Charlie Broom’s Daytona drama’s
In the mid 1960s, at 16, l first dipped my toe in the water of motorcycling with a James Cadet 150, given to me by a guy next door, then progressing (and it certainly was) to a Yamaha YL1 twinjet, 100cc, amazing little machine, then a 200cc Suzuki Invader twin, another excellent bike. It was probably around 2 years later, full licience in hand, l stood outside Horsmans motorcycle showroom, gazing in awe at this 1970 Purple Triumph Daytona, it was the begining of a love hate relationship that l dont think l ever got over, thus after owning lots of superbikes over the years, all much better bikes on paper, l have another Purple Triumph Daytona in the garage! Having purchased the Daytona, against the advice of my Dad, also a motorcyclist, but a BSA man, all my mates who had jap 2 strokes, who thought l was insane, the addiction started, l used it for 12 months, quickly becoming skilled in stripping Amal Concentrics, stripping clutches, and generally tightening bits back up.. During a week at the TT with the bike, a saw a Red Dunstall Commando, and decieded that it was time to spend some money, a friend of mine at the time was building a very special Triton, and wanted a custom 2 into 1 exhaust making, so a few weeks later a plan was formed, a mate of mine, whose name some of you will know, John Foy, who used to race Nortons, and then the Manx on Yamahas, offered to take this Triton, me and my mate down south, in his Dads CA Bedford van to a specialist exhaust fabricator called Cambell Geometrics, think they were in Kent, on an old airfield, whilst the exhaust was fabricated actually on the bike, we drove to Paul Dunstalls shop, and l parted with a load of cash, and came out with loads of red fibreglass bits, and a set of sweptbacks and Dunstall decibell silencers, clip-ons, and rearsets. We went back, picked the Triton up with its work of art of an exhaust fitted, and drove back up north, the crazy stuff you do when your young!! l had the Daytona head gasflowed, and other trick bits fitted, and kept it for another couple of years, it was certainly the only one of in the Northwest, and certainly turned heads at the TT, particually as it was the 500, and not a Bonnie or Commando, l rode it up to Scotland, and round the Highlands, must have been so uncomfortable, but never bothered me at the time, it was great fun to ride being so revvy, and those decibells sounded fantastic, but it could be a tempremental sod, and after a lot of soul searching, l eventually sold it, and bought a new Yamaha 350, the Yamaha was fantastic, but l never felt quite the same about it, and always wondered where the Daytona ended up, but was never able to trace it on any DVLA type searches. Part two of my Daytona Drama to follow……
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