WHAKATĀNE'S Charlotte Knight is living her life at full throttle, involved in the development of one of the world’s most iconic motorcycles.

After an early introduction to mechanics at Trident Hight School, Miss Knight completed a mechatronics degree at the University of Canterbury and is now working as an electrical component engineer for Triumph Motorcycles at its factory in Hinkley.

As the component owner of all suspension control units across the Triumph fleet, Charlotte will be involved with the development of all future Triumph bikes equipped with electronic suspension systems.

The Beacon recently caught up with Miss Knight to hear how she has adjusted to living in Europe and whether she misses her hometown.

“Yes, I miss the people, my family and my dogs,” she said.

“I miss riding my dirt bike, especially at Burts Trail Ride and the Tarawera trail rides – riding with friends in remote places was just so beautiful.”

Miss Knight also misses “the Whakatane feel”, the lakes, the beaches, “the easy-going people” and the sun.

“The weather here is not that great – we are forever waiting for the sun to come out,” she said.

“The winter months are difficult, going to work in complete darkness and leaving at 4:30pm in the dark.”

However, there are pluses, such as the long summer nights and travel options.

“Living here offers great opportunities for travel – it’s much easier to visit other countries compared to New Zealand,” Miss Knight said.

“Long evenings during the summer months are also nice, giving you plenty of time to be outside in the evenings.”

She has already visited EICMA in Milan, the world’s largest motorcycle trade show.

Her first trip to Europe was with her mum and aunty.

“We went to Croatia, specifically Dubrovnik, and took a day trip around Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was pretty epic,” she said.

Her other travel destinations have included Lake Como, Dublin, Paris, Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, Rome, Nice and Monaco.

“On my recent trip to Nice, I met up with an old friend from Trident High School, and we spent a long weekend exploring Nice and Monaco,” she said.

“I booked my flights two weeks before and it cost me £141.

“I was fortunate that Triumph helped with my relocation, significantly reducing my set-up costs and allowing me to travel sooner.”

Miss Knight said living in a small town, meeting people outside work was hard.

“When I first moved here, I joined a gym and went almost every night, but being shy I found people tended to stay in their little bubbles,” she said.

She has persisted with her exercise, getting into squash, which she also played in Whakatāne.

“This year, I played in the county teams league, which saw us travelling to other clubs weekly to compete. I’m almost finished with my first squash coach certification,” she said.

“I’ve also gotten back into bouldering and indoor climbing, something I did in high school.”

And even though she works with motorcycle technology all day, there are more hours in the week that can be spent on mechanical pursuits.

“A couple of months ago I found one of the last-built Honda CR125s on the marketplace for a little project. I have cleaned it up and will hopefully get back into riding soon,” Miss Knight said.

“I’ve also been helping my boyfriend with one of his project cars, an Mk1 Mx5, which has been modified to have a turbo. We’ve also cleaned up all the bodywork and interior.”

Miss Knight is thankful for the support of everyone who has helped her.

“I’ve worked hard to get where I am today, and I’m very grateful for all the support I’ve received from family, friends, and colleagues,” she said.

“Their encouragement has been invaluable in helping me pursue and seize these opportunities.”

She has no trip back to the Eastern Bay scheduled, “but hopefully sometime soon”.