New Zealand      Motorcycles

This post is a long-winded story about motorcycles. It’s raining and we're out in the boonies with not much to do. I have nothing but time on my hands so this should ramble on for a bit.

If you want to get some background for this blog goggle John Britten. He was a Kiwi genius of extraordinary talent. You will enjoy this story more if you know of his life and accomplishments.

A friend of mine back home sent me a challenge.

1.     Find the Britten Motorcycle Company of New Zealand.

2.     See a Britten bike in person.

3.     Get him a Tee shirt.

Well…..     this proved to be problematic for a few reasons.

1.     The founder died in 1995 and its headquarters and last known address was destroyed in the 2010 earthquake in Christchurch.

2.     They only made a total of 10 of them. Hand built race bikes. They are scattered all over the world.

3.     Their merchandise web site has not been updated since 2004 and does not function.

Anyway, always up for a challenge I set off. There are two phone numbers on the old website. Both disconnected. The business (Ltd) is still registered in NZ so I go online for government archives of business registrations. I find one more number to try. No one answers but it does have a message stating that it is the Britten Motorcycle Co., Ltd. I called it several times but never had anyone pick up. It also has an address but when I Google it it looks to be in a residential neighborhood in west central Christchurch.

We were done here in Christchurch and were getting ready to head out so we GPS'd Cathedral Center in downtown to cruise by and see what the downtown looks like. Looks like heck. The destruction from the 2010 earthquake is evident everywhere. Buildings ½ way demolished. Or ½ way rebuilt. Roads blocked everywhere. Shipping containers built into buttresses 6 containers high against damaged buildings to keep walls from coming down. In short, a real mess and not somewhere we want to wander around. So on a lark I put in the DBA address from the Ltd registration and it pops up as only a few kilometers from where we are in the center of town. We drive there and it sure is a residential neighborhood. For grins I dial the number one last time. Fully expecting that this one was going in the fail column but after a few rings a woman picks up. After a few questions I learn that this is in fact the office for the company. The old place having been destroyed. And yes, she does have a couple of merchandise items left. Come on in. 50B. Come around the back by the blue car. We are met by an open door, a cat, and a woman, Irene, doing dishes. It is her home. Not a business. She explains that they moved what they could here after the earthquake and she runs the office from her home. The shirts and all are in a back bedroom. In a chest of drawers, in a closet. But I score the Tee shirt.      #S One and three down.      Next the hard one.

At some point during this search. Which lasted over the course of several days. My friend sent me a note that one of the Britten bikes was on display at the museum in Wellington. We were in Wellington at the time so we walked over to the museum only to learn that yes, they had the bike, but it was in storage as they needed the space for a bloody T-Rex head. I asked if I could see the bike in storage but they couldn’t wrap their brains around that concept. So my task remains to find a motorcycle that they only made ten of and is not in some museum somewhere in storage.

So after scoring the Tee shirt I ask Irene if she perhaps knew where I might be able to see one of the bikes. She says oh yeah. The #1 Bike, the one they call The Cardinal, is on display at the Honda dealership in town. We get the address and it sends us back into the middle of the destruction in downtown. Finally find a place to park the beast. Illegally. And walk the construction along the roadway to the shop. All the while thinking there is no way this is going to come together. These bikes are worth over a million each. They are historic collectors items. But there in the back of the shop it is. The #1 prototype Britten motorcycle. Not even behind a barrier. Just out there to see and touch. Which I did a lot of. It’s quite a work of art. Brilliant engineering. Way ahead of its time.

That was a fun challenge. Thanks bro. Your Tee shirt is on its way!

Going to find some glaciers tomorrow. That should be cool.     Get it?   Cool?

I agree. That was bad.

M