Reviews

  • Frank Melling: The Flying Penguin

    Frank Melling: The Flying Penguin

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    Frank Melling tells a mean tall story. You’d seek him out on Friday night, pint in hand, to hear ripping yarns about being black-flagged on Sammy Miller’s Norton Kneeler, or staring down the wrong end of a Colt 45 barrel in backwoods Missouri. The twist to this second collection of postcards from a riding life…

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  • Far Horizons by Andrew Earnshaw

    Far Horizons by Andrew Earnshaw

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    f you’re going to ride around the world in instalments, then America would seem like a fairly safe place to start. Rowena Hoseason reads all about it… Most motorcycle adventure books revolve around an extraordinary premise. The rider may be extraordinary in some way – a celebrity, or perhaps a person overcoming a substantial impediment…

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  • Ducati SD900 Darmah

    Ducati SD900 Darmah

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    We’ve just ridden a much-modded Duke Darmah for the magazine, but back in 1978 Dave Minton rode one of the very first of the breed to leave the factory. And he thought it was really rather good… If you accept that riding in freak rainstorms can provide enough information with which to formulate an opinion,…

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  • Royal Enfield Bullet 500: Two New Types

    Royal Enfield Bullet 500: Two New Types

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    The lean-burn Electra X Enfield isn’t everyone’s cuppa tea, so how about heading back to basics with the Spartan Pre-65 trials bike? Or if you prefer to travel on tarmac, maybe the full-dress touring Sixty-5 would suit you, sir? For classic bike fans, the Spartan Bullet was just about the most exciting bike on display…

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  • Greeves Hawkstone Scrambler – Part 2

    Greeves Hawkstone Scrambler – Part 2

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    Last episode, Michael Eustace explained how he found his Greeves and got involved in Pre-65 off-road racing. After one race he had a fair bit of work to do over winter… After my first race I then went on to complete another three scrambles by the end of last year’s scrambles season. One at the…

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  • SOHC Honda CB750

    SOHC Honda CB750

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    Fancy a true Japanese classic? Steve The Toast has owned and run most examples of the Bike Which Changed The World„¢ and offers sage advice for 21st century riders… There was a time when the top dogs who barked the loudest in our town rode oily great British bikes, the likes of Commandos, A10s, Bonnevilles…

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  • 1973 Kawasaki Z1

    1973 Kawasaki Z1

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    What makes your dream bike so special? Andrew Peek’s first Zed One was too loud and too fast — and too good to be true. Here’s how he met his ultimate streetbike… It all started for me one Christmas when, as a child, I received my first book about motorcycles. The book featured all different…

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  • 'Magnetic Speedometer Repair' by Graham Blighe

    'Magnetic Speedometer Repair' by Graham Blighe

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    This book promises ‘the definitive guide to the repair and calibration of Smiths magnetic speedos and tachos’ so you can ‘fix it yourself and never have to pay or wait for repairs again.’ An intrepid RC reader put it to the test… After several well-known repairers had told me that they only worked on chronometric…

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  • Moto Morini 3 1/2: Due

    Moto Morini 3 1/2: Due

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    It rattles, it squeaks, it bounces, it’s uncomfortable, its electrics are iffy – but it’s loud, it’s red, it’s Italian, and it’s just what the doctor ordered. Martin Gelder exchanges real cash for a real classic… Key slipped into ignition and turned. Fuel tap solenoid clunks, oil pressure light comes on. Key removed from ignition…

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  • Road-Testing The RealClassic Mug

    Road-Testing The RealClassic Mug

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    We know how much you like reading detailed, informed, in-depth road tests – but too much indulgence is bad for the soul so you’re not getting one today. Peruse instead, Andy C’s outpourings on the subject of… ahh… our mugs… I had heard of these fabled mugs on the RC website, and had often wondered…

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