Bob Work (Bo to his friends) was born in Vancouver in 1939, grew up in East Vancouver and got involved in motorcycles at an early age. His first bike was an Ariel 500 Red Hunter.

By 1959, Bo was tuning drag cars. He built a KR Harley with a Sportster engine which Dayton MacKenzie drove for him.

The sixties were an exciting time for motorcycles as the Japanese invasion came to North America. Trev Deeley was approached by Yamaha to be their Canadian distributor. Shortly thereafter Bo joined the Yamaha team as service manager. The normal progression saw Bo move into the racing department. Yvon du Hamel of Montreal joined the road racing team, and one of the most successful race teams in Canada was underway. Bo and Yvon won Daytona, finished second once, and set the track record of 242.8 kph, which still stands on the oval. Yvon won on a motor less than half the size of the competitors. Bo and Yvon won every 250 cc race on the AMA National circuit except one. They also led every 750 cc race, but a recurring mechanical fault kept them from being the 750 cc National Champion.

In 1972, Bo offered a young dirt biker from Bellingham a ride on a rebuilt TD2 road racer even though the kid had never road raced before.

BOB WORK - Inducted 2004

Pioneer - Motorcycling

Right: Bo, Centre: Yvon du Hammel, Left: Trevor Deeley  (Jim Greenwood collection)

by Jim Greenwood, 2004

Bob Work, 2004

However, Bo knew what he was doing. Steve Baker and Bo went on to be the first North Americans to win the World Formula 750 Championship in 1977. They also placed second to Barry Sheene in the 500 cc class. They also had a win, second and a third at Daytona, plus many AMA and CMA wins across Canada and USA. During this time, Bo built a dirt track miler that was truly awesome. The TZ750 was a four-cylinder, two-stroke road race engine that produced between 100 and 130 HP. Bo and Doug Schwerma built a dirt track frame and stuffed this monster engine in it. This bike was

approximately 30 mph faster than the Harleys and could spin the rear wheel in sixth gear! Unfortunately, the AMA elected to ban any engine with more than two cylinders. After winning the World Championship, some changes in the Yamaha head office caused Steve to leave and ride for a private Italian company.

Bo left Yamaha in 1981, During his time there he tuned for 18 motocross riders, 14 road racers, 2 trials riders, and 4 dirt track racers. The riders of the bikes Bo tuned set a remarkable record of wins in all classes of motorcycle racing.

After his time with Yamaha, Bo went back to Daytona as a freelancer with Ron Pierce, riding his 750cc Yamaha. Ron placed third. Next up for Bo was the Battle of the Twins. For this, Bo took a YV920 road racing engine and put Porsche pistons in it, creating a l000cc racer. Ron and Bo campaigned this for three years, refining the engine and winning their share of races.

Bo's career was not limited to motorcycles. He has tuned a winning Yamaha-powered Mini-Sprint race car, been in three movies, made commercials and is on first name basis with the likes of Mario Andretti, Rick Mears, and Dick Trickle, to name a few.