Terry Shepherd (1931 – 2012)

Former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and legendary two-stroke engine tuner, Terry Shepherd passed away on October 5 2012, after a battle with cancer.

He started racing Norton motorcycles in the 1950s, and a passion for engine tuning soon followed – partly out of necessity.

The Norton’s valves would regularly bend under racing conditions, and many racers would buy new ones, but Terry refused to and used to hammer his straight.

Needless to say, he got very good at it, and developed a reputation in the paddock, which led to the founding of Terry Shepherd Tuning, in 1965.

Terry’s son, Richard, said “He lived for racing motorbikes, he loved them and there was no other sport for him. Back when he used to race it was the golden era. The lightest leathers were picked for dynamics and weight saving, risk didn’t even come into it. He was one of the foremost knowledgeable people on tuning two-strokes.

“It was only four years ago that we decided on using Computer Aided Design (CAD) and he learnt a CAD program in two weeks. He was a clever man with an IQ of over 150.

“I remember when I was 11 years old and I thought Barry Sheene was like a God. Barry came up to me one time and said ‘I’m fast you know, but your dad… he’s really fast.’ I have always been proud of him; he was a great rider, a great man, and will be missed by us all.”

The Shepherd family would like all those who knew Terry to remember that “he loved you all”. The funeral will take place Friday 19 October at Southport crematorium at 10am.

The family will welcome any messages of support to:

168 Blackmoss Lane
Aughton Park
Ormskirk
Lancs
L39 4UG