Classic Bike Hub UK

After years of hard work, Rob Seedhouse had his wreck of a Norton lightweight nearly ready to run. But then came… the paperwork! During the build-up I registered the Navigator with an age-related plate. I couldn’t find any documentary evidence to prove that its original registration number — which was on the motorcycle when I…

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Rob Seedhouse wanted a project to keep him out of trouble for a while. It turned out to be a very long while! But if a job’s worth doing… In 1990 I was bored with my model engineering hobby and though that if I could combine my engineering and my motorcycling then I would have…

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Ever have that sinking feeling that something is missing? In Tom Rodford’s case it was all of his Norton Lightweight’s tinware. But he persevered, and built a motorbike out of a pile of bits… It all started in August 1996, sat in a pub at the local motor club evening. Pete and I were talking…

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You might think that a 1931 ex-works Norton racer belongs in a museum, and indeed Steve Lacey’s Manx GP bike had pride of place at Brooklands for a while. It was originally raced by Ron Harris, then ridden by Phil Heath, and owned by Titch Allen. Steve tells its story This CS1 was built by…

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Roy Workman gets a bit nippy and meets any number of Norman cycles, and the Norman Cycle Club, and a windmill… My interest in Norman motorcycles was rekindled when an article in the MZ club magazine mentioned a Norman Club. On enquiring about it I found out that the club started up in 2001, and…

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Ken Phelp is so keen on this unusual breed of vintage motorcycle that he wrote a book about them. So how did his fascination develop? The Ner-a-Car is a truly unusual motorcycle, built in the 1920s. It was an American design dating from 1918 or so which was produced under licence in England. The model…

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Phil Speakman takes an unusual first ride on his latest classic bike. From the middle of nowhere to the other side of the country on one of the coldest days of the year — aka hypothermia for beginners… ‘How do you spell it?’ ‘S-L-E-A-F’ ‘Ah yes, I’ve got it now. Never heard of that station…

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After main bearing failure and repair, Phil Speakman finally arrives at his destination in Finland. Now all he needs is an ice-lolly… I didn’t know whether to keep on laughing or start crying with relief, as 48 hours of sickening worry had evaporated to the sound of a healthy 2-stroke tickover. My swollen right knee…

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Phil Speakman landed in Finland with his MZ’s main bearings knocking louder than his knees. Phil doesn’t speak any Finnish and he was about 150 miles away from the MZ rally he was aiming for. Help? In desperation I’d sent out a request for a mate to put up an emergency call for Finnish help…

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Phil Speakman starts to clock up some miles on his recently rebuilt 250 Trophy… and promptly runs into trouble. No problems, there’s another MZ in the shed. It’ll be fine to ride to Finland. Won’t it? When you have rebuilt an old, unloved by most motorcyclists and yet interesting bike, you have two choices really.…

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