February 2024

RealClassic revels in the nuts and bolts of running, riding and rebuilding real classic motorcycles. Expert and enthusiastic real-life riders from across the world share their passion for old bikes. This month: Rickman Interceptor Last month, Oily Boot Bob bought a ‘ready to ride’ Rickman Interceptor. Almost immediately, he has to take it apart. And then it takes some time to…

Clubman’s Corner: cover your Kettle!

Members of the Kettle Club – which caters for Suzuki’s iconic 750 two-stroke – now benefit from a bespoke insurance scheme, specifically tailored to meet their needs… Launched in 1971, the water-cooled inline triple established itself as a smooth, comfortable grand tourer, unique in a world dominated by identikit four-cylinder four-stroke sportsbikes. At 550lb, the GT750 was never particularly frisky…

Norton Model 50: Something a little different

Norton was long associated with sporting singles, especially the firm’s highly competitive cammy racers of the pre-war era. But in the mid-1950s a very different single-cylinder 350 joined the line-up, as Rowena Hoseason reveals… Not to be confused with Norton’s pre-war Model 50, the post-war 350 arrived for 1956 and shared many of its cycle parts with the Model 19…