Vale Bob Tait

[FAT-TOY]

  Lost a mate in July this year.  Bob Tait who was probably the smartest man I have ever known, designed and built a 3 cylinder 500cc 2 stoke bike back in the 70's, doing most of the work himself including the frame.  He was building another one at the time of his death, this one a 750cc using 3 Greeves barrels but I guess that one will never get finished.  He designed the front end for the British land speed record attempt and wrote and published at least 2 books.  All of this is incidental, the fact is he was a really good bloke and a good mate of mine for a long time.
  He lost his wife a while back and never really got over it.   We used to talk on the phone for sometimes a couple of hours at a time, he was a very interesting fella and the time used to just fly.  I had been trying to ring him for a couple of months without success and because I met Bob when we were both members of the Dot owners club back in the 80's I contacted them to see if they new how he was getting on or if he had moved closer to family or maybe gone into a retirement village.  The last thing I expected to hear was that he had passed away.
                                                                                             Zane
     

[VMX247]

Bit of a shock for sure,when you lose someone like that.
So many talented people out there.
What where the books Bob published ??
Cheers A

[alexbrown64]

Very interesting story Fat Toy, and condolences. Always a shock when somebody you know passes.
A 750 triple 2T would be an amazing build! Would be nice to see someone with the skills to take over the project.

Cheers,

[FAT-TOY]

  Alison, Bob was also a history buff particularly in the area where he lived and wrote and contributed to many books and articles over the years.  He also wrote heaps of articles in different motorcycle club journals.  He sent me a copy of his last book called  ( Bear Apprenticeship ) and when I was talking to him on the phone he said not to take this book to seriously it had been written while trying to get himself out of the depression he suffered after death of his wife.  He was right it is a very tough read and jumps around a bit, although Bob was a bit like that even when we were talking, if he was rich he might have been described as a little eccentric.
  I have been reading through some of his old letters and photos today, in one he talks about going and buying the renolds 531 tubing then building the jig to make the frame for the original 3 cyl bike then after that was finished he cut out and hammered out the aluminium tank but got his mate up the road to weld it up ( He didn't have a suitable welder). He then said sorry I have to go now I have to pack the Norton ready to head off to the Isle of Mann the next morning and he would post the letter on the way.   He still owned and rode that bike right up to the last phone call we had  a few months before he died. It was fitted with a single side swing arm type steering that he had built and fitted back in the 80s I will see if I can post a couple of photos of it.
  I think I will miss my old mate more than I first thought.  Alex I to hope that someone finishes the project and that it's not just sold off for parts.
                                   Zane

[80-85 husky]

bloke i know came real close to the last hurdle but managed to clear it and when he recovered from the quad bypass, he went into a panic as he had been collecting hot bits for porche motors for years and realised that if he had croaked, they might have gone in a clearing sale as "job lot for 40 bucks" once he recovered sufficiently he promptly put several motors together and flogged them for a huuuuge sum with all the go fast bits in them. suddenly found a reason to use all those "one day" bits as he called them.

i hope someone can finish the last project, would be a great tribute