Re-creating the 'Maori' motorcycle

The names A. R Bannister and George Johns might have been right up there with New Zealand motorcycle pioneers Burt Munro and John Britten but an enemy torpedo sank their plans during the First World War. The two men from Gisborne designed and patented a motorcycle built for New Zealand conditions. They called it The Maori. They produced 20 of these motorcycles in London. The first shipment of the bikes to New Zealand met with disaster. Only one bike ever made it to New Zealand, and that one has never been found. Now engineer Dave Ransom from North Taranaki is re-creating the Maori with just one photo that has survived all these years.