By 1959 I had joined the Auckland Motorcycle Club , and in that same year I entered the ‘ John Bull ’ 24 hour motorcycle trial . This took us out of town and all through the Coromandel Ranges ,

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