The Dave Degens, 1965 Barcelona 24 Hours-winning, 1965 Dresda Triton 650cc Racing Motorcycle

• Built specifically for the 1965 Barcelona 24 Hours race
• Restored by Dave Degens
• Alan Dudley Ward engine
• Ridden by Dave at the 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Dave Degens started racing in 1956 on a BSA Gold Star. After a year racing the 'Goldie', Dave bought an AJS 7R from Twickenham dealer Geoff Monty and raced it with some success, only to have to sell the bike back to Monty when called up for National Service in the Army. Fortunately, Dave had an understanding CO, who allowed him time off to go racing, commencing with an outing at Brands Hatch aboard one of Monty's 350cc Manx Nortons. Dave kept racing Monty's bikes while doing his National Service and began working for him when it was over. In 1963 Dave bought Dresda Autos, formerly a retail outlet for scooters on Putney Bridge Road in Southwest London. By this time he had already built three Tritons. As Dave's business activities began to expand, so did his racing career.

He rode for prominent entrants such as Syd Lawton, Paul Dunstall, Tom Arter and Tom Kirby, and it was while riding for Lawton that he enjoyed his first taste of endurance racing success, winning both the 1964 and 1965 Thruxton 500-mile races on a Triumph Bonneville.
It was at Barcelona in 1964, when he was riding a works BMW, that Dave conceived the idea of building a machine specifically for endurance racing, which he was convinced would be capable of beating the works prototypes. The result was another Triton, its engine tuned for reliability and acceleration out of corners rather than top speed, as the Montju・ circuit had a lot of hairpin bends. Dave's conception was proved right when he and co-rider Rex Butcher won at Barcelona in 1965, enjoying a trouble-free ride against formidable factory opposition.

By this time Syd Lawton had lost faith in the complacent British motorcycle industry and switched allegiance to the Italian Aermacchi company with which his name is forever associated. Dave was surprised to discover that the diminutive pushrod singles handled better than a Manx Norton; so he took the logical next step and built a Norton Featherbed-style frame incorporating Aermacchi geometry: the first Dresda had been born. Using the new Dresda frame and a 650cc Triumph engine, he won at Barcelona for the second time, in 1970 with Ian Goddard, and this versatile chassis would later accommodate all manner of multi-cylinder engines from Japan.

Hand built by Dave Degens and raced to victory by him and Rex Butcher in the 1965 Barcelona 24 Horas against the combined might of the British and European factory teams, the machine offered here can be said to have started the Dresda legend. Well known motorcycling journalist John Ebbrell tested this Dresda Triton for Motor Cycle magazine's 19th August 1965 edition, riding it from London to Edinburgh and back (copy available). For the test the Triton carried 'temporary' plates ('EYU 993C'); it was later registered as 'ULP 715F'.
In 1968 Dave sold the Barcelona Triton. With the demand for Tritons booming, within a few years he needed a bike to use as a pattern for future machines; he bought a Manx rolling chassis, minus its rear wheel, only to discover that it was his Barcelona winner. In 1965 co-rider Rex Butcher had donated a Manx rear wheel to the project and must have reclaimed it somewhere along the line!

Specially built for endurance racing, this Dresda Triton consists of a Manx Norton frame wrapped around a Triumph pre-unit racing engine. The engine currently fitted came from the workshop of renowned tuner Alan Dudley Ward, hence the 'DW' stamping. Other notable features include a duplex primary chain conversion; Triumph close-ratio gear set; an additional battery; breather to the primary drive cover; twin Amal GP carburettors; Lucas competition magneto; 19" alloy wheel rims (Dunlop front, Borrani rear); large capacity alloy fuel tank; and a Smiths 10,000rpm tachometer. Dave rode the completed Dresda Triton at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2006. Following a period of inactivity, the machine will require re-commissioning and thus is sold strictly as viewed. It is hoped that supporting documentation will be available at time of sale. Key not required.