Sam Hewitt

  • Vapour-blasting – BDK Race Engineering

    Vapour-blasting – BDK Race Engineering

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    Cleaning old parts only goes so far. Toothbrushes, brake cleaner, wire wool and electric drill attachments can help, but they rarely get the job done properly and the piece is quite often dirty again soon afterwards. James, Matt and Charles at BDK Race Engineering in Norfolk have shown me the wonders of vapour-blasting. Sand-blasting is…

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  • Haughton honey infused with CBD

    Haughton honey infused with CBD

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    Steven Myatt, founding editor of Classic Bike Guide and his family now make honey, and very nice it is too. They call it English wildflower honey, it isn’t pasteurised and comes straight from the hive. I can honestly say it is the nicest honey I’ve ever tried. But the main reason it’s in the product…

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  • Bristol show beauties

    Bristol show beauties

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    A BRIGHT BUT chilly ride piloting the mighty BSA Starfire on slippery Somerset roads was an invigorating start to the Carole Nash Bristol Classic Motorcycle Show weekend for me. The show was bracketed by torrential downpours and storm-force winds, but for once the actual show weekend was blessed with February sunshine – and a stiff…

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  • Celebrate the life & times of Percy Tait with Mortons Archive pictorial

    Celebrate the life & times of Percy Tait with Mortons Archive pictorial

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    Motorcycle sport lost a true legend when Percy Tait passed away in November 2019, aged 90.

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  • Charterhouse auctioneers welcome George Beale

    Charterhouse auctioneers welcome George Beale

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    RACER, RESTORER AND REPLICA builder George Beale has joined the ranks of experts at classic and vintage motorcycle and car auctioneers Charterhouse. “Contrary to common belief, George has not retired but has joined us,” said Charterhouse’s Matthew Whitney. “He has a lifetime of experience, during which time he has consigned five of the top 25…

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  • from the archive: Norton Commando: Dream Machine

    from the archive: Norton Commando: Dream Machine

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    When you bring a classic bike back from the brink of oblivion, you get to choose exactly what it looks like. And if you want it to look like a Honda sports moped, well… WORDS & PHOTOS BY Stuart Urquhart Callum has nursed a passion for Norton Commandos ever since Peter Williams won the 1973…

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  • TRIPLES TO RACE THE WAVES

    TRIPLES TO RACE THE WAVES

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    THE TRIDENT ROCKET Three Owners’ Club (TR3OC) is to field a five-man team campaigning three triple-engined machines at Race the Waves, Bridlington, on May 8-10. The event, organised by Backfire Promotions, is a “Retro Theatre of Auto-motion” extravaganza that harks back to the motoring speed events on the Yorkshire Sands. The event will feature 1950s…

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  • FROM THE ARCHIVE: Ridinglife || Vincent Black knight

    FROM THE ARCHIVE: Ridinglife || Vincent Black knight

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    Knight life Vincents aren’t your average classic bikes. Thanks to their curtailed production run, the final big twins are even more unusual than most WORDS BY Frank Melling PHOTOS BY Carol Melling IF ALL VINCENTS are expensive, Vincent Black Knights inhabit a different planet in terms of cost. What’s so special about Vincent twins in…

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  • FIND THIS WEDDING DAY STAR TWIN

    FIND THIS WEDDING DAY STAR TWIN

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    READER JOHN KING is trying to track down his old BSA for a romantic reunification. John writes: “I’m hoping for readers’ help. In 1960, I bought a BSA A7 Shooting Star and later that year my fiancée and I were married, on July 23, in Chester. “Following the wedding reception, we set off on our…

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  • Building a TriBSA from scratch!

    Building a TriBSA from scratch!

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    These photos were taken two months in on my latest project, to build a TriBSA from scratch. The frame is a 1956 A7 S/S, the tank is a Manx Norton, cut and welded to fit the BSA frame. For the engine I sourced and purchased 85 parts and built what you see here. I sometimes…

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