Dellortoman said:
Jedzo, I miss your intelligent, if occasionally offbeat, crypto and amusing contributions to this illustrious forum. Please stay in touch occasionally. Your introductory post (some years ago) is still the best I've seen. I suspect you have hidden depths.
If you have something to say, just say it.
BTW, I've never set foot in NZ. I found the Greymouth cranes by devious means.
Cheers,
Cam
Ah Cam, thank you for your kind thoughts. Anyone experienced at motorcycling on the Apple Isle would be immediately familiar with motorcycling in New Zealand - especially around the coasts and the North Island. The South Island has it's added alpine environment as well.
I have retired to Runanga on the South Island's West Coast just North of Greymouth. Runanga is a small town of about 1,100 souls on Highway 6 - the Great Coast Road - between Greymouth and Westport. Highway 6 runs for 1,100 kms along the West Coast from the bottom to the top of the South Island and looks like this just 3 miles up the road from home;
I spend my days applying my motorcycle bodgering skills to a 100 year old coal miners villa on 1/2 an acre I bought lock, stock & barrel for 2 1/2 years of average Sydney rent - and the same 7 old motorcycles I had in Sydney. 3 are already on the road here - the Laverda, Commando and Spitfire. The Bonneville will also go on in the next week or so.
Only 4 will be road registered in NZ. Excluding the shipping, customs and agricultural inspection charges to get them into the country in the first place it's $300 to initially get them certified and registered then under $100 per year on account of their age - a quarter of the NSW annual cost. 2 cannot go on the road because I have no evidence of their last place of registration, only a receipt of purchase which is not enough for the authorities here. It doesn't matter with the little Daytona as that is going to get stripped of all it's electrics and road gear, a magneto added, geared down for acceleration then entered each year in the annual Greymouth street races in the classic section. I suspect it will go quite well. I won't be riding it though, Ill leave that for a young fella.
The Enfield Indian cannot go on the road either so I shall just continue to tinker with it and wonder aloud at British motorcycle engineering of the late 50's.
And the soulless bastard - the 650 Benelli Tornado - will never go on the road while I own it - even though it can - on account of my dislike of it. But I won't sell it either.
It's taken a bit to get me over and settled - seven bikes and 20 years of other stuff across the Tasman - but it is all done now and life is being re-established where I want to be without any real regrets. I usually get out on a bike at least 2-3 times a week even in winter. Being coastal it's never that cold - but it can be wet. On Sunday there is the mid winter run with the ungrown men of the West Coast Classic Motorcycle club to the legendary Kokatahi pub. The Spitfire will make that particular journey. If I strike something interesting while out on the Laverda I will stick it on here.
I have no idea if there are any classic era Laverdas running around in NZ or even any kiwi forum members but I did find one bike of interest on Trademe - the Kiwi equivalent of eBay here at the moment, and that was this one;
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1100198952
46KZK is my old Jota. I was the second owner of it and bought it 30 years ago. I had it for more than a decade before selling it to a mate. It is the one I talked about in that first forum post I did. I was right chuffed to see it still on the road but have no desire to own it again. I'm a dedicated 750 twin man.
I have kept a blog going for a few years now on all the riding and bodgering but my feeble attempts pale against the true craftsmen members of the Laverda Forum. Enthusiasm, bodgery and bluster outweighing training, skill and experience 100-1. But if anyone is interested, here is the last post from a few weeks ago;
http://jedzo.blogspot.co.nz/2016/06/motorcycle-coal-journeys-3-pike-river.html
I'll be around, I have no intention of pegging off yet - there's too much motorcycling to be done.