This morning I was extremely privileged. Acting on information received, I was able to contact the legendary motorcycle frame builder, Rob North. I discovered that his workshop in in San Diego, only about 20 minutes from My daughter’s house so it was a no-brainer to try and organise an interview. Fortunately it was just a matter of a couple of phone calls and it was all set.
Rob, an expatriate Englishman, has been living here in the US for about 40 years. He first came here to oversee the Triumph team at Daytona in the early 70’s. With a team that boasted Don Emde, Mike Hailwood and Dick “Bugsy” Mann, the riding roster was as good as it was possible to have.
Liking the climate and the opportunities, Rob stayed and carved out a career working on and building motorcycles here in California. As is the case with all great engineers, Rob parlayed his skills into many other areas of motorsports, 2, 3 and 4 wheeled.
I was able to record a 30 minute interview where you can hear Rob discussing this and many other facets of his colourful career here…
Rob’s workshop is filled with interesting and fascinating projects and memorabilia. I have compiled an album of photos (with captions) taken around the workshop and you can access it on my Facebook site. You do not need to be a Facebook account holder to view the album
It was truly a privilege to meet Rob and to have access to his shop and his extensive memory of the glory days of motorcycle racing in the USA. I am very grateful.
(Actually, the title is misleading as I had to travel SOUTH to go to Rob’s workshop, but why let the truth get in the way of a good headline?)
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