Neil Murray in the VT500 Phasar (1986)

I've dug this 1986 photo out of my archives in tribute to Neil Murray, who passed away last week (19th July 2021) aged just 63. I took it on the occasion of the V-twin rally in Shaftesbury during my brief sojourn at SuperBike magazine. It was during that event that Neil took some great action photos of me and Monty Billington in the Honda VT500 and Guzzi V50 Phasars, one of which can be seen in this folder, here: http://bikeweb.com/node/2916.
(I had borrowed the VT500FF from its owner, Julian Bond, for whom Malcolm Newell had converted the standard Honda over a weekend; Monty Billington also subsequently owned it).
Neil Murray was a fellow freelance motorcycle journalist for most of the past 40 years, but did much else besides, including holding down full time jobs editing catering and other magazines. For the past six years until his untimely demise he wrote over 300 columns for Motorcycle News sharing information gleaned from his penchant for buying and selling second hand motorcycles. RIP.
In this photo, Neil is sitting in the VT500FF.
PNB
Photo: © Paul Blezard 1986

Neil Murray in the VT500 Phasar (1986)