Biker possibly dead in ditch for days

The 2003 Buell Firebolt motorcyle was bought a week ago. Photo / Natalie Slade

A motorcyclist found dead in a South Auckland ditch could have been there for days before being found.

The man, who has now been named as 32-year-old Daniel Brian Young, was found early yesterday afternoon next to Patumahoe Rd in Franklin.

Local resident Katrina Misa was riding her horse along the road when she saw the man, who was not visible to motorists.

He was lying under an upturned motorbike, a 2003 Buell Firebolt.

Online records show the motorbike was bought a week ago and was registered to a man in Tuakau.

"I just happened to look down," Ms Misa said. "I was right on the edge of the road and I was like 'what's that bike doing upside down'."

Ms Misa said the man was partially under water a couple of metres below the edge of the road.

It was clear he was dead, and had been for some time, but she still called out to him from the roadside.

"I felt like an idiot but you have to check."

Police serious crash unit Constable Bayley Orr said it appeared the motorcyclist had crashed through a wooden barrier and travelled along a narrow stretch of grass between the fence and a building, before plunging down a small bank and into the ditch.

Police were trying to establish when the man was last seen alive.

A post-mortem examination would confirm when the crash happened.