A young man threw his motorbike on the ground and walked away after officers caught him riding without a helmet.
Zane Check was spotted riding helmetless on London St on November 1 but went on to a grass verge and sped away when police activated their lights. He entered an industrial area and emerged half an hour later without the bike, police prosecutor Sergeant Steve Hickey said.
The bike was not found, Check had no licence, and he told police he didn't want the bike to be taken from him.
A few days later he was spotted again by police as he rode an unregistered motorbike along Anzac Pde without a helmet.
"He became angry and threw the motorbike to the ground," Mr Hickey said.
Check began walking away and refused to stop, so had to be wrestled and handcuffed.
He told police he wasn't guilty of any driving offences because the engine was off.
Defence lawyer Jamie Waugh said the 17-year-old had recently acquired the motorbike. "He likes motorbikes," Mr Waugh said, adding if Check could stay out of the system he had potential working with bikes.
Check pleaded guilty to failing to stop, resisting police, dangerous driving, and failing to remain stopped.
"You need to look after yourself, because you don't bounce when you come off a bike," Judge Dugald Matheson told him in Whanganui District Court on Tuesday.
He sentenced him to 80 hours of community work and disqualified him from driving for three months.