Police would not confirm the rider's name but the Greymouth Star understands the missing man was found on Sunday morning near the Punchbowl Falls on the western side of Arthur's Pass (State Highway 73).
He had left Kumara on Friday night on his black Harley Davidson to visit a friend in Christchurch.
The alarm was raised by family when he did not arrive and an appeal was made on social media for sightings of the man and his motorcycle.
Police used cellphone information to triangulate his last known whereabouts, and yesterday the highway was closed for a "police operation" about 8am and reopened to one lane at 10.30am.
The fatality was one of a number of vehicular incidents over the weekend.
On Friday afternoon emergency services dealt with two other motorcycle crashes.
The Hokitika Volunteer Fire Brigade responded to a report of a motorcycle hitting a car near Awatuna on State Highway 6, about 2pm.
The motorcyclist, on their way to the Woodstock Motorcycle Rally, was not injured and the brigade was not required.
Forty-five minutes later, another biker came to grief at Turiwhate on SH73 when he ironically clipped a 'Reduce Speed' roadside sign, sending him tumbling down the road.
The Kumara fire brigade attended and fire chief Les Neame said the man was very lucky.
"A reasonable hit to the head and some lacerations to his arms where he skidded down the road."
The injured rider was travelling with another rider at the time and the bike was still able to be used after the crash.
- By Meg Fulford
