Mount Motorcycles' sweet ride lasts

Combining a passion with a job is a dream for many people. Ray and Carolyn Holmes have done this successfully for more than three decades.
This week their Mount Motorcycles business in Totara St is celebrating 40 years in retailing and servicing - while other small, family owned operations in the area have since disappeared.
"We've just plodded along, the seasons come and go, and we've been lucky that we built the business slowly and gained loyal support," said Ray, who employs three sales and technical staff including his nephew, Rhys.
In that time, they've experienced four decent downturns in the economy.
"You will never become rich selling bikes but we've had a comfortable living out of it," said Ray. "I've always had motorbikes in my life ... when I was born and they will be around till the day I die."
His father, Bill, was a motorcycling fanatic before him. Bill started Te Puke Mowers and Cycles with business partner Robin Lemon in 1970, and the next year Bill moved to Mount Maunganui and established Mount Motorcycles in the main street opposite the National Bank.
In those days, the wharfies used to ride scooters to work and business was brisk. At the same time, Ray was completing a New Zealand Trade Certificate in Motor Cycle Engineering with W White Waikato in Hamilton.
"That's all I wanted to do, an apprenticeship," said Ray, who learned his trade on Vespa scooters and Norton production bikes.
Ray and Carolyn - who both went to Te Puke High School - joined Bill at Mount Motorcycles in 1977 when he was retailing further down Totara St after moving from the corner of Pacific Ave and Maunganui Rd.
Two years later, Ray and Carolyn, who looks after the accounts, bought the business and took it to 424 Maunganui Rd - now the site of the Quest Apartments - when Bill established Mount Motorcycle Wreckers in Totara St.
Finally, Ray and Carolyn moved to their existing premises - they bought a 520sq m building that included a showroom and office, workshop and mezzanine level for storage.
"The Salvation Army used it for working schemes," said Ray.
"In the back half of the building they were doing joinery and in the front were sewing machines.
"The Government pulled the funding, the scheme shut down and the building sat idle. We wanted to modify it into a motorcycling shop and the Salvation Army was blessing me for letting them out of their lease."
Ray was a BMW enthusiast and Mount Motorcycles became BMW's first New Zealand regional retail agent 30 years ago. At the time, Jensen Motors in Auckland imported and sold the high-class bikes themselves.
BMW Germany - the bikes are made in Berlin - took over Jensen Motors in 1982 and established nine dealers around the country. Now, the franchise is down to four - Auckland, Mount, Wellington and Christchurch.
"We've built up loyal customer support from around the North Island," said Carolyn.
Recently, a customer rode his BMW bike from Nelson to have it serviced at Mount Motorcycles.
Ray and Carolyn arrange up to six two-day adventure rides a year, attracting up to 30 enthusiasts - but double the number join in the annual Easter run to Lottin Point, between Te Kaha and Hicks Bay, on the East Cape.
They have developed a strong reputation for servicing and selling new and second-hand bikes and accessories - customers who bought their first scooter as a teenager are coming back and buying bikes 40 years later.
Each year they sell 30-40 new BMW bikes, priced in the range of $20,000-$35,000, and aim to increase sales to 50. Customers can order a bike according to their colour and specifications and delivery from Berlin takes four to six months. Or they can buy straight off the Totara St shop floor.
Ray is next week flying to Australia to test drive the latest BMW K 1600 GTL touring bike, costing $44,600. He's already sold one to a customer from Gisborne. Its six-cylinder engine weighs just over 100kg, and overall it is no bigger than a four-cylinder bike.
It has improved suspension and innovative technology such as the adaptive headlight, which has built-in sensors to measure the bike's lean angle. When the rider leans into the corner, a mirror automatically swivels, re-angling the headlight beam to compensate for the tilt and lighting the way around the bend - improving safety.
Ray and Carolyn are inviting 100 customers to their birthday party tomorrow. They had a label specially prepared for the celebration wine.
And Ray had his prized bike collection on display. The oldest is a 1931 Norton 500 that raced on the Isle of Man, and the newest a 1974 BMW R 60. He also has a 1947 Manx Norton 350, a rare 1957 German-made NSU 250, a 1969 BMW R 695, and two Yamaha race bikes from the early 1970s.
Ray was the mechanic for the Kiwi team of Trevor Discombe, Geoff Perry and Kenny Smith who competed in the 1971 Singapore and Kuala Lumpur Grand Prix.
Ray has done his share of racing - on a Yamaha 125, and later on his Manx Norton in Classic events. He raced around New Zealand and in Australia and regularly finished in the top three of 500cc Classic class.
He's eased up a bit now and found a new interest - fishing.
"I've been skidding around the tracks long enough. I found fishing a lot easier," he said.