New motor-cycle club formed

Press, 6 July 1983, Page 32

New motor-cycle club formed

A motor-cycle club which caters for the racing and competition needs of owners of non-Japanese bikes has been formed in Christchurch, and its rate of growth is surprising even to those who originally promoted the idea.

The club, known simply as BEARS, already has more than 50 members and is affiliated to the controlling body of motor-cycle sport in New Zealand, the New Zealand Auto Cycle Union, through the Corsair Motor-cycle Club. “We are not anti-Japan-ese," the publicity officer, John White, said. “We just want to provide serious racing for a large group of enthusiasts not already catered for ” The name BEARS was made up from the initials of the words, British, European and American racing, and, although it is operating under the umbrella of the Corsair club, it has its own president, Jim Sykes; secretary, Dennis White; and a committee. The idea for a club restricted to non-Japanese motor-cycles evolved from a race for non-Japanese bikes at the Canterbury Auto Cycle Club’s Summertime meeting at Ruapuna Park in February. The riders approached the event very seriously only to find that it was being treated as a novelty of no real consequence.

They decided to form their own club and staged a meeting for non-Japanese bikes at Ruapuna Park on May 29, which proved an

unqualified success. There were 30 competitors and, although the weather was bad, more than 2000 spectators attended.

A winter meeting is now planned for August 7 at Ruapuna Park, and a major meeting and bike show is scheduled for next February. The club hopes that this will provide an impressive showcase for British, European and American machines. Work is already advanced on the preparation for this.

Mr White emphasises that the racing will be serious. “We do not intend to just tour around. The bikes are well prepared and we run hard.”

Mr White is the proud owner of a 1976 Triumph

Trident, which he claims is just as fast as equivalent Japanese bikes, and he is in a position to make a fair comparison. He raced a Japanese Yamaha TZ7SO racer in the last Marlboro international series in New Zealand and later took it through a speed trap in North Canterbury at more than 291km/h (186 m.p.h.). Unlike most motor-cycle clubs, there is no desire for club rooms and the social life. Instead, the members want to obtain their own workshops where they can work on their bikes. If the interest in non-Japanese racing continues as it has started, this might be possible much sooner than any of the founder members originally thought possible.