The Classic MotorCycle August 2023

This issue of the magazine is particularly diverse, in many ways, as we’ve ticked many of the ‘period’ boxes that are encompassed by the wide areas of time we cover, from the 1920s, through until the 1970s. It just shows that there’s room for us all in this great hobby. My interest, as regular readers will have long understood, is particularly varied; I love them all and literally persuade myself over the course of putting together an issue that practically every machine we feature, is exactly the thing my garage is missing. Talking of my garage, you’ll be able to read a bit about this month’s goings-on later in the issue, where I’ve tried very hard to not let frustration get the better of me. As I always say, (mainly…

The first man in the inaugural Sidecar TT, the 1923 event, gets away, as 50-year-old Harry Reed pushes off his Bradshaw-engined DOT (Reed being the man behind the maker DOT) while the rest of the field of starters line up against the wall. Of course, this year marks the centenary of the event, which in 2023 has seen the Birchall brothers, Ben and Tom – whose dad John, incidentally, is one of the leading lights in the Gold Star Owners’ Club – become the first sidecar crew to lap at over 120mph; fastest lap in 1923 went to Harry Langman, with Ernie Mainwaring in the chair, at 54.69mph. Interestingly, both the 1923 race and the 2023 running used 600cc outfits, back to that capacity after numerous changes, including at 500cc…

News & Events The well-established Kempton Park autojumble has the July 15 event tagged as ‘The Classic MotorCycle Day’ – which means yours truly will be there with a stand of some kind, plus at least one motorcycle hopefully of interest to readers, most likely the Project Velocette; we shall see. Best bit though is that you readers get 30% off your tickets. Use code ‘TCMDAY’ on your advance tickets by going to www.kemptonautojumble.co.uk or there’s a coupon you can bring to the gate – see page 85. Once you’re there, do come and say hello; we’ll also have a stash of pens and stickers to give out on a first come, first served basis, plus there’ll be some good offers for taking out and renewing your subscription. Tickets are…

ANGLO-DUTCH RALLY The 2023 running of the event, the 19th, takes place over July 25-28, for riders of pre-1915 motorcycles, tricycles and three-wheeled cyclecars. It’s based around Brandon Hall Hotel in Warwickshire (CV8 3FW). The event commemorates the Anglo-Dutch Trials of 1912 and 1913. Details from Mike Wills. miwills@doctors.org.uk RUDGES AND DOUGIES The Rudge Motorcycle Club annual rally will take place on July 8/9, jointly with the London Douglas Motorcycle Club, at Stow-on-the-Wold Rugby Club. NMM LIVE National Motorcycle Museum Live continues in October 2023 as a two-day event, to be held over October 28/29, 2023. MOTORCYCLES AT THE MANOR Motorcycles at the Manor takes place on July 8, at The Manor, West Ashby, near Horncastle, Lincolnshire, which is about three miles, on the A153, from Mortons HQ. Local ride…

One of the most exciting lots in H&H’s sale at the National Motorcycle Museum on July 12, is the only currently road-going ‘BSA Hurricane’ prototype, shown below, the model which entered production with Triumph on its petrol tank, half a century ago this year. The provenance on file includes the BSA Owners’ Club Dating Certificate for frame VR2 and engine number A75R NE 00193. It is believed that just two prototypes were hand-built. One built by Vetter in his Illinois workshop and the other assembled by the BSA works, to assess production specifications. Vetter donated his original prototype to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio. It is thought that this Umberslade prototype, was badged as a Triumph and sold off in a factory clearance sale, with no…

Over 60 motorcycles will be offered at the Cheffins Vintage Sale on Saturday, July 22, at the firm’s sale ground at Sutton, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB6 2QT. With consignments from private collections from across the UK, the motorbikes on offer date from the 1920s, through to modern examples from the early 2000s. Lots include an unrestored 1978 Moto-Guzzi Le Mans, Mk.1, a 1957 Ariel HT5 from 1957, a 1970 500cc Triumph Rickman ‘Petite’ Metisse and a 1940 500cc BSA WM20 which is fully original, having been used during the Second World War. The bike has not been restored and remains in its full wartime outfit, including War Department tyres. In addition, there is a 1936 350cc International Norton Model 40, which has been on display in a private museum in…