classic bike books

RealClassic Reading: The Ariel Book

by

RowenaH

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12th May 2026

At last! A labour of love which started more than 20 years ago is finally in print… The Ariel Book tells the complete story of an outstanding marque in British motorcycling history. Written in the main by the man considered to be THE Ariel expert, Roger Gwynn, and illustrated throughout with colour photos, TAB is…
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RC Reading: A Million Miles Of Racing

by

RowenaH

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22nd August 2022

RealClassic regular Stu Thomson recently discovered a book by GS Davison, Phil Heath and WJ McGowan, originally published in 1950. It attempted to capture the million miles that were estimated to be completed by motorcycle racers in that year’s season. As a fan of Italian lightweights, Stu was drawn to the report from the Ulster…
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RealClassic Reading: The NW200 Road and Race

by

RowenaH

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5th March 2021

The North West 200 is one of those street-circuit road races which tests both the metal of the machines and the mettle of their pilots. It’s one of the fastest road-based courses on the racing calendar, where bikes average 120mph and can exceed 200mph in places. It’s one of Northern Ireland’s largest sporting events –…
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RealClassic Reading: adventure riding!

by

RowenaH

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6th December 2020

Regular readers of the magazine will be familiar with the (mis)adventures of Nick Adams as he explores the byways and back-roads of northern Canada – usually on vaguely inappropriate elderly motorcycles. Nick captures the untamed landscapes through which he rides alone – often without meeting another human being for days on end – and shares…
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RealClassic Reading: new BSA book

by

RowenaH

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5th December 2020

It’s unusual for us all to be amazed by a book about one of the best-known British marques, but Peter Crawford has produced a remarkable gem. And it’s all about the A65 twin, as you might expect from the title: ‘Thunderbolts & Lightning’. In fact the book is far more than that – it is…
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Books: Life on a Triumph Speed Twin

by

RowenaH

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30th March 2020

Long-time RC readers will be familiar with the adventures of Graham Ham, whose journeys aboard his 1948 Speed Twin were documented in his ‘Daisy’s Diary’ articles some years ago. But there was much more to Graham’s original and subsequent adventure than simply taking part in the Landmark Challenge on a sprung-hub old clunker, collecting Landmarks,…
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RealClassic Reading

by

RowenaH

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18th March 2020

‘And The Wheels Went Round’ by John Chisnall and Anthony Davis was published last year. Roy Workman is a sidecar rider so the two racing outfits on the front cover prompted him to buy it… John, the passenger, was the main contributor to the stories with Tony, the rider, adding his thoughts. What a great…
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Lone Rider: around the world by BMW

by

RowenaH

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20th December 2017

Back in the early 1980s, Elspeth Beard took her broken heart, packed up her BMW airhead boxer, and rode it the ‘wrong way’ around the world. The entire astonishing story has recently been published, and it’s wowing RC readers… I love travelogues, ‘round the world’ trip even more. Was Elspeth Beard truly the first British…
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Vincent Black Shadow

by

RowenaH

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12th December 2017

When the Vincent Black Shadow was announced in 1948 it wowed the world with a top speed of 125mph. Since then it’s become accepted as an icon of the old British bike industry. A new book explains how the Black Shadow was originally conceived, developed and produced – with in-depth chapters looking in detail at…
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The Strange Death of the British Motor Cycle Industry

by

RowenaH

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5th May 2017

This book provides a dispassionate examination of the evidence leading to the decline of motorcycle manufacturing in Britain. Although there are now Triumphs and Nortons available again, the decline during the latter half of the 20th century was spectacular. Steve Koerner is a British motorcycle enthusiast and historian from British Columbia who completed a PhD…
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