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Some classic bikes stay with you for life. Tony Ayliffe went a-courting on his Ajay, took it on honeymoon, and doesn’t seem to think they’ll ever be parted… It was the 2nd March 1976, I was 20 and had taken the day off work to go in search of a new bike with my mate…

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In part I, Martin Gelder wrote off a BMW R60, then bought an R100S and rode round for a bit before writing that off as well. The story of Common Problems continues… Time passed. The crashed BMW languished under a green canvas cover in the front garden while a Mk1 Le Mans tried to take…

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This book offers a different look at classic motorcycling, one with an international flavour. Steve Wilson has read it, and reports… The author Rex Bunn is an Australian and he writes like one, with energy and laconic wit. He’s a fifty-something inventor (Bunn crankcase breathers, feedback gauges, modified grips, etc) and author, with his own…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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