Fans mark special 50th anniversary

Iain Hyndman | 3rd December 2009

Young and old will gather in Wanganui next year to celebrate 50 years of Suzuki motorcycles in New Zealand.

Wanganui, of course, became the Kiwi home for Suzuki when Rod Coleman secured the agency for New Zealand in September 1959 from Mr Iwai of Hoyo Shoji Kaisha Ltd, an import/export agent in Japan.

Event organiser Robert Cochrane said enthusiasts from around New Zealand and offshore will commemorate the milestone between March 5 and 7 next year.

The weekend celebration would begin with an informal social gathering on  Friday evening, followed by the North Island and Twinshock Trials Championship at Westmere on the Saturday. The 50-Year Dinner is booked at the Kingsgate Hotel on Saturday night.

Guest speakers  include John Bullock of Cheney GB and Rod Coleman of Percy Coleman and Sons, the Suzuki importer for the first 25 years.

Mr Cochrane said throughout the weekend a new event on the New Zealand classic calendar, the Wanganui Classic Motorcycle Rally, would also run for pre-1986 British, Japanese, American and European machines.

"At the Saturday dinner venue we will have a private display of 25 or more iconic Suzuki models and on the Sunday the old 'Coleman's Track' at Westmere has been secured for a one-off event for the 50th - the North Island Classic and Twinshock scramble covering machines from the 1950s to the early 1980s.

Mr Cochrane has a 30-year association with the classic motorcycle scene in New Zealand  and said the history in this country  was  not about countries of origin, but about the local people and their experiences, different designers across the world and of the Kiwi adeptness at tailoring them to local conditions, whether for commuting, weekend fun or competition.