Finn Webster with his 1992 Honda CR125, Jeremy McGrath Peak Replica that he built. Photo / Kate Durie
Finn Webster with his 1992 Honda CR125, Jeremy McGrath Peak Replica that he built. Photo / Kate Durie
Twenty-seven-year-old Finn Webster works in sales of motorcycle parts and apparel in Kihikihi. When not working, Finn spends his spare time working on restoring bikes.
Finn has raced in a few events but spends time putting laps at Hampton Downs, Taupo, Manfield, and one day at Pukekohe.
Finn Webster racing a 2009 Honda CBR600RR. Photo / Supplied
He says that he likes the freedom that comes along with motorcycles. “Some people say “riding a motorcycle is the closest thing you can get to flying without leaving the ground”.
“They are mechanically complex machines that can take some problem-solving to get to where you want them. I like that we can set them up to make them work just the way we want them to, and the direct results of the changes are made.”
He has owned and still has a couple of modern fuel-injected bikes with the other technology they often have.
Although it can be a fair bit more work in the workshop, Finn prefers the “unhindered riding style” of an older bike and the direct mechanical connection to the machine that comes with that.
Currently, he is in the process of building a 1988 Honda XR600R in the style of an old Honda RC600 flat tracker, with an engine built around running alcohol. It’s been in the pipeline for a while, and other commitments and bikes overtook this project, “so it’s about time got onto it,” says Finn.
A 1995 Honda RVF400RR, Finn Webster is working on. Photo / Kate Durie
He is also about to start building a 1996 Honda CR250. “A friend of mine helped me by building a motor for me a couple of years ago, and it’s been sitting around ever since.”
NC30 Honda VFR400 engine with an NC24 VRF400 rotating assembly. Photo / Kate Durie
“I had originally intended on putting this motor into a Honda Grom. Considering the ridiculous amount of power it would have had with the short wheelbase, and the scarcity of these steel frame Hondas, I think it’s only right that it should go in the correct bike.”
So far Finn has completed three full restorations at this stage, “but not every bike needs that kind of work done.”
Once he has done the bike work, he will then ride them, and sell them. “Whatever I feel with a particular bike, it’s very case by case. My most recently completed project is going to live in my lounge.”
Finn first started his passion for restoring after he rode broken old motorbikes exclusively for the first five years of his road-going life. He says there is a “generally a constant need to keep them going. The never-ending tinkering eventually built up enough experience to dive deeper into these projects.
“I am a believer in the idea that anything can be fixed and brought back to new or better than new. With any individual part, it can either be repaired, remade, or replaced. It can be a long process, and I’m a bit of a perfectionist which doesn’t help with that.”
Another in for Finn was that his father Grant Webster and grandfather Eddie Webster were also enthusiasts. “My father had a collection of weird and wild machines, and I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. My grandfather Eddie had a Vincent Rapide when they were the hot thing.”
Looking to the future, Finn hopes for a bigger shed as he finds the space runs out fast.
“I’d love to be able to spend most of my time doing these things, however, life and its commitments often get in the way. I have no plans to change to do this full-time, but I hope that one day life allows it.”
Finn says there are more bikes in the pipeline, so watch this space.
