New & Features

Martin Gelder gets a bit carried away at his first classic track-day. As does his Moto Morini Three-and-a-half. On a trailer. Oh dear… Laughter fills my helmet. Not wry chuckles, not guilty giggles; full-on shoulder-heaving guffaws. I’m lying prone on the bike, my chest and stomach flattened against the tank, elbows, knees and ankles tucked…

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Are you ready to rock? Rowena Hoseason has discovered a collection of motorcycle songs which will probably be the Next Big Thing, go live on stage in a West End musical and end up being filmed in Hollywood with Tom Cruise taking the lead role. Or not… We’re not averse to a spot of musical…

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Ever have that sinking feeling that something is missing? In Tom Rodford’s case it was all of his Norton Lightweight’s tinware. But he persevered, and built a motorbike out of a pile of bits… It all started in August 1996, sat in a pub at the local motor club evening. Pete and I were talking…

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Shed not your tears for the Norton rotary project: there’s no fat ladies singing just yet. Norton Motors has re-surfaced, and they’ve a very special F1 Sport for sale… So less than a year ago we got all snuffly and sad about the closure and sale of Norton Rotary Engineering, the last outpost of the…

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For RealClassic readers who enjoy motorcycle traveller’s tales, Paul Grace recommends this memoir of a remarkable ride through Africa… At the age of 21, Jonny Bealby had never read a book. Truth to tell, he was rather proud of the fact. ‘ Reading’s boring,’ he confidently told his new girlfriend, Melanie, who seemed to devour…

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Few people would choose to ride an unfamiliar old British bike on an epic journey across South Africa. Steve Wilson took the plunge: Roy Workman read the book… I spotted this book written by Steve Wilson whilst wandering around my local branch of Yorkshire Trading, and it was very reasonably priced. I have met Steve…

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A modern rider retraces a trip taken in the 1950s by Triumph’s top man, Edward Turner. This book tells the tale of both journeys, touching on how motorcycling and Britain itself have changed over half a century… My first impression upon receiving the small paperback ‘Travelling With Mr Turner’ by Nigel C Winter, was that…

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In the first instalment, Dave found and bought his dream bike (or a large box of bits depending on how you look at it). This time: wiring and shocks and going for a bus ride… I spent the couple of days after getting my project bike home going through the bits and pieces, trying to…

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From the Speed Twin to the first Bonneville, this glossy hardback tells the story of Turner’s iconic twins… Crowood’s MotoClassics series has gradually evolved over the years, so I suppose I shouldn’t have been too surprised to discover that the latest volume in the range is a slightly different format to its predecessors. Spooky, actually:…

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Before there was Elsie, Yamaha built an equally memorable two-stroke tearaway. Anarchy shows us his 400C… Although there’s an inevitable family resemblance between the RD400 and the 350 which preceded it, the 40bhp two-stroke had been considerably developed to make it bigger, smoother, quieter, faster and longer-lived. Yamaha increased the engine stroke to add 51cc…

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