Nearly 10 years ago, the Christchurch man restored his grandfather Bertie’s 1925 Indian Scout motorcycle, bringing almost 100 years of family history full circle.
Mr Bamford’s grandfather bought the bike from his uncle in the 1930s and rode it to work in Christchurch for 30 years — "rain, hail or shine" — before deciding to give it up.
For years, the motorcycle sat in the garage.
Mr Bamford marvelled at it as a child, and his father, Len, always intended to do it up.
When his father died, Mr Bamford took on the bike, restored it to its former glory — with the original number plate intact — and kept it looking "old" to protect its history.
From there, he took off throughout New Zealand, joining motorcycle rallies and travelling around Canterbury.
"I’d never done a rally in my life so I thought I’d try it," Mr Bamford said.
"It’s nearly 100 years old. I just like riding it actually. They’re great fun to ride."
That led him to Oamaru on Saturday when the Indian Owners Register New Zealand rally came through the North Otago town.
Mr Bamford’s uncle, Ken (96), even came out to visit him and the bike, making for a special connection.
The rally’s 50 riders travelled about 150km from Oamaru through the back roads to Duntroon and back again — the first time the rally had been through North Otago.
Mr Bamford’s journey did not start there.
Last Monday, he travelled to Picton and met the North Island riders heading to the rally, then went through Murchison, Ross and Mt Somers before arriving in Oamaru on Friday.
The annual rally was a great day out with a varied range of Indian motorcycles travelling around.
"It’s the camaraderie and you can have a laugh. They’re all a good bunch of guys."
