The Club is delighted to announce that our latest Honorary Member, John Barton, is the guest speaker for B30. John began his career at Triumph as an apprentice at around the same time as Tony Jefferies (TJ) with whom he shared accommodation. John was in integral part of the development of Triumph motorcycles including the triples. He was thrown in at the deep end in his apprenticeship adjusting tappets on bikes on the production line, and ultimately reached the level of Development Engineer alongside Norman Hyde. John and TJ raced as a team to 9th at the Thruxton 1969 500-miler on a Bonneville built in John’s kitchen. John was a winner on short circuits on his T100 twin leading to an unsuccessful ride in the Isle of Man on a twin in 1969. The next year, 1970, Doug Hele provided factory racing parts for John to race a triple in the Isle of Man to 20th place. John teamed up with Bob Heath for the Thruxton 500 mile race on a BSA R3 production racer. John was one of the people interviewed for the films series made by the club and told some great stories about his time with Triumph. After being made redundant at Triumph in 1975 he moved to tractor manufacturer Massey Furguson.
Jerry Hutchinson, PRO