David Lahey wrote:Greg Harding wrote:David, how did you like watching Naturally Free after all those years? We get it out on when there is nothing interesting on TV, always good for a laugh!
Man that was fantastic. I just watched Naturally Free up to when Jenny Johnson appears then kid stuff intervened. My memory had let me down badly. Until now I had thought that the dude who featured on the on the 325 Sherpa T was Steve Johnson. Oh well.
Magic to watch those old bikes and not just all the old trials bikes, the old MX bikes also brought back very fond memories. What about those guys racing dirt track for 6 hours on that track at Nepean raceway that chopped up like an MX track. It looked like the winner was on an XL350!!!!!
Based on the latest models of the bikes seen I'm thinking the Aussie bits were filmed in late 1973 and early 1974. I'm still trying to work out what bike Dave Pinkerton was riding when he was doing the demo riding at that showground with fireworks and floodlighting. It did look like a Bultaco trials bike but with extreme bling (for the era). Maybe that was filmed just before he started on Yamaha.
I saw Peter Paice looking very young before the start of the trial they filmed Dave Pinkerton at. Peter was in his orange Yamaha riding suit so that is another clue for it being late 1973 early 1974. Whay surprised me though was that Dave's enclosed trailer had his Yamaha sponsor as Annand & Thompson. I though they were the Queensland Distributor and McCulloch was the NSW Distributor?? I'm sure someone will straighten me out on this.
Anyway Greg and Donna, thanks again for the DVD and I hope to see the rest of it tomorrow night.
I was just thinking about my old Sherpa...
About 38 years ago (1977?) I bought a Bultaco Sherpa T 250 from someone in Brisbane. From memory it cost me $300 at the time. What made it distinctive was that the one piece fibreglass seat/tank unit had been removed and replaced with an exact replica made from polished aluminium. The seller told me that he had bought it from Dave Pinkerton after he was sponsored by Yamaha and this was confirmed by a few other people. The seat/tank was a beautiful piece of work with very neat welding but the rest of the bike had obviously seen some hard riding.
I used it for a fun bike and never competed on it...used to amuse the local kids when I rode it to the shops on one wheel. I rode it up 3 flights of stairs (and back down) which didn't exactly endear me to the neighbours!
It was a pretty reliable bike although it oiled plugs a fair bit, no doubt due to my amateur tuning and riding style. Whenever I took it for a ride, I used to carry a pocketful of clean plugs and a plug spanner.
I left it under my Mum's house when I moved to Sydney, intending to return and retrieve it. Unfortunately, without telling me, my Mum decided to get rid of it and she left it out on the footpath from where it disappeared.
I must have owned 20 bikes or so during my life, but that lovely Bully was the one I wished I kept, both for its appearance and because I had so much fun with it.
, that's how I like to see them! Old Crusty and oozing patina, now that tells a story!
, but less of a Monstr