Kingsland Honda?

[fridayflash]

Although i havnt been to kingsland, or auckland for that matter in quite a while, ive read that theres a new cafe in the old kingsland honda building
does anyone know what happened to all the goodies that were once housed therein? i remember twenty years ago there being a couple of gb500's
amongst other bikes, a wall of jackets (jet) and helmets (ffm, pro etc) basically a near full and complete bike shop just abandoned to dust and cobwebs
for 20 years. anyone know the story?

[Slorider]

I would like to know as well,an old classic moto star and a tartan lined bomber jet sounds good to me,surely they didn't 'dump' the old stock-prob got a rebate returning it to the manufacturer.

[Voltaire]

Hi Eddie, I heard that when Lloyd died one of the mechanics who worked there years ago sorted it all out, Warren I think was his name, still working in Ak I think.

[Bender]

I went and had a look around just before Lloyd died and a couple of months later I talked to Warren Bridger as he was cleaning the stuff out of there. Most of the stuff was in an advanced state of decay, including the large "collection" of bikes downstairs in a storage area. It had a dirt floor so was very damp. It was all very old and not a lot of it was valuable in the first place.

Indeed his former mechanic Warren Bridger did get to sort it out - a huge job and it involved a lot of trips to the tip.

The CB125 I bought off Mr Voltaire (the one with the post above) would have been one of the last bikes Lloyd May worked on before his death. I kept the hand written receipt as a souvenir - Lloyd May had no truck with them fancy fangled computer things.

It was like walking into a time warp going into that shop. It was how all the dealerships were in the 60s and early 70s, complete with grumpy owner.

[WilDun]

I went and had a look around just before Lloyd died and a couple of months later I talked to Warren Bridger as he was cleaning the stuff out of there. - Lloyd May had no truck with them fancy fangled computer things.

It was like walking into a time warp going into that shop. It was how all the dealerships were in the 60s and early 70s, complete with grumpy owner.


It was only recently that I heard that Lloyd May had died - I assumed that he was still happily playing with his bikes in Kingsland.
I just came across this thread and thought that I'd mention that I used to work with Lloyd at the now defunct Namco factory in Papakura. I was a lowly welder in those days and he 'was way up there' - a toolmaker!
He often advised me on how to modify my Suzuki T20 for racing and I remember that he was NZ 500cc champion (on a Manx?).
However, those were the days when the fast two strokes were coming on, by leaps and bounds and Lloyd had acquired a Yamaha TR2 (350cc) and was going well on that.
Disc brakes were also on the way in at that time, but were not readily available.
Lloyd, being a toolmaker and a keen experimenter decided to make his own disc brake for the Yamaha, I think that he based it on the then new 750 honda four, he did just that and it worked well!
However, going into the corner before the back straight at Puke, he went straight on and through the hedge, making quite a mess of himself but what actually went wrong then, we'll never really know.
BTW please, understand I'm not suggesting that this had anything to do with the brakes.
Unfortunately, this incident effectively ended his racing career.

We had a lot of laughs around that time (approx 44 years ago), one being that he rode an old Norton twin to work and I was riding a Triumph Tigress 250 scooter and we used to race each other up the access road to the factory each afternoon as we left work, - good fun!

Unfortunately, I never saw him since those days , it came as a bit of a shock to me and I am very sad to hear about his death.

PS. can someone tell me how long it's been since he died?

[Bender]

^^^^^
The accident was at the Grand Prix meeting and they used the air force Iriquois helicopter to take Lloyd to hospital - something that was unheard of in those days. Back then they used to run car and bike meetings together.

Lloyd reckoned he never fully recovered from the anesthetic they used on him during the operation to stick him all back together. I can't remember what year that was but we chatted about it when I went to pick up the CB after he breathed his magic on it. (The problem was so obscure that only an old school mechanic like Lloyd would ever have found and sorted it).

He was a man with his own definite character you either liked him or your could **** off.

[robinm]

: MAY, Lloyd. 2 x NZ Motorcycle Road Race Champion 40 yr Kingsland Identity Died Friday 29 July 2011. A private funeral was held

[nzspokes]

I believe Warren still works from home in Henderson. He helped me over the phone and solved a months old problem for me. Good sort.

He has worked on the bike I now own, converted it to manual tensioners.

[trustme]

He was one of lifes good buggers. As a school kid I was too broke to pay a mechanic to fix my bike. Lloyd lent me special Honda tools for the night .
I wonder if todays workshops would do that

[nzspokes]

He was one of lifes good buggers. As a school kid I was too broke to pay a mechanic to fix my bike. Lloyd lent me special Honda tools for the night .
I wonder if todays workshops would do that

No, you can get hammers everywhere these days.......

[fridayflash]

so perhaps for all those years when i thought the place was closed...it was just in fact dusty but functional. like slorider i want to get my hands on a motostar helmet, i wouldve thought also that he would have had plenty of honda bits which are thin on the ground these days. that cb125 you got off volty is real cool bender, i was wanting it myself a few years back :sunny:

[eldog]

He was one of lifes good buggers. As a school kid I was too broke to pay a mechanic to fix my bike. Lloyd lent me special Honda tools for the night .
I wonder if todays workshops would do that

We are generally losing these types of good sorts at too fast a rate, I know of a few like this who have passed away/retired, who have character and a good bugger to boot, over the last couple of years.

The younger generation dont have that same ethic or character (or its just thin on the ground) and are too busy in themselves and the way society has changed

I enjoy mucking about with these types, they encourageare a mine of information and are good value to boot. They dont mind if you treat them the same way they treat you, simple really.

Most of todays workshops wont do that, as it is mostly the people/tools wont return.

[Slorider]

hey Flash-Ed Hoven,a former repairman/wrecker who had a business by Mcdonalds in Hamilton was the man for those 70s commuter bits-if you could somehow track him down he may well still be.....very recently heard he was now in raglan,a gd guy to deal with and knows his bikes

[fridayflash]

cheers slorider....any luck in your search for a motostar btw? id even settle for a open face jet with peak at this point:laugh:

[Slorider]

hey FF-Ive only ever came across one crappy motostar at a s/h shop and it was minus the peak and very rough,looked like it really belonged in the rubbish but now looking back it could've been resprayed for decoration purposes but thats not what im looking for..........Perhaps someone will hopefully remake them to orig spec's (shape wise) but update the interior.....moto2 was a major fail aye,I thought those orig motostar's were gona be like marmite n weetbix

[liljegren]

hey Flash-Ed Hoven,a former repairman/wrecker who had a business by Mcdonalds in Hamilton was the man for those 70s commuter bits-if you could somehow track him down he may well still be.....very recently heard he was now in raglan,a gd guy to deal with and knows his bikes

Ed Hoven, now there's a name from the past! Used to race in the Round the Founders races, and the lake race I guess, had a wreckers somewhere in Te Rapa I think. Mate of mine knew him thru Varsity, goo d bloke.

[fridayflash]

hey FF-Ive only ever came across one crappy motostar at a s/h shop and it was minus the peak and very rough,looked like it really belonged in the rubbish but now looking back it could've been resprayed for decoration purposes but thats not what im looking for..........Perhaps someone will hopefully remake them to orig spec's (shape wise) but update the interior.....moto2 was a major fail aye,I thought those orig motostar's were gona be like marmite n weetbix

your so right, the moto2 was gross. i got a motostar new for my 13th birhtday...i was so happy i slept in it! want another as it'd be the ideal lid to wear on xl500s :niceone:.....or an xt550 for that matter :msn-wink:

[fridayflash]

found this one on an aussie website $60 aud presumably plus freight, not too bad i guess

http://suus.com.au/product/moto-star-yellow-1983-full-face-mx-motorcycle-helmet-small/

[Slorider]

that's one awe inspiring mx helmet ff and exactly how they should look-nice bold plain colours complete with the fluted sun visor,nothing today matches the cool factor those helmets ooze............if it was an XL I think id have to have it!-its pretty tidy really

[fridayflash]

yes, i agree and the vented peak is double cool! size is a bugger so i wont bother with it either. i did look at their freight options and all up it would be $95 aud..too much for a wrong size helmet eh. there must be hundreds of these things hung on nails in garages throughout this fair land:yes: