Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2017 i Classic Bike Guide

SUZUKI LAUNCHED THEIR range of big two-stroke triples in 1972 with less than perfect timing. The GT arrived in a world that was just about to start worrying about air pollution and an oil crisis. Despite the company’s tendency to build highly strung two-stroke screamers and the success of their TR500 racers, Suzuki’s roadster strokers were nothing like the equivalent offerings from Kawasaki and Yamaha. Far from being like the peaky, hairy, sports bikes on offer from their rivals, the turbine smooth GTs, with their rubber-mounted engines, were more akin to Honda’s fours when it came to the riding experience. The GT550 was the least popular of the triples, though sales of the model of more than 60,000 in six years, hardly marks it down as a failure. The GT380…

CHOPPERS, CUSTOMS, CAFÉ RACERS and bobbers all come from the same basic root. The principle is that if you make your motorcycle lighter by junking all the heavy extra bits and pieces put on it by the original manufacturer you’ll end up with a better, faster motorcycle. In the USA the legend is that this idea came from riders of Harley-Davidsons and Indians who wanted to compete on level terms with the faster, smaller, lighter bikes coming out of Bracebridge Street, Plumstead, Meriden and Small Heath. Those choppers from the US soon became more extravagant and shiny until it wasn’t so much the performance as the appearance that became the reason for their creation. Custom bike building starts on the street before becoming mainstream, and a supply of suitable machines…

No motorcycle in the history of trials competition comes anywhere close to the amazing tally of wins racked up by a 497cc Ariel with the registration plate GOV 132. It started out as a works 1954 Red Hunter model HT, but don’t let that ‘works’ prefix fool you. The success of GOV was down to the riding and development skills of an Irishman by the name of Samuel Hamilton Miller. Sammy Miller started his trials career in 1953 with a bike he built around a 1929 Matchless 250 frame and a new 197cc Villiers engine. After honing his skills in events around his native Belfast he entered the 1954 Scottish Six Days Trial, riding to the May event and home again with an award as the second best newcomer. Back…

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 For the Sky’ and ‘The Cruel Sea’, I was primed to believe that the motorcycle itself was as British as fish and chips. And then… I came to do my first write-up of a BMW restoration, a company that’s as German as lederhosen. So, I thought to myself, better do your homework first, just to get the facts right. And I have to say that I was shocked – nay, stunned – as the truths kept poking me in the eye. Yes, poor reader; I am going to upset you – shock you, even – by the declaration…

ITS NAME INDICATES a smaller powerplant than the 692cc Meteor and Super Meteor, but the ‘Meteor Minor’ designation unjustly plays down the bike’s own star qualities. Often overlooked in favour of larger Royal Enfields, particularly the Constellation and Interceptor, the Meteor Minor is an extremely pleasant machine to own and ride. The Meteor Minor used the same lightweight welded tubular frame as the 248cc Crusader when it arrived in April 1958 to replace Royal Enfield’s 500 Twin. Initially available in two levels of trim, the ‘Standard’ featured a sprung saddle and six inch front brake. The De Luxe featured a dual seat, seven inch front brake in a full width hub, deeply valanced front mudguard, fully enclosed rear chain and a quick release rear wheel which had previously been an…

HANDSOME HUNTER INTERESTING ARTICLE ON the Ariel 650 twin in the Feb issue. I went the same route with my Ariel 500 special. Bought it in 1970 for £35 from a friend for use commuting into London, then clocked up thousands of miles. It’s a 1952 VHA engine in a 54 frame; that’s how I bought it. Over the years it has been developed as seen here, with its last refurbishment about 10 years ago. The engine has been tuned with porting and lightened valve gear and polished steel flywheels. The exhaust pipe was made up from an old AJS item, cut and shut to fit and then chromed. The front forks have modified damping and the rear shocks are old racing Girlings. The seat was re-covered early on by…

Triumph’s all-new Bonneville Bobber is a stylistic and dynamic tour de force from a company that makes bikes that are quite unlike anything else in the marketplace, especially those powered by three-cylinder engines. But the Bobber isn’t another triple – instead, it’s the latest member of the British manufacturer’s massively expanded, thoroughly re-engineered, born-again-one-more-time Bonneville parallel-twin range. It’s a modern British take on a Yankee-style hot rod that’s cool-looking, capable and competent, as the chance to be one of the first group of journalists to ride it through the streets of Madrid and out into the surrounding Spanish hills on a sunny winter day’s press launch, adequately proved. For those not au fait with this iconic piece of two-wheeled Americana, the Bobber was the forerunner of today’s Custom bikes, initially…

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 keep things comfortable or open their jackets to ensure a cool flow of air – which is all well and good until you find an angry wasp between jacket and T-shirt, and while the British summer can sometimes be a little inclement, those who head south for the summer will know the discomfort of wearing gear designed for our moist and temperate climes in places where the sun shines all day. Could it be time to add something a little more purpose made for the summer to…

THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE scene has good reason to be grateful to farming for its continued popularity. After all, if it wasn’t for the nation’s agricultural societies then classic bike builders would struggle to find somewhere to show off their creations. The Royal Bath and West Showground at Shepton Mallet is used to having muddy boots stomping into its buildings from the car park, which is just as well. There was plenty of space in the big halls and heated marquees for the Bristol Classic Bike Show – a 37-year-old show that is older than a sizeable proportion of the bikes on display and more vintage than some of the visitors. That space gave clubs a chance to show off their creative mettle while building their stands. There were BSAs on…

THE BSA A65 and A50, launched in 1962, dragged the look of the British big twin kicking and screaming into the 1960s. The sleek lines of the bikes were a world away from the more mechanical look of their rivals on the market. The move to a unit construction engine was a big one for BSA and these machines were flagships, replacing the highly respected and much loved A7 and A10 twins. The engine cases sported what became known rather strangely as the ‘power egg’ look and the large side panels gave the machine a ‘smooth’ look. This was a trend at the time: Triumph had bathtub enclosures and the Ariel Leader and Velocette Vogue did their best to not look like motorcycles at all. The stylish curves were a…

IN A SUCCESSFUL attempt to retain its longstanding role as suppliers of police and military motorcycles, in 1963 Moto Guzzi started work on a replacement for the Falcone. Replacing the long-serving 499cc Falcone single required a faster, more modern machine and Guzzi’s 703cc V7 shaft drive V-twin certainly fitted the bill. Designed for a long service life with easy access for straightforward maintenance, the V7 evolved into the 757cc V7 Special for Europe and the Ambassador for the USA, followed by the 844cc Eldorado. These were robust, reliable tourers rather than sports bikes, but several lightweight V7s were developed that were very successful in setting speed records. This enabled further development and redesign into the V7 Sport. Created by Guzzi’s chief engineer Lino Tonti, the V7 Sport was the firm’s…

“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 to the US from his home near Frankfurt. “One evening, a bunch of us went to watch dirt track racing. The way those guys charged their Trackmaster twins into the corners, eased off the gas and then wound the power on to send the bike sideways with a rooster-tail of cinders shooting from the back tyre was awesome. Close racing, lots of noise and beautiful motorcycles – what’s not to like?” A couple of years later, on another trip to the US, he called in on a British bike meet north of Los Angeles. “There was a bunch of guys riding street…

YOU’VE DECIDED THAT you want to buy or sell a classic bike, but where do you start? If you are buying then the dealerships such as those who advertise in CBG are obviously a good bet, but you will be paying a tidy price and many of these machines will have been restored. For some the actual restoration process is part of the fun. You could scour the small ads, too and there’s bound to be something there that attracts you, but you can almost guarantee it’s going to be on the other side of the country – or in a different one altogether. And there are certain internet auction sites or small ads selling portals that are packed with bikes that seem to rapidly skyrocket in price, or have…