Legacy riding force for many

The spirit of Burt Munro is alive and well in many of the riders turning up for the Burt Munro Challenge in Invercargill this weekend.

Many of them have battled gales and wet roads to make it south for the four-day event, which has quickly established itself on the national rally calendar.

Barrytown man Kevin Ryan has returned this year to compete in all races after winning the Burt Munro Trophy last year for best embodying the spirit of the city man it commemorates.

In true Burt Munro style, Mr Ryan bought a schoolbus, adapted with pallets, packing crates and a shower made out of a kitchen sink, to transport his motorcycles and sleep in.

His bikes are the result of some DIY genius, with pieces of washing machines, Marmite lids and No8 wire holding together his 1972 Triumph Bonneville motorcycle.

Despite a hip replacement and suffering many motorbike-related injuries, Mr Ryan won the classic category with his 59-second dash up Bluff Hill.

Watching the Bluff Hill Climb on Thursday afternoon, spectator Chris Nixon said every aspect of the hill climb had changed since he watched as a child.

"You used to get called a gun if you did it in under a minute, now people are doing it in 49 seconds," he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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