Dave Bickers

David Geoffrey Bickers (17 January 1938 – 6 July 2014) was an English Grand Prix motocross racer from Coddenham, Suffolk.[1] He won two European motocross championships, and was a member of British motocross teams that won two Motocross des Nations events as well as two Trophée des Nations events. Bickers was awarded the Motorcycle News 'Man of the Year' award in 1960.[2]

Dave Bickers
Dave Bickers pictured in 1966
NationalityBritish
Born17 January 1938 (1938-01-17)
Coddenham, Suffolk, England
Died6 July 2014(2014-07-06) (aged 76)
Coddenham, Suffolk, England
Motocross career
Years active1953–1969
TeamsDot, Greeves, Matchless, Husqvarna, ČZ
ChampionshipsEuropean 250cc - 1960, 1961
Wins18

Motorcycling career

In the early 1960s, Bickers was one of the top motorcycle racers in the sport of scrambles, which eventually became more widely known by the European term 'motocross'.[3][4] He began competing in motorcycle scrambles at the age of 15 just before the official age which he was eligible to ride, which was sixteen, and he was so successful that he was rewarded with a sponsorship from the Dot motorcycle company.

His riding talent got him noticed by Greeves factory rider, Brian Stonebridge, who then recommended that Bickers be hired by Greeves in 1958. He won two consecutive 250cc European motocross championships in 1960 and 1961 for the Greeves factory racing team.[5] The European championship was considered to be the world championship at the time, as the sport of motocross had yet to develop outside of Europe.[6]

Bickers was a member of British teams that won the Trophée des Nations event in 1961 and in 1962. He also helped British teams win the Motocross des Nations in 1966 and 1967.[7]

The middle-1960s saw the start of the move away from traditional large-capacity four-stroke engines to two-strokes.[8]

From 1966 Bickers rode CZ models and was the UK importer for the 250 cc and 360 cc scramblers together with a trials bike, followed by CZ roadsters and Jawa models in 1973, selling both marques initially from his premises at Woodbridge Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, followed by a move to Farthing Road Industrial Estate, Ipswich.[9][10]

As one of the first European riders to race in the United States, Bickers helped to introduce Americans to the sport of motocross.[11] He also competed in the Trans-AMA motocross series in 1971 and 1972.

Film industry career

After retiring from competition, Bickers started a company manufacturing stunt equipment used in the film industry.[12][13] He also appeared as a stunt double for Roger Moore in Octopussy and Escape to Athena among other film work.

Bickers died after a stroke on 6 July 2014.[14]

References
  1. "Dave Bickers profile". bestsports.com.br. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  2. "Colonie Education Award Is Won by Miss Frender". Schenectady Gazette. 9 June 1961. p. 7.
  3. Carrick, Peter Motor Cycle Racing Hamlyn Publishing, 1969, p.104 ISBN 0 600 02506 3 Scrambling. "Britain invented scrambling; the many thousands of scrambling enthusasts abroad have a group of clubmen in Camberley, Surrey, to thank for initiating a sport which they now enjoy. With the sport becoming established on the Continent (known there as moto cross), the Moto Cross des Nations was inaugurated in 1947...". Accessed 2015-01-21
  4. "Dave Nicoll interview – Still Standing". mxlarge.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  5. "Frank Conley's Greeves History". earthlink.net. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  6. Reynolds, Jim (6 October 1993). "Obituary: Bert Greeves". The Independent. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  7. "Vintage History – 1960s". mxbikes.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  8. Motorcycle Mechanics, June 1964, p.9 Full Chat by Bruce Cox. "All over Europe there are development engineers furiously overboring and overstroking existing 250 c.c. engines to bring them into the 500 c.c. category. Husqvarna, CZ and Greeves all plan to race two-strokes of about 360 c.c. and Dave Bickers has had a few rides on a 'Pacemaker' Cotton special fitted with a large-capacity two-stroke built by Jack Heath of Coventry. Obviously, all these manufacturers feel that light weight counts for as much as sheer power in moto-cross". Accessed and added 28 June 2016
  9. Motor Cycle, 16 February 1967. pp.206-208 Czechspot – Peter Fraser rides Dave Bickers' CZ Machinery Accessed 2015-01-21
  10. Motorcycle Mechanics, November 1973, p.60. Dave Bickers (Imports) Jawa-CZ from Czechoslovakia Sole U.K. Concessionaires Accessed and added 2015-01-31
  11. "The History of Motocross: Part Three: Edison Dye and his Flying Circus". motorcyclemuseum.org. Archived from the original on 7 May 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  12. "Bickers Action". bickers.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  13. "Dave Bickers". imdb.com. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  14. "Motocross star and Bond stuntman Dave Bickers dies aged 76". bbc.com. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
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