April issue out now!

This month’s magazine celebrates big British twins from BSA, Norton and Royal Enfield alongside three 750 triples; two Triumphs and a radical kettle. And if that’s not odd enough, how about BMW’s streamlined bahnstormer, the K1? All that, and the world’s fastest Velocette, the new MoT regulations for classic bikes, and an 80mph vintage single with barely any brakes. If…

Plugs & Leads

Five Triumph Tigers are up for auction; there’s a rapid replacement for old Lucas Rita ignition systems; the Beamish Trophy Trial date has changed, and here’s a quick kit to fix a snapped speedo cable… RITA REVIVED! It’s been years since the Lucas Rita electronic ignition system has been available, which means that owners have been mending and making do…

Hammered! Auction report

The most difficult part of writing this report is describing the sheer volume of machines present at this year’s Las Vegas vintage bike auctions. It’s almost overwhelming, with nearly 2000 classic motorcycles offered for sale across two separate events in January. The first of these annual events is staged by the British auction house Bonhams, while the other is hosted…

December issue out now

Winter drawers on! We’ve been waiting all year to make that joke. We have also decked the halls with boughs of holly for the fabulous festiveness that is RC164. The December issue of the monthly RealClassic magazine is indeed a veritable cornucopia of classic motorcycling. And some dodgy old bikes. And even a shock-horror-hold-the-front-page new one! You can cut to…

Ariel Square Four

In the December issue of RealClassic, Roger Slater rebuilds a four-cylinder Ariel engine. Here’s the historical context to this remarkable motorcycle… The Square Four started as a twinkle in Edward Turner’s eye back in the 1920s when he worked at BSA. After moving to Ariel and enlisting the aid of engineer Bert Hopwood, Turner’s idea was made into metal in…

National Motorcycle Museum LIVE!

This annual open day is well named – the Birmingham bike museum absolutely came alive with chattering, happy crowds on a very wet and windy November day. The normally peaceful environment which envelopes the world’s largest collection of British bikes was set aside for ten hours of non-stop activity. The conference suites were transformed into a bustling bike jumble and…