Features

  • The Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum

    The Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum

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    On his Continental travels, Dave Whiting discovered an amazing motorcycling road. And at the end of it, he found an amazing motorcycle museum, stuffed full of iconic classic bikes and vintage motorcycles… It’s not often I find myself ‘ahead of the curve’ so to speak, certainly not in the classic motorcycle world but this time…

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  • Vintage vehicle survey results

    Vintage vehicle survey results

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    The average vintage vehicle travels 1100 miles a year, and there are nearly 300,000 classic bikes on the DVLA’s database. Which classic motorcycle marque do you think is the most popular? Triumph? BSA, maybe? Every five years in recent times, the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs carries out a survey of the historic vehicle…

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  • James Superswift Two-Stroke Twin

    James Superswift Two-Stroke Twin

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      ‘It’s the finest and dandiest 250 you’ve ever seen,’ said the launch publicity about the new Superswift in the autumn of 1961. ‘The James twin you have been waiting for!’ The new machines, priced at £181.18.8, offered ‘thrilling performance matched only by its superb styling and finish… Ride it here, ride it there, ride…

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  • Win an AJS Model 18

    Win an AJS Model 18

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    If you’re looking for a typical British bike, then the single-cylinder four-strokes built by Associated Motor Cycles immediately after WW2 are the obvious choice. Small wonder then that the National Motorcycle Museum chose an AJS Model 18 as one of the prizes in their winter raffle. Honest, dependable and free of phoney pretensions, the Ajay…

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  • Cafe racer kits for Hinckley triples

    Cafe racer kits for Hinckley triples

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    How to transform an old Hinckley triple into a rapid café racer, no spannering skills required. Don’t do it yourself – let an expert take the strain… After years of restoring classics and building specials, Ian at Café Racer Kits found a simple way to share his experience and expertise. CRK started offering modular kits…

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  • BSA A7

    BSA A7

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    BSA twins typically come top of the list in the ‘practical classic bikes’ category. They’re solidly reliable, easy to start and maintain and supported by a good range of specialist spares suppliers. If you’re after a pre-unit machine, then the 500cc A7 is the obvious, still affordable option… The A7 was BSA’s big push into…

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  • Shed Treasure Hunt

    Shed Treasure Hunt

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    A TV team of classic motorcycles enthusiasts are seeking interesting sheds to explore, and old bikes to buy… Cast your mind back a couple of years and you may recall Graham Ham’s mighty ShedQuest during which he travelled the length, breadth and wiggly bits of Britain, seeking out interesting people with fascinating stuff secreted about…

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  • Royal Enfield Turbo Twin

    Royal Enfield Turbo Twin

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    Earlier this year, the VMCC raffled a classic British twin-cylinder two-stroke 250, and we featured the machine back in RC143. Eagle-eyed Enfield aficionado Mark Mumford spotted a few deviations from standard spec… The VMCC’s raffle bike, nicely presented though it is, is really an owner’s version of the Turbo Twin rather than a factory example.…

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  • Hesketh V1000 and Vampire – Part 1

    Hesketh V1000 and Vampire – Part 1

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    It ain’t quite a British Bulldog, but the Hesketh motorcycle still demands respect. Despite near-fatal flaws and fiscal foolishness, it simply refused to lay down and die… ‘This bike is a giant. It’s going to become a classic’ – Superbike magazine, June 1980 They were so right – but not immediately. When the Hesketh V1000…

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  • A life with Classic Bikes, part one

    A life with Classic Bikes, part one

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    Bob Bagshaw recalls a riding life with classic motorcycles, starting with his war years and first British bikes… As I reach my four score years and ten I thought my experiences with motor vehicles and the gentle art of motorcycling might interest some of the younger readers — say those aged around 60 or so……

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