T20SM
emoduster@yahoo.com
Hi! Steve, allow me to introduce myself: I'm Steve Geye, a member of MOA, RA, and the European motor owners group here in Las Vegas. First let me say that any gal that would drive 700mi. To pick up one her man’s best friends dead bike is a real keeper!!! That is not why I'm writing however, i just discovered the tiger cub site and i must tell you, in one fell swoop I'm excited, embarrassed, elated and abashed!!! I’m the owner of a t20sm that was (key word was) a perfect match to Alan Robinson's l&r shot on the site! I purchased the cub in ‘68 from a triumph shop in Bakersfield ca. Called "custom engineering". Before i could take the bike home, Ron Pierce(AMA pro road racer from the late ‘60s to early ‘70s)had to remove the dual cat tread conversion that was on the rear end. In the late ‘60s in cycle world there was an ad that showed a cub with a setup just like the one on my bike. Makes me wonder if that indeed was my cub in the picture, there just could not be very many of those conversions out there. I rode the bike for about a year before blowing the bottom end. I used to tell people that red-line, valve float and 60 mph all occurred at the same time! Because i was a poor student (grades as well as money) i let a friend work on it. Big mistake!!! This was my first non-Japanese bike( i lived the previous 4yrs in Japan...a military brat) and i was not familiar with British iron. l have the engine here in lv ,while the whole rolling frame resides in Bakersfield in a cousins garage safely tucked away! Now finding the site has created a real monster in me to begin the project anew! My wife of 30 years tells me that it’s only right that i give the cub life again as it’s my oldest bike( i think it’s a 65 but I'm not sure, I'll have to check the engine no. When i dig the motor out of the box that it has resided in for the last 30 yrs!) Enthusiasm can be ever so dangerous! I’ll send an old pic for the site soon, but until then I'll just drool over Alan's bike and pretend! Since we have two marquees in common,( i also have a ‘95k11rs,’82r65ls-both runners, ’68r60/2german domestic model,’70r75/5 and an xs650d yam.. All non-runners for the moment-sic sic!)the /5 was bought new from Johnny's motorcycle company in Bakersfield after 3 months of working on my dad with the idea that the worlds most conservative motorcycle company was changing their product line. He wanted a new Electra glide!? At the time Johnny's racer, one Steve McLaughlin ,was racing a BSA rocket and later the energy behind the creation of world super bike racing, so trips to willow spring now and then were imperative. My wife Kathy and i did an unofficial 1000 mi. day from Missoula to Monterey( Friday to Saturday from the rally; to the world super bike races at Laguna sea in 22hrs). What did you call it? A bun burner? Didn’t hurt the asses ( thank you Corbin seat!) But the mental fatigue was enormous without an intercom system. Well that’s about it, that’s enough i would guess! Oh! One more thing: three cheers for "the woman", must be a real lady!! Building her own cub and chases dead bikes across state lines. Edit as you see fit for the site. And thanks again for the re-ignition of the cub fervor.
Steve and Kathy Geye 1120 Willowtree dr. Apt. C LV, NV 89128 702-256-0231
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