Features

A charming motorcycle The composition of SWM’s Gran Turismo may reflect current globalisation trends, but it’s a decent bike to ride WORDS & PICTURES BY OLIVER HULME Ever since the 1970s there have been regular calls from classic motorcycle buyers for a new, simple, straightforward motorcycle to use rather than a flood of whizzy hi-tech…

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The inside story of how Triumph’s experimental department built a Superbike for sixpence, and accidentally created the most famous production racer of all time To understand the fame accrued by what, in the final analysis, is only a modified street motorcycle, it is important to remember just how important production racing was in the late…

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GUZZI’S 750 SPORT V-twins combine the leaping stance of a greyhound with serious mechanical bravado. Their muscular mix has always been extremely attractive on paper, but a ride on one will deepen your perspective. Thin-waisted, the shaftie drops its seat to under 30in when rocked off the stand, making it easy to sit astride. Two…

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To understand the fame accrued by what, in the final analysis, is only a modified street motorcycle, it is important to remember just how important production racing was in the late 1960s and early 1970s. At the same time as enthusiasm for racing road bikes was at its peak, interest in mainstream GP racing was…

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One good reason for the death of the British motorcycle industry might well be the BSA / Triumph triples – a tragedy which would have made Shakespeare proud. Currently, the three-cylinder machines have a fanatical following and their acolytes will hear no wrong of them. However this is what Bert Hopwood, BSA Group engineering director,…

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Before establishing a modern day entente cordiale by teaming up with Brough Superior company owner Mark Upham to design and construct the born-again SS100, a quarter of a century ago Thierry Henriette created the only one of his numerous Boxer Bikes two-wheeled works of art to be powered by a British engine. When he did…

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A restoration with a little electric sting in the tale… WORDS BY ROB DAVIES – PICTURES BY ALAN CLARK AND ROB DAVIES The Norton Commando is one of the great classic bikes of the second half of the 20th century, and was essentially the final stage of the British archetypal twin cylinder arrangement designed by Bert…

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WORDS BY OLIVER HULME PHOTOS BY THE MORINI RIDERS’ CLUB THE MORINI RIDERS’ CLUB caters for anyone who owns, rides or simply appreciates these Italian thoroughbreds. The club was founded in 1975 when the 350cc V-twins were first imported to the UK, and the majority of members own one or more of these sporting lightweights.…

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Just before the original company collapsed, MV Agusta built a ferociously fast, pushrod parallel twin. Who needs four cylinders, overhead cams and water-cooling? PHOTOS BY Kay Eldridge of FocusedImage.com.au “I’VE LOVED THESE bikes since I was a teenager,” says Rowan, proud owner of the 350S you see here. However, it took nearly four decades for…

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A Thunderbolt from the USA WORDS AND PHOTOS BY PHIL MATHER Imagine, for a moment, that it’s 1962 and you’re in the market for a brand new motorbike. BSA has recently launched its all-new, unit-construction twin-cylinder range and so you’re off to the Motorcycle Show at Earls Court, London, filled with anticipation. In marked contrast…

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