ROGER MORONEY
It is only when you see the machine the legendary Burt Munro rode to high-speed glory that you appreciate just how much courage and good old fashioned Kiwi grit the old Southlander had.
The machine, made more famous than ever through the Roger Donaldson film The World's Fastest Indian, is
the epitome of ingenuity and resourcefulness ... and how it hit speeds of more than 250km/h is something that can only be marvelled at.
"It is very number eight wire," Jim Thorne from the Hawke's Bay Classic Motorcycle Club mused.
And in the way Burt toiled to overcome what seemed like daunting odds to achieve his dreams, Jim and fellow bike enthusiast Eric McDougall achieved their own once-distant dream of getting the iconic machine to the bay.
They imagined it being the star of a classic motorcycle show they wanted to stage to raise funds to further the road-racing career of 19-year-old Clive racer Adam Chambers.
After discussing the idea over a couple of beers, they set to work and it took the pair about 10 months of negotiations and planning to get the bike, the very one used in the film, to the bay.
The machine, a faithful replica of the Burt Munro mount, was built by Christchurch engineer Wayne Alexander - but it will feature a touch of Hawke's Bay bike-building skill for the show.
Mr Thorne built the one-side-only fairing as the original was too fragile to freight.
"It means people can see the bike on one side as they saw it in the film, and the bike enthusiasts can have a close-up look at the engine and other gear on the other side."
Asked if the machine was actually a goer Mr Thorne was quick to reply "oh yes ... it goes all right" - pointing out it hit 160km/h on the straight at Pukekohe during an outing last year.
"We have the fastest, the tallest and the smallest motorcycle all at the show," Mr Thorne said.
The tallest bike is about 4m high and the smallest is just 20cm high and can be carried in a backpack.
