vintage japanese motorcycle
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Yamaha TZR125
Phil O’Hara wanted to make his learner-legal Yamaha stroker go faster. He also wanted to stop it oinking like a pig. The results of his experiments were a revelation… It was 1990 and I’d sold my car and required transport. These days one car generally replaces another, but this was then, not now. To substitute…
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Kawasaki Z900
45 years ago, Richard Jones couldn’t afford a Big Zed and these days he can’t justify the five-figure cost of a 1970’s Z900. Conveniently, Kawasaki offer a modern alternative. But can it possibly capture the charisma of the original machine? I still remember, as a callow youth, the excitement of reading MCN’s road test of…
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Honda CB400F
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…
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Honda Black Bomber
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…
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Honda CL350
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…
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Suzuki GT750
Now that it’s an acknowledged cult classic, this iconic 1970s water-cooled 750 triple doesn’t come cheap. But if you spend one single quid to enter the VMCC’s raffle, there’s a chance you could win this very bike. So what’s it like to ride? Remember the ‘Universal Japanese Motorcycle’, that faintly derogatory term from the 1970s…
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Honda CB250RS
A recent feature about running and riding Honda’s slim and sprightly single as a current day classic prompted Tony Anderson to recall the days when he maintained high-mileage despatch hacks. He highlights some of the 250’s strengths and weaknesses, offering expert advice and technical tips… I was always surprised that Honda, the company that produced…
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Readers’ Rides: the roads he rode
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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