Looking forward to what Firko has to say if he speaks to Ron Pomeroy.
Me too....It's Sunday over there so I'll ring him early tomorrow morning (our time). I'm just back from three days of doing the baby boomer mosh pit thing at the Goulburn Blues Festival and I'm walking wounded, I've picked up an annoying dose of diarrhea, I'm passing a kidney stone and I'm carrying a killer hangover, the triple whammy! I had a monster time though!
While I've been out of town this thread seems to have grown legs. I've just gone through the thread from post 1 and while I think some interesting points have been raised, I think some of them are a bit misleading. Here are my thoughts as the thread stands at the moment.
• I think it’s probable that Pomeroy’s ’73 Spanish GP bike featured an aftermarket frame. The claim made by CMS in the Dirt Rider piece is backed by Pomeroy himself and respected journalist Frank Melling (JCs post #20) which to me is interesting.
• The statement by Pomeroy to at least eight people at CD4 that there were two official stories, the official story that it was a factory prepped stocker and the real story that it’d been prepared by his American sponsor, presumably Terry Saxland from University Bultaco or Al Oppie. The fact that Pomeroy often contradicts himself by using either story at different times confuses the matter even more….
“Three days before the Spanish GP I took a Pursang out of the crate, assembled it and took it to my first GP ever.....I had no mechanics at the time, only a support program through University Bultaco in Seattle. I was not a good mechanic but a new bike out of the crate was best for me”. (Pursang Story excerpt, Stans post # 18 ) This contradicts his statements in other interviews, hinting that Pomeroy would use either story, depending on the situation at hand.
• The big question is ….Who made the frame? Let’s look at the possibilities.
CMS. This little one man factory is the only maker to have actually claimed that they’d made the frame.
Doug Schwerma/Champion . As big a fan I am of the late Dougs work, I feel that his particular design quirks put him out of the race. Observing Schwerma’s penchant for promotion and the company’s higher profile, I would also have presumed that the Pomeroy connection would have come to light at some stage during the company’s existence.
Dr Joe Bolger. I doubt Joe had anything to do with this particular bike. By 1973 he was beginning a relationship with OSSA and it’s been rumoured that the Phantom and M.A.R. trials bike may have featured some of Joes input. The fact that Bolger was East Coast based contradicts the “California made” claims as well.
The Bultaco Factory. If not for the ‘made in America’ claims, my money would be on the frame being made in the Barcelona factory, possibly using imported Chro-Mo steel tubing.
I hope that Ron Pomeroy can finally put an end to our guesswork. I’ll also ask him if Jims sponsor, Terry Saxland is still around and if so, has he a contact #. If that lead comes off, I’ll contact Saxland. If those two blokes don’t know, nobody will know.
