classic honda Archives

A Classic Ride

20th February 2020 RowenaH Features

Do you need a modern motorcycle to go touring? Hardly. Mark Redfern and his pals from the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club take a selection of classic Hondas on a whistlestop tour to the Continent… One winter, the riders of the Taunton and Bridgwater section of the VJMC concocted a plan to visit the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in…

December issue out now

3rd December 2018 RowenaH Latest Issue

This month’s magazine features international classics from American and Japan, alongside a bit fat stack of beautiful Britbikes – from a 1920’s flat-tanker to the trad parallel twins of the 1970s. If you’re looking for in-depth articles from experienced owners about Triumph, BSA and Norton bikes then you’ve come to the correct place! RC176 can be downloaded in digital format…

Honda CB400F

17th January 2018 RowenaH Features

Honda 400/4s are popular, relatively plentiful and commonly spotted at classic bike shows. So it might’ve been easy to overlook this one – but Marion Thirsk went back to double-check and discovered that its subtly different to the standard 400/4 you might find on British roads… Closer inspection reveals subtle differences to the normal UK model. Black sidepanels, a sidestand…

Honda Valkyrie

14th December 2017 RowenaH Reviews

Honda’s six-cylinder ‘power cruiser’ certainly turned heads when it arrived two decades ago. It turned out to be an inspired innovation, removing all the touring equipment from the gargantuan Gold Wing to create a mighty musclebike, and the Valkyrie (or Flat 6 Custom) has built itself a solid following. The first book to be published on the subject gets a…

Honda Black Bomber

13th December 2017 RowenaH Features

In 1968 Soichiro Honda rode his firm’s 10 millionth motorcycle off the production line. That bike was the ground-breaking CB450 Black Bomber – notable not least for its use of novel valvegear with torsion-bars ‘springs’ in its top end. It wasn’t long before racers transformed the CB streetbike into a world class competitor, and the Drixton Honda was born. They’re…

Honda CL350

19th September 2017 RowenaH Features

Here’s another contender for our ‘compact classic’ competition. Honda’s street scrambler from the late 1960s comes with 100mph potential, electric starting and a not too scary purchase price. Richard Jones examines its credentials… So here’s the problem. You like the look of those trail / adventure bikes that seem to be ridden by everyone yet you don’t want the cost,…