Rob Millington’s enthusiasm for motorbikes means he has 14 of them.
The retired Timaru engineering tutor and motorcycle enthusiast has been buying, selling, and collecting unusual, interesting and rare bikes since he purchased his first one as a 15-year-old and a student at Timaru Technical College.
“It was a [brand new] 1970 Kawasaki 90 for $250 . . . That was it I was hooked. Riding is a great feeling. It’s a buzz. It’s the ultimate,” he said.
The following year he bought, and still has, a 1951 Thunderbird and 1955 Tiger.
His latest acquisition is an $11,000, 2011 Can-Am “almost 1000cc” V-twin three wheeler which has the same registration costs as a car, about $109 a year, compared to his other bikes which are more than $500 to register each.
“The Can-Am is the most comfortable on long trips.”
Lockdown was torture for the biker as he usually rides two or three times a week, in all seasons.
“I wanted to ride every day. I went for my first ride last Sunday. It was fantastic.”
The biker took the Can-Am around the Waitaki Lakes with the Bronz Motorcycle Club.
He has attended 33 Brass Monkeys and hundreds of other motorcycle rallies. The final Brass Monkey was cancelled this year due to Covid-19 so Millington is hoping it may be held next year instead as a last hurrah.
He once owned a Kawasaki 350 triple which was a good ride to the rally, but it was “thirsty” on fuel he said. A friend of his wanted it for his collection of Kawasakis so he reluctantly sold it to him. Now his friend has every model from a 250 through to a 750.
“I buy on a whim . . . there is no pattern. I’ve owned and sold dozens,” Millington said.
He chooses two bikes to be registered at a time through the flip of a coin and puts others on hold.
A couple of his bikes he’s in the process of restoring, others he rides regularly, his favourite is a 1987 Ducati Paso 750cc he bought 20 years ago.
“It sounds nice but it’s temperamental. They’re Italian. If I wasn’t mechanical it would cost a fortune.”
His most reliable bike to date is a KTM 200, he said.
His menagerie of bikes also includes a 1995 Ducati 900 supersport, two 750 Yamaha Viragos, three Kawasakis, a 600 race bike, farm bike and a 1975 900 (which former professional Grand Prix racer Graeme Crosby fully restored) ; three Suzukis, a 200 trail bike, a 1987 100, and 1998 quad 500. He also has a 1971 Honda 350.
In 2015, Millington on a TL 1000 Suzuki, and a friend on his bike, took a trip up to Coopers Beach at the top of the North Island covering 3,500 kilometres. At one stage he nearly got wiped out by a driver opening a car door as he was passing but managed to veer out the way at the last moment.
Though he enjoyed the ride immensely he prefers the scenic beauty of the South Island and the lower volume of traffic.
Millington has never owned a Harley Davidson, he prefers sports bikes and has his eye out for another Ducati. This time a Superlight 900 limited edition 1995-1996.
When given a hard time by a female acquaintance about having so many motorbikes his response was measured: “Well how many pairs of shoes do you have?”
She never mentioned it again, he said.
Millington doesn’t think he will ever stop collecting the machines and eventually his three sons will inherit them all in the meantime he’s just enjoying the rides.
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Source: Stuff