Beauty and the Bike

Studio based portaiture is not usually my thing, but on the weekend of the 14th & 15th of November 1981 a local camera retailer (George Fisher Photographic) put on an event in Basingstoke’s Carnival Hall. One of the highlights was a studio setup where visitors could photograph professional models with Barry Sheene’s 1980 Akai Yamaha motocycle as a backdrop..
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This TZ500 Akai Yamaha, is the very first Yamaha owned and ridden by Barry Sheene and was used in the early part of 1980. basically a stock bike, it comes with a hand written notebook of jetting and gearing etc. for various tracks. it was in the possession of Steve Parrish until a few years ago. it is a very rare and unique motorcycle and is still in a stunning condition. .
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Barry Sheene became the British 125cc champion aged just 20, and finished second in the World Championships for that class a year later. Sheene won the newly formed Formula 750 European championship for Suzuki in 1973. A spectacular crash at the Daytona 200 in the 1975 season threatened to end his career, breaking his left thigh, right arm, collarbone and two ribs, yet he recovered and was racing again seven weeks afterwards..
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In 1973, he won the Formula 750 World Championship. In the 1976 season, he won five 500cc Grands Prix, bringing him the World Championship. He repeated as champion in the 1977 season with six victories..
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Sheene’s battle with Kenny Roberts at the 1979 British Grand Prix at Silverstone has been cited as one of the greatest motorcycle Grand Prix races of the 1970s. After the 1979 season, he left the Heron-Suzuki factory team, believing that he was receiving inferior equipment to his team-mates. He shifted to a privateer on a Yamaha machine, but soon started receiving works equipment. In 1981, Kenny Roberts was the reigning World 500cc Champion for the third time, and Barry Sheene, now on a competitive Yamaha, was determined to regain the championship. Ironically, Sheene and Roberts battled all season and let Suzuki riders Marco Lucchinelli of Italy and American Randy Mamola beat them for the top two spots. Roberts finished third and Sheene fourth for the 1981 championship. A crash during the 1982 season largely ended Sheene as a title threat, and he retired in 1984. He remains the only rider to win Grand Prix races in the 50cc and 500cc categories..
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Basingstoke Carnival Hall has quite literally has been at the heart of Basingstoke for many years. The construction of the building was funded by donations from the people of Basingstoke. It is the only public hall of its capacity and amenity in the centre of Basingstoke and is very well used by a multitude of individuals, clubs, societies and organisations..
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Until recently it was under threat of demolition, leaving many local groups without a base for their community activities. Luckily with the involvement of the Council, the Venue underwent major renovations and is once more an active focal point of the Basingstoke Community..
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Posted by Beardy Vulcan on 2013-06-15 08:11:22

Tagged: , England , 1981 , beauty , bike , motorbike , motorcycle , racing bike , AKAI , 7 , MICHELIN , Barry Sheen , female , woman , eye candy , glamour , professional , model , female model , studio , George Fisher , George Fisher Photographic , Carnival Hall , Basingstoke , Loddon Valley , Hampshire , autumn , November , 20th centuary

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