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  • BSA Gold Star Brake Conversion

    BSA Gold Star Brake Conversion

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    One front drum brake not good enough for you? DBD Brian grafted two BSA 8” front drums together to improve the braking on his Gold Star. Here’s how he did it… This is a conversion I carried out on my Goldie about ten years ago. As you can see, it’s two Goldie eight inch brakes…

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  • Mototrans Ducati 125 – Part One

    Mototrans Ducati 125 – Part One

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    Ash Gannicott wanted his own classic bike. One small problem: Ash is only nine. So doting Dad Russ swooped on this ideal opportunity to play with (sorry; rebuild on a tight budget) a miniature Italian cafe racer… OK, imagine the scenario: you’ve got a few(!) bikes in your garage, a couple more at your workplace…

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  • Bikes: Royal Enfield Bullet 500

    Bikes: Royal Enfield Bullet 500

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    What happens when you combine classic motorcycle wiring and feminine intuition? Emm lights the blue touch paper and we should all stand well back… Royal Enfield motorcycles bear the slogan ‘Made like a Gun’. Olive, as an example of a Royal Enfield 500 Bullet, is not so much a motorbike ‘made like a battle-ready, empire…

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  • The Encyclopaedia of Classic Motorcycles, by Richard Rosenthal

    The Encyclopaedia of Classic Motorcycles, by Richard Rosenthal

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    If you like dipping in and out of an old bike book, rather than following a lengthy narrative, then you probably enjoy the ‘great big list’ formula. Here is possibly the greatest, biggest list we’ve ever encountered… This is one seriously weighty tome, in both literal and content senses. It aspires to replace the once-famous…

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  • Honda CB350K4

    Honda CB350K4

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    Let’s go back, back, back in time to when flares were cool the first time around, and the Honda CB350K4 was all the rage. Paul Webb has a fascination for Hondas of 1973/1974 vintage — we blame the parents. His dad said ‘no’ 30 years ago… You will understand why back in 1974, as a…

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  • Jupiter's Travels by Ted Simon

    Jupiter's Travels by Ted Simon

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    Three decades ago, Ted Simon rode a Triumph Tiger some 63,000 miles through 54 countries on a journey which took four years. Does the story still seem relevant today?… All too often a book that is trumpeted as a ‘must read’ proves to be at best a let down or at worst a crashing disappointment.…

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  • Legends in Their Lifetime, George Brough & Lawrence of Arabia, by Titch Allen

    Legends in Their Lifetime, George Brough & Lawrence of Arabia, by Titch Allen

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    Not your usual history about the usual suspects, says Dave Minton, but the essence of inspiring motorcycling lives distilled for your elucidation… In 1956 I was walking through Preston when an outfit purred past, sounding more docile from its single fishtail pipe than I imagined, in my youth, that any motorcycle had a right to.…

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  • Moto Morini Three and a Half

    Moto Morini Three and a Half

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    Looking for a little latin élan? Something small and perfectly formed in the shape of a Morini 350 might just do the job. Rowena Hoseason has met several of the breed… It was one of those brisk, glowing evenings when I rode my first Morini 350. The air was full of faint shafts of golden…

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  • Motorcycling: An Illustrated Social History, by Roger Fogg

    Motorcycling: An Illustrated Social History, by Roger Fogg

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    A high quality hardback review of motorcycling from 1910 through to 1969, showcasing half a century of British bikes and the people who rode them… I must shout this out straight away: do not be put off by the portentous title! Please. This is a cracking book of elderly photographs of more elderly motorcycles, and…

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  • 1976 MZ TS250/1 Supa 5 – An MZ Abroad – Part 3

    1976 MZ TS250/1 Supa 5 – An MZ Abroad – Part 3

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    After main bearing failure and repair, Phil Speakman finally arrives at his destination in Finland. Now all he needs is an ice-lolly… I didn’t know whether to keep on laughing or start crying with relief, as 48 hours of sickening worry had evaporated to the sound of a healthy 2-stroke tickover. My swollen right knee…

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