Features

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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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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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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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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What’s this? Did BSA build a previously undiscovered prototype cammy A10? WORDS AND PHOTOS BY PAUL MILES KAWASAKI’S MILLENNIAL W650 parallel twin has deservedly carved out a niche in the marketplace as a go-to, easy to live with retro-styled machine. The long-stroke 72 x 80mm 676cc air-cooled motor is very much of classic proportions, the…

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FROM THE ARCHIVES The final version of BSA’s pre-unit 650 twin was so good that people have been recreating the things ever since Small Heath stopped building them IF THERE WAS an award for the most widely faked classic motorcycle in the world, then BSA’s Rocket Gold Star would be a strong contender. BSA only…

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After a bike? Fancy a fun day out kicking tyres? Try visiting an auction: fun for all the family WORDS BY Oliver Hulme PICTURES BY Christopher Dickinson and Bonhams THANKS TO Jonathan Hoare for the headline YOU’VE DECIDED THAT you want to buy or sell a classic bike, but where do you start? If you…

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Summer’s approaching. Time to sort out new waterproofs… WORDS BY OLIVER HULME SUMMER IS COMING, and anyone who rides all year round will know the uncomfortable feeling of sweat trickling down their back and the smell well-worn all-weather gear acquires after a long ride on a hot summer day. Most people will shed layers to…

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Fancy a challenge? Rebuilding an airhead BMW can be its own reward WORDS BY ROB DAVIES AND COLIN WILLIAMS PHOTOS BY COLIN WILLIAMS AFTER BEING RAISED on the good old British names of BSA and Triumph during the golden years of the 1970s while at the same time being spoon-fed such patriotic films as ‘Reach…

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Heinz Lange watched some dirt track racing, loved the bikes, so built his own. This is it… WORDS BY PHILLIP TOOTH PHOTOS BY PHILLIP TOOTH & DAN MAHONEY “The first time that I saw a Trackmaster framed Triumph was when I was at Daytona for the AHRMA classic race series,” says Heinz Lange, who had flown…

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