Sam Hewitt

The other 400/4

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Sam Hewitt

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17th May 2017

Alejandro De Tomaso’s attempt to take on Japan created an interesting alternative to Honda’s CB400F WORDS AND PHOTOS BY Marion Thirsk Most of us are familiar with Honda’s distinctively styled, iconic CB400F. But who knew that Moto Guzzi launched a rival 400/4 in 1975? When Argentinian industrialist Alejandro De Tomaso bought Benelli in 1971 his…
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Learner’s flyer

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Sam Hewitt

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17th May 2017

Royal Enfield built a street racer for learner riders. It was fast, too WORDS AND PHOTOS BY Oliver Hulme ROYAL ENFIELD’S CONTINENTAL GT was surely one of the most alluring learner bikes ever built. The GT’s predecessor, the Crusader, was described in The Motor Cycle as ‘spectacular’ at its launch in 1956. The Crusader was…
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Gentleman’s relish

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Sam Hewitt

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12th May 2017

From our 2016 archive Tired of clip-ons and rearsets? We recommend something altogether more refined PHOTOS BY Mortons archive / Rowena Hoseason ‘FIRST CLASS PERFORMANCE without fuss’ promised Veloce when it reintroduced its 500 ohv single in 1954. That’s not too far off the mark today, which is why the MSS is one of those…
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ONE CAREFUL OWNER

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Sam Hewitt

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10th May 2017

TRIUMPH DEALERSHIP Jack Lilley, which has been selling motorcycles in the London area since the 1950s, has a new owner. The business has been bought by the Lind Group which also owns BMW and Harley-Davidson dealerships. Jack Lilley Ltd was established in 1959 in Shepperton, selling Lambretta, NSU, BSA and Norman lightweights, as well as…
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BIG AND BOXY

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Sam Hewitt

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10th May 2017

THE SUCCESS OF MANY a small business used to be based around the versatility of the tradesman’s sidecar. Now the practical box is making a comeback with the latest stylish addition to the Watsonian range. While you won’t see a butcher’s boy or builder’s apprentice piloting one on L-plates today, the appropriately named Mule is…
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MAX GUARDS

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Sam Hewitt

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10th May 2017

CAFÉ RACER AND SPECIAL builder Redmax has begun selling an in-house produced range of alloy mudguards, competition plates and other parts. Steve Hillary from Redmax in Devon was finding it hard to find suitable short alloy guards and other parts, so has engaged a metalsmith to make the range by hand using a metal fabricating…
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Next generation

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Sam Hewitt

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10th May 2017

BMW’s great leap forward came with the /5 series, like this range-topping R75/5 WORDS AND PHOTOS BY OLIVER HULME WIRTSCHAFTSWUNDER IS ONE of those splendid German compound words that tell a story. The event Wirtschaftswunder – in English it means economic miracle – refers to is the way German manufacturing recovered despite being almost completely ruined…
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In full flight

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Sam Hewitt

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5th May 2017

FROM OUR ARCHIVES Some bikes are icons from the outset. Not so this idiosyncratic 350. But it’s strangely successful as a classic steed… NO, IT’S NOT a BMW. If you find the charm of this British-built transverse twin to be utterly irresistible and actually buy one, then you’ll also find yourself repeating those words over and…
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YORKSHIRE HAMMER

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Sam Hewitt

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3rd May 2017

A PRIVATE COLLECTION of 14 motorcycles ranging from a 50cc Jawa moped to a 1983 BMW R100 will go under the hammer in North Yorkshire in June. Mathewsons in Pickering is selling the collection of Peter Hall, a local motor trader from Robin Hood’s Bay. Pride of place in the sale on Saturday, June 3 is…
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MUSEUM PIECES

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Sam Hewitt

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3rd May 2017

IT’S NOT EVERY DAY that you can take to the road on such exotica as a Brough Superior or Norton Rotary F1. But if you’re a member of the National Motorcycle Museum Friends scheme you could get that chance. A recent Classic Bike Tour Day saw museum Friends take up the opportunity to ride some…
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Sam Hewitt

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