classic bike

  • Classic Bikes at Stony Stratford

    Classic Bikes at Stony Stratford

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    What better way, asks RC’s roving reporter Richard Jones, to spend New Year’s Day than gazing on classic machinery at Classic Stony? This annual event features the two, three, and four-wheeled vehicular delights – what a way to start the year. The weather wasn’t exactly marvellous as you can possibly see from the pictures but…

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  • More Greeves needed for Classic Dirt Bike Show

    More Greeves needed for Classic Dirt Bike Show

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    The Greeves Riders’ Association aim to display an extensive array of classic off-road bikes built by Greeves on their stand at this year’s Classic Dirt Bike Show at Telford in February. The club’s stand – three times its normal size – will host 21 scramblers, from the company’s early production run in 1954 through to…

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  • Norton Dominator 99

    Norton Dominator 99

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      Back in the 1950s when young men dreamed of a Norton this is probably what their fantasy bike looked like. A ‘stylish high performance roadster with first-class steering, roadholding and brakes,’ Norton were justifiably proud of its ‘zestful and tireless engine, remarkably powerful brakes and a well-subdued exhaust. Steering is in the best Norton…

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  • Triumph 350 sidevalve single

    Triumph 350 sidevalve single

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      Back in 1938 all eyes were on Triumph’s latest innovation, the stunning Speed Twin parallel twin. The marque’s sporting singles had also been sprinkled with Edward Turner’s stardust, and many heads were turned by the handsome Tigers. But most working men selected their regular rides from the ‘De Luxe’ end of the range; the…

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  • January magazine – out now!

    January magazine – out now!

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    British bikes, Italian icons, Japanese classics and American iron are all featured in this month’s eclectic collection of classic motorcycles and old clunkers. Here’s how to order a copy of the magazine – available in digital formats for your nifty device, or printed on paper for folks of a more traditional inclination… BSA BANTAM TRIALS…

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  • BSA C15

    BSA C15

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    BSA’s stalwart 250 single used to be the obvious choice for learner riders, back in the 1960s. Fifty years later the unit construction C15 has become another obvious choice – this time as a starter classic, a first British bike. We featured a Ceefer in the magazine last year, which inspired John Blackburn to share…

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  • Readers’ Rides: the roads he rode

    Readers’ Rides: the roads he rode

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    What inspires you to take your classic bike for a ride? RC regular Roy Smith clocked up many miles during 2016 on the magazine’s Compass Challenge. In fact, he got so into the swing of things that he couldn’t quite stop. So here are some of the other highlights of his riding year, aboard his…

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  • The story behind the Arbuthnot Trophy

    The story behind the Arbuthnot Trophy

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    The Arbuthnot Trial is an annual reliability trial for British vintage and classic motorcycles. David Wright explains how this event commemorates a naval officer who died during the battle of Jutland over 100 years ago. The present-day event incorporates ‘the ambience of the 1920s era’ with the emphasis on rigid machines, although later classics are…

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  • Frank’s Famous Last Words, #41

    Frank’s Famous Last Words, #41

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    On some classic motorcycles, there’s an intriguing lever on the left handlebar. Back in the days before automatic ignition timing, it did something quite important. Frank Westworth has been reminded of its function… A man has been fascinating me on the subject of ignition advance. No no; really. He has, and it actually was fascinating.…

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  • Vintage vehicle survey results

    Vintage vehicle survey results

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    The average vintage vehicle travels 1100 miles a year, and there are nearly 300,000 classic bikes on the DVLA’s database. Which classic motorcycle marque do you think is the most popular? Triumph? BSA, maybe? Every five years in recent times, the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs carries out a survey of the historic vehicle…

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