Team Suzuki

I mentioned to my friend Bill Himmelsbach that I had a good biography of Jarno Saarien and he asked if he could borrow it and offered a long list of books that he had and with which he could reciprocate. I chose 'Team Suzuki' by Ray Battersby, largely because I have long been fascinated with Suzuki's '60s GP team dynamics. This started with reading an excerpt of Mat Oxley's 'Stealing Speed' that I had read in Roadracing World. I thought that Oxley was unduly hard of Ernst Degner who defected from the East German MZ works team and went to Suzuki with tuning secrets he'd learned from Walter Kaaden, the head of MZ racing. I ran into Oxley at the IOM later and talked to him about this. Mat said from his interviews with Degner's son and widow, he got the impression that Degner was not a nice man. Later still, I got a copy of Hugh Anderson's autobiography "Being There", and Hugh writes of what a sportsman Degner was and how much he helped him to his own detriment when they were teammates on the works Suzuki GP team from 1962-1966. The book also indicated that there was friction between Anderson and his other teammate, Frank Perris. This caused me to get Oxley's 'Stealing Speed' and read it in its entirety, and was interested that Perris also said complimentary things about Degner. Then I saw some posts on a forum by Ray Battersby critizing Oxley's depiction of Degner and Kaaden. Now, having read 'Team Suzuki', the team dynamics seem more confusing, or complicated at least, as Anderson is quoted saying complimentary things about Perris. I found 'Team Suzuki' to be an excellent and well researched book. It starts with Suzuki's decision in the 1950's to go racing to enhance its reputation, first with domestic Japanese racing, then internationally, sending a team to the IOM in 1960. This was a year after Honda first went to the IOM and a year before Yamaha went there. Their initial efforts were disappointing and they carefully cultivated a relationship with Degner and helped facilate his defection. With Degner's input and with the hiring of the other experienced Western racers Anderson, Perris, Suzuki began to get results. I hadn't know about the input of Geoff Duke nor that Tom Phillis and Paddy Driver had raced for Suzuki. Then came Bertie Schneider, Jack Ahearn (who dubbed the Suzuki 250 "whispering death" because of it many sudden seizures), Hans Georg Anscheidt, and Stuart Graham (when Anderson retired from road racing to race motocross),Suzuki won six World Championships. Suzuki retired from World Championship GP road racing after the 1968 season as did Yamaha, a year after Honda withdrew. But, Suzuki had already started racing in the U.S. Wanting to raise the profile of Suzuki in the U.S. market, Haruo Koshino brought a works GP 50cc and 125cc to race in West Coast club events in 1965. It isn't mentioned in 'Team Suzuki', but Walt Fulton III got to race at least the RK 65, a 50cc, a twin cylinder, watercooled, 12 speed, but also the twin cylinder, watercooled, 9 speed 125 RT 65. This led to Walt racing a race prepared X6 250 in AMA novice class along side Experts Dick Hammer, Dick Mann and Ron Grant in the Lightweight class in 1966. Walt won the Novice race in record time at Daytona and was high point novice for the year. Mann was 2nd and Hammer 3rd at the Carlsbad national. Walt also rode the works GP 50 and 125 in Westcoast club events. Walt rode a H-D KR 750 in the AMA 'Amateur' races in '67, but a Suzuki in some Am/Ex Lightweight events and an H-D Sprint in others. The Expert team was cut back to Hammer and Grant. In '68, the T500 was added to the team stable and Cal Rayborn rode the X-6 in the Lightweight races. In '69, Art Bauman won the Sears Point national on the 500 Suzuki, the first time a two stroke and the first time a Japanese bike had won an AMA National. In '70, Jody Nicholas and New Zealander Geoff Perry were added to the team. Grant won the Kent, Wa. National on the T500. In '71 Ron Pierce was added to the team. For '72, the 500 was retired and replaced with the TR750 triple, the water cooled 'Water Buffalo'. These motors produced more power than their chassis, chains and tires could handle. Nicholas won at Road Atlanta, but was diqualified for an illegal cylinder casting. For '73, new and improved TR 750s were provided to Don Emde, Grant, Paul Smart and Geoff Perry. Smart won at Dallas, Tx., and Perry won the next race at Rd. Atlanta. That year Perry died in a plane crash on his way from New Zealand to Laguna Seca. In 1974, Gary Nixon and Cliff Carr joined Sheene and Smart on the factory team but, with the introduction of the TZ 700 Yamaha, Suzuki's only win was with Nixon at Loudon. 1975 was the last year for the TR750 triple in the AMA and their best finish was Pat Hennen's 5th at Laguna Seca. Internationally, Suzuki raced the 500 twin and 750 triple. The 500 twin reached it's zenith in 1971 when New Zealander Keith Turner finished 2nd to Ago's MV in the 500 World Championship with less success later. In '73 a watercooled, 6 speed version was made, but it's only real success was Jack Findley's winning the IOM Senior TT. In '73, Sheene won the Formula 750 Cup and in '74 Suzuki only won one race in the series (Paul Smart). Sheene won three races in '75 to finish second in the series. '76 was the last year the triples were raced internationally. The RG 500 square four 500 made it's debut in 1974 but didn't win a 500 GP until Assen '75 where Sheene won. In '76 & '77, Sheene won the 500 World Championship, but then Roberts and Yamaha won the next three years. Marco Lucchinelli won the 500 World Championship in 1981 on a Suzuki, but Suzuki won the Manufacturer's Championship 1976-1981. The book finishes with the 1981 season and the book was published in 1982. Franco Uncini won the 500 World Championship in '82 on a RG500, but Suzuki wouldn't win another World Championship until 2000 with Kenny Roberts Jr. on a very different 500. I thoughly enjoyed Team Suzuki as it gives very detailed history of the evolution of the machines while conveying the personalities of the riders and management thinking. I was struck by how many of the riders I had known. Hugh Anderson--I had several great races with Hugh at Circuit Paul Ricard in '86 and Brands Hatch in '89 Frank Perris--Paraded with Frank at Cadwell Park and the IOM TT Centenary Stuart Graham--spent time with Stuart at the IOM when Team Obsolete brought the 250 Honda Six in 2017. Stuart had raced that bike in 1966. Walt Fulton III--I'm 'teammates' with Walt on the Karl Engellenner built 350 Aermacchis in AHRMA racing Dick Mann--I spent a lot of time with Dick when he worked with Team Obsolete in the '80s and '90s Jody Nichols--met Jody many times at West Coast vintage events Mick Grant--spent time with Mick when he rode a T/O MV at Oliver's Mount, Scarborough and many times at the Isle of Man Paul Smart--I did a 5 day Moto Giro with Paul in Central California in 2004 and at the spoke with him at IOM. Don Emde--shared many vintage events with Don including when he was Grand Marshal at Mid-Ohio Vintage M/C Days Barry Sheene--I followed Barry on an MV 500-3 when he was on a RG 500 Suzuki on a parade down to the seafront at Scarborough doing smoky burnouts. Gary Nixon--I did many vintage events will Gary and chatted with at the USGP at Indiannapolis in 2010, the year before he died. Hurley Wilvert--I met Hurley in the mid '70s when I was club racing a Kawasaki Bighorn and saw him several time at the IOM and stayed at his house in 2018. Dave Aldana--shared many vintage events with Dave and drove with him to a race in Loudon, N.H. Pat Hennen--met Pat at Laguna Seca and again at the IOM Graham Crosby--shared parade laps with Graham at the IOM Steve Parrish--spent a good deal of time with Steve at the IOM in his capacity of presenter for ITV television. Phil Read--spent time with Phil at many vintage events at Circuit Paul Ricard, Snetterton, Laguna Seca and the IOM. Plus Rod Coleman, the New Zealand importer of Suzuki and sponsor of Geoff Perry among others. I spent time with Rod on his boat on Lake Taupo, N.Z. Roberto Gallina, team manager for Suzuki Italy who won the 500 World Championship in '81 with Luccinelli and '82 with Uncini. I spent time with Roberto at his house and shop in La Spezia, Italy in '86, in Brooklyn, N.Y. several times and at the IOM in 2018. I'm incredibly fortunate to have known these great racers.

With Pat Hennen at the IOM TT in 1984. Pat commented that I was the first American to win a TT and he was the first American to win a World Championship GP.

McPint

I just finished reading 'Built for Speed, My Autobiography' by John McGuinness.  John is the most successful living racer at the Isle of Man TT, having won 23 TT races, second only to the late Joey Dunlop, who won 26.  While the book is written 'with John Hogan',  McGuinness' voice comes through loud and clear.  He's a guy with no filter.  Beyond the profanity and bawdy idioms, McGuinness doesn't sanitize his opinions of other racers, teams, institutions, and individuals in his personal life.  Which is not to say that the book is particularly negative.  He is effusive in his praise of  much of his family, racers, and sponsors.  And, while he has a realistic and matter of fact presentation of his obvious talent, he is just as realistic about his failings.  His talent that rivals racing ability is his sense of humor.  He's incredibly funny.
John had a somewhat hard scrabble childhood.  While saying that he grew up in poverty would probably be an exaggeration, upper lower class is probably accurate.  His father was a motorcyclist, had a motorcycle repair shop, and did some club racing and that certainly influenced Johns career.  He grew up living 3 miles from the ferry to the Isle of Man and to this day has probably never lived further than 10 miles from the ferry.  His father first took him there when he was 10 years old in 1982 and he was hooked and decided then that he was going to race there.  He talks of skipping school and riding his bicycle to the ferry and, while the ticket taker was dealing with the driver of a van, he'd be hiding on the other side and pedal onboard out of sight.  But, it was long after he had done schoolboy motocross, then club short circuit road racing, then professional road racing, that he finally did race at the IOM in 1996 when he was 24 years old and had been road racing six years.  He's clear that he thinks it's important to have a level of experience and maturity to have success, and survive, TT racing.  He worked as a bricklayer then, when the recession hit (which he blames on Maggie Thatcher), he went fishing and musseling with his future father-in-law.
He speaks repeatedly about his great friend David Jefferies. They both had their TT debut the same year.  In addition to being great friend, John though David was the best TT racer at the time.  John was one of the first to come across DJ's fatal accident at the TT, one of many he has seen.
John has huge respect for Joey Dunlop and seems to carry some guilt for impetuously cutting him up a bit in one of their earliest races together.  Despite that, Joey let John into his life and he was honored that he stayed at Joey's house and they were teammates at one point.
McGuinness says that if he were putting a team together to race at the TT, his first choice would be Michael Dunlop, Ian Hutchinson next and himself third.
Family is a huge part of his life.  His parents split when he was in high school.  They always argued a lot and his dad would be drinking, fighting and chasing women.  He says that his Mum went off the rails when they split.   He has a brother who he says alway had something missing and has always been looking to get high.  So, not the ideal household and he lived with his father's mother, Nana, who he adored.  He started going out with a girl, Becky,  who lived across the street from his Nana when he was 16 and she 13 and eventually her parents took him in.  They are still together now with two children and he clearly adores them.  It seems that they give him the stability that he didn't have as a kid.  Becky writes a great forward to the book and Guy Martin writes an odd and funny forward also.
I think the book captures the tension between the allure and challenge of the TT and the risk.  On the one hand, he puts the sight of his good friend getting killed there out of his mind, but on the other he's always aware of the risk.  It seems that if everything isn't just right, he doesn't push it.  But, when everything is right, he's as good as anyone.   The book was written and came out just before John's serious crash early this year at the North West 200 road race in Northern Ireland when the bike's electronics went crazy and it was uncontrollable.  A similar thing happen to John's teammate, Guy Martin, in practice at the TT this year and he was very lucky to escape serious injury.  The bike was withdrawn from the races.  John fractured a vertebra and had a compound fracture to his tibia and fibula.  He lost bone and I believe is still in an external fixator that he has to crank up daily to get the bone to gap the space.  This begs the question 'will he ever race again?'  He talks on both sides of this issue: he'd like to go out on top but he's not bothered if he never wins another TT.  It's an issue most athletes face: when is the right time to retire.  And, he talks of the possibility of just doing the electric bike race at the TT, which is only one lap and considerably slower speeds.  He's 45 years old now.
It's a great book and one gets the sense that it's totally honest; no P.R. B.S.  It extremely funny, but not just fluff, and deals with the subject of what's really important in one's life and what motivates oneself.

The latest motorcycle book I've read is 'On Motorcycles, the Best of Backmarker' by Mark Gardiner.  Mark has been writing his 'Backmarker' column for many years.  At one time it was in Motorcyclist Magazine, then in Road Racer X until that folded, and currently online at  http://www.motorcycle-usa.com and at his personal blog  http://backmarker-bikewriter.blogspot.com/.  This book is a collection of what he considers his best columns.  There are 76 'columns' which average less than 6 pages each.  This means that it's a book that one can pick up, read a bit, and put it down without having to worry about losing continuity.  However, I found that I pretty much plowed straight through it because I found it that compelling.
I've know Mark for a while and have had great respect for him after reading his book 'Riding Man'.  This is the story of him quitting his job and selling virtually everything he owned to move to the Isle of Man, learn the circuit and race there.  I didn't know, until I read it in 'Best of Backmarker' that he was suffering from debilitating rheumatoid  at the time.
While he covers a lot of racing topics, the book is not primarily about racing.  Mark is a real investigative journalist.  When he's  intrigued  by a topic, he does the footwork to get to the bottom of it.  Perhaps the best example of this is the lead column in the book: 'Searching for Spadino'.  Spadino was the nickname of the motorcyclist who rode his bike repeatedly into  the Mont Blanc tunnel while it was blocked and burning from a tanker truck accident, saving many people, then succumbing to the fire.  Mark wondered what kind of person would do this.  So, he went to Italy and France and interviewed as many people as he could who knew Spadino.  The result is a terrifically moving portrait.
Or the Hollister 'riot' that was the inspiration for the film 'The Wild Ones'.  Mark went to Hollister more than once to interview people who were there and remembered.  A picture emerges that is nothing like the movie.
Mark organized an expedition with Patrick Bodden and Bob Hansen to go to Paris and check out a bike claimed to be the CR750 Honda that Dick Mann won the '70 Daytona 200.  Bodden is a Honda race bike expert and Hansen hired Mann and ran the team.
While Gardiner's main interest is probably road racing, his columns run the gamut including the 5-5-5 tour (cross country ride on bikes costing less than $500, less than 500cc and pre-1975), the Cannonball run (cross country ride on pre 1916 bikes), Bonneville speed week, and Black Bike Week in Daytona, and the Catalina GP.
There are profiles of several characters including Rob North (frame builder), Udo Gietl (tuner and team manager), Anthony Gobert (road racer), Big Sid Biberman (Vincent expert), and Mike Goodwin (serving a life sentence for murdering Mickey Thompson and his wife, but did he?)
And, much, much more.  Fascinating stuff and highly readable.  Available at : http://thebestofbackmarker.blogspot.com/

The best book I've read lately is 'Stanley Woods, The World's First Motorcycle Superstar', by David Crawford.  I spent a long time with this book as it's chocked full of great detail, photos, posters, advertisements, letters, Stanley's handwritten notes and transcribed accounts.
Stanley was born in Dublin in 1903 and lived there until 1974 when he moved to Northern Ireland, where he died in 1993.  Author Crawford is also Irish and became a personal friend to Stanley and therefore had great access to him and his personal papers.
Most people who know anything about the history of road racing know that Stanley was one of the greats, but I had no idea of the breath of his accomplishments.  Besides road racing motorcycles, Stanley was very successful at trials, did hillclimbs, grass track, speedway, ice racing and raced cars.  He was the 'Dick Mann' of his era and clearly loved riding just about anything.  He competed on an amazing variety of marques including AJS, Cotton, DKW, Douglas, Harley Davidson, Husqvarna, New Imperial, Moto Guzzi, Norton, Royal Enfield, Scott, Sun, and Velocette, and probably others.  In addition to being a great racer and loving to ride, Stanley was clearly a good businessman and made a lot of money in his career.  But, he was also a charmer and well loved by his fans and competitors.  So, the tag 'First Motorcycle Superstar' is defensible.
Bitten by the motorcycle bug when he was a teen, he talked his mother into buying him the Sun Vitesse  before he was 16 and this was the first bike he competed on, in a trial.  In 1920, he talked his father into buying a Harley Davidson with sidecar to use in his traveling sales job, with Stanley acting as the chauffeur.  He soon talked his father into letting him compete on this.  He first went to the Isle of Man in 1921 as a spectator with some friends and halfway though the first race he decided he could do that and,  by the time the last race was over, he was determined would race there the next year.  How he accomplished this is a great example of his sharp business sense and self confidence.  He wrote to a number of likely manufacturers telling them he had an entry in another class than they would be competing in and would they supply him a bike for 'their' class.  Cotton fell for the ploy and, while they were aghast when they saw how young and green he was, but by that time they were committed.  He ended up finishing fifth in his first TT after the bike catching fire at his first pit stop, losing a pushrod a while later and crashing at Ramsey hairpin after losing his brakes.  The next year, 1923, he won his first IOM TT race, the Junior, on a Cotton after crashing at Parliament Square.
Stanley didn't finish his next six TTs in '23, '24, and '25.  In 1925, he was racing a Royal Enfield in the Junior TT when he crashed at Ballig Bridge on the last lap while lying 5th, breaking the right handlebar off.  He moved the throttle over to the left side and carried on one handed.  The marshalls at the next post tried to stop him, but failed.  They called ahead to the Bungalow where he was stopped only 10 miles from the finish and he was not happy.
But, he had attracted the attention of Norton and was hired by them for 1926 and promptly won the Senior TT for them.  A fascinating feature of the book is Stanley's handwritten accounting of his winnings from many of the races he was in.  And, the '26 Senior TT is the most money of any of these in the book, 1631 pounds, 16 shillings.  500 of this was bonus from Norton, but 500 also from KLG sparkplugs, 200 from Dunlop tires, 150 from Castrol oil, on down to 5 pounds from Webb fork.  Prize money was 20 pounds.  More than sixteen hundred pounds was a huge amount in 1926 for anyone, let alone a 22 1/2 year old.  He went on with Norton to race at the European Grand Prix, that year at Spa in Belgium, finishing 3rd with the fastest lap after having a flat front tire and losing his brakes.  He quit his day job working for his father and took a position with Norton.
1927 saw the debut of the OHC Norton and while it failed at the TT, Stanley won the Dutch, Swiss, Belgium, 2nd in the German, and 3rd in the Ulster GPs.  '28 and '29 were relatively lean years with reliability problems with the the Norton, though Stanley did win a number of Continental GPs.  He also started his own toffee company, TT Toffee.  In 1930,  Joe Craig redesigned the Walter Moore Norton and things started to turn around by the end of the season with Stanley winning the Ulster GP, the first of four successive wins there on Nortons.  The Norton became dominate and, while he had a good year in 1931, 1932 is arguably the best year of his career.  He was 3rd in the North West 200 after replacing a broken spark plug, 1st in both the Junior and Senior TT ( this made him the rider with the most TT wins, a title he was to hold until 1967 when Mike Hailwood surpassed his 10 wins), 1st in the 350 and 2nd in the 500 Dutch TTs, 1st in the 350 French GP, 1st in the 500 Belgium GP, 1st in the 350 and 500 Swiss GPs, and 1st in the Ulster GP.  However the world wide depression caused him to shut down his toffee business.
The depression was hitting the motorcycle manufacturers hard and in 1933 Norton cut his retainer and eliminated bonuses.  Norton had also instituted 'team orders' where the riders were alternately  predetermined to win and the prize money split between them.  Norton wanted it to seem that it was the bike that was winning, not the riders.  This grated on Stanley and he left the then most successful team at the end of the year.  While this is sort of  reminiscent of Valentino Rossi leaving Honda when it was dominant, Stanley didn't just change loyalties to a rival factory, he became a free agent, riding for many different factory on an ad hoc basis.  He also switched oil sponsors from Castrol to Mobil.  This brought him in contact with Husqvarna, which he had been impressed with at the previous years Swedish GP.  But first he raced Moto Guzzis at the Spanish GP winning the 250 and 500 races.  At the  TT, he rode the Guzzi to 4th in the Lightweight and ran out of fuel on the last lap of the Senior on the Husky while in 2nd.  He crashed the Husky at the Dutch TT and broke his wrist, which put him out of racing for the rest of the season.
In 1935, Stanley won the Lightweight and Senior TTs at the IOM on Moto Guzzis and won the Swedish GP on the Husqvarna and also did some car racing.  He cites this was the year of his highest earnings.
In 1936 he married Mildred Ross, a marriage that lasted 52 years until she died, although she was 11 years his junior.  He started riding for Velocette and won the 500 Spanish GP.  At the IOM TT, Stanley rode a DKW in the Lightweight, running out of fuel on the last lap, and Velocettes in the Junior and Senior.  He DNFed in the former and was 2nd in the Senior, setting the fastest lap, the 4th successive Senior fastest lap on four different marques (Norton, Husky, Guzzi, and Velo).  At the end of the year, He and Mildred sailed to Australia where he raced Velocettes at Adelaide and Phillip Island.  In 1937, he continued to race Guzzis and Velos and rode a Royal Enfield in trials.  In '38, he ran out of fuel while in the lead of the North West 200.  He won the Junior TT and was 2nd in the Senior on Velocettes.  He then crashed at Spa in the Belgium GP and lost a finger on his left hand and this ended his racing for the year.
In 1939, he won the 350 class in the Leinster 200, won the Junior TT for his tenth TT win and was the first 350 at the Ulster GP.  In October, he joined the Irish Defense Forces, Supply and Transport Corps,  motorcycle section, never to roadrace again.  He resigned his commission in the fall of 1945 and became partners in an auto agency.  He continued to be involved in motorcycle racing, managing the Moto Guzzi team at the Isle of Man.  He was tempted to take over the ride of the injured Freddie Firth at the '47 TT, but ultimately decided not to.  In 1956 he tested the Moto Guzzi V-8 and in '57 did several laps in practice at the TT on a 350 Moto Guzzi for an article he wrote for 'The Motor Cycle'.  In '74, he and Mildred moved to Northern Ireland where he sold Guzzi spares.  In '80,'81, and '82 he rode laps of honor at the TT.  Mildred became ill and he looked after her for the last five years of her life.  He had a couple of hip replacements, but stayed quite active until he died in 1993.
This is a special book because of the obvious very close relationship between the author and Stanley and hence the first person accounts of a  truly remarkable individual.  The book is available from www.classicbikebooks.com and I highly recommend it.

My latest read was Ken Sprayson's autobiography "The Frame Man"(Panther Publishing Ltd.), which just came out this year.  Ken was famous to me for building many roadracing frames for some of the greats and for providing a welding repair service at the TT races on the I.O.M.  I had the pleasure of meeting him there when he had a shop set up in a maintenance shed in Nobles Park, just outside the paddock.  But, I had no idea of his wide ranging interest and accomplishments until I read this book.
Ken followed his father and grandfather in the metal trades and includes in the book a copy of his grandfather's membership card in the Amalgamated Society of Engineers from 1878.  Ken grew up in Birmingham and relates his school days where he resisted the academic path.  Born in 1927, he was 13 when Birmingham was being bombed nightly.  He was in the Boys Brigade and, after the nearly nightly air raids, he would bicycle 12 miles to Hospital to get the casualty lists at 7am and bring them to a central office in the City Center, where others would distribute the lists to various police stations so people could check on the fate of their loved ones, negotiating the craters and bombed out buildings in the dark.

Despite  qualifying for exams, Sprayson left school at 14 and started working for a sheetmetal company making components for aircraft.  He relates a story of one of the old-timers observing him work and asking him "who taught you how to file like that?"  He hadn't been 'taught'  by anyone; it just came naturally to him.  It was a different time and he writes of spending a day cutting a 10" X 1" piece of steel with a hacksaw.  "And so I learn that wonderful things could be done with the simplest of tool, something that stood me in good stead in future years."
Ken was called up for National Service just as the war ended and never left Britain.  When he got out of the Army, he got a job with Reynolds Tube, maker of the famous '531' tubing. He worked in the Welded Assembly Dept., which took on one off projects as well as production work. One of Ken's jobs was to make the first example of a production run and this included the Norton 'featherbed' frame which Reynolds had a contract to produce for Norton.  There he got involved in a number of M/C projects, from the mundane fabricating and testing a moped frame, to making one off road racing frames for the likes of Geoff Duke, John Surtees, Arthur Wheeler, and Mike Hailwood.  Initially, he bought a bike, an ex-WD 350 Ariel,  merely for transport.  He eventually took a couple of holidays on the Continent, two up with his wife and luggage.  I find it amusing that now-a-days few would consider doing any touring on a bike smaller than 1000cc by themselves, armed with credit cards, cell phones, and GPS.  Sprayson rode this mid 40's, girder fork, ridge frame 350 1800 miles to Switzerland and back.  By  1956, he had up graded to a 350 Ariel with telescopic fork and swingarm and this took Ken and his wife 3000 miles to Italy and back over two weeks.
Reynolds established a free repair service at the I.O.M. TT races in the mid-1950s which was initially run by one of Sprayson colleges but, when he died in '58, Ken replaced him.  Reynolds eventually abandoned this, but first Shell, then Air Products, and finally the ACU sponsored Sprayson to continue this service.  He did this up through 2008, 51 years of continuous service.
Ken got friendly with Jeff Smith, 500 World Motocross Champion in 1964 and 1965.  In 1966, Smith invited Sprayson to accompany him and his mechanic to the East German, Czech, and Russian rounds of the Motocross world championship.  Ken gives a fascinating account of life behind the Iron Curtain near the height of the Cold War.  This is the dirt version of the Continental Circus, with competitors driving themselves through Europe towing their bikes in a trailer behind their sedans, in Smith's case a Wolseley 110.  This is also a period of transition as Smith's domination on the four stroke BSA is eclipsed by East German Paul Fredricks  on the two stroke CZ.  On  this trip, Sprayson got drafted into being an FIM Juryman.
Sprayson got involved in a British effort to break the land speed record, building a frame for the 'Thrust II'.  Work started on this in 1978, but it didn't run until July, 1980 on a runway in England, and it wasn't until 4 Oct, 1983 that Richard Noble set the land speed record of 633.468mph at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, a record that stood for almost 14 years.
Sprayson's  wide ranging interests are reflected in his getting involve in organizing primitive retreats in Wales for senior Reynolds management  in an effort to build team cohesion.
In the early '70's, Sprayson acquired a 1923 Ariel powered by a 1000cc Motosacoche when a neighbor died.  It was in quite a derelict and much modified state and, after restoring it, he started participating in vintage events, like the Banbury run.  After he was made redundant at Reyonlds Tube, he did a number of consultancies with a Korean bicycle manufacturer, Goodman Engineering making the H-D powered Featherbed, a revived BSA making a moped, but increasingly working with vintage and classic bikes, some of which he helped make originally.
For someone who eschewed the academic path. Spryson is an amazingly good writer.  And, the photographs are superb.  This book was a real unexpected pleasure and I highly recommend it.
The book is available in the U.S. from www.MotorsportX.com; outside the U.S.. check directly with www.Panther-publishing.co.uk

I read a very interesting book recently: "Taking it to the Limit--20 years of making motorcycle movies" by Peter Starr.  I have a memory of seeing the film "Taking it to the Limit" in the Isle of Man in the early '80's.  The film was similar to "On and Sunday" in that it was a documentary potpourri of motorcycle sport: roadracing, flattrack, MX, drag racing, trials, speedway and even play riding.  I didn't remember the film well,  but the one surviving memory was Mike Hailwood going around the IOM TT Mountain course with a camera mounted bike in the mist (as the Brits call fog).  After reading the book, it turns out, once again, that my memories are suspect.  The film was first released at Daytona in 1980 and only ran a few weeks before the distribution company went bust.  The film was then tied up in litigation for the next four years and was never re-released in the original form.  Once Starr regain control of the rights to the film, he made a deal with Kawasaki, who wanted to use the slogan 'Taking it to the Limit".  The film was remade with about 2/3 of the original footage and 1/3 new material featuring Kawasakis.  So, maybe I didn't see it at the IOM, but rather Daytona, or maybe I saw the remade film much later.  But, I did see the bit with Mike Hailwood on the TT course in the mist.  What I didn't know until I read the book, was that this was filmed before Hailwood made his comeback in '78 on the Ducati.  It was done in practice for the '77 Manx GP and done on an OW31 750 Yamaha, a bike Mike had never ridden before.  Not only was it done with a big film camera in the front of the fairling, he did it with a microphone in his helmet and carrying a tape recorder on the bike.
These days, we take the onboard video for granted but, in those days, filming onboard was a huge deal.  Not only were the cameras very heavy, bulky and expensive, the film canister only lasted for a few minutes.
"Taking it to the Limit" is only a small part of  the motorcycle films Peter Starr has made for theater and TV.  For example, it was Starr who got the footage of Kenny Roberts winning the '75 Indy Mile out of the last corner on the TZ 750 dirt tracker.  And, Mike Hailwood is only one of an incredible list of motorcycle greats he has worked with.  In fact, the book ends with 15 pages of short profiles of the great competitors he has filmed, starting with Agostini and ending with Jeff Ward, with Steve Baker, Russ Collins, Roger DeCoster, Ricky Graham, Eddie Lawson, Ivan Mauger, Gary Nixon, Scotty Parker, Kenny Roberts some of the names in between.  Among the "S's" alone are Gary Scott, Sheene, Shobert, Malcolm Smith, Marty Smith, Spencer, and Springsteen. 
The book is a fascinating insight to the technical problems of filming motorcycle competition but also a great review of the competition of the '70's and '80s.
The book has a wealth of wonderful period photos and comes with a DVD with excerpts from some of Starr's films.
I highly recommend it.  Available from www.classicbikebooks.com.

I recently finished reading 'Road Racing History of the Triumph 500 Unit Twin' by Claudio Sintich. I was initially a little skeptical when given this book as I'm not a 'Triumph Guy', but I was drawn in. I never met a motorcycle I didn't like (or a Road Race motorcycle, anyway) and who isn't a fan of Gary Nixon or Percy Tait, for that matter. It's a quirky book and not without it's flaws. But, if you are a 'Triumph Guy', it's probably essential and, if your not, there's plenty of fascinating info and photos to keep your interest. Part of the quirkiness is no doubt due to the fact the author is Italian. Sintich grew up in Kenya, then went to school in England where he developed his love of the marque and the 500 twin in particular. The book is a little amateurish as the author is clearly not a professional writer. But, he's obviously extremely passionate and well versed on the subject. The book goes in a nominally chronological manor, but does jump around a bit, which makes it a little hard to follow. It covers the race history and development in both Britain and the U.S. There are plenty of reprints of factory tech bulletins, MCN articles and Tricor ads for race parts and touting race success, but sometimes they aren't cropped properly and an edge is cut off. There are many great photos from both the U.S. and Europe. There's plenty of coverage of Triumph's big successes: the '67 & '68 wins of the Daytona 200 and Percy Tait's amazing performance at the '69 Belgian GP at Spa, where he finish 2nd to Ago's MV. But, when someone I showed the book to, mentioned Triumph winning the 500 Production TT at the I.O.M, I thought he was mistaken. I had read about their mostly poor record at the I.O.M and went to the www.iomtt.com data base and, sure enough, Ray Knight won the '68 500 Production TT on a Triumph. I went back through the book to see if I had missed this (which is difficult as there is no index), but didn't find it. Curious.

Despite it's title, there is some coverage of off road racing both Grand National flat track and TT and Bill Baird amazing Enduro career. And, despite it's title, there's a little coverage of the 650 twins and 750 triples.

Sintich has many interviews with the original players, including Nixon. And he profiles many private and semi-private specials.

If you're interested in or racing a 500 Triumph, the book is essential. If you're just a road race junkie it's definitely worth having. From Panther Publishing and available through www.classicbikebooks.com

I got a great book as a Xmas present last month: The Art of the Racing Motorcycle, 100 Years of Designing for Speed by Phillip Tooth with photography by Jean-Pierre Praderes, by Universe Publishing. After a good introduction, the book profiles 51 different race bikes. It's a large format book (12"ish X 9"ish), and devotes two to six pages to each bike in chronological order starting with a 1902 Manon and ending with Rossi's 2010 Yamaha M-1., though the bulk of the bikes are from the twenties through the eighties (46 bikes are represented in 70 years). Perhaps because the photographer is French (I assume), there are a good number of French bikes included. But, the author trumps the photographer as there are twice as many British bikes. Or, maybe their nationalities have nothing to do with it, as there are even more Italian bikes profiled. The bikes range from rare works exotica like the '39 AJS supercharged V4, to production racers like the '69 TD-2 Yamaha, to the converted street bikes like the Egli-Vincent, but with the emphasis on the rare works exotica. The photography is superb, both studio and archival. Many of the bikes are unrestored and look just like the came off the track. Standouts for me include the '23 Peugeot DOHC twin, the '31 MGC, the '53 Nougier 500/4, the '60 Moto Morini DOHC 250 single, the '68 Yamaha RA31A 125 V4, and the '76 Morbidelli-MBA 125 twin but, there's not a dud included. And, regular readers will understand why I think the photo of Charles Franklin, in an alley with his JAP powered Chater-Lea special in 1905, is worth the price of admission in itself. While I ran across a couple of errors or typos, they were minor and I whole heartedly recommend this book.

I recently read a great motorcycle book: Motorcycle Drag Racing: A History, by John S. Stein. This is a large format book of high quality with superb photos. It's comprehensive, covering the evolution of the sport from the '50 to today, and from all angles. The major focus is on the personalities, both riders and tuners. Stein is close to many of them and interviewed many more. The sport is nearly unique in that riders of all ethnic backrounds and genders have been successful at the highest level. The evolution of the machines is fascinating. American, British and Japanese; two stroke and four stroke. Single engine to double engine to triple engine back to single engine.

Highly recommended and, at $4o including shipping, it is a bargain. Go to www.gearheadpublishing.com to see excerpts, photos, reviews, and to order.

NYCvinMoto arranged a screening of 'TT3D Closer to the Edge' at Bar Matchless tonight, albeit in 2D. The film covers the 2010 IOM TT races, mainly featuring Guy Martin, but with plenty of face time with John McGuinness, Ian Hutchinson, and Conner Cummins, among others. The racing footage is superb. The film certainly doesn't shy away from the dangers and follows up on Martin's and Cummins' horrendous crashes in the Senior and Ian Hutchinson's crash later in the season in a short circuit race in England. Paul Dobbs' widow is perhaps the most remarkable person in the film and her love of the racing and the place after her husband's death there is amazing. I got to meet Kiwi Paul at the MGP in 2004 as he raced the Classics too, on a Matchless G-50. I highly recommend the film as it captures the beauty of the place and the allure of the races.

And, I got yet another dose of the IOM TT when I went to Dean Adams site Superbike Planet. He's posted some film of the '68 Junior TT and you can see perhaps the same bike I rode there in the video previously posted here. You can clearly see Renzo Pasolini on the 350 Benelli four, as well as Ago on the MV and Phil Read on the Yamaha and many others.

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2011/Dec/1112071968iom.htm

I recently finished reading a fabulous book: 'Franklin's Indians', Irish motorcycle racer Charles B. Franklin, designer of the Indian Scout & Chief by Harry B. Sucher, Tim Pickering, Liam Diamond, Harry Havlin.

Franklin was one of Ireland's earliest and most successful motorcycle racers. Born in Dublin, he started racing an FN in 1903, switching to JAP in 1905 and to Triumph in 1909. In 1910 he started racing Indians and henceforth was exclusively associated with that brand. He quit his job as an electrical engineer with the City of Dublin and opened an Indian agency. He raced at the IOM from 1908 through 1914, finishing 2nd in the 1911 Senior, when Indians finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd. He raced and set records at Brookland from 1910 through 1914.

Greatly respected for his technical expertise and machine preparation, he was offer a design job at the Indian factory in Springfield, Ma. and immigrated there in 1916, a good time to leave Dublin as he may have sensed he was on the wrong side of the civil unrest that was increasing then. In Springfield he was heavily involved with the design and development of special works racers as well as production machines, though he never raced himself in the States. He died early at 52 in 1932 having largely set the course for Indian.

The book is extremely comprehensive and well researched. It touches on the social history of Ireland, the early days of racing in Britain, Europe and the U.S., the technical development of the motorcycle, and the business reality of the motorcycle industry. While Indian is now probably known for it's flat heads, Franklin also designed OHV and OHC engines, both singles and V-twins. While a biography of a remarkable man, the book gives an overview of the development of motorcycles and racing from the earliest days to a mature industry.

Highly recommended, The Franklin's Indians book is available from Chris @ Motorsport Publications for $59.99 (includes postage) - its on the web page at www.ClassicBikeBooks.com, reachable via phone (715 572 4595) and by email (chris@classicbikebooks.com). Readers on the English side of the Atlantic will want to buy it directly from the publisher at www.Panther-Publishing.com, where it sells for £29.95 (postage included for UK; £4.50 p&p for Europe, £12 for the Rest of the World.)