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The man behind the popular Panther single was also responsible for various aero engines and the Sopwith ABC. Plus he had a passion for toroidal engine design. We enlisted an engineer, Jacqueline Bickerstaff, to read and unravel his life’s story… A few days ago a large and heavy tome dropped through my letterbox, bearing a…

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Modern marvel? Mechanical milestone? Or just another mediocre mass-market middleweight? 400 Fours were everywhere in the seventies, and now they’re back. This time there’s a Classic label attached but Martin Gelder had one first time round and isn’t convinced… You buy your first multi-cylinder bike from the local dealer, ride it straight round to your…

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In 1990, a one-man-band race team in New Zealand attempted to take on the rest of the world in the battle of the twins series. The Britten V1000 was the result, and this DVD tells the story of the bike and the man behind it… John Britten was a creative and talented engineer, a New…

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Mention Brough Superiors and TE Lawrence and you run the danger of disappearing under pomp and circumstance. Not so with this charming, enthusiast’s DVD… Are you cheesed off by the snore-ripping attempts by certain bogus video makers who think that they can cash in on our weakness for old motor cycles? I am. I’m steaming…

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How many classic motorcycles can you partly dismantle and carry home on an aeroplane as excess baggage? Matt Little explains how to brighten up a winter’s weekend in Sweden… When looking around an antique dealer’s barn on a cold, dark, weekend in Sweden, I noticed quite a few nicely mellowed, unrestored Swedish mopeds and motorcycles.…

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What was life like for female riders in the 1920s? Mrs Elk recommends a recent reprint of an inter-war classic book… ‘Motorcycling for Women’ was originally published in 1928 and reflects a golden period when there were more motorcycles on the road than cars, and anyone could ride a motorcycle at 14 without passing a…

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Phil Speakman landed in Finland with his MZ’s main bearings knocking louder than his knees. Phil doesn’t speak any Finnish and he was about 150 miles away from the MZ rally he was aiming for. Help? In desperation I’d sent out a request for a mate to put up an emergency call for Finnish help…

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Remember Howard’s Big 4 which was undergoing a mechanical overhaul? We can now show you the photos of it. And David Yeats explains how the Big 4 got its name, and reveals his own collection of Norton singles… We left Howard’s Norton single with a leaking fuel tap, a non-existent regulator, a deceased drive chain…

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A new book commemorates 75 successful Pioneer Runs from London to Brighton on (very) old bikes… The first ever book on the history of the Pioneer Run® has just been published by the Sunbeam Motor Cycle Club. In its large (A4) format of over 250 pages the copiously illustrated book covers the whole history from…

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By popular demand (well, OK, one person) we reveal the pros and cons of buying an ex-Army trailie-bike. Rowena Hoseason actually spent her own money on some old military surplus scrap… Army surplus. What does that make you think of? Sweaty socks, fresh from squaddies’ feet? Dodgy Land Rovers which have been carelessly lobbed out…

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