From The Archive

WORDS BY Morgan RuePHOTOS BY Morgan Rue and Terry Joslin ARK BUILDERS WERE in short supply in the West Country as floods of biblical proportions and hurricane-force winds tried to scupper this early-season favourite in February. This did dampen spirits somewhat on the Saturday, when even the most stalwart outdoor traders struggled to stop their…

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Mark Williams meets a man whose mission in life is making BSA’s modest little workhouse a force to be reckoned with. Photos by Alex Ramsay and Mark Williams BSA Bantams… Who honestly hasn’t owned one? I’ll happily admit that I did, in fact it was what I learnt to ride on, a rigid-framed D1 which…

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Triumph’s last 650 Tiger has no reputation for being the best. But it makes a brilliant and affordable riding machine Photos by Simon Everett There is a reason why Triumph twins have always been popular. It’s a simple reason. Have you worked it out yet? OK, here goes. The reason Triumph twins are so popular…

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In 1961 the UK motorcycle learner laws required manufacturers to take the 250cc market seriously, so in 1964 one manufacturer with a prestigious past offered a model with its name embedded in the future This model’s futuristic name was an unusual choice for the Redditch-based company, as the word ‘turbo’ was not very common in…

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Meet the Triumph twin that time forgot WORDS & PHOTOS BY Richard Jones IN 1938 TRIUMPH revealed the engine that would dominate the British motorcycle industry for the next 40 or more years – Edward Turner’s parallel twin which powered the 5T Speed Twin. It brought the marque critical acclaim and commercial success. After the…

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There was nothing much wrong with BMW’s baby boxer. There was just too much of what there was PHOTOS BY Rowena Hoseason IT’S NOT A new problem. You introduce a ‘modular’ range of bikes based around a standardised engine and chassis. This package is optimised for the flagship which steers and stops superlatively and benefits…

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Night life While UK riders were offered the roadster CB650, the cousins were supplied with an altogether more relaxed ride WORDS AND PHOTOS by Rob Davies INTENDED FOR AMERICA and only officially imported to the UK for two years from 1982, the Honda Nighthawk 650 is a fairly rare bird. With minimal effort you can…

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Le Mans alike You want a bike which looks, sounds and steers like an old Italian. But running a classic as a daily ride might not be entirely convenient… PHOTOS BY Mike Salamon BEFORE YOU BUY your next bike, it really helps if you know exactly what you want. Sounds obvious, eh? But that’s not…

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WORDS & PHOTOS BY Nigel Shuttleworth THE CAROLE NASH CBG Winter Classic kicked off the new year at the Newark Showground in bright sunshine, with lots to see and do and with a large number of visitors. In fact attendance was well up year-on-year, so perhaps it’s a good omen for the rest of the…

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Real or replica? 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 WORDS BY Frank Melling PHOTOS BY Carol Melling IF THERE WAS an award for the most widely faked classic motorcycle in the world, then BSA’s Rocket Gold…

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