1934-2022
Road racer and dealer Dave Moore, who worked for family business Moores Motorcycles, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, for 50 years, died on 4 December, aged 88.
‘Little Dave’ joined Moores (Est. 1936) in the workshop aged 15 when the business was all British. That year he rode a BSA single, his first bike, in a trial, and the following year was racing the same bike at Brands Hatch.
He excelled as a mechanic and tuner and raced until 1961 at a high standard on 125s and 250s. At Crystal Palace, London, he finished third to Mike Hailwood and Phil Read, who would go on to win a total of 18 world titles.
In the late 1950s, he and Hailwood acquired the first two Paton Mondial 125s in the country, says son Colin, who now runs Yamaha premier dealer Moores with cousin James Moore. Colin adds that his father rode for Barry Sheene’s father, Frank, competed on a 125 MV and turned down works ride offers, arguing that his self-tuned bikes were faster.
Little Dave was best known for his exploits on a 1954 250 NSU Sportsmax, the bike now in Sweden. He reckoned it was the fastest 250 in Europe. He last rode it in 2017 at the Hailwood Memorial meeting at Castle Combe, Wiltshire, 50 years after he first rode it against Hailwood. Dave had taken up parading in the early 1980s.
At the shop in the 1970s boom years, he became the key parts specialist, making sure that fast-moving parts were available off the shelf. Assisted by ‘Big Dave’ Walters, now at Tinkler’s Motorcycles, it built a nationwide reputation for parts supply.
In 1999 Dave retired from Moore’s aged 65. He loved gardening and had taken up watercolour painting after breaking his ankle in 1971 pulling a Honda out of a lorry. His passion for bikes continued with occasional parade riding.
“He did everything at full throttle,” says Colin. “He was very competitive at whatever he turned his hand to. When he rode the Hailwood Memorial, he was 83 and slightly nervous after being out of it for so long. But he was very fit, and once he got going, he was super smooth. Sadly, he suffered dementia for the last four years of his life.”