In September 1979 I bought a '73 Triumph TR7RV from my boss. Seems he'd taken it in on trade while I was out sick. Anyway, I rode it on the road a bit, then come November we'd get it ready for the 4-Hour race at Sears Point. The bike was stipped and overhauled, the engine would get HC pistons and TT-pipes, plus new Dunlop K81s. Bret Morshead and I would go it alone theis time, while Chris Quinn would field a 750 Ducati. Our day wasn't a good one from the beginning. In practice we found an oil leak. Seems the case was damaged from a thrown chain. After 20 mintes we had that cured and were ready to play., but we'd now have to start at the back of the field for being late on the grid. Bret would start the race and I must admit he was going like mad as he plowed he way through the field.
Somewhere near the half-way point Bret didn't come around, so I headed to AFM control to ask about him. He was stopped at the bottom of turn-6. Later I'd find out... "I was on the outside of three guys when the motor locked up, I couldn't get the clutch in fast enough. I looked like I was at the San Jose mile! I slid across the road on my back then stood up without a scratch!" So we packed up and headed home with a bent Triumph. Its next outing would be the 6-Hour.
For 1980 I'd try something new... I'd compete in AFM 250 Modified Production aboard Chris Quinn's 250 Ducati. My best 250 finish of the season against the Yamaha's and CanAms was a 4th.
The Triumph would be repaired and readied for 6-hour in April. When we stripped the engine we found a piston had tied up. With that we replaced the pistons, honed the cylinders to .006" clearance (had .0055" as per Hepolite) and reassembled it. The points ignition was checked and adjusted as needed. New clip-on type bars and a 1/4-fairing were then fitted for the endurance race. Below: The Triumph Twin at Ontario awaits the start of the 6-Hour race. Unlike the year before when Eric Tucker crewed for us, Rob Whitaker would take over for 1980. Chris Quinn and I would team up for this event, but piston problems kept us tied up all weekend. We'd practice and it would tie up, so Rob and I would pull the top-end and hone the cylinders to increase the clearance, then fit new pistons. We qualified the bike and again it tied up.... after another top-end job we practcied again and again it tied up! SO once again we pulled it down and opened up the clearance to .0065" then dimpled the pistons to haul oil up the liners... and checked, double checked the timing and increased the main jet. The next morning we started the 6-hour... only to retire at the first fuel stop.
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