New & Features

Your definition of a ‘classic bike’ may well depend on where you live. Chico Rasia, from Curitiba in Brazil, dreams of a 1980’s Honda twin… So, I’ve decided it must be a Honda CB400. 1983 or earlier. With a Japanese engine. Wait a moment. Haven’t I skipped something here – something like ‘How come this…

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Ever bought more than you bargained for? Jerry Fiford did when he fell for a classic 1970 Triumph Trophy, and he explains how and why to Rowena Hoseason… There are people who will tell you that the 1970 Trophy was one of the landmark Triumph motorcycles; one of the most well developed and stylish classics,…

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Kevin off of the RealClassic Message Board ponders the origins of his 1961 Triumph 500 twin, originally registered as CSU 662. Maybe… Old bikes; different things to different people. At one end you have the fully restored as new type of bike, the sort that could grace any museum, then you have the “original” oily…

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How would you handle a mid-life crisis? This author set off on a classic scooter to see life in rural Italy… As we’re sitting here, glad to be rid of the worst winter in two decades, why not join Peter Moore for a sun-soaked foray across Italy on a classic Vespa? Don’t worry you won’t…

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Ariel’s Arrow was certainly an oddity, and it is most definitely an old British bike. But is it a genuine classic motorcycle? Paul Friday doesn’t really care, because his Arrow was certainly the worst bike he’s ever owned… It wasn’t all the bike’s fault. I was the previous owner from Hell. I was young and…

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Looking for an introduction to Norton twins? Marc Reibman has just the book for you (although he may be just a teeny bit biased on the subject – decide for yourself!) I know it’s hard for Commando types to believe, but Norton twins were in existence long before the Commando was even a twinkle in…

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Granville Bradshaw started his career in 1910 designing aircraft, and by 1955 he’d dreamed up the Omega engine with its innovative rotary layout. In between, he tried his hand at oil-cooling… Long before Suzuki adopted oil cooling for engines in the mid-Eighties, the idea was tried by Lancastrian inventor Granville Bradshaw. He started his career…

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If the pace of modern life is getting too much for you, then a 50 year old Gold Flash might just come to your rescue. Alex Woodard has indeed been rescued, and in so many interesting ways… Where will I be rescued from this weekend? This is my beautiful big Beesa, a 1953 A10 Golden…

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At last! Philip Rashleigh can get his scrambler special engine assembled… The bare engine cases had been sent to Roy the engineer what seemed like a long, long time ago. I had cleaned them and inspected the alloy (as mentioned in a previous instalment) but they really needed a good clean. There was what seemed…

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Which bike lived in your teenage dreams when you first started riding? Kel Boyce aspired to Enfield’s sporting 250, and he didn’t manage to grow out of it… The Continental GT. What can I say? The dream bike of every learner rider of the mid-1960s. Seen as the saviour of an ailing Royal Enfield company…

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