Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2018 i Classic Bike Guide

EASTERN EUROPEAN MOTORCYCLES have rarely received the racing accolades the British, Japanese, German or Italian machines have. Which is a great shame, as the constant struggle with the slimmest budgets and world politics made it a hard job for the factories to race around the world. Ceska Zbroiouka, or CZ, was originally an armaments manufacturer from Czechoslovakia, diversifying into making motorcycles in the early 1930s and merged with Czech rivals Jawa in 1949. CZ’s modern era began in 1955 with the appearance of two new unit-construction, dohc valve, five-speed, four-stroke singles, a 125cc and a 250cc, the former achieving a debut second place at the Swedish Grand Prix that year. In 1956 after a 21-year break, they returned to the Isle of Man TT with three bikes, a 250 and…

Mythology and rumour would have it that George Brough designed his motorcycles like this – he’d buy copies of the motorcycle magazines and cut out bits and pieces, ‘assembling’ all the best components (Harley-Davidson forks, JAP V-twin engine, Sturmey-Archer gearbox, Royal Enfield brakes et al) and then adding the crowning glory of a polished fuel tank, ‘Superior’ to the family name – to set them aside from dad’s products, simply known as ‘Brough’ – and, hey presto, ‘ta-dah, here’s the motorcycle you’ve always dreamed of.’ Of course, there was more to it than that, but there’s no disputing that George cherry-picked the best components money could buy and then, using his natural showmanship, added a sprinkling of star-dust and away he (or more precisely his Brough Superiors) went. From 1919…

THERE IS A FEAST for the ears and eyes coming this month as the Lansdowne Classic Series takes to the tracks. Named after James Lansdowne Norton, founder of Norton Motorcycles, the Lansdowne Classic Series sees riders compete on classic era machines from the 1950s and early 1960s. Series organisers aim to create and “maintain a level playing field” for those wishing to race genuine and faithful replicas of pre-1963 Group 1 and 2 machines without having to compete with modern short-stroke, lightweight faired machines that predominate in classic racing. The intention is as far as possible to recreate the sight, sounds and spirit of racing in the 1950s and early 1960s for both rider and spectator alike, while at the same time maintaining a viable event for the host club/circuit…

IT IS OFTEN overlooked that the Harley-Davidson Sportster started out not as a street rod or style icon, but as an all-out superbike, designed to stomp the opposition into the dirt of the ovals and in main-street drag races. Until the late 1940s Harley-Davidson’s chief market for big bikes had been police forces, the army and members of ultra-respectable clubs, for whom motorcycling was a hobby and whose members would ride sensible big Harley flat-heads wearing smart club uniforms. But by 1948 there was a new marke – wild-eyed young men straight out of the army looking for excitement. They were not going to find that from the existing K-series flat-head, no matter how well-equipped it was with telescopic forks, swingarm rear suspension and a unit-construction engine. They were much…

Once upon a time Halco were the acknowledged experts in all things XS650, but with the sad passing of Tony Hall, British XS650 enthusiasts had problems finding support. However, in recent years others have arrived to fill the gap. Howard Smedley at SmedSpeed is one of those experts. Howard, who has been operating SmedSpeed for seven years offers a number of interesting mods, including rephased 277° cranks and a variety of cams to suit this modification. There is an uprated clutch conversion that utilises polymer blocks to replace the clutch shock absorbers, the replacement of the oil filter with a canister arrangement, and the conversion of the often redundant starter motor into an oil tank, adding 415cc of additional oil capacity to the sump and much more. Howard says: “An…

“The VMCC logo was inspired by a design on a wine cork (bet you didn’t know that) and screams ‘ancient old British bikes ridden by old men in tweed’” I’VE BEEN ENJOYING Steve Cooper’s new column immensely, he does a great job of promoting the VJMC, the club for all Japanese classic motorcycles. By the time you read this, another great motorcycle club, the VMCC, will have had its AGM and voted on a brave new future. Unlike the VJMC, however, the vintage club has recently been riven with strong views, accusations and frankly, a lack of clear direction by the management. But why so different? Surely, the ideals of both organisations are broadly similar – promoting the joys of riding old shonkers to the public at large and hanging…

Get up there grandfather! This image was taken by The Motorcycle magazine, circa 1927 (ref.B2406) and shows my grandfather Geoffrey Bode, on the left aboard his beloved “Pegasus” giving it all he’d got up the Post Hill climb, Leeds. I would be fascinated to know what his machine was. I know he was recorded as having competed on a Sunbeam 500 in other events such as the Scott Trial in the early 1930s. This appears to be a heavy looking twin which wouldn’t have been ideal for trialling? He was a keen and reasonably accomplished amateur during this period. I have a number of trophies and medals from various events as well as the helmet he wore in the photo. Note the safety gear of the period seemed to comprise…

THERE IS AN amusing – well the first time you hear it – saying doing the rounds that goes something along these lines: ‘X=Y+1’. If X is the perfect number of bikes, then Y is the number of bikes you currently have. According to the insurance companies, classic motorcycle enthusiasts are more likely than modern bike owners to have two or more bikes; so I suppose the theory is correct. But why? Maybe the reason we often have several bikes is because we are hoarders? Is it something to do with historical intrigue? Greed? One-upmanship? My excuse for several bikes is that they all have a job to do. I used to work with modern bikes, so my collection (and don’t for one second let that word ‘collection’ give you…

ROCK AND ROLL and the Ace Café go together like a bacon sandwich and a brew, and to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the North Circular’s most famous greasy spoon, Ace Cafe London, has teamed up with Western Star Records to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the famous North London venue with an specially put together double CD album. The Ace Cafe 1938-2018 80th anniversary double CD album, with its 46 rock n’ roll tracks focused on bikes and cars, plus an enclosed eight page copiously illustrated booklet, embodies the style and culture of Ace Cafe London and showcases the spirit that has endured through the ups and downs of this iconic British landmark. Tracks include Ton Up Vicar from The Bad Detectives, I’m Dating The Ghost…

DO YOU HAVE a desire to own a classic motorcycle? How about a model that stayed in production for four decades, was made by a manufacturer with an enviable record in competition, was built in the hundreds of thousands, has good spares availability, and has a style all of its own? Something that’s easy to work on, can be used in all weathers, is tough as old army boots and will cost you a lot less than £1000? I give you the ČZ 175. For generations, a cloud of blue smoke and the stressed buzzing of an engine wrung to its limits were part of the backbone of the nation’s transport system. Villiers and BSA-engined two-strokes gallantly transported the country’s workers to factory, workshop and office. While ‘real’ motorcyclists headed…

The original Moto Guzzi V7 was long, low and fast. But times move on and the latest Moto Guzzi to wear the V7 name is often classed as the baby Guzzi. Triumph’s Bonneville and Ducati’s Scrambler blitz it on power and sophistication. But hang on a minute – does this matter? Modern bikes are just like any technology – always chasing the next big thing. More power, better brakes, more safety; it can get relentless. But after spending a day riding the latest reincarnations of Moto Guzzi’s V7 model, I find myself thinking – like the original, we don’t always need it. Moto Guzzi is steeped in tradition. The longest surviving European motorcycle manufacturer, Guzzi started making bikes in 1921. Despite many ups and downs through the decades, Guzzi bikes…

THE HEADLINES OF the time were about the Gilera factory bikes being back at Silverstone after five years under wraps in the Arcore factory. Derek Minter and John Hartle wrapped up the 500cc race, followed by Norton-mounted Phil Read and Mike Hailwood in third and fourth. But Mike’s smile is from the first race of the day, the 350cc in which, despite his Bill Lacey-tuned AJS 7R turning up to the track just 10min before the start of the race and the officials placing him at the back of the packed grid, he bravely managed to find his way past every other rider to lead by the end of the first lap. He continued to lap a second faster than any other rider. In 1963 Mike won the 500cc Grand…

‘The Needle was the anti-custom, sat beside the most bombastic and egocentric of creations, it was the whisper heard over the shouting, gesturing crowd and I fell in love with it immediately’ SOMEHOW IN THE past 10 years I’ve developed an intimate relationship with the custom motorcycle world, or at least, the ‘alt.custom’ scene as popularised by the likes of the BikeExif website. And yet, I’ve never actually owned a new-generation custom motorcycle, I have only once been tempted to buy one and I don’t build them myself. Somehow I ended up as the custom and style editor at Cycle World magazine, a curious situation that puts in mind the Talking Heads lyric ‘Well, how did I get here?’ The focus of my moto-enthusiasm has always been vintage machines and…

IF YOU HAVEN’T been to see the David Silver Honda Collection yet, it’s definitely one for the diary this year. The brainchild of David Silver – supplier of Honda spares since the mid-Eighties – it’s the largest collection of the Big Red’s bikes in Europe and boasts over 160 rare, unusual and iconic models – from the 1948 A-type to the 1992 CBR900RR Fireblade – all parked bar-to-bar in chronological order over two floors. It’s hard not to marvel at the achievements of David, for putting it together and Soichiro Honda, for the company that created the machines therein – all the models in the museum were developed during Soichiro’s time at the helm. Don’t expect a fanfare or a tree-lined driveway leading up to exquisitely-forged gates though, the Collection…

“There was the Bif. Play with the fellow? Why not? I slowed to ninety...” Most people will have heard of Lawrence of Arabia because of the 1962 film starring Peter O’Toole. Dressed in flowing white robes and riding a camel, Lawrence leads the Arabs in a guerrilla war against the Turks with devastating effect. In real life, Thomas Edward Lawrence’s exploits won him international fame, but after the First World War and a short spell as a diplomat he became disillusioned with the scheming politics of Europe and Arabia. Colonel Lawrence decided to disappear from public view and in 1922 joined the RAF as a lowly aircraftman under a false name. But it seems that the quiet life would never be enough for a thrill-seeker like Lawrence and so…

PRESCOTT BIKE FESTIVAL, which was scheduled to take place on April 14-15, fell victim to the weather... but has already been rescheduled for the father’s Day weekend in June. The event, due to take place at Prescott Hill Climb, Cheltenham was cancelled due to adverse ground conditions but was quickly rearranged by organisers for June 16/17. In a statement issued a week before the event was due to take place a spokesman for the festival said: “With more rain forecast the organisers of Prescott Bike Festival have reluctantly agreed with the land owners that to go ahead would be foolish and unsafe in its present state. Currently the exhibitor and public parking areas are unusable.” The event is the biggest annual fundraiser for the charity Blood Bikes. Event organiser Gordon…

FIFTY YEARS AGO in May 1968, Yamaha rolled out the prototype of their first four-stroke road motorcycle – a machine deemed so controversial that at first they decided not to sell it in the UK. The XS1 had a parallel twin engine and would have been be in direct competition with British machines. Yamaha importers in the UK felt this would upset British buyers too much. The big Yamaha twin’s design has origins that stretch way back before the late 1960s. It starts with Horex, a German company that in 1954 built a 400cc, and the later 500cc SOHC parallel twin that was years ahead of its time. A Japanese company, Hosk, took the Horex, reverse-engineered it so that the engine had a separate gearbox and produced a 500cc twin…

DUCATI SCRAMBLER ICON, £7990 OTR Latching onto affordable old-school fashion when the rest of Ducati’s bikes are high-powered and expensive machines, Scrambler has expanded to 10 models. But many are well above the price range we’re looking at, so it’s the Icon at £7990 that’s most comparable to the V7. The Scrambler Icon is small in stature but big in fun. It feels light and manoeuvrable, the seat is slightly higher than the V7 but not too high for most riders and the controls are all within easy reach. The clutch is light and power progressive. That engine, even in Euro 4 guise is as characterful as the Guzzi, but with 20bhp more, gives instant go and more excitement. It also helps that the Scrambler is more than 20kg lighter…

I have done some stupid things in my time, but this has to be right at the top. And the worst part is – it’s your fault! At the Newark Classic Bike Show in January I was stripping down an old 1971 Honda CL350, one that I’d had for years. I bought it for parts as the engine was seized, the exhaust rotten and the rear half of the bike had got so hot in the desert-like conditions it had been stored in while languishing in the US, was melted. Even at the front, the fork gaiters were completely solid. Two gentlemen came up and asked what I was doing with the bike. My initial idea was to get it working, lose a little weight (the bike, not me) and…