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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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What do you call an assortment of three lively Latin classics? Russ Gannicott compares and contrasts the various components of his Red-Eye collection… A bit corny, I know, but ‘red-eye’ seemed an amusing title for a mini collection of red Italian bikes, all with names ending in the letter ‘i’. Mmm, must be my infantile…

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You need to possess a certain sort of Something to really enjoy owning and riding a classic bike. Does Steve The Toast have that Something? He’s probably going to self-destruct in the attempt to find out… Classic British grey skies greeted me when I squinted out the window on the Sunday morning. This seemed most…

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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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