Trials Australia Forums

Australian trials lost one of its living legends, Jeff Gough, on December 4 and although we only had him back competing with us for a short time it was a pleasure to see him doing what he used to do so successfully and clearly enjoying himself in the process. We at SQTA feel extremely proud to have been the conduit that hailed his return to competitve trials and now feel robbed that we won't be witness to what he had only recently started to talk about as his return to full blown affiliated veterens competiton. We have no doubt that he would have thrown the cat in amongst the proverbial veteran pidgeons and given all of them a real run for their money, but alas it was not to be.
Jeff was renowned for being a bit of a prickly character but there was no disputing his latent talent and I for one feel richer for knowing and riding with him both back in the 70's and more recently this past year. May he now find the perfect section to rest on in peace.
Ian Rogers

Sorry to hear that,
Besh wishes to the gough family

Thats a bastard...Was only talking to him at nationals up there in august. Too many Good trials people passing away recently.
Our condolances to the Gough family.
Don, Deb, Jackson & Harris Murray

Like Lindsay Haig but a few years older, I was also in thrall watching Jeff on his trials bikes as a teenage school kid. Jeff attended our local high school and practiced trials in the same areas as the local dirt bike kids (like me) rode and was a primary reason why I bought trials bikes instead of MX bikes.
Ian Rogers wrote of Jeff riding a TY175 and I had actually forgotten his TY175 because it was in a long line of trials bikes he was sponsored on back then. I hope I get the order right: TY250A, TY250B, KT250 then TY175JC
Indelible memory time
Jeff was riding the KT250 at a wet muddy trial at the "Baptist Camp" NDMC property on Lacey's Creek, Dayboro. Jeff crashed, bending one shockie severely. He tried straightening it but it still wouldn't move up and down. He rode the rest of the trial with just the one standard KT shockie (and rode as hard as ever) and that bike and Jeff went through the sections as smoothly as ever as if there was nothing wrong despite the swingarm noticably twisting and the shockie being down on the bump stops most of the time. Fantastic.
Another was having a race along the road between Petrie and Dayboro. My mate Colin (another Balmoral local) had the use of his Dad's work ute, a Holden one-tonner 202 manual. We had camping gear and two trials bikes in the tray vs Jeff in his hotted Gemini coupe towing his bike on a trailer. Colin gunned the holden when he saw Jeff in the rear vision mirror and we noisily roared our way up to about 90MPH. Colin looked in the mirror and yelled to me "ha - that's got him - we've left him behind -I cant even see him in the mirror", just as Jeff and the Gemini howled past us going about 10MPH faster!
Thanks for the memories Jeff

Here is a photo with Jeff Gough (red t-shirt) talking with David Goldsmith in the queue for machinery examination at the Western Districts Trials Club Twinshock Masters at Conondale November 2010

Here are a few historic photos of Jeff back in his heyday that Justin has scanned form his grandfathers photo album that may interest a few of you who can still remember that far back.