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Jim Peace remembers when the warnings on cigarette packets had nothing at all to do with smoking… Many years ago, when almost everybody smoked, cigarette manufacturers would try to encourage brand loyalty by enclosing one or two picture cards in the packs. These came in sets of fifty so you had to smoke a lot…

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Frank Westworth muses upon the meaning of magical metal lurgy… I love a good joke. And before you jump in and shout ‘LE Velocette!’ or ‘rotary Norton!’ I should say that I like my jokes to make me smile, not induce a sudden need to crawl away and hide in a damp corner. Down here…

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You’re reading a website about old bikes, so presumably you like old bikes. But do you ride one? Frank Westworth is dazed and confused… ‘All Velocette dealers are rubbish! Know what I mean?’ An angry man was being angry at me. I am a kindly soul and gazed at him in wonder. Life on a…

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Did you know that lots and lots of the very best, British-built AJS and Matchless motorcycles were exported to the USA? It came as a surprise to Frank Westworth… Well? Did you? Did you know that AMC transported a vast proportion of their bikes to the colonies? For years and years and years, I had…

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Last time Frank Westworth was dreaming about dream bikes. This time he’s wondering about owning just a single motorcycle. Which would you choose if you could have only one? There could be a theme here, which would be alarmingly professional. Cast your mind back to the last installment, and if your life really has been…

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Frank Westworth says he’s the same person regardless of whether he’s riding a Norton, a BMW, or a Harley-Davidson. So why do people treat him differently depending on which old bike he’s aboard? Have you ridden a Harley-Davidson recently? No? You should. It is an interesting experience; instructive and informative in several ways. Also thought-provoking,…

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Frank Westworth last attended the AJS and Matchless Owners’ Club’s remarkable Alternative Jampot Rally in 1990. Until this year… I was entirely entertained when Mr Jampot Magazine Editor Chris remarked that he’d had a comment from an Ajay Club member who was annoyed with me. He was annoyed because I had apparently announced that I…

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Classic Trackdays – A Beginner’s Guide Fresh from surviving the Morini Riders’ Club outing at Cadwell Park, Martin Gelder presents a first timer’s guide to classic bike trackdays. The most fun you can have with your leathers on? If you own an old bike with even the slightest leaning towards sporting prowess, you need to…

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Fiction is a wonderful thing in its place. That place shouldn’t really be in the description of a motorcycle, says Frank Westworth… It is not easy to work out how, why and when it happened, but for some incomprehensible reason I occasionally find myself pretending to be the judge in a motorcycle concours. I pretend…

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If his choice of bikes isn’t terrible enough, the fact that he can afford one is worse! Frank Westworth is as bemused as ever… Welcome to a strange day. It’s not every day that a chap’s email inbox gets filled with mail, mostly from strangers, announcing that one is being got-at in the pages of…

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