News

Adrian Hughes always wanted a café racer so he built one from scratch, hoping for a cheap, fast-finish project. Well, at least part of the plan worked My B44 was built entirely from bits and pieces which were purchased from various sources around the country. I have always wanted a café racer, so I set…

Continue reading »

Phillip Rashleigh’s off-road project bike suddenly needs suspension. Forks, shocks, tyres, swinging arm – oh, and something to stop the plot might be an idea, too… With the project starting to com together, I sent off gearbox for inspection and, as suspected and expected, the bearings and bushes were all well shot. However everything else…

Continue reading »

BikerBabe has spent quite a while getting her Bultaco trailbike fettled and ready for some winter mud-plugging. So, naturally, it refused to play fair at the first sight of snow… I guess it’s that time of year again. Time for BB to get the Bulto out, make some muddy tracks all over the place, and…

Continue reading »

Wherein 50 years of steel pounding on aluminum gives Jim Algar, our Californian correspondent, a hole in his head… and a headache! Up until 1954, Norton twin engines used a cast iron cylinder head. In 1955, they changed to aluminum. Remember that fact; we’ll come back to it in a moment. With the Dominator’s engine…

Continue reading »

Jim Algar’s restoration of a classic Norton twin continues… slowly. Some sundry tasks are accomplished and Jim makes the acquaintance of the World’s Largest Rubber Band… When last we met (yes, it’s been many months; what can I say?), I was waiting for warmer weather to paint my frame. Well, the weather cooperated, so after…

Continue reading »

Big wide bars? Chunky tyres? Single seat? Someone at Royal Enfield is going the distance to tempt her into buying a new Electra, reckons Rowena Hoseason. But she’s more likely to get a T-shirt for Christmas… The guys at Watsonian reckon that they’ve created the Trials Electra to reflect Enfield’s historic ISDT successes in the…

Continue reading »

When a treasure trove of vintage motorcycle drawings, press cuttings, notebooks and more were discovered, a classic bike enthusiast resolved that they should be shared with the world. So here’s the cream of the crop… RC reader Alan Freke is a regular volunteer at his local village Museum at Frenchay near Bristol and helps to…

Continue reading »

These days you can buy a bike from Italy and have an old Guzzi delivered direct to your door. Talbot Coleman gave it a whirl In 1999 Talbot Coleman took the plunge after 50 years of owning and riding British bikes and bought an Italian import V1000 Convert, built in 1975. Not only was Talbot…

Continue reading »

An ongoing tale, which as yet has no end in sight, about a girl. And a motorbike. And a misfire! Rowena Hoseason loves her Hurricane but doesn’t get to ride it much… Once upon a time, my dream came true. I have odd dreams, and this one involved a bright orange motorcycle. Said tangerine dream…

Continue reading »

This Laverda triple, says Dave Minton, was a memorial to an heroic age, when mighty power made uncompromising demands and the consequences were thunderous. Boom! In the early 1960s Fritz Egli campaigned the European Hill Climb Championship on a Vincent Black Shadow tuned to full race Lightning trim. Dissatisfied with its roadholding up the excruciating…

Continue reading »