Joey Dunlop: a real racer’s life

  This softback biography of TT legend William Joseph Dunlop is one of the few publications on this subject to be given official approval by the TT Riders’ Association. Written by Ray Knight, himself a road racer of considerable accomplishment, it was published in the year of Dunlop’s death – but the author had already spent the previous decade researching…

Classic bikes for sale

  Each month RealClassic magazine features a selection of classic bikes and old motorcycles which are up for grabs – on sale at dealers or offered by private vendors. And without fail, the RC Crew are always distracted by the array of weird, wonderful and just plain WOW classic motorcycles on the market. So here are six of the best…

Hot Stuff: heated motorcycle clothing

  Winter’s worst is almost over for this year, which means now is the perfect time to check the bargain bin for bad-weather riding gear. Richard Jones runs a Hinckley Bonneville, blessed with a modern electrical system that can cope with running a central heating system. To survive a wild wintry weekend in Wales, he put a heated vest to…

March magazine: out now!

RealClassic isn’t available in the shops, so if you want to read this month’s eclectic collection of classic bikes then here’s how to order the issue. Find out what real-life riders reckon to Moto Guzzi’s Spada, the really rare Matchless 750 twin, the Gold Star’s secret sibling, a pair of uprated Enfields and the entirely unusual four-cylinder Nimbus 750. And…

Yamaha XS650

  A few months back, Editor Westworth risked life and limb by suggesting that Yamaha’s air-cooled parallel twin was the first and potentially the best ‘Japanese Bonneville’. It’s stood the test of time, too, as this 40 year old example ably demonstrates. So we were delighted to hear from the man who modified this particular XS – previous owner DaveP,…

Braking Bad

In the February issue of RealClassic, Dave Bushell noted that ‘my pre-war Scotts and, I think, most girder-forked machines, have their front brake arms facing forward from the pivot point. My post-war Scotts with telescopic forks have them facing rearwards, as do most other makes with some exceptions. If forward facing brake arms provide better braking, why did manufacturers reverse…