Answer to the last quiz – Jordan Szoke – a long time top trials rider as well as a Road race Champion. – Taff was first in followed by Jay Colley. – Stan, Pete Varey, and Brian Wood also recognized him- Jordan has been on the Canadian TDN Team .
Quiz today – Guess who, the year, and place?
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Although a lot of people think the big switch to the light Trials bikes came with Sammy Miller and Bultaco in 1965 – The British lightweights mostly fitted with Villiers engines, were in use way back in the 1950’s – In fact Miller himself rode a homebuilt 197cc bike for his first ride in Scotland – even riding the bike from Ireland to the Highlands and back after completing the 6 day 100 miles per day event. –
The most popular at that time, were James and Francis Barnett – although a whole gaggle of other small manufactures soon jumped on the band wagon .
Below is a pic of Sammy on that first Scottish ride – from the book by Tommy Sandham.
Now most people know that Sammy later went to England, to work for the Ariel factory and as they only had the big Fourstroke at the time – he went to work lightening the big bike, on which he won about 1,000 Trials events. – Later, with the British Motorcycle Industry on a downturn, Sammy visited Spain and Senor Bulto, and as they say the rest is history. Everybody wanted the new lightweight Bultaco.
However, before that big change – the British Trials scene saw a large percentage of riders (myself included) on the cheap and light 197cc Villiers, powered bikes, but you have to remember, this was not long after the Second World War, money was tight and for young lads like myself a good wage was 30 shillings a week.
Below is James Factory rider Bryan Povey on Devil’s Staircase in 1955 pic courtesy Archie Bell – (Povey was one of my hero’s back then)
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Below is a pic of myself taken in my first Trial, on a James 197 – many have seen this Engraved photo on the Outlaw Trophy – Quite a few of the factory riders would come to the local events, and back then everybody rode the same line – in other words you jumped in the “deep end”
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Although the Brits tried to respond to this turn in the market, by producing a Triumph Terrier then a 200cc Cub, both four strokes, the writing was really on the wall, and even though our first ever Trials bike we rode in Canada in 1969 was a Greeves 175 Pathfinder – the days of the British Motorcycle Industry were pretty much over. – Pic below is me riding the borrowed Greeves in a Calgary Trial, back in 1970.
Moving on, other Spanish company’s also began making lightweight models – Montesa, and Ossa joined the big surge to the smaller, easier to handle bikes, – All these factories hired good British riders, Bultaco signed up Martin Lampkin and Malcolm Rathmell, while Ossa took on Mick Andrews, with Don Smith hired by Montesa plus Gordon Farley
This was the “Hey day” of Trials, with thousands being produced and sold to eager customers, and soon the Japanese jumped in with first Yamaha, then Suzuki and Kawasaki – (Honda were already in having bought Montesa)
Under the guidance of Mick Andrews, Yamaha saw Trials as a family sport, and produced a 250, a 175 and an 80 – -Once again we promoted the small 175 TY – which proved to be very popular, in fact this was the bike we used to set up the 1975 FIM World Trial in Alberta. ( Although we have no pics of that) the pic below shows our buddy Mike on the TY 175 we sold him for Vintage Trials.
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Tomorrow we will continue our story on the lightweight Trials bikes.
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