OBITUARY

Top left: MD and his Ural on the coast in the Pukemanu Adventure Ride. Below: MD aboard‘ Kaspar’, the winning K-Series BMW he spannered for Bill Biber.

way Michael was a hero to me, intelligent, generous and creative in all things. I joined the motorcycle fraternity as novice Parts Manager at legend Dallas Rankine’ s Bike Clinic Kawasaki where Michael was lead mechanic and a semi-retired Dick was race bike builder, British specialist and sort of God Father. What couldn’ t be done with those three involved wasn’ t worth doing, but it was a school of hard knocks. On one occasion a customer presented four spark plugs I’ d sold him, declaring them to be‘ bad’. Unsure how to respond I saught Michael’ s input. He downed his tools and came to the counter,“ These them?”, he said. Michael held them between thumb and finger, frowned and waving the other index finger said,“ You bad spark plugs, bad, bad spark plugs.” He then handed them to me and closed the workshop door as he left. I learnt not to take a busy man away from important work with stupid questions, and to be much more determined in solving my own retail challenges. Over a few regulation Thursday beers I declared my intention to give road racing a go. Dick asked if I had a spare $ 20( a lot of money when $ 80 was a week’ s wage). Michael turned his eyes to his cold pint with a Drambuie depth charge as I handed the note over. Dick ripped it into irreparable pieces, while Michael took a long draft, to surprise a laugh. There was a long silence, but I decided to take it on the chin.“ You might be alright …” or words to that effect came from both of them as the red rage drained away from me. We worked together, played together and there was even the odd bit of violence but never between the Bike Clinic boys. Both these great men are now gone in body, but will live on in me and the many others who have had the privilege to have known them. Michael was one of the last surviving knights from a true Brotherhood of Legends. ANDREW LAWRENCE

KIWI RIDER 97