SEMINAR BIOS

Leo Goff’s professional mechanical career started in the mid-sixties, when he worked as a mechanic at a local dealership in his hometown of Memphis, TN. He gained valuable experience working on Indians, Matchless, Norton, Ducati, Moto Guzzi, and several other brands which were sold by the dealership. In the fall of 1969, he opened his own repair shop, and later sold Norton, Hodaka, Ossa, Laverda, Jawa, and CZ Motorcycles.

Always having an interest in hi-performance and racing, Leo’s interest in drag racing found him building some of the quickest motorcycles on the streets of Memphis and he became noted for his engine building and tuning skills with Norton, and other brands as well.  Leo competed in National events starting in the late sixties, and soon set and held several national records, and winning national events. This cumulated in his winning the I.D.B.A Super Eliminator Championship number one plate with his Norton Powered Drag bike in 1984, and being awarded several achievement awards along the way, one being the Mechanic of the Year award given by the I.D.B.A.

Leo continues to work in engine development, cylinder head design, modification and rebuilding, along with restoration projects, as time allows, at Memphis Motor Werks, in Memphis, Tennessee. He is still active with Norton, and most all British marques, as well as BMW, Ducati, Moto Guzzi, the new Triumphs, H-D, and most other European marques. Leo currently works with many race teams, including Babe DeMay’s Yamaha sponsored Memphis Shades Flat Track Team, several successful “New Triumph” race teams, as well as several automotive race teams involved with Ferrari, Porsche, Audi, BMW, and VW.
 

Steve Hall was accepted into the Rolls Royce Apprenticeship program in 1972 after excelling at the top of his class in trade school.  He learned how to fabricate panels at the Rolls Royce factory from the teachings of master panel beaters, and where he also met Mark Barton. Steve completed his training and began work for Grand Prix Metalcraft which eventually brought him to the United States where Mark Barton was recruited by the same fabricators Steve was working for and the two found themselves working together again like they did at the Rolls Factory. Mark and Steve formed a partnership in 1982 that eventually became The Panel Shop in Stratford, Connecticut. Through the years, Mark and Steve have fabricated dozens of automotive bodies, some of them of great significance. Bugattis, Ferraris, Alfas, and many other hand made cars are easily formed by either Mark or Steve. Their classic training and familiarity with British cars also makes them an excellent choice to work on Jaguars, Rolls Royce, and Aston Martins. Their ability to fabricate full bodies does not limit them from doing smaller jobs. 

John Healy is a life-long British motorcycle enthusiast. A bit misdirected at age 15, his first bike was a ground up restoration of a basket case 1947 Indian Chief. While restoring this bike he got to know the local Indian, Triumph, Norton, BSA, Velocette, Ducati, and Matchless dealer, Pete Andrews in Boston, Massachusetts. Starting in 1959, it was working for Pete that his love affair of British bikes, especially Triumph, started. In 1966, with the financial help from Pete, John and his wife Susan opened a Triumph dealership in the Boston area, which they ran as a family business until it all came to an end in 1983 when the co-operative closed its doors.

In the early seventies he started manufacturing, importing, and distributing British parts wholesale to British dealers around the country under the name Coventry Spares, Ltd. He still distributes such components as Hepolite, Amal, Lucas, JCC and sources bits from all around the world to keep these Brit bikes running. John also offers the one of the largest selections of Vincent parts in the U.S.  For the past ten years John has done technical seminars across the nation at such venues as Vintage Motorcycle Days and Triumph Come Home Rally - Lake Cachuma, California and will share some of his knowledge about Brit bikes and especially the secrets and mysteries of Amal carburetors.

John also publishes Vintage Bike, which is the quarterly newsletter of the Triumph International Owners Club. Along with technical articles written by John, the pages hold articles from the likes of Kevin Cameron, Mick Duckworth (ex-editor of Classic Bike) and Jim Reynolds. John also is moderator for the Triumph Forum on: www.Britbike.com

 Don Hutchinson of Hutchinson Cycles of Wake Field, Mass., has been in the business of motorcycle restoration for 45 years. He is considered an expert in all aspects of motorcycle restoration - particularly paintwork - and is considered “the True Supplier of correct paint for most popular British bikes.” His first ambition was to be a chemist, but then he discovered motorcycles. His first was a 1948 Indian.

Max Nightingale has been fanatical about engines and motorcycles from a very early age. His father, Harry Nightingale, was co-founder of Alpha Bearings, one of the world’s foremost manufacturers of roller bearings and crankshafts. Max’s first machine was a small Indian trial bike which was soon replaced by a series of Villiers-based trials and motocross machines. Max started his career in sales and marketing for two US corporations in the electronics sector and in the early 1990s, he joined the family firm. At Alpha Bearings Max has developed and refined CAD/CAM design and manufacturing technologies, and he greatly enjoys solving the engineering challenges the company faces. Max works closely with research establishments, universities and industry professionals investigating all aspects of crankshaft manufacture. This includes design, metallurgy, strength of materials, taper, press fit and clamped assemblies, flywheel balancing and much more. His passion for engineering excellence has led to considerable success specifically in the race and competition environments including a Mercedes Benz W125 project and the Barber Vintage Museum pre-war supercharged works DKW.

Seminars are Free with Museum Admission.

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