What got you into bikes?

My dad Kevin was into bikes and so was my brother, but in the middle of the minibike boom I only rode a little bit at Norm Fraser’s farm on an MR50, XR75 and SL70. In fact, I didn’t get my first bike until I was 17, a Suzuki TM125 that cost me $300. I left school in Year 11 and took up an apprenticeship as a fitter and turner in the coal mines, but didn’t go racing until I was 21.

When was your first race?

I bought a Yamaha LC250 and had my first race at Oran Park in April 1982. It was only a three or four lapper, but I ended up winning it. I never had the money to do anything other than production racing so I think I was the first NSW rider to make A-grade without racing a grand prix bike.

The two gun proddy riders of the day were Terry Paviell and Michael Dowson, and I was mixing it with them from the get-go – I just clicked with road racing, having never done dirt track or any other racing growing up.

Terry Yates and Ron Young were running a Ducati Pantah (600) in the ’83 Castrol Six Hour and they were struggling a bit in practice so I jumped on it. I was doing some pretty good times and heard later that Graeme Crosby asked Robbie Phillis, “Who’s that little bloke in black leathers on the Ducati Pantah?” and Robbie said, “That’s Graeme Morris, he’s pretty quick, inee.”

That all led to a big break, correct?

Warren Willing and Dennis Neill were working for Emerson Sport, the importers of Dunlop tyres, and they approached me at the Six Hour. I had a meeting with Warren and he offered a pretty awesome deal for 1984 – a fully backed team with an RZ250, an XJ600 and later the RZ500. Part of Warren’s plan was to take me to the world 250 championship in 1985.

In my first race I beat Pirelli team riders Richard Scott and Rodney Browne, but their team boss Frank Matich protested and we got pinged for a modified shock. Then I got tangled up with the travelling marshal while leading the 250 proddy race at Bathurst.

Four RZ500s turned up and one of them was earmarked for me. In my first run at Lakeside, it was pattering pretty bad over the bumps coming onto the straight. Warren told me to go out again and go through the bumps and he’d walk down have a look. Two or three laps in I hit the bumps, which sent the bike out of control, pitching me into the Armco feet first at big speed. I ended up with multiple fractures, including a broken pelvis, but the most worrying thing was a fat embolism. It was touch and go for a while. My family was contacted to get up here quick and, if not for the quick actions of a doctor, that could’ve been it.

I was out of the sport for 10 months, my dreams of going to the world championships over. My rehab was long and I ended up with a leg three-quarters of an inch shorter than the other.

Tell us about your comeback

That was Adelaide on an RZ350 in 1985. By this time Mick Doohan was on the scene and I had quite a few dices with him. I stayed at his brother Scott’s place when I was up in Queensland, so I knew them pretty well. In the book on Mick Doohan, he says he always felt he was fast enough to win but that I had the experience in racecraft to close out a race, which was nice of him to acknowledge.

You had a rocky time in Superbike, but went stellar in SuperStreet and Supersport

I got the call-up to Fraser’s Ducati team in 1990, and went pretty well on the 888. Things got a little political and I ended up leaving after the Australian Grand Prix.

I went SuperStreet racing in ’91 with Action Suzuki and ended up winning the Senior class, then I joined forces with Steve Cramer in the Maxima Honda team in the Australian Supersport Championship. It was pretty good racing against Fred Bayens and Troy Bayliss on his ZZR-600, which was fast but a bit heavy, and I won two championships in a row.

My last race was at Bathurst in 2000, finishing third behind Kevin Curtain and Tony Rees on the Bike Biz R1.

Tell us about your business and son Aaron

We started Graeme Morris Motorcycles in 1998 and we ended up specialising in scooters and LAMS bikes. We had Vespa for 15 years, and we now have Kymco and SWM.

Aaron’s career has taken a bit of my attention over the last five years; we both started racing late, but I reckon he’s got more natural flair and can ride anything.

By Darryl Flack