Jeff belongs to probably the last generation who rode bikes because they couldn’t afford cars and, with a 10-year layoff to breed and buy carpets, he has been riding bikes continuously since he was 17.

He graduated in mechanical engineering and spent 18 months with Joseph Lucas which was sufficient time to persuade him that a career lay elsewhere. After dabbling with technical authorship and PR, Jeff ended up in advertising where he spend his working life, founding his own agency in Covent Garden in 1977.

Bikes played a part there as well with clients like Kawasaki and Pirelli, as well as a (then) small magazine publisher called EMAP which produced Motorcycle News every week.

Over a period of 20 years, Jeff was involved in the creation or purchase, then launch and development of dozens of magazines, including Motorcycle Mechanics (now Performance Bikes), Classic Bike, Classic Mechanics, Classic Racer, Ride and Bike.

First bike was a Vespa 125 followed by an AJS Model 18 500cc twin which lasted through College only consuming about nine sets of big ends, rods and crankshafts. Fondly remembered bikes were a red Guzzi V50III, and a lovely Meriden Triumph 650 Thunderbird. Working for Kawasaki produced its own problems, especially when they lent Jeff one of the first ZZR1100s to take to the Isle of Man for a week.