Those who’ve been around a while know Peter Payne as one of Australian motorcycling’s quietly spoken true gentleman.
Having recently returned from a long stint with Yamaha in New Zealand, we caught up with the bloke who made our jaws drop by taking the Super Ténéré through terrain we thought was challenging on a WRF. Not only does he take the bike through that terrain, he does it in a very tidy, unflustered and commanding fashion. He’s so tidy his hair somehow stays neat when he takes off his helmet.
No photo-trickery here. That’s a frigging steep, rocky hill, and Mr Clean’s making it look easy on the big Yamaha.
We wanted to know how the man who’s now one of Yamaha Motor Australia’s management got his start.