Yesterday Ashley Blair, Graham Lloyd, Paul Gilchrist, Mike Marshall and Tracy and Joe Eagles set off on their BSA Bantams from Stirling Point in Bluff on a 14-day trip up the country.
The BSA Bantam is a two-stroke motorcycle produced in Birmingham between 1948 and 1971 by the Birmingham Small Arms Company.
Mr Blair said the Bantams were initially just a "goin-to-work" bike until New Zealand woman Joy McKean rode her 150cc around the world in 1955 and British woman Mary Siever went around the world on it in 1967.
Mr Blair said their trip was to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Bantam as well as to show it was more than just a going-to-work bike.
"The idea is it’s not a race, we’re just taking our time and we’re not out to break any speed records or anything. The main idea is to get there.
"If we’re not having fun, we’re not doing it right."
Mr Blair said the convoy planned to travel about 200km per day in deference to the age of the bikes and the riders.
They would stop at Ms McKean’s grave in Rangiwahia, a village in the North Island and have a small celebration.
