82 :OLD BIKE AUSTRALASIA
OUT’N’ABOUT
ABOVEThe Owen family wearing their tribute t-shirts.
LEFT The late Ray Owen with the perpetual trophy which bears his name.
The central sphere houses a nugget of gold he mined himself.Ray Owen
A powerful legacy
I first met Rayat the second event at Beaudesert
in 2009. Good fortune had it that my bike was
chosen as Bike of the Show and when presenting
me the trophy, Ray pointed to the small transparent
orb nested in the perpetual trophy. He told me it
contained a gold ingot which he had himself
fossicked many, many years ago.
From that day I looked on Ray as an inspiration.
He was very famous but easy to talk to, had a
cheeky smile and every year at the bike show he
would be surrounded by his family. Ray and Pat’s
family have come to every event and they did again
this year even in Ray’s absence. A couple of his old
race bikes were on display, with a framed photo of
Ray (amongst his many race trophies) on one of the
bikes. Two of Ray’s trophies were also handed out to
winners who are given the privilege to set it on the
mantel piece at home until the 2019 event. Wife Pat
and all the kids and grandkids all arrived wearing
T-shirts which they’d had especially printed with
‘#27 Ray Owen’ (his old race number). Adding to the
magic, I counted exactly 27 of them as they all lined
up for a group photo just before the presentation.There was a T-shirt displayed beside the
presentation stage with one of my photos printed on
the front – one of my fondest memories of Ray. I was
asked by the family to take a shot of Ray and his
Manx Norton after the 2015 bike show. They wanted
to send it to the UK Norton Club. While standing
beside the Manx, I thought I could make the shot
more exciting if he hopped on board. When I asked
the family said “No, Ray’s hips are shot,” but Ray
quickly interrupted “Yes I can!” and he did. This says
a lot about the man, always rising to a challenge. I
crouched down and got Ray to lie flat on the tank,
hand on twist grip and looking down the barrel of the
camera with that cheeky smile of his and the result
(in my mind) was priceless. At the conclusion of the
trophy presentation, Gary Stephens announced that
Pat had given permission for the event hosts (HMCCQ
Mt Tamborine area) to continue using Ray’s name for
the event. The perpetual trophy (with Ray’s ingot)
will thus continue to have the names of the winners
of Bike of the Show added each year. So while Ray is
not with us physically any more, his legacy lives on,
and I’m sure he was looking down with pride on the
magical event that will continue to carry his name.
The memory of this day will stay with me forever.■NOTE: A full report of the 2018 Ray Owen Classic Bike
Show will appear in OBA 74.On the 13th May the 10th Annual Ray Owen Classic Bike Show and Swap
Meet was celebrated. Ray couldn’t make last year’s event and sadly
passed away on the 29th May 2017. Story & photosGaven Dall’Osto