The bike was built in the '70s. The Godden frame - a light and minimal body, stripped of the kind of aesthetic trimmings you might find on a modern road bike - was made in the UK. The Wes Lake engine in its centre was the first of its kind to come to Australia. And it still starts on the first kick.
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The bike is priceless. And every inch of it reminds you that it was built for one purpose: speed.
In a sport where every second counts - where the winner has only four laps on a short circuit to get to the front of the pack - where 12 or so riders tear around the dirt like their hair is on fire, you need speed from the drop of the clutch.
Steve Davies has racing in the blood and spent almost a year lovingly restoring his champion dad's vintage slider to surprise him on his 80th birthday at the weekend. His father, Keith Davies, is a legend of the sport. His racing career took him all over the world, and he holds Australian titles from 1973, '74 and '75.
"It took me nearly nine months to do," Steve said. "Just trying to track down the parts was really hard. I had to try to get them off people who had had them for a long time and wanted to hang on to them.
"But they could see it was something that we wanted to keep in the family because it meant so much."
Steve, who also holds state and national racing titles grew up watching his dad in awe. Unveiling the restored bike at the weekend was a special moment.
"It was something that I wanted to give back to Dad because of what he'd done, the support that he'd given both myself and my son to become successful riders," he said.
"I wanted to do that for him."
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Simon McCarthy
Simon McCarthy is a journalist working at the Newcastle Herald in NSW. He writes news and features, and produces video and multimedia, for the Herald and Herald Weekender magazine. He contributes regularly to the Newcastle Herald’s daily Topics column, and is the co-creator and producer of the Toohey’s News podcast. McCarthy has worked as a journalist in regional NSW since 2013. He joined the newsroom of the Newcastle Herald in 2017 from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he worked from 2015 to 2016.
Simon McCarthy is a journalist working at the Newcastle Herald in NSW. He writes news and features, and produces video and multimedia, for the Herald and Herald Weekender magazine. He contributes regularly to the Newcastle Herald’s daily Topics column, and is the co-creator and producer of the Toohey’s News podcast. McCarthy has worked as a journalist in regional NSW since 2013. He joined the newsroom of the Newcastle Herald in 2017 from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he worked from 2015 to 2016.
