Classic Bikes at Stony Stratford

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 there was a good selection…

Norton Dominator 99

  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 tradition and will please the…

January magazine – out now!

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 Odgie goes in search of…

Classic bikes at Birmingham, part two

  RC’s roving reporter Richard Jones continues his end-of-year review from the NEC, seeking out quirky and iconic vintage motorcycles at the Classic Motor Show and Motorcycle Live… Here’s something you don’t see every day – a 1938 Norton Superior which was built by Bill Higginson and his friend, Maurice Cross. Apparently all you have to do is take a…

Classic bikes at Birmingham: part one

The final weeks of 2016 witnessed not one but two motorcycle shows at the NEC in Birmingham. These featured all manner of vintage motorcycles, classic bikes and modern-day retro replicas which might be of interest to the discerning RealClassic reader. Our roving reporter, Richard Jones, casts a retrospective eye over the highlights at each event, in case you missed any…

Frank Melling: The Flying Penguin

Frank Melling tells a mean tall story. You’d seek him out on Friday night, pint in hand, to hear ripping yarns about being black-flagged on Sammy Miller’s Norton Kneeler, or staring down the wrong end of a Colt 45 barrel in backwoods Missouri. The twist to this second collection of postcards from a riding life is that Frank’s tall stories…