Classic Bike Guide

Ever pondered the purpose of life? Here’s the story of one man who found great purpose in finding pleasure in creativity, dedicated work, and ultimate achievement in building his dream machine, while at the same time caring for his wife, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, for 14 years. Let’s call it motorcycle therapy – a…

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A split gaiter will shorten the life of your fork seals and make your bike look tired, but it’s a simple job to replace. WORDS By Oli IT’S AN OFTEN-HEARD complaint that the rubber fork gaiters you can buy these days don’t last very long. Whether or not this is because the cheap rubber is…

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Electrics need not be daunting – a few choice tools and some logical thinking will get you through. If motorcycle wiring scares you witless, then you can take some comfort from the fact that you’re not the only one. For many owners, bike electrics seem a black art form but they don’t need to be…

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Kawasaki’s all-new W800 Street and Café deliver bags of character and soul, something regularly missed by Japanese manufacturers. Adam Child travels all the way to Japan to test Kawasaki’s new heritage range, which can trace its routes back to the W1 650 of 1965. Words: Adam Child photographs: Kawasaki Japan The burble from the twin…

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This quiet, thoughtful Welsh rider gave Triumph some great victories and was the first to break the 100mph barrier at the TT on a production bike, leading Dunlop to name a tyre after his achievement. Words: Jim Reynolds Photography: Mortons archive Malcolm Uphill stumbled into biking almost out of curiosity. At just 15 he borrowed…

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Words by OliPhotography by Chippy (Mrs Doubtfire) Wood DESMO IS A word that means everything to Ducati aficionados. It’s the thing that makes Ducati’s engines special. Born out of their racing programme, Ducati’s Desmodromic valve actuation system, has valves that are both opened and closed by cam followers, rather than relying on coiled springs. The…

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The bike that started the adventure bike trend is still a great bike Words by Oli Hulme Photography by Chippy Wood BY 1973, WHEN the last BSA B50 and Triumph Adventurer off-roaders had rolled off the production line, the big four-stroke off-roader was thought to be dead. To seriously take to the dirt, if you…

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Words by Oli Photography by Gary Chapman I SAW MY first BSA Rocket Gold Star in the early 1980s. It was lurking in the back of a barn, covered in dust and bird poop, propped up between a Vincent Comet and a Rapide. Even in such inauspicious surroundings and auspicious company the class of the…

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