THE GREAT DR. JALISCO

If you own & ride an old bike, you know the fear that arises when you need assistance to get her back on the road, which is rather usual unless you ride a BMW! Unskilled hands, are abundant nowadays and are responsible for the bad temper many of our vintage glories exhibit. Like you, we’ve been in this situation many times; some in front of pseudo-professional connoisseurs (where we could see it coming), but other times, this happens in front of high lineage Snake-Oil Sellers, whom, in an arachnid like behavior, nest a trap all around us, ending in disater, a full battery of insults and even some awkwardly violent gesticulations, while leaving the premises. Well, fortunately this is not the case with the man this post is all about.

I first met Jalisco at the Jarama classic exhibition back in April, and if it wasn’t for him the ol’69 wouldn’t have participated in the rounds. 2 weeks before the event, one of those highly considered Snake Sellers, had categorically discarded my Mikunis and my Points Ignition, (which I could manage fairly well on my own), for a pair of seductive Amal Mono Blocks and a spanking new Boyer electronic ignition. The problem was that the new parts, were just mocked up and not “race” tuned as we had agreed and paid for. As the Triumph wasn’t road legal, couldn’t test it on the tarmac before the event, so patiently waited for the big day. Saturday morning when we kicked the bike @ the Jarama, spark and gas were never on the same page…

During all weekend, under pressure, precarious conditions and a severe lack of tools… Jalisco kept improving the bike, sometimes even neglecting full attention to his long time friend’s rides. His only motivation was to keep us all on the track, so he would give more attention to those bikes that needed the most in order to remain track worthy. On Sunday after the circus ended, we had a couple of beers and I couldn’t bear how he refused any kind of monetary exchange. Only then, and with a bottle of Rum on my hand, did I fully understand what drives this man to calm, so gently, our tortured rides. Something opposed to the trade of business, and surely the most valuable commodity of all: PASSION!!!

Jalisco’s workshop is located in Villaviciosa de Odon, (Madrid). If you need his contact info or any other detail, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line and I’ll put in touch!