Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2024 i The Classic MotorCycle

This remarkable motorcycle appeared in the August 20, 1925, issue of The Motor Cycle and given the various coverage of late by Richard Rosenthal regarding frame design and such, its inclusion seems fitting. Likewise, there is no better way to detail it than by transcribing the published description (which was under the headline ‘Four-valve engine in channel steel frame’) verbatim. “In the construction of his unconventional home-made machine, a young engineer, Mr G E Parker, Parkside, Fishtoft Road, Boston, Lincs, has pinned his faith to channel steel for the frame instead of the usual tubular construction. Practically every part of the machine was made by himself and a friend. “The 640cc engine (86x110mm), has four overhead valves actuated by a gear very similar to that of the AJS. There are…

Sunbeam | S7 De Luxe The Sunbeam S7D (for De Luxe) was described and defined as ‘The Gentleman’s Motorcycle’. And this one lived in a context which ticked all the boxes. In a venerable village at the base of the Downs, at the end of a drive hundreds of yards long, lies a very nice house in several well-tended, tree-fringed acres, surrounded by a multitude of barns and stables. In one of them there is a well-patinated soft-top Morris Minor. Like the house, the Minor belongs to the Sunbeam owner’s partner, Tina, a game girl who when we first met at our local show, had just carried two folding chairs for several miles while riding on the S7’s pillion pad. The owner, David Tilton and his late wife had both…

Burt Munro | Museum visit Almost as remarkable as the story of Burt Munro, the man who built and rode “The World’s Fastest Indian”, is the fact that you can see the record-breaking Indian Scout for free, by walking into a hardware store in Invercargill, South Island, New Zealand. E Hayes and Sons hardware store is in the centre of Invercargill, New Zealand’s most southerly city and Burt Munro’s home for much of his life. Walk through the modern doorway and onto the Outdoor Power Tools area, where you will find several items from the Burt Munro Legacy Collection, including the much-modified 1920 Indian Scout. Bought new by Burt Munro in 1920, it was significantly, radically modified over the years with hand-made parts and alterations, and set a world record…

Evolution happens in all walks of life, things change, things move on, and the world of old motorcycles is no different. The early days of motorcycling saw engines being fitted to bicycle-esq machines with neither clutch nor gears, which evolved into the machines we have today. The organisation which celebrates and encourages the interest and use of older motorcycles, since its founding in 1946, has also evolved. Just in case you didn’t know how the Vintage Motor Cycle Club is organised, it has a number of local sections, 81 of them; which means anyone interested in old motorcycles will be able to find a section near them, wherever ‘near’ is. In 1960, almost 14 years to the day since the founding of the VMCC, a group of vintage enthusiasts in…

This wonderful photograph was published in the December 21, 1911, issue of The Motor Cycle. The accompanying caption read: “En route for the Gometz-Le-Chatel Hill Climb. Some members of the ACU party of motorcyclists photographed at Charing Cross Station on Saturday before leaving for Paris – Messrs Cooper, Carter, Witham and C and E Webster.” No further details were given, even as to who was who, or what the motorcycles were, though from looking at the picture, it’s possible to deduce they’re both Matchlesses, albeit of rather different specification, the lighter-coloured, barrel-tanked one on the left being powered by a ferocious 90-bore JAP (see the NUT in last month’s issue), while the other has a side-valve JAP engine. They are sporting consecutive numbers (LE 1012, left, and LE 1011, right)…

Classic archive The caption for this photograph, printed in the July 26, 1951 issue of The Motor Cycle read: “Members of the Harvard-Yale athletic team with the four BSAs they purchased from Alexanders, of Glasgow. The men on the motorcycles are, from left to right, S Twitchell, R C Johnson, P White and EE Grutzner. The three men at the back are Alexanders’ staff A Watt, J Shand and R McCall.” Every two years since 1893 – breaks for world wars and pandemics aside – the bi-annual ‘HYOC games’ have taken place, which sees the combined might of American universities Harvard and Yale’s athletics teams take on their counterparts from the British institutions Oxford and Cambridge, in what is the longest running event of its type; indeed, it pre-dates the…

NEC | Motorcycle Live For many motorcyclists, for many years, a pilgrimage to ‘the show’ was, and is, an annual event. Originally held in London, first at Olympia and then Earls Court, from 1981 the motorcycle show has been at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) just off the M42 and near Birmingham, of course once pretty much the epicentre of the British Motorcycle Industry. One of those famous Brum brands, BSA, has reappeared in recent years, again having a presence at the 2023 show, held over November 18-26, though their stand was much the same as 2022’s, so far as I could make out. There was a new Gold Star in an all-over black paint scheme, but that aside, it seemed ‘as you were.’ Another of those old Midlands-area brands,…

Of all the motorcycles I’ve ridden, I suspect that Velocettes are potentially the most sampled brand. This has come about because of various factors, starting from parental influence, in that my dad has rarely been without one since he started motorcycling in the late 1950s, through geography and friendship; and having bought my own first Velocette when living in Lincolnshire, I was sort of adopted by several people for whom Velocette was almost a religion, a maker on a higher plain and without equal. Many of these people were generous enough to let me sample their machines too, so, with regards to Velocette four-stroke singles, I reckon I have ridden pretty much most of them, through MOVs and MACs and Model Ks, Vipers, Venom, Thruxtons, KSS, MSS, KTS and –…

THE SPECIALIST When it came to seeking specialist help for another example of the Mandello del Lario’s seminal models, we were fortunate that Ed Wolstenholme volunteered straight away. His company, Gutsibits, can supply the majority of parts for just about any motorcycle Moto Guzzi has made in the last 50 years. We are grateful for his time in helping again. ■ Gutsibits: 01484 841395; www.gutsibits.co.uk MODEL HISTORY The seminal 700cc V-twin powerplant that revitalised Moto Guzzi, came about in pursuit of a government contract. It was equally applicable for motorcycle use, where it was installed in various styles of cycle parts. At the end of the 1960s, with new designer Lino Tonti in charge, America’s LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) came calling. The deputation was impressed at the speed with…

When were twist grips first used? The answer depends on how you like your history served. Taking events chronologically, and with a little lateral thinking, American Sylvester Roper may have been the first engineer/inventor to employ the concept, although not as we know it. Roper fitted a rotating handlebar to his steam motorcycle of the late 1860s (which was really a velocipede with a steam engine mounted amidship) to serve controlling roles. Rotating the handlebars forward controlled the steam feed into its engine, while rotating them backwards shut it off and also applied a spoon brake to the rear wheel. Unhappy with the steam motorcycle’s claim? Then how about the 1885 Daimler Einspur designed by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach? Arguably, it is not an Einspur (single-tracked vehicle) as it…

Bristol show Originally held in the centre of Bristol, the-now Shepton Mallet-based annual show has grown and evolved into Britain’s greatest West Country celebration of all that is best about motorcycles of yesteryear. Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show is a magnet for enthusiasts, club members and traders alike – attracting thousands. It features the finest themed club displays with fierce competition for the much-coveted ‘best stand’ award and cash prizes too. The show also features an auction from Dore and Rees. Held over February 24/25, 2024, at The Royal Bath & West, BA4 6QN, compere Steve Plater will be joined on stage by ex-British champion and TV commentator James Whitham. Have a look at classicbikeshows.com Museum winter raffle Triumph’s weird-and-wonderful – certainly different! – Triumph TSX is the prize up for…

Motom | 98 TS To say that the 1955 Fiera di Milano (Milan Industrial Fair) was huge, is a bit like saying that titanosaurs were just very big lizards. Those dinosaurs were the biggest ever to walk on land. And the industrial fair? That boasted 1,000,000 exhibits from nearly 50 countries. This was the place to see the latest scientific and technological developments, and that included the most up-to-date motorcycles in the world. That’s why, when the president of Italy opened the show on April 12, motorcycle enthusiasts made a beeline through the huge vaulted halls to the Motom stand. They knew that only a little more than four months had passed since the Italian industry revealed nearly 200 new models at the International Motorcycle Exposition, but they were mostly…

It’s been previously reported in these pages that the Moto Club Indianos’ annual Colombres Rally event, or ‘Rally International Motos Clasicas’ to be technically correct, was showing signs of recovery after Covid and its aftermath caused a slump in numbers, but 2023 excelled further, welcoming a record number of participants from all over the world. Well over 200 registered for the week-long event on the roads in Asturias and the Picos De Europa, and 100 of these signed up for the challenging one-day, 300-mile option at the end of the week. Not quite so encouraging was the fact the numbers had halved for the previous week’s ‘North of Spain Rally’ based further south in Navia, close to the Galicia region. Although the roads in this area still provide the same…

From the launch of the inclined-cylinder BSA Sloper, critics claimed it a less efficient engine than if it had been built with its barrel vertical. This thought ignores the fact that sloping engines had been used in the motorcycle world for almost 30 years by the time the first Slopers hit the showrooms, and all V-twins have at least one and usually both barrels sloped. Then what about horizontal, aero and upside-down units? Essentially, if the carburation and – in the case of four-strokes – lubrication are appropriate, then engines will perform to expectations. As often happens in such cases, negative observations have the reverse effect hoped for by critics, which, along with the sarcasm of comments such as BSA Sloper riders were posing ‘Promenade Percys,’ probably enhanced sales. What…