Chris Redpath? Just askin'

[pritch]

The latest edition of Cycle World contains a profile of one Chris Redpath.

"Is Chris Redpath for real? Born in Auckland New Zealand, "Red"says he met and worked with John Britten in Christchurch while he, Red, was with the NZ Special Air Service, during which time he drove Pope Paul around for a few weeks on a Papal tour of Australia and New Zealand. This was after he got shot in Africa (Red not the pope) while going about some sordid business or other.

Meanwhile back in NZ, says Red, Britten left him a scholarship to the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Daytona Beach, upon his death in 1995."

So having due regard to the first sentence in the article, I'm asking myself the same question. Is there anybody in the Christchurch motorcycle scene who knows of "Red" even if only by reputation?

[Madness]

So Kerry Dukie has changed his name to Chris Redpath?

[F5 Dave]

Now that's funny right there, best give you some bling.

Stuka pilot in the Falklands war?

[Laava]

He used to drive my tractor lad!

[AllanB]

There is a guy goes by 'red' who does (did?) suspension work on bikes in Christchurch. Best I can offer.

[Kickaha]

There is a guy goes by 'red' who does (did?) suspension work on bikes in Christchurch. Best I can offer.

Different Red and he does a lot more than suspension

[Laava]

This him?
http://motogpwerks.com/blog/2011/03/...championships/

[pritch]

Interesting. There's a picture of that bike, or one very similar, in the magazine article but I'm using the iPad to watch the Moto3 race at the moment. Will have to compare the details tomorrow?

[pritch]

The answers are coming in, the SAS part of the story is unlikely to be true, I understand that he didn't serve, or even do a selection course.

Hope to get verification or otherwise of the Britten connection shortly .

Might not be able to get confirmation from the former Pope, or of the gun fight in Africa.

[Hacking]

I know Chris pretty well,he did not serve in army six and he doesn't tell people otherwise.His step brother did during the 90's (his name is Frog,only navy personnel that had got into A6).He served and then went on to driving division with parliament.Everything else is correct he worked in R&D at yoshimura in japan and then U.S then ,moved onto kawasaki as a crew chief for steve rapp who won daytona 200 then chaz davies.
I spoke to him a week ago when the acticle came out and he was shocked as he was never interviewed but the writer got his information from another source.Since i met him he's been in 25-30 magazines so i think this was a shocker.
I Knew him through Kiwi Mike (kiwi indian) and hes building my katana labour free in his spare time around other more imporant builds.Instead off the old kiwi Bagging just ring the guy +1 714 223 0111

[HenryDorsetCase]

There is a guy goes by 'red' who does (did?) suspension work on bikes in Christchurch. Best I can offer.

That Red's actual name is Peter Fenton. Top guy. now working out of Hands Road somewhere.

[HenryDorsetCase]

Might not be able to get confirmation from the former Pope,

not a catholic then?

[pritch]

I spoke to him a week ago when the acticle came out and he was shocked as he was never interviewed but the writer got his information from another source.

The answers are in, the two aspects of the article that I queried: the SAS, and the Britten scholarship, do not check out. I have no idea if he actually provided protection for the Pope or whether he was shot in Africa but the trend so far is not good. If Cycle World have taken to interviewing their own word processors though, that's an even bigger concern than the appearance of one more potential wannabe.

Having the work of Peter Egan and Kevin Cameron within the covers grants Cycle World a degree of credibility, the somewhat sanguine road tests excepted. It'll be a piss-off if I have to try and figure out where the facts stop and the fiction starts every time I read the magazine because, whoever is at fault, that article appears more fiction than fact.

[pritch]

This all turned out to be quite interesting. Up until now I don't feel I had "bagged" the guy but it has now been confirmed that a large part of the item is pure fiction and this was not the work of the magazine. The item was not done from "another source" it was from an interview with Red himself.

Red seems to know everyone but when the claims are checked they turn out to be untrue. He claims to be related to people who don't know him. He also makes other statements that have caused more than one offended party to contact the magazine. There will be a retraction printed in the next issue in relation to one of these claims.

All of which is a pity because evidently he does do good work on bikes.

Military types get touchy about people who claim experience they don't have and Red was in danger of a mention in despatches on the appropriate website.
http://www.anzmi.net/cases.html

"Hacker's" defence of his friend was laudable but seemingly misplaced.

I can still read my Cycle World with some confidence that normal journalistic standards prevail.

[Crasherfromwayback]

"Hacker's" defence of his friend was laudable but seemingly misplaced.

I can still read my Cycle World with some confidence that normal journalistic standards prevail.

Fuck there are some spinners out there eh!