All Over Again

TT podiums, 500GP world championships and a host of other duties. The Dugdale MaxtonYamahaTZ385 that served under Charlie Williams was far more than a one-trick pony.

- Alan Cathcart

Back in the days before anyone dreamed that Yamaha two-strokes would ever be venerated as prized collectables, the Dugdale Maxton Yamaha TZ385 that took Charlie Williams to a pair of second places in two Isle of Man TT races just five days apart, as well as 10th place in the 1974 500ccWorld Championship on the back of that and his fifth place in the DutchTT three weeks later, was simply dismantled at the end of that year and its component parts were recycled by Dugdale’s for the 1975 season. “It’s true – we just kept a few bits and pieces from that old bike, like the seat with the fuel tank in it and such, but with the crank gone after Eddie Roberts’ Manx GP ride, there was no enthusiasm for rebuilding the engine,” says Charlie.

“We’d certainly have retained the Maxton chassis, but the trouble is that Ron Williams didn’t number his frames, so it’s impossible to know what became of it. And the following season, 1975, was when Ron produced his first monoshock frame, which worked so brilliantly straight out of the box that I won the JuniorTT on it.