News

THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK has cut a swathe through the events programme for the spring and summer of 2020. From high profile events like the TT to the smallest club meet, rally, AGM or bike night, pretty much the whole classic calendar is off until August as the Government’s advice to stay indoors bites. The biggest…

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Oli speaks to an ex-RAF pilot, ex-motorbike racer who has been selling some of his bikes to help his community buy an old church. WORDS Oli Hulme PHOTOGRAPHS courtesy H&H Auctioneers A RARE NORTON racer is to be sold to help save a listed building and arts centre for a west country village. Classic biker…

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

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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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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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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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‘Oh great, another book on café racers – just what nobody needs’ I thought, when Classic Bike Guide contributor, Paul D’Orleans sent ‘Ton up!’ in for review. How wrong I was! It is superb. You will have got halfway through the book before you even hit the 1950s, when most casual onlookers think the road…

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