"There in front of me was what I had sat in a metal cylinder called an aeroplane for 24 hours to see, the bike I had dreamed about all those years ago, the bike with so much history attached to it. I felt intimidated by its presence, I almost started to shake with excitement, I could feel a lump in my the very back of my throat, my voice quivered as I said to my wife, “That’s what I have come 12000 miles to see.” “What?! That’s all we came to see? Couldn’t you see something like that in Australia?” was her retort, I strongly disagreed. Now I am known to be a hard, and miserable old man, but this bike meant so much to me. I walked up closer to it, strange how some things didn’t seem to mater right then, the kids, the grand kids all blended in to the back ground, here it is, GOV132."
In late 2008 Steve Kennett travelled from Victoria to the UK to attend a surprise 50th birthday. The travelling itinerary saw Steve and his wife travelling within 100 miles of The Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum. Too close to miss out on a chance to see arguably the most successful trials motorcycle of all time !!!!!
Steve is a self-confessed product of early 1950 English stock, where trials riding meant riding through rain, mud and anything else Mother Nature could produce, on a machine that doubled as transport during the week.
Says Steve:
"Whilst I admire the fantastic skills of the latest rock-hoppers, somehow, what was, has in my opinion, been lost forever."
"Australian horse racing has its Melbourne cup, motor racing has Bathurst, Cricket has the Boxing Day Test, UK trials has the Scottish Six Day Trial, the pinnacle of skill, endurance, nerve, tenacity, machine preparation, and a fair lump of Scottish good luck thrown in, if only such an event could be staged in or around Melbourne’s Dandenong Mountains during a Victorian winter. Long live Mud Pluggers!!"
Click the attachment to read Steve's journey to his Trials Heaven.