Features

Did you need to take a second, closer look? Yep, this is an R80 BMW. The story goes that the frame was modelled closely on Norton’s famous featherbed, and that lineage is clear in this shot SOME BIKES ALMOST BEG to be given a café racer revamp, and if there’s a list of convincing candidates…

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This is the Racer variant on Guzzi’s clever retro theme. Chrome tank, bogus racing numbers and a less comfortable riding position make it tester Frank’s favourite IT’S ENTIRELY POSSIBLE to have very mixed feelings about the whole retro bike scene. There’s an argument that anyone who pays a premium for a pair of torn jeans,…

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They’re great to ride, of course. Every journey brings its own challenges and its own rewards A stinkwheel might make sense on twisty British roads, but America is the home of the heavyweight V-Twin. So why is Kenny Smith so enthralled with his Scott TT Replica? “Harleys and Indians were built for covering big distances over…

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Barry Owen admits that the Essex-built Greeves 250 is one of his favourite rides, even though he’s vice chair of the Norton OC Barry Owen, of Wolverhampton, was looking for a decent slot in the wage-earning world when he was due to leave school at 15. Something like an apprenticeship with aero engineer Hobson’s, which…

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There are several reasons why a 1960s manufacturer would use an ohv design rather than an ohc. In this case, the engine is already big and bulky, an ohc top end would simply add to that “GOOD HANDLING FROM a rigid frame and sporty performance from the five-speed engine make the Tornado a very desirable…

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Polishing makes a chap happy. Official. Mick Hughes applies the shine IN THE ARCANE rituals of black magic, only the most skilled practitioners can bring the dead back to life. When retired precision toolmaker Mick Hughes wanted to unleash his artistic impulses, he knew his creation would have a traditional British twin engine as its…

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It’s the late summer of 1974 and I’m working as a staff writer on the UK’s number one motorcycle magazine – Bike. Life, without any shadow of a doubt, is peachy. No matter that I’m living in Highbury, North London, and commuting on a more or less daily basis up the old A1 to the…

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Melbourne-based brothers Ken and Barry Horner are the can-do kids of Australian road racing – whether ancient or modern. Over the past nine years they’ve amassed an enviable roster of race wins and podiums with the various Irving Vincent 1300cc V-twin racers they’ve created from the ground up in their Hallam, Victoria machine shop, racing…

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RE is big on tradition, and its stock models are styled accordingly. Interesting to see how well they make a traditional cafe racer, too ONCE UPON A TIME, this sparkling solo sportster was something of a lumpen duckling. The standard Royal Enfield EFI Bullet is a worthy motorcycle in the traditional mould, but it’s no…

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Despite having just the one camshaft, the BSA engine always appears larger than its Triumph equivalents. Fine frame, and considerable comfort available here There are two equally valid ways of looking at the BSA Golden Flash. One, and it’s the view you will most often hear being offered by Triumph enthusiasts, is that despite its…

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