page 7 The best Steve Saunders Interview ever 2013
Did you practise with Vesty?
I’m not sure which year he came over, but he was Bultaco, but that doesn’t narrow it down much as he was only Montesa for 1 year. I was on a 100 cc Bultaco at the time so that would have been ….
Was this before you had any sponsorship deals in place?
Yes, yes.
Forgive me for asking, but how come you had Vesty and other stars turning up on your doorstep to practice when you were just a kid on a 100cc?
Steve laughs…… he didn’t turn up to see us, because of the link between what my dad was doing. My dad actually got Mark Kemp riding a motorbike completely because Mark had never ridden a motor bike before so my dad got him involved in that and Mark was a very hard trials rider and he ended up getting a contract with Kawasaki to go and do some World rounds and stuff. He also went off in Spain doing a few bits and pieces and I imagine he met Manuel Soler and Vesty at a World round. Marks a very chatty guy and I’m sure he said come along and have some practise, so that’s literally what they did.
I’m not sure which year he came over, but he was Bultaco, but that doesn’t narrow it down much as he was only Montesa for 1 year. I was on a 100 cc Bultaco at the time so that would have been ….
Was this before you had any sponsorship deals in place?
Yes, yes.
Forgive me for asking, but how come you had Vesty and other stars turning up on your doorstep to practice when you were just a kid on a 100cc?
Steve laughs…… he didn’t turn up to see us, because of the link between what my dad was doing. My dad actually got Mark Kemp riding a motorbike completely because Mark had never ridden a motor bike before so my dad got him involved in that and Mark was a very hard trials rider and he ended up getting a contract with Kawasaki to go and do some World rounds and stuff. He also went off in Spain doing a few bits and pieces and I imagine he met Manuel Soler and Vesty at a World round. Marks a very chatty guy and I’m sure he said come along and have some practise, so that’s literally what they did.
So your dad introduced Mark to bikes and he went on from there. So without your dad, it’s unlikely that Mark would have had any involvement in bikes what so ever?
No, I don’t think Mark would have had an involvement in bikes without dad and I guess neither would I.
Why did he choose the smaller bike with a small engine?
I used to like the 250 Bultaco the best yes. I just liked the way the engines ran and I preferred the 325 over the 340. They were more of a lively engine, a free running engine. The 340 was more of a plodder.
Tell me about Reg May?
Reg, what can you say about Reg. He just knew a Bultaco inside and out. A total blooming star.It was great. The first bike that Reg did, a 250 for me and when that came down it was just something else, absolutely fantastic, really good.
Would Reg just work on the engines or the rest of the bike?
He would, yes, anything and everything. Stupid things like making throttle springs shorter and lighter and just silly little things like that. Again it’s just commoner garden stuff now but back then it wasn’t, Reg was breaking some ground. He was a very, very clever guy.
Would you get Comerford to see Reg?
Yes. Reg rarely travelled I think. He certainly never came to see us. He was very much a Martin Lampkin fan, Reg was. He loved the Lampkins.
Did the Lampkins have to come and see Reg as he didn’t travel?
Well possibly. I think Reg did go to some of the British Championship to see Martin but he was a Surrey boy through and through.
What do you remember of Colin Boniface?
Colin in those days was young and aspring and obviously under Reg’s wing trying to teach him the mechanical side of things. Colin was learning. Colin was a different era to Reg and seeing the world very differently to Reg and the other Comerford guys I guess. He was a party boy.
Did you try Vesty’s bike?
I did try it once or twice and it seemed like there were quite a few trick bits on the bike. The michelin tyres were the things that really stood out whilst I was running standard tyres, Pirelli mt43’s and then we upgraded to the mt43cr’s. The top World Championship guys started off on the michelin, the factory tyres.
Back then did you ever consider riding a Fantic or other bike?
We went to Fantic and I did a year on the 125 and that would have been in about 76 or 77 where previous to that I had been on a TY 175.
Did you ever visit the Bultaco factory?
No, sadly not.
Did you ever ride out of the country at this time?
No,no, I didn’t. I was very much a National rider. It wasn’t until 1983 that I started travelling abroad.
No, I don’t think Mark would have had an involvement in bikes without dad and I guess neither would I.
Why did he choose the smaller bike with a small engine?
I used to like the 250 Bultaco the best yes. I just liked the way the engines ran and I preferred the 325 over the 340. They were more of a lively engine, a free running engine. The 340 was more of a plodder.
Tell me about Reg May?
Reg, what can you say about Reg. He just knew a Bultaco inside and out. A total blooming star.It was great. The first bike that Reg did, a 250 for me and when that came down it was just something else, absolutely fantastic, really good.
Would Reg just work on the engines or the rest of the bike?
He would, yes, anything and everything. Stupid things like making throttle springs shorter and lighter and just silly little things like that. Again it’s just commoner garden stuff now but back then it wasn’t, Reg was breaking some ground. He was a very, very clever guy.
Would you get Comerford to see Reg?
Yes. Reg rarely travelled I think. He certainly never came to see us. He was very much a Martin Lampkin fan, Reg was. He loved the Lampkins.
Did the Lampkins have to come and see Reg as he didn’t travel?
Well possibly. I think Reg did go to some of the British Championship to see Martin but he was a Surrey boy through and through.
What do you remember of Colin Boniface?
Colin in those days was young and aspring and obviously under Reg’s wing trying to teach him the mechanical side of things. Colin was learning. Colin was a different era to Reg and seeing the world very differently to Reg and the other Comerford guys I guess. He was a party boy.
Did you try Vesty’s bike?
I did try it once or twice and it seemed like there were quite a few trick bits on the bike. The michelin tyres were the things that really stood out whilst I was running standard tyres, Pirelli mt43’s and then we upgraded to the mt43cr’s. The top World Championship guys started off on the michelin, the factory tyres.
Back then did you ever consider riding a Fantic or other bike?
We went to Fantic and I did a year on the 125 and that would have been in about 76 or 77 where previous to that I had been on a TY 175.
Did you ever visit the Bultaco factory?
No, sadly not.
Did you ever ride out of the country at this time?
No,no, I didn’t. I was very much a National rider. It wasn’t until 1983 that I started travelling abroad.
How many Bultaco’s did you have each year?
2 each year.
Did you have a full Uk deal?
I guess so, but I don’t know. I didn’t deal with it. My dad did all of the leg work there and it was his money that he was trying to save so I guess it was a free bike and some spares maybe and certainly the clothing. They imported alpine stars and AGV and other bits and pieces.
Was there any memorable ride that you had when you rode the Bultaco?
The Colmore Cup which I should have won in 82 but I didn’t. I fived probably the easiest section of the trial so that was pretty stupid. That was a good ride but at the end of 1982 I won the British Experts on the Bultaco. I remember that. That created the opportunity to ride for CCM Armstrong. I was 17 then.
2 each year.
Did you have a full Uk deal?
I guess so, but I don’t know. I didn’t deal with it. My dad did all of the leg work there and it was his money that he was trying to save so I guess it was a free bike and some spares maybe and certainly the clothing. They imported alpine stars and AGV and other bits and pieces.
Was there any memorable ride that you had when you rode the Bultaco?
The Colmore Cup which I should have won in 82 but I didn’t. I fived probably the easiest section of the trial so that was pretty stupid. That was a good ride but at the end of 1982 I won the British Experts on the Bultaco. I remember that. That created the opportunity to ride for CCM Armstrong. I was 17 then.
Were you doing any other jobs at the time to subsidise trials at the time? Yes, I was working at BVM, general dogsbody anything that needed doing. I wasn’t doing much mechanics, it was literally general dogs body. Really and truly its where you should be at 17. You should be at the bottom working your way up. |
How did you get the Armstrong deal?
There was a guy called Mike Eatough who was one of the main designers at CCM Armstrong and he came down to the British Experts and I think primarily to see what was going on within the trial world and also to look at what I was doing I think. Luckily, on the day I performed well and the following week we went to Bolton to the factory.
There was a guy called Mike Eatough who was one of the main designers at CCM Armstrong and he came down to the British Experts and I think primarily to see what was going on within the trial world and also to look at what I was doing I think. Luckily, on the day I performed well and the following week we went to Bolton to the factory.
Did he talk to you after the trial in the pits so to speak?
He did talk to me a little but, primarily my dad was in the managerial side of things, just being dad so the following week we were up in Bolton trying bikes. It was Jubilee works. I think Jubilee works is still there and awnings works out of there. Gary from Gh awnings is married to Alan Clews’s daughter so it’s still sort of in the family.
He did talk to me a little but, primarily my dad was in the managerial side of things, just being dad so the following week we were up in Bolton trying bikes. It was Jubilee works. I think Jubilee works is still there and awnings works out of there. Gary from Gh awnings is married to Alan Clews’s daughter so it’s still sort of in the family.
Was the Armstrong bike a big improvement over the Bultaco?
It was a huge improvement primary because of the weight. The weight of the bike was phenomenally less and they came up with a few geometry changes as well and then we worked together to make the bike better and better and better. Mike Etoph was a very clever engineer and he’s breaking new ground for the time. Within 2 or 3 months we got the bike really really good. At the start of the following years British Championship the bike was as good as anything else if not the best bike out there.
Why did you leave Bultaco?
It was nice to have a factory deal and the bike was going forward. The Bultaco deal was a deal with Comerfords yes, who were brilliant, but it was a factory deal. The Armstrong CCM deal allowed me the opportunity to do World Championship. My parents could never have afforded to send me out to do a World Championship event. I could go the British round of the World Championship but not the foreign ones. Getting CCM and Armstrong to put some money in was fantastic and the bike itself was really good.
It was a huge improvement primary because of the weight. The weight of the bike was phenomenally less and they came up with a few geometry changes as well and then we worked together to make the bike better and better and better. Mike Etoph was a very clever engineer and he’s breaking new ground for the time. Within 2 or 3 months we got the bike really really good. At the start of the following years British Championship the bike was as good as anything else if not the best bike out there.
Why did you leave Bultaco?
It was nice to have a factory deal and the bike was going forward. The Bultaco deal was a deal with Comerfords yes, who were brilliant, but it was a factory deal. The Armstrong CCM deal allowed me the opportunity to do World Championship. My parents could never have afforded to send me out to do a World Championship event. I could go the British round of the World Championship but not the foreign ones. Getting CCM and Armstrong to put some money in was fantastic and the bike itself was really good.
It was nice to have a factory deal and the bike was going forward. The Bultaco deal was a deal with Comerfords yes, who were brilliant, but it was a factory deal. The Armstrong CCM deal allowed me the opportunity to do World Championship. My parents could never have afforded to send me out to do a World Championship event. I could go the British round of the World Championship but not the foreign ones. Getting CCM and Armstrong to put some money in was fantastic and the bike itself was really good.
Were you still working at BVM as well? At that time I was and at the start of 1983 I left bvm to concentrate full time on the trial and try and develop my bike and my riding skills. |
Was Armstrong was tied up Canam?
Yes it was. Canam and Bombardier and Rotax eventually. They made a huge amount of bikes. They were all made at the same factory.
Did you ever perform displays for Army personnel , as they were such a big customer?
No we didn’t, we didn’t do anything like that. They we big into their road bikes and road racing at the time and there were quite a few young road racers riding for Armstrong at the time. They were a really good bike. I just don’t think they had the money to see it through and evolve the bike.
Yes it was. Canam and Bombardier and Rotax eventually. They made a huge amount of bikes. They were all made at the same factory.
Did you ever perform displays for Army personnel , as they were such a big customer?
No we didn’t, we didn’t do anything like that. They we big into their road bikes and road racing at the time and there were quite a few young road racers riding for Armstrong at the time. They were a really good bike. I just don’t think they had the money to see it through and evolve the bike.
What happened to the company and why did it fold ?
The million dollar question. ARMSTRONG WAS obviously a huge flooring company . Alan Clews started the motorcycle company and was nothing to do with Armstrong as such. He started the motorcycle company with in CCM, which was Clew’s competition motorcycles, which is where the CCM came from. They started it off with a b40 engine thing that they made the frame for. That was a trial bike. Nick Jefferies rode that. I think there was a 350 version and a 250 version. The 250 would not pick the front wheel off the ground it did not have much power. They managed somehow to strike this deal with Armstrong and they put loads of cash in and they then got the hiro engines. Armstrong saw it as a capitalist venture. Put half a million in and take a million out on the future.
The million dollar question. ARMSTRONG WAS obviously a huge flooring company . Alan Clews started the motorcycle company and was nothing to do with Armstrong as such. He started the motorcycle company with in CCM, which was Clew’s competition motorcycles, which is where the CCM came from. They started it off with a b40 engine thing that they made the frame for. That was a trial bike. Nick Jefferies rode that. I think there was a 350 version and a 250 version. The 250 would not pick the front wheel off the ground it did not have much power. They managed somehow to strike this deal with Armstrong and they put loads of cash in and they then got the hiro engines. Armstrong saw it as a capitalist venture. Put half a million in and take a million out on the future.
Did you see the production lines there?
I probably did but I didn’t take any notice. I was only interested in my bike. How many people did they have working there? There would have been about 35 people working there I would have said. Back in the 80’s I’d guess the factory would have been basic? Yes, it was a proper hovel, it was horrendous really. |