Tommy Robb was a keen trials rider in his youth and also in later life as a racer to keep fit over the winter months
TOMMY ROBB 14 October 1934 – 12 December 2024
Tommy Robb was a well-known Ulsterman who rode for Honda, Yamaha, Seeley, Bultaco and a whole host of private sponsors, including Terry Hill in a career that started in 1950 and went on until the mid 1970s.
Tommy Robb’s first ever trophy, won on 3rd November 1951 a time trial in Ireland
In 1962, Robb was the first non-Japanese factory rider to be signed by Honda, the year he was runner-up in the 350cc World Championships. He is a five times winner of the North-West 200 and has won the Lightweight 125cc TT in 1973.
Tommy Robb in the Hurst Cup Trial of 1953 on his DOT
He wrote an autobiography called ‘From TT to Tokyo’ a fascinating recount of a works riders life on the ‘Continental Circus’
From TT to Tokyo – Tommy Robb’s autobiography
Tommy been friends with Trials Guru representative John Moffat for some years now, having been interviewed by Trials Guru at the Scottish Motorcycle Show near Edinburgh.
Part of Tommy Robb’s impressive collection of trophies, yes those are Isle of Man TT replicas! – Photo copyright: Tommy Robb
What is not generally known is that Tommy was also a keen trials competitor both in his youth and in later years to keep fit when not travelling the world racing motorcycles.
Tommy Robb on a Bultaco Pursang in 1967 at an Irish International motocross event – Photo courtesy: Tommy Robb Private Archive
Recently Tommy had a very pleasant surprise and contacted Trials Guru.
Here is what Tommy sent Trials Guru:
“Hi Big John, – A very happy New Year to you, your family and Trials Guru’s everywhere!
I thought the attached Certificate (Factory Rider) would be of interest to you. This arrived on the 2nd January 2016, from the DOT Motorcycle Club, whilst all the major personalities were getting their Knighthoods, MBE’s, and OBE’s I was delighted to receive this award, from 1954 -1958 and inscribed:
‘Special Award made to Tommy Robb, from the DOT Motorcycle Club in recognition of your Achievements as a rider representing the DOT Motorcycle Factory in the Golden age of British Motorcycle Competition’.
This, believe it or not, dates back to the mid-fifties when I rode factory 196cc and 250cc DOTS in grass tracks, scrambles (in those days) and trials in Northern and Southern Ireland. When Burnard Scott Wade was the MD of the Company.
It was a pleasure to receive this recognition some 62 years after the period concerned when I was 18 or 19 years old at the time. To have it in my trophy cabinet at 81 years of age, amongst my TT Replicas is indeed a surprise and an honour”.
The certificate presented to Tommy Robb by the Dot Motorcycle Club in 2016
We are always looking for something different, special or unusual at Trials Guru, so we thought Trials Guru readers would enjoy this.
Trials Guru’s John Moffat (left) with great friend, Tommy Robb at the Scottish Motorcycle Show at Ingliston, Edinburgh – Photo: Trials Guru/Jean Moffat
Apart from ‘Fair Dealing’ for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988, no part of this article may be copied, reproduced, stored in any form of retrieval system, electronic or otherwise or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, mechanical, optical, chemical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the author as stated above. This article is not being published for any monetary reward or monetisation, be that online or in print.
Off-Road and Racing enthusiasts throughout Europe will be heading to Telford, Shropshire for their annual pilgrimage to the Classic Dirt Bike Show at the International Centre on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st of February.
Originally run by super-enthusiast, midlander Alan Wright, the show was bought by Morton’s Group in 2014 after many years run by Wrighty and his immediate family. Wright is still involved as a consultant, thus preserving the original ‘feel’.
Alan Wright on his BSA in the Pre’65 Scottish – Photo copyright: Iain Lawrie, Kinlochleven
For 2016 the show has a new sponsor, Hagon Shocks of Essex. Many of the show-goers are riders and ex-riders who spend as much time catching up with old friends as taking in the exhibits, listening to the speakers and hearing the bike start ups. Oh yes, they also buy stuff at the autojumble and from the variety of stall-holders!
This is the pre-season place to buy just about anything for a pre’65 or twin-shock trials or motocross (or should I also say scrambles) machine!
Special guest include top motocross rider, Scot, Jimmy Aird who rode for CZ; AJS and CCM, Nick Jefferies who rode for Honda in trials and was an accomplished road-racer, speedway legend Barry Briggs and Channel Island star Wayne Le Marquand.
On display will be Alan ‘Sid’ Lampkin’s works BSA C15T 748MOE which is the last British four-stroke to win the Scottish Six Days Trial 50 years ago in 1966.
The 1967 SSDT programme cover featured the 1966 winner, Alan Lampkin on his factory BSA 748MOE – Image from Trials Guru Archive of programmes SSDT
This machine will be ridden in this year’s Pre’65 Scottish Trial in April by Alan’s son, James Lampkin. Take a close look at it at Telford.
Gates open: 10 am to 5 pm both days with early autojumble from 9 am.
Prices are £11 adult advance booking (£13 on the gate), with under 12’s free entry. Early bird advance £14.
Mont Ventoix 2015 – Jordi Tarres (SWM), Phillipe Berlatier (Bultaco) & Steve Saunders (Honda) – Photo: Claudio Trial Pictures
Our Index page was used extensively, which shows there is a lot of interest in our archive material, free to use at any time. We pride ourselves at Trials Guru in that we don’t manage forums which distract from the real meaning of Trials Guru, to preserve trial history and celebrate all the great riders and events from all over the planet.
AGBikes, Low Row, Richmond, Yorkshire receive free publicity on Trials Guru. The firm is family run by a rider/enthusiasts.
We run without subscription and income from adverts. All the businesses featured on Trials Guru are featured here only by personal recommendation and they pay no advertising charges for space on our Useful Links page. That is the unique way we work for the true trial enthusiast.
Trial Magazine and Classic Trial are both recognised publications of quality by Trials Guru and receive free publicity on this website, read about Debbie Evans-Leavitt story on Trials Guru – find it easily on our ‘Index‘ page
We hope to bring you more photos, more articles, more facts about the great sport of motorcycle trial here on Trials Guru throughout the year.
Bultaco publicity photo of Martin Lampkin on his factory Sherpa T model 92 – Image courtesy of the John Hulme Catalogue Archive/Trial Magazine UK – Read the Bultaco -Spain page on Trials Guru
Guru – The syllable ‘gu’ means darkness, the syllable ‘ru’, he who dispels them, Because of the power to dispel darkness, the guru is thus named.
Bultaco publicity from 1975 showing Manuel Soler and advertising that Bultaco Motorcycles and Soler were Spanish Trials Champions.
Bultaco trials motorcycles now have their own page on Trials Guru!
EAA60D, Sammy Miller’s 1966 Sherpa T, is now owned and been restored to its former glory by Yrjo Vesterinen – Photo copyright: Neil Sturgeon, Darlington
It was always the intention to have a page on the site to celebrate the brand, but due to other articles taking precedence, it has only been possible to do this now.
Charles Coutard with his 1977 factory Bultaco Sherpa – Photo Copyright: Claudio Picture
This particular page will be modified and expanded through time, so please keep checking back for new items going forward!
Back in 1977, having previously acquired the tooling and stock of the BSA competition shop at Small Heath, Alan Clews decided to create a trials machine. It is believed that Sammy Miller had already approached Clews to supply him with BSA motors to power a trials machine of Millers own design. Clews’ CCM (Clews Competition Machines) brand was by then already well established, having risen from the original ‘Clew-Stroka’ motocross concept from 1971, by using BSA B50 motors as the power-plant, but with the capacity increased from 498cc to 600cc.
CCM had built their motocross brand from the 1971 concept of ‘Clew-Stroka’ which at heart was an uprated 498cc BSA B50 motor – Photo: Justyn Norek, Turin
Clews had built a reputation of making high quality motocross machinery which performed as well as they looked. In the hands of Lancastrian, Bob Wright; Cumbrian Mick Barnes and later Vic Eastwood and Scot, Vic Allan, the CCM was a serious racing motorcycle.
1978 CCM 350T MKII – Photo: Justyn Norek, Turin
Based in Bolton, Lancashire, England the company had grown considerably from modest beginnings. Mike Eatough made the frames, before setting up his own venture called EMC.
There seemed to be a market for a four-stroke trials machine and Clews was eager to fill the void and to produce one, Made in Britain! Honda had already launched their TL125 and for the US market, the TL250 trials models, developed with the help of Sammy Miller and the company’s ‘Bials for Trials’ programme.
Drive side shot of a 1978 MKII CCM 350T
The eventual CCM production run of their 350T machine was very modest, with just over 100 machines ever produced by the factory. It utilised a variant of the BSA B40 – 343cc unit single, which CCM claimed the capacity as 345cc by using a bore of 79.25 mm and stroke of 70 mm, with compression ratio as 6.2:1.
Original sales leaflet for the MK1 CCM 350T specification from 1978
Quality components were sourced from European manufacturers, From Italy, Marzocchi supplied both front forks and remote reservoir rear shocks, German ‘Magura’ controls, the Italian, ‘Grimeca’ hubs and brakes and gold anodised Spanish ‘Akront’ wheel rims. With American-made Preston Petty motocross red plastic mudguards also fitted front and rear. This particular combination, with the chromed chassis made for a ‘good looking’ machine, this in itself did not make a 100% competitive trials machine however.
Nick Jefferies on his factory CCM 350T in the 1978 SSDT at Altnafeadh on the first day of the event – Photo: Jimmy Young Archive on Trials Guru
The B40 motor was treated to an Amal MK2 concentric carburettor and a revised primary drive alloy casing, finished in black with the CCM motif in relief, with a novel little oil breather/catch bottle fitted to the nearside crankcase. But at heart it was still a BSA B40 which had been developed from the 1959 C15 design.
Given the more modern riding position, the gear pedal was fitted in such a way that it was accessible by the rider standing up on the foot-pegs. The gear pedal passed behind the kick-start lever.
Backed by Castrol Oils UK, riders of the caliber of Dave Thorpe, (who left Bultaco to ride the CCM prototype) and Nick Jefferies were employed to develop the CCM 350T for the factory.
Jefferies entered the 1978 Scottish Six Days Trial riding number 220 on the 400cc CCM prototype, backed by Castrol, but failed to finish the event.
Thorpe entered the 1979 SSDT on the 360cc CCM factory machine with riding number 250, with Thorpe shadowed most of the week by motocross rider, Dick Clayton whose riding gear had been rumoured to be literally stuffed with spare parts.
Private owner, Mel Ross from Monifieth, Dundee on his CCM 350T at a Dunfermline Trial in Scotland in 1978 – Photo: Jimmy Young Archive on Trials Guru
Dave Thorpe did finished the 1979 SSDT in 95th position on 397 marks lost, which was not a good day at the office for him, having been 11th position the year before on a Bultaco!
V. R. Moyce from Wickham rode a production CCM 350 in the 1979 SSDT and finished in 190th position on 597 marks lost.
The late Willie Dalling, former clerk of Course for the SSDT riding a borrowed CCM 350T in 1978 at the Aberfeldy Two-Day Trial in Scotland – Photo: Jimmy Young Archive on Trials Guru
Many of the Bolton built CCMs were bought by private riders who wanted something different.
Lancashire’s Eddie Smith on a Sandiford CCM 350T in 1978 at the Aberfeldy Two Day Trial – Photo: Jimmy Young Archive on Trials Guru
In 1979 Honda launched their own British built four-stroke trials machine, the TL200E (the ‘E’ stood for ‘England’) made by Colin Seeley in England, but ‘adopted’ by Honda UK as their own model and marketed through their comprehensive motorcycle dealership network.
The production MKII CCM 350T of 1978
The frame was made from Reynolds ‘531’ tubing, argon brazed and finished with chrome plating to both frame and swinging arm.
The wheelbase at 51.5 inches followed almost the same dimensions as the Bultaco Sherpa it was designed to beat in competition.
A fairly original October 1978 registered CCM 350T MKII, all except for the two-tone coloured seat and red handlebar grips
Whist the CCM 350T was never destined to become a trials ‘world beater’, the machines did sell reasonably quickly. They were not produced in significantly high numbers, hence now they command extremely high prices for their rarity value alone.
CCM later became part of the ‘Armstrong-CCM’ brand, but that is another story!
Three legendary drivers Bultaco together on this photo: Yrjo Vesterinen , Manuel Soler, and Charles Coutard (in action) – Claudio Picture
Trials Guru is proud to announce a new page featuring the work of freelance photographer, Claudio from France.
Claudio attended the 2013 Highland Classic Two-Day Trial with his Andorran friend Joan-Pere Santure and enjoyed the experience, meeting Trials Guru representative, John Moffat at the event.
So please have a look at Claudio’s page for some fantastic photographs of people from the sport of trial.
The triple world champion Yrjo Vesterinen was able to arrange the Bultaco trial team for the Highland Classic 2 Day Trial, which took place on the 8/9th of June, 2013 in northern Scotland on the Alvie Estate. Oriol Puig Bulto Side-car,from the left: Yrjo Vesterinen, Ignacio Bultó, Manuel Soler and on the right Juan Oliver, Jaime Puig, Charles Coutard, and on the far end Javier Cucurella. A great picture to remember a great event – Claudio Picture
The late Willie Dalling (Montesa Cota 348) at Scottish Experts & National Trial, Achallader, Bridge of Orchy 1978 – Photo: Jimmy Young
If you haven’t been here before, you are in for a surprise. We have been putting articles, photo collections and information from the world of trials together for about two years now. Trials Guru is free, no subscriptions to pay, no membership fees, it runs for free!
Trials Guru is here to promote the sport of motorcycle trials throughout the world.
Scottish Six Days shot of Rob Edwards. the late Jim Sandiford and Martin Lampkin in 1975 – Rainer Heise Archive
It is supported by an enthusiastic band of photographers, these people own the legal rights to these photos, they are not the intellectual property of Trials Guru unless indicated as such. Please be respectful of the photographers copyright which is clearly marked either on the image or in the captions.
Rob Edwards in 1971 at Edramucky on the first day of the SSDT – Photo: Mick Illing
No copying of images is allowed for any other website unless permission is sought from the photographer.
Tirials Guru is easy to use, just click on the headline titles which take you to various pages. There is also an ‘Index‘ page which is arranged alphabetically.
The festive season is now with us, so why not catch up with Trials Guru? There has been a veritable heap of articles and photos added during 2015 with more to come next year, all being well.
We were very fortunate to secure the services of Germany’s Rainer Heise and the UK’s Mike Rapley during the year, which has brought even more pleasure to trials fans world-wide.
Mike Rapley
Compliments of the season from Trials Guru – Dedicated to the sport of trials.
2015 Bob MacGregor Memorial Run near Killin with Trials Guru representative John Moffat enjoying a run on his late father’s 1951 AJS 16MC.
TRIALS GURU - DEDICATED TO TRIAL 