Classic Bike Hub UK

  • Road or race?

    Road or race?

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    TRITONS ARE VERY much like wine. Do you like wine? Wine? What wine? Do you prefer to get hammered on a Calais Booze Superstore Special at £5 a gallon? Or perhaps you prefer to sip a Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru from Jacques Thienpont – yours for a highly affordable £1200 a bottle? Similarly, at one…

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  • Over-shadowed

    Over-shadowed

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    I once had a girlfriend just like the Vincent Comet. She was clever, pretty and enthusiastic: you really couldn’t fault her. The problem was that she had a sister who was even brighter, stunningly beautiful and was legendary in her enthusiasm for those activities for which she was ideally suited. Whenever the two ladies were…

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  • RE 250 Crusader MX

    RE 250 Crusader MX

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    Not many people race a Crusader in the 250 class but maybe if a few more did there’d be more bits available… Even though it isn’t the shiniest of motorcycles, the Crusader MXer parked in the entrance to Royal Enfield specialists Hitchcocks Motorcycles in Solihull, is certainly an eye-catching one. Okay, I admit it, anything…

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  • More or less

    More or less

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    Did you need to take a second, closer look? Yep, this is an R80 BMW. The story goes that the frame was modelled closely on Norton’s famous featherbed, and that lineage is clear in this shot SOME BIKES ALMOST BEG to be given a café racer revamp, and if there’s a list of convincing candidates…

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  • Italian quandary

    Italian quandary

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    This is the Racer variant on Guzzi’s clever retro theme. Chrome tank, bogus racing numbers and a less comfortable riding position make it tester Frank’s favourite IT’S ENTIRELY POSSIBLE to have very mixed feelings about the whole retro bike scene. There’s an argument that anyone who pays a premium for a pair of torn jeans,…

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  • A FLYING SQUIRREL

    A FLYING SQUIRREL

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    They’re great to ride, of course. Every journey brings its own challenges and its own rewards A stinkwheel might make sense on twisty British roads, but America is the home of the heavyweight V-Twin. So why is Kenny Smith so enthralled with his Scott TT Replica? “Harleys and Indians were built for covering big distances over…

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  • Barry Owen: Norton's prodigal son?

    Barry Owen: Norton's prodigal son?

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    Barry Owen admits that the Essex-built Greeves 250 is one of his favourite rides, even though he’s vice chair of the Norton OC Barry Owen, of Wolverhampton, was looking for a decent slot in the wage-earning world when he was due to leave school at 15. Something like an apprenticeship with aero engineer Hobson’s, which…

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  • A perfect storm

    A perfect storm

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    There are several reasons why a 1960s manufacturer would use an ohv design rather than an ohc. In this case, the engine is already big and bulky, an ohc top end would simply add to that “GOOD HANDLING FROM a rigid frame and sporty performance from the five-speed engine make the Tornado a very desirable…

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  • Black magic

    Black magic

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    Polishing makes a chap happy. Official. Mick Hughes applies the shine IN THE ARCANE rituals of black magic, only the most skilled practitioners can bring the dead back to life. When retired precision toolmaker Mick Hughes wanted to unleash his artistic impulses, he knew his creation would have a traditional British twin engine as its…

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  • Revived Kop Hill Climb is still on the way up

    Revived Kop Hill Climb is still on the way up

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    The spirit of the Kop Hill Climb is captured as riders on a variety of vintage machines await their turn. The demise came about 15 years after the first Kop Hill event in 1910, after a bike crashed into the crowd of 3000 spectators, followed by a Brescia Bugatti car, fortunately without serious injuries. Despite…

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