The Classic MotorCycle

The subject of the noise vehicles make has been something I’ve been thinking about recently. Where I live, we’re effectively on the flight path for RAF Lakenheath, which is actually an American military airbase. I grew up in the town, and its proximity is why we live here at all, as my Dad worked there and at nearby Mildenhall too. It was something I’d always been used to, and even when I returned about five years ago, I barely noticed it. Lately, though, it’s become much louder. That’s partly down to increased levels of activity, but also because the F-35s now based there are significantly noisier than anything that went before. That got me thinking about motorcycles, and places like Brooklands, where noise protests had a major impact on the…

This great picture was published in The Motor Cycle of September 13, 1928, with the caption, including original capitals and punctuation: “YOICKS! Obviously a horseman, S Lees rides his Sunbeam as he would his hunter, at Ballig Bridge in last week’s ‘Junior’ Amateur race.” The competition for victory in the Junior Amateur TT, where the winner took The Motor Cycle trophy, was “One of the greatest races ever run over the TT course” according to the sponsoring publication. It was the first time a standalone race had been held for 350cc (so Junior) class machines; ever since the event’s inception in 1923 there had been a class for the 350cc motorcycles – from the start with the trophy provided by The Motor Cycle – but they ran concurrently with the…

Henry Cole heads to Newark Television presenter and motorcycle enthusiast Henry Cole will take centre stage at the Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic Show, taking place at Newark Showground on January 10/11, 2026. With more than 30 years in television, Cole is best known for hosting World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides, The Motorbike Show, Shed and Buried, Find It, Fix It, Flog It and Find It, Fix It, Drive It. Beyond the screen, Henry’s passion for motorcycles shines through his work with Gladstone Motorcycles, where he creates bespoke, hand-built machines. He has also made his mark on the Bonneville Salt Flats, setting a land-speed record for Brough Superior in 2013 and riding in the world’s fastest two-up attempt with creative engineer Allen Millyard. Visitors can see Henry live on stage with…

1901 Local-based Pressmen in North London reported that one of England’s leading cinematographic equipment makers, John Alfred Prestwich, was currently engaged in designing and developing a 2¼HP four-stroke engine. Of familiar automatic over mechanical side exhaust valve design, it was believed the engine would be suitable for clipping to a strong gentleman’s bicycle, to make a motorised cycle. Speculation suggested the engine would additionally lend itself to three-wheeled forecar-type vehicles, too. 1926 In September 1925, Royal Enfield of Redditch announced its new two-stroke models to replace the dated 225cc machine unveiled in August 1914, and on offer from mid-1915. Although the new engine retained the 64x70mm bore and stroke of the older offering, the barrel was revised for better inflow of petrol gases and outflow of burnt gases. The new…

Author: Peter Lush Publisher: London League Publications Ltd, P.O. Box 65784, London NW2 9NS Tel.: 020 8452 1798 Email: peter56nw@gmail.com Softback, 190 x 245mm (portrait); 160 pages with 40 photographs and illustrations. ISBN: 978-1-909885-40-0 £14.95 GB; $19 USD; $28 CAD; $30 AUD. Tommy Price and Bill Kitchen were two of the key riders in the history of British speedway from the 1930s to the 1950s. Born in Cambridge in 1911, apprentice engineer Tommy Price had plans to take up grass-track racing, but realised that his 1926 AJS was not suitable for the sport, and traded it in for a newer and more competitive TT replica model. Pre-war grass track meetings were like road races with left and right hand bends, the bikes having small tanks and knobbly tyres. After many…

Published in 2025, Jacques Bussillet’s biography of Australian road racer Jack Findlay carries the same name as the headline of this piece, and was translated from the original French by our regular contributor Alan Cathcart. The book was reviewed in our December 2025 issue by Jonathan Hill, who detailed the ups and downs of Findlay’s career, from leaving Australia in 1958 bound for the UK, armed with an aged 350cc Manx Norton and a heart full of hope. Interestingly, he wasn’t a top-level Aussie racer on his departure, but a part-time rider of seemingly modest ability, though with a great deal of grit and determination. Findlay’s initial journey saw him accompanied by his wife, but when they all (by now they had a young son) returned to Australia for a…