KIWI RIDERS
Learning to ride on a borrowed Yamaha TY80
How old were you when you first rode a motorcycle ? “ When I was eight in the UK I had a friend whose family was into motorcycle trials and I tried out a few of his bikes . I loved it , so my Dad got me a little Yamaha TY80 and I started doing a few competitions . My Dad was a big motorcycle nut . We ’ d go to Brands Hatch to watch the world superbikes and it was always my dream to work with motorcycles .”
What happened next ? “ Three years later a big accident put my shoulder out of whack , I got scared and never got back on the Yamaha again . When I was 16 I applied for my licence as soon as I could with the plan to get a scooter or a moped , but that never happened . Instead I managed to save up while working for a Honda dealership as a weekend bike washer and bought my first road bike , a Honda CLR125 CityFly . I rode around on that for a few years doing various jobs , then I got the opportunity to work in the Honda dealership as a parts advisor and worked my way up from there . Once I ’ d got my full licence I could ride all the demonstrators because we needed to know what we were selling . Sadly , the dealership folded and that was it for a while . A few years later I met my wife and we decided we wanted to move to New Zealand , and landed here in April 2013 . At the time I was riding a Honda CB600 Hornet which I had to sell ; I considered bringing it over but we didn ’ t have enough stuff to put in a container to make it worth it .”
How much riding have you done in New Zealand ? “ I ’ ve only ridden sporadically since then - probably around twice in 11 years helping people move their bikes . I really enjoyed it , but I hadn ’ t managed to get a motorcycle until recently when a brand new one turned up in my garage as a surprise .”
Say what now ?! “ My parents were visiting from the UK , and
KIWI RIDER 51