Master Tech Talk: Steve Wynne and David Speeks
You would've had to be a huge Ducati fan back in the day to remember who Steve Wynne is and why he's so important in Ducati's history. And also why he's ultimately important to V1 MOTO.
A brief history of the man, the myth, the legend.
Steve Wynne was the team chief and for Sports Motorcycles, a team that achieved massive success in its 30-year history. Not the least of which was at the hands of one of Steve's riders, Mike Hailwood, achieving so many F1 victories on one of Steve's Ducatis.
1978 TT Winning Ducati: Mike Hailwood on one of Steve Wynne's Sports Motor Cycles Ducati.
Steve reflects on the '90s - "My main effort in the '90s was producing F1 and F2 Pantah based racing and road bikes with a variety of frames, from an improved Verlichi Ducati type to alloy single side s/arm for the 888 engine. Ducati factory got a bit miffed that this bloke in England was producing more Ducati race bikes than they were and even got a road version out before them. The solution was on the lines of Poacher turns Gamekeeper, and they offered me the import franchise provided I gave up my Ducati bike production. This I did, and enjoyed the years with them still running my own race team, notably giving Fogarty his first WSB win." That's the stuff of legend, ladies, and gentlemen.
Here's Steve answering a few questions from Jay Leno about the Mike Hailwood bike.
So what does Steve Wynne have to do with V1 MOTO?
You probably didn't know this, but there's a direct connection between our Ducati Master Certified Tech, David Speeks, and Steve Wynne. You see, David was taught by Steve back in the early '90s before he became the Ducati tech at one of only two Ducati dealerships in Scotland. David reflects on his time working with Steve. That's how David became such a fantastic tech; he learned from one of Ducati's greats. David reflects on his time working with Steve, "Steve had such a natural mechanical ability. He rarely used traditional measuring equipment — he relied on "feel." He didn't need a dial gauge when setting valve timing, he'd rest a tire iron on the rocker arms, and when it "twitched" at a certain crank angle he knew exactly where the timing was at! If nothing else, I took from Steve that if you have a passion for it and work ethic, it'll all fall into place."
Pretty incredible stuff. We are incredibly fortunate to have David in the United States, let alone in Houston, at our Ducati dealership. He's a big reason why V1 MOTO is the no. 1 Ducati destination in Houston. You can trust your Ducati in the hands of David and all of our Ducati technicians.
Schedule a service appointment with David here, or just come in and say hello!