Beschreibung:

This TR6, a matching-numbers bike from the first year of production, has recently been restored as a replica of the race bike that Jack Simmons rode to a fine third-place finish in the 1957 Big Bear Run, at the time the largest hare & hound competition in the U.S. Mr. Simmons himself did the restoration. Simmons, a talented TT rider, was sponsored by Johnson Motors, Triumph's West Coast distributor. Wanting a show of force in the Big Bear, they provided Simmons with a new TR6, even though off-road events were not his specialty. Some 718 riders lined up for the start of the race on the floor of the Mojave Desert. Only 129 completed the grueling 150-mile course to arrive at the finish line 7000 feet up at Big Bear Lake. Legendary Bud Ekins came home first, hare & hound specialist Buck Smith was second, and in a surprise third place was Simmons, despite severely blistered hands and time lost to first a crash and then a shorted-out kill button. Overall, TR6 riders took the first 12 finishing spots, cementing the model's reputation as the desert sled. Simmons went on to become a successful Norton/Ducati/Suzuki dealer. He made another splash in racing in the 1970s, sponsoring the "Norton Gang," a trio of stock Norton Commando S-models ridden by himself, George Kerker and Bill Manley, that cleaned house in Southern California's hotbed of club roadracing. Now semi-retired, Simmons is still sought out for engine rebuilds and restorations. After its Big Bear podium finish, Simmons' borrowed TR6 went back to Johnson Motors and has since been lost to the mists of time, but when he recently uncovered a matching-numbers 1956 model Simmons decided to build a replica of the bike. Working from memory and period photos, he has recreated an important piece of Triumph's off-road racing history from 55 years ago. This competition machine is sold on a bill of sale; included with the bike is Simmons' third-place trophy from the 1957 Big Bear Run.