Features ed ‘11-’15, Editor ‘19- ‘23
In 2010, I was a lowly reporter on MCN, racing a TZR250 on weekends. A racing pal gave me an RGV250 VJ21 in boxes – a cool project, and there was a new mag coming from some blokes down the hall I thought it might suit. I didn’t know Jim well, but I dropped him an email, touting it as a possible project to earn a few extra quid to cover the build.
That was my ‘in’ with PS. Soon after, he was recruiting for a full-time writer, so we set an interview date: the morning after the MCN Xmas piss-up… I made my pitch, went home, threw up, went to bed for the afternoon. I got the job, somehow…
Jim, Alan, designer Austin Smith and I had a brilliant four years establishing the mag as a proper monthly. I left to spend another four years on PB fulfilling a childhood ambition there. The mag’s owners decided to combine the two, with me in the big seat as Jim left. There was some consternation, but it saved the mag’s bacon behind the scenes, giving PS a new lease of life as life got harder for all mags. The pandemic would have certainly killed us in 2020 without it.
It has been brilliant. We’ve put our heart and souls into producing the best we can, and I hope we’ve hit the mark more often than not. These are just some of my standout memories.
“You blew up my bike!”
Gary wanted his 1982 GSX1100EX to knock out a sub-11 second standing quarter-mile. It had got close: it just needed a lighter rider. In terms relative to PS staff only, that was me. All was going swimmingly: we fettled the lock-up clutch for perfect drive, and nailed a 10.99. But magazines being what they are, we needed pictures. The snapper for the day had tech troubles and hadn’t taken any pics thus far.
So I did ‘one more run’… First, second, third, fourth, wa-ta-ta-ta-poof… went the motor. The air shifter found a false neutral, at full chat. Valves dropped, the piston disintegrated, the rod flailed. Nothing was salvageable. Gary didn’t kill me. His missus may have, had I not outran her…
Project VF400R
It’s easy to criticise a special (and correct, in the case of some utter lash-ups you see), but until you’ve built one you can’t appreciate what goes on. I got a full appreciation when I set about building a tribute to DOBAR race bikes from Japan: NC30 engine and running gear in the silhouette of a 1984 VF400F. It looked sim
