Breakfast at the Victoria Railroad Hotel
After a full breakfast at the hotel, the six of us walk into town to see the sights. First stop is the Burt Munro museum in the back of Hayes hardware store.
Munro (1899-1978) is the city’s most famous resident for his exploits on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah where in 1962 he coaxed his highly modified 1920 600cc Indian Scout motorcycle to a time-trial record setting speed of 187.97mph. Quite a feat feat for a gentleman speedster aged 63, with a serious heart condition, on a 42-year-old machine.
Burt continued to run the old Indian at Bonneville until 1967 when at age 68 he survived a crash at full speed. In one unofficial speed run Burt finally reached his goal, clocked in at 200+mph. His record still stands.
Burt Monro was largely unknown outside of the motorcycling racing world until the release the film “The Worlds Fastest Indian” starring Anthony Hopkins as Burt. The movie which is faithful to the true story of Burt’s Bonneville adventure brought international fame to Munro and has made him a cult motorcycle hero. http://www.filmquest.co/locations/visit-the-original-munro-special-indian-scout/
In this Invercargill hardware store Burt’s original 1920 Indian Scout is the highlight of a collection of 56 vintage motorcycles and and a number of classic automobiles. Owner Norman Hayes was a good friend of Burt Munro and supported his trips to Bonneville. After Burt’s heart problems finally caught up with him in 1977 when he had a stroke, Burt sold his motorbikes and most the contents of his shed to Hayes.
The rear of the large hardware store is given over to classic bikes and cars.
The highlight of the collection is The “Munro Special” –1000cc methanol burning 1920 worlds fastest Indian motorcycle
Classic Brit bikes in the hardware store
Following our tour of the hardware store, we walked a few blocks down the street to Classic Motorcycle Mecca.
Opened in 2016, this building houses more than 300 classic motorcycles. Also on display are side car rigs and three-wheel cars.
A nice old Morgan. The Morgan Car Company still makes wooden frame cars in England
John Britten’s bike. A Christchurch native, Britten (1950-1995) was a engineer and a stained-glass artist who created beautiful and startlingly fast motorcycles. Along with Burt Munroe, John Britten is New Zealand’s second famous son.
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