vintage motorcycle Archives Page 3 of 10

Frera 500

11th January 2018 RowenaH Features

Richard Jones made a New Year’s resolution to take more photos of rarer bikes. Right on cue he tripped over something truly unusual on his arrival at January’s Vintage Stony event. Look quickly and you might imagine that this single-cylinder vintage motorcycle is something like a British-built Sunbeam – but in fact it comes from Continental Europe… The first bike…

Sunbeam Model 95

3rd January 2018 RowenaH Features

Sunbeam motorcycles, built in Wolverhampton, were some of the sporting superstars of the pre-war period and they clocked up a series of wins in TT and GP races during the 1920s. Although times were tough during the Depression years, the company’s continued commitment to quality means that bikes from the 1930s are still going strong today, over 80 years later……

Ariel Square Four

20th November 2017 RowenaH Features

In the December issue of RealClassic, Roger Slater rebuilds a four-cylinder Ariel engine. Here’s the historical context to this remarkable motorcycle… The Square Four started as a twinkle in Edward Turner’s eye back in the 1920s when he worked at BSA. After moving to Ariel and enlisting the aid of engineer Bert Hopwood, Turner’s idea was made into metal in…

Brough Superior

31st October 2017 RowenaH Features

Built between 1919 and 1940, George Brough’s ‘Superior’ motorcycles are instantly recognisable, admired by the masses as perhaps the ultimate pre-war classic bike. But why, asks Richard Jones, have these speed machines accumulated such kudos? What is it about them which inspires such admiration… and commensurately high prices? Here’s a question for you – are the prices paid for Brough…

Museum LIVE Open Day

24th October 2017 RowenaH Events

In case you missed us at the Stafford Show this month, the RC Roadshow will be rolling along to the National Motorcycle Museum’s LIVE event on Saturday 4th November 2017. This free-to-enter event not only gives you access to the world’s largest collection of British classic bikes but also incorporates a jam-packed schedule of special attractions. Here’s some of what…

Trusty Triumph

22nd October 2017 RowenaH Features

While we celebrate the resurgence of modern Triumph motorcycles, it’s easy to overlook the marque’s major contribution to motorcycling itself which took place over a hundred years ago. Had it not been for Triumph’s first ‘era of greatness’, argues Timothy Pickering, the powered two-wheeler could have vanished from Britain’s roads long before the classic bike was invented… Frank Melling’s otherwise…