The genius of Britten & Munro: Exploring the extraordinary bike museum that pays homage to New Zealand’s fastest sons

When you think of New Zealand, that little island tucked away in the corner of the Pacific Ocean, motorcycles might not immediately spring to mind.

Perhaps that’s why nobody looked twice when Burt Munro turned up at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1962 on his homemade rocket… until he broke the land speed record.

The same goes for the legendary Kiwi designer, tinkerer, and engineer – John Britten, who handbuilt one of the world’s greatest and most impressive race bikes – the V1000.

Both Britten and Munro are motorcycling royalty and they’re both from NZ’s South Island, where their legendary bikes live on today in the city of Invercargill.

The Classic Motorcycle Mecca Museum holds an exquisite display of 300 motorcycles, as well as the largest collection of Britten bikes anywhere in the world.

And just five minutes down the road is a hardware store (yes, really) with Burt Munro’s bikes in amongst hammers, chainsaws and lawnmower parts. If you ever find yourself on the other side of the world, this is where you need to be.

But until then, put your feet up and let MCN guide you round…