American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 172 November 2013 | Page 22

After 80 hours of work a combined one-piece
manifold, throttle body and velocity stack for a
Dyna project is still not finished

for my racing habit. I did 10 winters, and every year
I’d say I’m not doing another winter. But in the
summer it was the best job in the world, basically
getting paid to unofficially race all day long. The
money was really good then as well. Two days work
was enough to be able to take the rest of the week
off. It was easy to earn £500 in a week, and that was
a lot of money back then, more than enough to pay
for a weekend’s racing.”
hile dispatch-riding may have been well paid
it was also dangerous. After one too many of

W

Pete’s friends died in accidents related to either
dispatch riding or racing he decided it was time to
put motorcycles behind him. As he says: “I had to
take a break because I was constantly trying to go
faster and faster and forgetting the simple joy of
riding a motorbike for fun – what it’s really all
about.” He sold his bikes and embarked upon a
career in the IT industry. It was during this period
away from bikes when he met Lisa, who was to have
a significant impact on his life. Not only did Lisa
become Pete’s wife she also rekindled his interest in
riding.
ete’s return to motorcycling came about as a
direct result of him marrying Lisa. The wedding
venue was Las Vegas, and the couple chose to hire a
Harley-Davidson and get married at a ride-through
chapel. It was after the ceremony when Pete was
riding the St