Classic bikes for sale

  Every issue of the monthly RealClassic magazine includes pages of old motorcycles and classic bikes for sale, offered by private individuals and trade specialists. And every month, some extremely interesting (or just plain strange) small ads attract the eagle eye of Editor Westworth. Here then are six of the best reader ads from the February issue – a mix…

Overland to Vietnam

On his earlier expeditions, Gordon G May rode a BSA Bantam to the pyramids of Egypt, and then a Royal Enfield Bullet to southern India. His most recent adventure involved a WW2 military Matchless and a circuitous route across Europe to the Black Sea, through the Caucasus and into Central Asia, through China, over high-altitude passes and into Pakistan, across…

Classic bike bits: anti-ethanol, riding jeans and smart sparks

Anti-Effinol We’ve discussed the irritating effects of ethanol in petrol before – and the subject becomes ever more relevant as the concentration of ethanol rises. Even ‘super’ high-octane fuels are quite likely to contain some ethanol. It’s entirely possible to purchase fuel-proof pipework and petrol taps but, especially if a bike only gets occasional use, ghastly goop frequently congeals in…

The Dragon Rally

  Only the boldest and the bravest motorcyclists face winter’s worst weather to participate in the annual Dragon Rally. The ride itself to Snowdonia can be something of a challenge on two wheels – and then comes a weekend of camping. In February. We sent RC regular Richard Jones who (a) cheated, and (b) discovered several species of sidecar outfits,…

BMW F650

BMW’s original Funduro, soon to celebrate its quarter-century, is one of the firm’s most successful models. Some 50,000 of the original four-valve dual-plug five-speed 650 singles were built in partnership with Rotax and Aprilia in the mid-1990s, before BMW brought production in-house in 2000. Ian Caswell initially thought he’d found a brilliant bargain in the form of his 1994 F650…

DKW and MZ motorcycles

We frequently find all manner of interesting artefacts while rummaging around in the RC RChive, including factory adverts, original artwork and some stunning bike brochures. We cram as many of them into the magazine as we can, but they often don’t reproduce particularly well in print so we can only use them at relatively small sizes. It seems a shame…