The main convoy of Tribesmen MC members is stopped at a Police drink driving and licensing checkpoint. Video / NZ Herald
Southland police are on high alert as bikers descend on the region for the annual Burt Munro challenge joined by a notorious bikie gang.
Burt set his land speed records on the salt flats, not on public roads –and you can expect our cops to be salty with you ifyou’re acting like a Burt on the road.
Senior Sergeant Brent Kingsland said police will be monitoring gang members who are travelling to Southland for the event and to expect a higher police presence on the roads during this time.
“Expect to see Police patrols anytime, anywhere,” Kingsland said.
“We will be out on roads in increased numbers, including in locations you’d least expect us to be. So please take your time and ride to the conditions.”
The Burt Munro challenge - which claims to be the biggest motorcycle event in the Southern Hemisphere - is not directly related to gangs, Kingsland said, but many gang members are anticipated to attend due to their similar interest in motorbikes with other attendees.
The Tribesmen MC gang has descended on the South Island. Photo / NZME
On Friday, officers stopped a convoy of Tribesmen MC gang members in the early hours as they descended on Christchurch for a patching ceremony.
Six motorbikes were seized and impounded, while a number of infringement notices were written up.
The Herald understands that the group is made up of around 50-60 gang members for their annual national run, taking in a patching ceremony in Christchurch, before heading south for the Burt Munro Challenge in Southland.
The convoy is believed to have started with the Kaikohe chapter riding down from the Far North to Auckland and meeting up with crew there, before picking up others as they travelled down the country, catching the Interislander ferry across Cook Strait to Picton late on Thursday.
But as they motored along State Highway 1 through North Canterbury at around 1am on Friday, they were stopped by a planned police checkpoint.
After taking some of the bikes and issuing tickets, the police let them go.
“Their riding was monitored all the way through Marlborough, and will be whilst in Canterbury and their travels south,” a police spokesman told the Herald.
Many were understood to have gone to the Christchurch chapter’s gated and well-secured headquarters in Woolston.
The Tribesmen MC gang pad in Christchurch. Photo / Kurt Bayer
Kingsland wished to remind bikers public roads aren’t the place to test the limits of their bike.
“Don’t take unnecessary risks, don’t ride tired or impaired by alcohol or drugs,” Kingsland said,
“Make sure your bike is up to scratch before you set off, and wear the proper gear – including high-vis to be seen.”
“The speed limit is the speed limit, and any road user who is travelling over the speed limit can expect to be stopped.”
