Debbo – Great rider, great gentleman

It was with sadness that I learnt that Eric Debbenham had passed away. Although I knew who he was in the late 1960s it was not until the early 1980s with Classic Racing that I got to know him better and talked frequently to him at race meetings. There were some tremendous dices between Eric on the Norvin and the late Graham Gates on the 650 Norton Dominator. Gates respected and was amazed at how Eric could throw his big machine around, especially seeing as he was then in mid 50s. He stated that if he could ride half as good as that when he got to that age he would be more than happy. In fact at the January meeting 1984 Gates was concerned that Eric was starting to get his measure and it was only a matter of time that he would be beaten. This resulted in him refraining from alcohol, stopped smoking and went to a gymnasium to commence a fitness campaign. His Norton was closely looked at and everything double checked. Several months later again at Amaroo, Gates was primed and went out against Eric too win by a comfortable margin. Eric then approached me and said that he thought that it was time to give away his riding. He went on to tell me that in recent months he had undertaken a considerable amount of preparation for the meeting. He had been on a diet, commenced walking and double checked everything on the Norvin. Years later I was to tell Eric that Gates had been doing similar things to ensure that he was able to keep him at bay. He saw the funny side in that both riders were doing similar things in order to combat the other. Eric had not enjoyed the best of health in recent years. His bad run seemed to commence when he set out for a practice run on a lightweight motorcycle for a forthcoming licence test and collided with a car which resulted in a fractured pelvis. Since then he had several falls at home and received some further fractures. About two months ago I was able to phone him in hospital and get his version of a 1962 race in which he competed. As usual he was only too happy to give me his recollections and have a chat in that forever friendly and courteous manner. A thorough gentleman and one who I never heard anyone have cause or reason to make an adverse comment against. The only time I heard him speak ill of anyone was with regards to the low life types who organised the theft of Alan Burt’s machines. 1925 350 SV BSA. However on this weekend he was there assisting those seeking to cure those ever present carburetor problems. John has 20 years experience in trading Amal parts. He stocks complete new carburetors which include 276, 289, Monobloc and Mk1 Concentrics. He retains parts for the 274, 275 276, 289, G.P, TT, Mk11 Concentrics and a limited amount of BSA Bantam Carb parts. He also has throttle, clutch and brake cables for AJS, Matchless, BSA and Norton up to the late 1950s. John can be contacted After Hours on (03) 9879 3817 or email ukcarbs@hotmail.com