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A picture of Barry Sheene in Jan 76

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    A picture of Barry Sheene in Jan 76

    I had the opportunity of interviewing Barry Sheene in Brussels in Jan 1976.
    It was right after his very serious accident at Daytona where he broke both legs and arms.
    He proved to be a real nice guy on top of beeing one of the fastest on a racing bike.
    Number 7 will not be forgotten!
    Here's a picture of the two of us...
    sigpicJohn Kat
    My bikes: CB 77, GS 1000 ST Cafe Racer with GSXR 1052 engine, GS 1000 ST, XR 41 Replica with GS 1085 engine,
    GS 1100 SZ Katana with GS 1135 EFF engine, KTM Superduke 1290 R 2020

    #2
    Cool photo, John.
    Were you writing for a bike magazine at the time?
    I bet that jacket he is wearing was as loud as a race bike.
    2@ \'78 GS1000

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      #3
      Thanks for sharing John!

      I only got to see him in person once and that was here at Queensland Raceway when he got on and off the Matchless G50? (I think?) he was riding in the historic races and I was flag marshalling at the time.

      He had to use his hand to lift his leg onto the footpeg and when he got off he could barely walk for a few steps. Must've hurt him to ride but he still obviously loved it
      1982 GS450E - The Wee Beastie
      1984 GSX750S Katana 7/11 - Kit Kat - BOTM May 2020

      sigpic

      450 Refresh thread: https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...-GS450-Refresh

      Katana 7/11 thread: http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...84-Katana-7-11

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by steve murdoch View Post
        Cool photo, John.
        Were you writing for a bike magazine at the time?
        I bet that jacket he is wearing was as loud as a race bike.
        Yes, one of my friends was chief editor for a bike magazine and asked me to interview Barry due to the language barrier...
        It took me two seconds to agree although I had never done an interview in my life!
        The funny thing is that he had lost his Rolls Royce the night before as he forgotten where he had parked it when he came out of the night club
        The alcohol content must have played a role in this story
        He is the kind of guy who took a pack of cigarettes with him on the track in case he would have to wait to be picked up after a mechanical breakdown on the bike
        No modern GP racer would do that today....
        sigpicJohn Kat
        My bikes: CB 77, GS 1000 ST Cafe Racer with GSXR 1052 engine, GS 1000 ST, XR 41 Replica with GS 1085 engine,
        GS 1100 SZ Katana with GS 1135 EFF engine, KTM Superduke 1290 R 2020

        Comment


          #5
          You're a very lucky man John. Those were good days.
          -Mal

          "The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." - B. Banzai
          ___________

          78 GS750E

          Comment


            #6
            Lucky you, Bro…

            I dunno, those arms of his look to be workin' OK.
            That must have been a couple months after, “right after breaking both legs and arms.”
            He was one funky dude.
            "Only fe' collected the old way, has any value." from His Majesty O'Keefe (1954 film)
            1982 GS1100G- road bike, body, seat and suspension modded
            1990 GSX750F-(1127cc '92 GSXR engine) track bike, much re-engineered
            1987 Honda CBR600F Hurricane; hooligan bike, restored

            Comment


              #7
              He is the kind of guy who took a pack of cigarettes with him on the track in case he would have to wait to be picked up after a mechanical breakdown on the bike
              No modern GP racer would do that today....[/QUOTE]

              Not to be cynical, but aren't cigarettes what cut his life short? Lung cancer?
              80 gs1100 16-v ported & polished, 1 mm oversize intake valves, 1150 carbs w/Dynojet stage 3, plus Bandit/gsxr upgrades

              Comment


                #8
                You are right that's what killed him
                I believe he refused to take any treatment knowing he would die in any case...
                No ordinary guy for sure !
                sigpicJohn Kat
                My bikes: CB 77, GS 1000 ST Cafe Racer with GSXR 1052 engine, GS 1000 ST, XR 41 Replica with GS 1085 engine,
                GS 1100 SZ Katana with GS 1135 EFF engine, KTM Superduke 1290 R 2020

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by John Kat View Post
                  You are right that's what killed him
                  I believe he refused to take any treatment knowing he would die in any case...
                  No ordinary guy for sure !
                  Not true he try just about every alternative treatment going but refused to go under the knife, A true racer and one of my all time heroes.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by fast pom View Post
                    Not true he try just about every alternative treatment going but refused to go under the knife, A true racer and one of my all time heroes.
                    Yes, very true. He was determined to beat it the natural way... I admired him for that as well as a lot of other things...
                    1982 GS450E - The Wee Beastie
                    1984 GSX750S Katana 7/11 - Kit Kat - BOTM May 2020

                    sigpic

                    450 Refresh thread: https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...-GS450-Refresh

                    Katana 7/11 thread: http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...84-Katana-7-11

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Barry Sheene

                      Barry Sheene was amazing and one of my hero's. In 1978 I became a motorcycle mechanic for a large motorcycle dealer in Scotland. In 1979 we bought one of Barrys factory RG500s from a previous year for our head salesman to race. As I remember we could not keep it running. Barry Sheene and others then and since have provided us with incredibly exciting entertainment.

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