September issue on sale!

The new issue of RealClassic magazine is totally V-TwinTastic (and, apparently, is also entirely at home to Mr Hyperbole). The classic bikes featured this month include Morini’s wee vee, Vincent’s big twins, two heavyweights from Moto Guzzi, a mighty Matchless, a Harley-Davidson, a handsome Hesketh and… a BMW Boxer (it’s a V-twin which is feeling very relaxed, all right?). On…

Frank’s Famous Last Words #45

Is today a BSA day? Frank Westworth remembers 1971 or so, when the threat of precipitation in biblical proportions affected which old Britbike was likely to be pressed into service… ‘It’s a BSA day!’ That was my friend Geoffrey, back somewhere in the mists of time, coming out with what became something of a favoured phrase among the small group…

Matchless G50 CSR

Nicknamed the Golden Eagle, the Matchless G50 CSR is ridiculously rare – an homologation special of an exclusive, limited edition works / clubman’s racer. Not the sort of thing you see on the streets every day, but we know where you can find one. Or two! The National Motorcycle Museum at Solihull display this 1962 G50 CSR among the collection’s…

Boston Bike Night

Every year, for one night only in July, the small town of Boston in Lincolnshire overflows with motorcycles of all shapes, sizes and descriptions. Roy Workman went along to admire the classic bikes… It seems like only yesterday that I was at this meeting last year. Time really does fly when you’re enjoying yourself! This meeting at Boston is the…

Frank’s Famous Last Words #44

Do you enjoy riding your classic bike at night? Frank Westworth used to… I’m uncertain when it was that psychology was invented. Or was it discovered? Maybe someone was rummaging in an old tobacco tin looking for a straight if slightly secondhand split-pin when they discovered psychology? Who can tell? I’m not even entirely sure whether psychology is a good…

Ariel Red Hunter

The Ariel singles which came to be known as Red Hunters can be traced back to Val Page’s creations of 1926. Originally they were kitted out in black, and those Black Ariels have cultivated a cult following all of their own. The equine connection wasn’t established until Edward Turner flexed his influence in the 1930s. From 1931, the top of…