The Speakers for 2021 were:
Gareth and Jo Morgan – Wednesday 3rd Feb
We welcomed back Jo making good her promise made 8 years ago to return to Bike Week, and this time it was the double act, with Gareth coming along as well. Not many people have motorcycled North Korea or a lot of other places these two have gone, as you can see by their web site: http://www.worldbybike.com/
The Speaker for 2020 was:
The return of Dick and NOT Diana Hubbard – Wednesday 29 Jan.
What is a traveller’s worst nightmare when checking in at the airline counter? And it can’t happen to very experienced travellers, or can it? Team Kiwi rides around the world in one season in 2019. Tokyo to London via Siberia, Mongolia, the Stans, Europe and Montréal to Los Angeles. 29 countries and 35,000km of riding adventures.
Dick: https://ice2icebymotorcycle.blogspot.co.nz/
Diana: http://pearlson2wheels.blogspot.co.nz/
Tickets to hear our guest speakers are $35 for attendees who have registered for Bike Week or $40 for non-registered people. Tickets to this 2 course meal are limited so please email info@bikeweeknz.com to reserve a spot.
The Speakers for 2019 were us:
We entertained ourselves with stories of our own travels, some Bike Week related and some not. Black Rabbit vouchers were awarded for best stories on the night.
Speaker for 2018 was:
Tim Hanna – Monday 29 Jan Tim is one of the founders of Bike Week, responsible for the logo design and a speaker at the first Bike Week in 2012. Tim is the author of books about John Britten, Burt Munro and Kim Newcombe.
Speakers for 2017 were:
Dick and Diana Hubbard – Monday 30 Jan, Enthralled the audience with their tales of the journey from Scandinavia to Capetown.
To see their journey you can go to their blogs:
Dick: https://ice2icebymotorcycle.blogspot.co.nz/
Diana: http://pearlson2wheels.blogspot.co.nz/
Speakers for 2016 were:
Danielle Murdoch – Monday 1st Feb, recently named “Young Adventurer of the Year” by Australian Geographic was one of the guest speakers for Bike Week NZ 2016. For more information on Danielle see: http://motomonkeyadventures.com/
Bill Veitch – Wednesday 3rd Feb, a legend in motorcycling circles, has been involved in the business all his life, with McIver & Veitch in Dunedin operating since 1932. Bill shared his stories of restorations, home-builds and maybe some classic racing adventures as well. For a sample of the type of thing Bill gets up to see: http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/199908/indian-motorcycle-rally-town-today
Speakers for 2015 were:
Dan Ornsby, a motorcycle road racer and accredited rider trainer. At the time he was the only South Island trainer eligible to issue ACC Ride Forever certificates – these can be achieved at bronze, silver or gold level. For more information on Dan see: http://motorcycletraining.co.nz/
Bike Week also had the pleasure of hosting Dorne Clark from the Bay of Plenty. Dorne celebrated her 86th birthday with a couple of laps of Highlands on the back of a motorbike, and entertained Bike Week attendees with her motorcycling stories.
Dunedin born Barry Neilson enthralled the full restaurant with his stories of racing during the era of transition from British to Japanese bikes on our circuits. He also had stories about racing against Burt Munro, and sailing. For more about Barry and his company see: http://sailingholidays.com/
Speakers for 2014 were:
Monday: PETER McINTOSH Peter has been riding road bikes since the 1970s and at the time of speaking rode a GL1200 Goldwing and S2 Buell Thunderbolt with a daily commute on a Honda CL175.
Peter was appointed as a founding , member of MSAC, and also served a second term on the Council. He is a past National President and a life member of the Ulysses Club and has worked extensively with ACC on road safety initiatives. He was a founding member of the Motorcycle Safety Reference Group and has been involved in developing a number of new programmes, including the Ulysses rider mentoring programme and encouraging training via subsidies for their members. He is also a founding member of Buellriders NZ and organises a national rally each year for the club now in its 15th year.
Two of Peter’s three children are riders and Peter was adamant about them learning to ride from professional trainers to ensure they had the best possible start to their riding careers. He covers many miles on the road with them and enjoys sharing his passion for motorcycles.
As a long time rider, Peter brings his first hand experience of riding to the Council. In his professional life he works with a wide variety of people and knows the importance of building good relationships to get things done. He believes the mix of people and experience on the Council will lead to some great improvements not only for the safety for riders, but all road users. Also important to Peter is changing the attitudes of road users and he is looking forward to demonstrating that “we can make a difference”.
For more information on MSAC see: http://motonz.org.nz/
Wednesday: MIKE HYDE (RIP) aka Mr Twisting Throttle is a rider who has circumnavigated Australia, ridden 50 states of the USA in 60 days and lastly with some pals explored his home country and found his 50 best rides. These are described in his last Twisting Throttle New Zealand book. Mike totally entertained us with his touring tales, and we were very sad to hear of his untimely death from a tumour.
For more information on Mike see: http://www.twistingthrottle.com
2013 Speakers were:
Monday: MIKE PERO is New Zealand’s best known and most successful mortgage broker. He is also a committed petrol head. His classic rags-to-riches tale is recounted in his autobiography ‘Mike Pero: Motorbikes to Mortgages’. His first job after leaving school at 16 was in a cardboard factory but he soon decided to become a motorbike mechanic. From there he got into motorcycle racing, winning the New Zealand road race championship six times in the 350cc and 500cc classes. He next became a trainee manager at Woolworths and then a sales rep for Hansells, finally taking a job in the insurance industry. After a highly successful career he accepted a golden handshake and learned to fly, eventually landing a job as a commercial pilot with Pacifica Air and later Mt Cook Airline. After his second marriage failed he found himself broke and so he made the decision to leave flying and get back into business. In 1991 he started Mike Pero Mortgage Services and more recently Mike Pero Real Estate. Along the way he raced touring cars with some success and he has now returned to motorcycle racing.
For more information on Mike see: http://www.pero.co.nz/cms/
Tuesday: GRAEME CROSBY needs little introduction but for those who might not know their road racing history Graeme has won the Daytona 200, the Imola 200, the Suzuka 8 Hours, and the Isle of Man TT. Remembered fondly for his early exploits in Superbike racing on modified Kawasaki road bikes he went on to Grand Prix racing, finishing fifth in the 1981 500cc world championship. After his retirement he ran a number of successful motorcycle businesses and raced touring cars in New Zealand and Australia. He was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1995 and the New Zealand Motorcycling Hall of Fame in 2007. His popular autobiography. CROZ – Larrikin Biker was published in 2010. Off to the Senior TT AGAIN!!
For more information on Graeme see http://www.graemecrosby.com/
Wednesday: WAYNE ALEXANDER learned his mechanical skills in the air force and then left to start a couple of highly successful men’s fashion shops. However he then met John Britten and abandoned his retail career to immerse himself in the world of motorcycle manufacture and racing. After John’s tragically early death Wayne kept the doors open at Britten Motorcycles for some time and developed various new products including a range of prosthetics. This eventually lead him to the top of Mount Everest with Mark Inglis, who returned to the mountain 20 years after losing his legs to frostbite attempting to climb it. On his return, Wayne worked on the motorcycles featured in the movie “The World’s Fastest Indian” and he will be bringing his replica of Burt’s famous bike along with him. He has also built a series of highly innovative ‘clean’ two stroke engine prototypes and is currently developing a number of green technologies to enhance water purity in our lakes and rivers.
For more information on Wayne see: http://www.captiveaudience.co.nz/speakers/wayne-alexander
2012 Speakers were:
Tuesday: Ken Dobson: http://www.hyosung.co.nz/about.php
Wednesday: Jo Morgan: http://www.worldbybike.com
Thursday: Tim Hanna: http://www.wheelers.co.nz/browse/author/276206-tim-hanna/