Bucket List: Restore a crash damaged motorcycle and ride the whole of New Zealand with a camera on my helmet

A little bit about me – I’m David. A few years ago, I embarked on an adventure to ride the entire length of New Zealand on my motorcycle. I managed to complete the North Island on a CBR1000f, and then decided to upgrade to an ST1300 for tackling the South Island. Along the way, I taught myself how to edit videos and started uploading footage from my helmet cam to YouTube, sharing my journey with others.

Before I could prepare for the South Island, life threw a curveball. My wife was made redundant on Christmas Eve three years ago, and to mark the occasion, I bought her a pair of roller skates she’d been eyeing for a while. Unfortunately, what was meant to be a lighthearted gift led to an accident that’s kept her on ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) ever since. She needed surgery, which took a long two years to be approved.

In the meantime, we made some changes to our lives. We used her redundancy money and sold my ST1300 to simplify things, so we could carry on as normally as possible. Thankfully, she’s recovering now, and her ACC payments are coming to an end.

On the bright side, she’s been an incredible help in getting me back on the road. We’ve managed to purchase a crash-damaged CBR1000f, the same model I used for the North Island ride. I’ve been working on restoring it, aiming for factory spec (or even better), and I’m getting close to finishing the process. There’s still a bit of work to do, but it won’t be long before it’s ready for the South Island adventure.