Innehållsförteckning för December 2017 från Classic Bike Guide

BLIMEY – IT’S cold outside. All too quickly, the nights are drawing in and the temperature is dropping like a valve on a botched downshift. So is it time to wrap the bikes up and dream of next spring? Well if you’re like us at CBG, then fewer riding opportunities signal the busiest time of year – the beginning of ‘The List’. My List is the culmination of all those jobs you don’t need or don’t want to do while there is riding available. A good buddy of mine, Pete, once told me how he kept his Matchless so perfect. Not perfect as in shiny, scratch free and as new – though it is really clean – but how it rides like a new bike with a complete absence of…

NOVEMBER 25 Malvern Drive-In Classic Bike & Car Autojumble. Three Counties Showground, Wye Halls and outside, Malvern, Worcs, WR13 6NW. West Midlands readers might want to take a trip out to Malvern for this, one of the last big jumbles of the year. A large classic car and motorcycle autojumble located in the recently refurbished Wye Halls. Lots of trade and autojumble stalls offering a great opportunity to locate those hard-to-find parts and accessories. Tel: 01484 667776 Email: info@classicshows.org or visit www.classicshows.org 25 LE Velo Northampton gathering.The Lamb, Stoke Goldington. MK16 8NR Tel: 01604 499858 26 Huddersfield Autojumble. Old Market Building, Brook Street, Huddersfield HD1 1RG Tel: Jeff 07795 505388 Email: jeffpff@hotmail.co.uk 26 LE Velo Lancs & South Lakes.Dunsop Bridge (meet main car park). Tel: 01772 782516 26 Ace Cafe…

STAFFORD ONCE AGAIN drew the crowds, with a top attraction being this year’s guest, World Superbike star Aaron Slight. To celebrate the speedy Kiwi, collectors brought together versions of the infamous Honda RC45, along with two of Barry Sheene’s Suzuki RG500s, many of which fired up in the Classic Racer magazine’s GP paddock. Bonhams’ auction had bikes from all eras for sale, with a 1914 Henderson Model C Four making £113,500, with £2,752,416 of sales on the day. The club stands looked fantastic, the VMCC restoration theatre was a big success and the autojumble was constantly busy. Pop January 7, 2018 in your diary for the next big show, the Carole Nash Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic show, at Newark Showground, Nottinghamshire.…

’What do you want to do when you grow up?’ It’s a question I was never allowed to answer truthfully during my mid-Seventies school years, as mother hated motorbikes. One way to access two wheels was via the Post Office and the ‘super-cool’ vocation of the telegram boy. Freedom plus uniform and all day spent within a two-cycle mix on a bright red Bantam while getting paid for the pleasure; well that’s how I saw it. It never happened to me but a mate’s brother joined their ranks and overnight became the most revered chap in our street. The telegram boy had become a requirement of the messaging system since dot-dotdash first came down the wires, apart from during the First World War when the lack of home-based males meant…

CB550 MODEL HISTORY CB550K0 (1974): Launched in the USA and not officially imported to the UK or Europe, it replaces the 500/4 CB550F0 (1975): Another US/Canada only model CB550F1 (1976): The first official 550 available in the UK replaces the 500/4 CB550K3 (1977): A four-pipe traditional tourer arrives in the UK to fill the gap left by the 500/4 CB550F2 (1977): The last F model, with a two-colour tank and no fork gaiters CB550K4 (1978): The last redesign gives the K model a stepped seat. The CB550/4 is dropped in 1979 and replaced by the CB650, with the CX500 becoming Honda’s offering in the middleweight category HISTORY LESSON In the mid-1970s Japanese manufacturers seemed to find the market for a sporting middleweight motorcycle a little confused. It was as if…

MORE THAN 3000 people braved the cold and wet to visit the fourth annual National Motorcycle Museum Live open day. Carl Fogarty, John Cooper, Michael Rutter, Steve Parrish, Pete Hickman, Maria Costello and Freddie Spencer were just some of the famous names to entertain the crowds with an amusing chat show, while the museum was free to go round, with more than 1000 bikes to see, telling the story of the British bike industry. Lots of stalls and autojumble stands were also on hand, with a barbecue outside and a new feature, the Start Up, where, thanks to the Brackley Festival of Motorcycling and Phil Morris Racing, people could see and hear some of the rare and exotic race bikes fire up. Visit us today thenmm.co.uk…

Allan Jackson is a man who rises to a challenge. A keen snowboarder and track day enthusiast, he’s also a highly skilled joiner who’s built his own home from the ground up; not once, but twice. So taking on his first custom motorcycle build was not a daunting prospect when Allan decided to rescue a friend’s laid-up 2003 Triumph Bonneville. By his own admission, Allan wouldn’t boast too highly about his spanner skills, however, with a little encouragement he managed to get the 2003 Bonneville back on the road before he hit upon the idea of building a special. Allan takes up the story: “I have long admired the new wave bike builders that feature in Classic Bike Guide and on specialist websites such as Bonnefication and Pipeburn. “My friend…

I know a little about Norton motorcycles but not enough. So whenever I meet experts, I keep my ears open and my mouth firmly shut. What can you do when you want to repair, restore or improve your old Norton? Maybe make it a better bike than ever before... or just get some spares; well that’s exactly what Norvil in Burntwood, Staffordshire does. Burntwood is one of those out of the way places – even for midland folks. But at Corner Garage, near Chasetown, Cannock, you can get pretty much whatever you need for whatever model you have. And as Sly and the Family Stone sang back in the 1970s, Norvil is a family affair. The company was started by Les Emery, now 68, and his wife Sue, and they…

OWNERS’ CLUB Ariel Owners Motor Cycle Clubarielownersmcc.co.uk SPECIALISTS Draganflydraganfly.co.uk Some specialist parts are also available through the owners club IN PRODUCTION FOR more than 30 years, the Ariel OHV single engine went from being ground-breaking new technology to a marketing bombshell, powering high-performance sports bikes and serving as a reliable commuter steed for everyman. The story began in 1925 when Ariel employed a new designer fresh from JAP, Val Page. Page’s work revolutionised the Ariel model range from 1926. His first job for Ariel was to design a modern engine, and his efforts produced the single-cylinder mill that became the backbone of Ariel production for the next three decades, until Ariel ceased trading in four strokes in 1959. While the Ariel engine owed its origins to Val Page, in 1932…

Bremen show goes to the TT THE ISLE OF MAN TT is the focus at one of Europe’s biggest classic vehicle shows in February. The organisers of the Bremen Classic Motorshow are exhibiting a group of 20 British motorcycles never shown together before, from Friday, February 2 to Sunday, February 4, at the Bremen Fair in Germany. The special exhibition entitled ‘Best of British – The TT Legends’ will feature original bikes from the heyday of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy race. From the 1914 Rudge Multi to the 1962 AJS 7R Boy Racer, these bikes give a unique and charming overview of the fast-paced developments of the time. “The race motorcycles on display even include the original winners of the TT from 1934, 1949, 1952 and 1954,” says…

Standing in the workshops of JMC Classics and Restorations, between a multitude of Vincents in various stages of undress, I’m faced with two very interesting machines. First glances confuse me – modern chassis parts, wide tyres and a gleaming finish blend with older style fairings and engines that are clearly old-school. As the lads in the workshop are frantically stripping carbs, I have another minute to take a closer look at these two intriguing, beautiful machines. “They’re for a client, Frank Hodder, a collector from Australia, who wants them finished and shipped over so he can show them at his daughter’s wedding in a few weeks,” explains John Mossey, who along with his small team, has created both these bikes to a tight, demanding brief. “He knows what he wants…

The Thruxton ‘Nine hours’ race, 1956 60 machines lined up for the second running of three nine-hour races, held from 1955 to 1957. The restricted permit was given for the 2.7574 mile course around the old airfield and attracted many well-known racers of the time, such as Geoff Monty and Geoff Tanner, Bob McIntyre, Dennis Christian and Eddie Dow, the previous year’s winner. The 350cc class included 10 Gold Star BSAs, three Velocette Vipers and a Matchless G3LS. The 500cc class was BSA territory with 22 entries, while four Triumph T100s, a Matchless G9, Norton Model 88 and Velocette Venom, new for that year, added to the mix. 750cc bikes included Triumph T110s, Royal Enfield Super Meteors, a Norton 99 and a BSA A10. Noon signalled the start for the…

EVERY MONTH, REALCLASSICmagazine offers an assortment of entertaining, eclectic and occasionally eccentric articles about old bikes. Most of the magazine is written by readers – lifelong riders who share their experiences of the classic motorcycles they repair, restore and ride off into the sunset. Traditional British bikes take centre-stage in the December issue. Roger Slater (he of Laverda fame) aims to improve an Ariel Square Four engine and Alan Cathcart reveals a Triumph prototype from the late 1950s that got off the drawing board but never quite made it to production. We learn what was going on behind the scenes at BSA in the late 1960s, with some of the original reports from the time and motion men. Rowena Hoseason goes bargain-hunting for Velocette singles, while other RealClassicregulars ride a…