KIWI RIDERS spouses inherited some money . My father-inlaw decided to treat the two sons-in-law , and reached out to my Dad , as he knew I ’ d love a motorcycle out here in New Zealand . Between them they spent eight months plotting with Casbolts Honda dealership in Christchurch to sneak a brand new motorcycle in my garage during their visit . It was a total surprise and my wife didn ’ t know anything about it either . Definitely one of those out of reality experiences .”
Back riding again , all thanks to a surprise gift
one morning my Dad told me he ’ d made a big mess in my garage . I rolled up the door to see what he ’ d done and there was a Honda NC750X sitting there . Brand new , with only three kilometres on the clock . I was in sheer disbelief . I first thought , “ maybe Dad ’ s got another bike stashed around the corner and he ’ s hired a bike for me for a road trip around the South Island ”. I think I ’ m still in disbelief . I ’ ve done over 700km on it now and I still can ’ t quite believe it ’ s mine .”
What happened ? “ My wife ’ s grandmother passed away about 18 months ago and the grandchildren and
What ’ s it like to ride ? “ Every time I jump on it I ’ m reminded that I haven ’ t ridden in 11 years . Back in the day I was commuting on different motorcycles all the time and nothing ever fazed me . Whether I was riding a brand new VTR1000SP2 or a VTX1800 , jumping from bike-to-bike never bothered me , but having that time off riding has certainly been a learning curve . I ’ m easing myself back into it . Lots of people have invited me out for a ride , but I want to get my confidence up a little before I attempt anything with a group . Also , because this bike is so intelligent compared to what I ’ m used to with a full range of engine modes , I ’ ve needed to play around with it a little . It ’ s been fun and stealing an hour or two away during the weekends when the family are busy to get out on the road has been really nice . I ’ m very grateful .”
An exctied Marc on the back of dad John ’ s CBR1000F
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