By Robert Cochrane
Wanganui Vintage Weekend comes into Guyton Street this year as we pay tribute to Percy Coleman with a 100 motorcycles display to mark one hundred years since he opened his first motorcycle shop in Guyton Street in late November 1925.
Percy started as a Harley Davidson dealer and over the decades the business was NZ Distributor for Royal Enfield, AJS, NSU, Suzuki, Norton, Lambretta, BSA, Montesa, Triumph and also imported some Panther & Ariel machines, plus Rickman scramble frame kits.
A Suzuki display of thirty machines from 1966 to 1984 includes a1967 A50 lightweight through to a 1981 Katana 1100 wire wheeler machine. From trail bikes, commuters to road bikes & superbikes there is a wide range says organisor Robert Cochrane of the NZ Royal Enfield Riders Club, host club of the event.
Suzuki Competition machines include a mix of motocross mounts, trials, enduro & road race machines. An RA125 water-cooled twinshock motocross machine like the one Percy’s grandson Craig Coleman raced in the World 125cc MX Grand Prix to a podium third place in Europe, will be on display, plus the Coleman’s/Joe Lett GS850 sidecar outfit carrying an RH500 MX replica on the sidecar.
Road racers on display include a 1930 Rudge Ulster 4 Valve 500cc, NSU 250s, and the acclaimed Steve Roberts built Coleman’s Suzuki Alloy Monocoque & Plastic Fantastic machines.
The superbike section features NZs 1st Norton Commando 750 that Rod & Bob imported in 1968, plus BSA Rocket 3, Suzuki GT750 & Triumph Trident 750cc machines while other favourites from the 1970s include the GT380, Titan 500, GS750 plus rare 1960 AJS 650 and 1970 Ex-MOT BSA Lightning 650 twins. Rod always said to me, ‘ The British factories were struggling in the 1960s, Suzuki had such good small bikes, we couldn’t get enough to meet demand. Getting import license was our biggest problem but we used Government & City Council purchase orders to bring in the 650 AJS, BSA, Norton & Triumph, plus Norton 750 Atlas & Commando for traffic enforcement duties,’ says Robert.
An example of the world’s first production custom bike will also be on show, the Craig Vetter designed 1973 Triumph Hurricane X75 750cc triple, one of only 1230 made using the last of the BSA Rocket 3 engines after BSA closed production in 1972. And a pair of 1925 Indians, a standard 600cc Scout plus the custom Indian Scout that won the NZ ‘Bike of the Year’ at the NZ Bike Show in Auckland will bring great impact.
So whether you like Suzuki, British bikes, Spanish trials mounts, German engineering or early American bikes there will be plenty to see on Guyton Street. And for former Coleman’s employees and friends of the late Greg Coleman & Neil Forbes, there will be a Remembrance event at 2Pie Ngatai from 4-7pm. Co-ordinator Tom Mason asks people to bring along photos to share as photographer Don Tustin will be running a photo board. Examples of the bikes Greg & Neil rode (an RM125 & DR370) will be on display amongst the thirty historic Suzuki at The Grand end of the street.
From humble beginnings in 1925 Percy developed the business and expanded to larger premises over the road on Guyton Street in 1958 before moving into Victoria Ave in 1966. Sadly Percy passed away in mid 1965 but under the guidance of sons Rod & Bob the business grew to even larger premises in 1974 for the expanding marine and motorcycle distribution on upper Victoria Ave. By 1980 a purpose-built facility at Taupo Quay became Suzuki HQ, and a CKD Suzuki car assembly plant was in operation on Heads Road from Oct 1976. At the end of 1984 the Coleman family sold the Suzuki business to Suzuki Japan, while their retail Suzuki motorcycle shops in Auckland, Hamilton and Wanganui were sold to staff members, and the local motorcycle/cycle helmet manufacturing business went on to become Pacific Helmets.
