Innehållsförteckning för January 2019 från Classic Bike Guide

Firstly, may I, on behalf of all who work at Classic Bike Guide towers, wish you a warm and prosperous New Year! May your bolts not round off, your petrol not turn stale and your tyres be eternally pumped up. And if you see a mild forecast over the festive period, keep away from the sherry – some wonderful rides with quiet roads can be had while the rest of the world are cramming mince pies into their already-bloated bellies. If ever you’re feeling the years then relax – we are trendsetters! The annual Motorcycle Live show was busy and saw even more new bikes featuring a classic style, with Norton releasing two new, affordable and frankly great-looking 650 bikes – the Atlas and Nomad; Triumph giving over half their…

THE LATEST RAFFLE prize on offer from the National Motorcycle Museum (NMM) is another desirable rarity – a new old stock 1977 Norton Commando. The NMM announced this latest prize after revealing the results of the summer 2018 raffle to win a 1969 Royal Enfield Interceptor Mk II 750cc. The raffle was drawn by TT and road racing superstars John McGuinness, Mick Grant and Trevor Nation at the Museum LIVE open day. The Interceptor was won by Craig Winter from Carmarthenshire. The second prize, a 1955 James ML125, was won by David Fallon of Leicestershire. Launching the winter raffle, museum director James Hewing said: “We have something very special for our winter raffle by offering a brand-new old stock 1977 Commando, which has never been run or registered and is…

ONE OF THE most famous names in motorcycling has been revived by Triumph for a new high-performance twin. The new 1200cc Speed Twin re-introduces a legendary Triumph name. The 1200cc, 97bhp twin has a new chassis, high spec brakes and is 10kg lighter than the Thruxton twin it is based on. The Speed Twin has been designed as a hybrid of the Street Twin’s detailing, the Thruxton R’s performance and the Bonneville T120’s ride and rider comfort. Detail changes to the Thruxton engine are a new magnesium cam cover, revised clutch assembly and engine covers, which add up to save 2.5kg. The Speed Twin will have lighter 17in aluminium wheels than the Thruxton’s spoked items. Like the smaller Street Twin, the Speed Twin has a low 807mm seat height. It…

FEBRUARY SEES THE annual show season move up a gear with the arrival of the Bristol Classic Motorcycle Show. This year’s event is on February 2 & 3 at the Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet. The show is well-known for the extravagant exhibitions put on by the local motorcycle clubs who go all out to impress and there is fierce competition for the much-coveted ‘best stand’ award. The event is a magnet for enthusiasts, club members and traders alike – attracting thousands from all over the country and beyond. Bristol is also known for showing off some of the finest examples of privately-owned classic motorcycles in the country, many appearing for the first time after a winter’s spannering. All those who bring their motorcycle along are automatically entered to…

Those who have never ridden a Honda CX500 still turn up their noses at Honda’s vee, while those who have owned one will defend the V-twin passionately. The CX was ground-breaking when it first appeared in 1978, but it was greeted not with astonishment but with derision by much of the motorcycle press. Where everybody else was turning out double overhead camshaft straight four sports bikes, Honda had gone out and built a four-valve per cylinder opposed V-twin, with push rods operating the valves, a shaft drive and water cooling. Honda had even ditched the by now ubiquitous separate headlamp, speedo and rev counter arrangement and enclosed them all in a plastic nacelle. No-one had put a nacelle on a motorcycle since 1962. It didn’t help that when the CX500…

JOHN HARDING IS the Francis-Barnett Owners’ Club technical officer and spares supremo. We asked him what made the Falcon so special: “Francis-Barnett and James were both made by AMC and used common engines, but the saying was that James were built down to a price, while Francis-Barnetts were built up to a standard. For example, if you look at the rear brake light switch on a Falcon, rather than simply bolting something on, Francis-Barnett used a rocker mechanism with seven component parts. The centrestand was constructed using an eccentric cam action rather than several springs. “The Villiers engine tends to be hard to start when it’s hot, and this is partly due to the magnets on the flywheel getting hot and losing their magnetism. You can modify the ignition system…

Triumph has always led the surging modern-retro motorcycle market, building on its rich history with an eclectic range of classic-styled machines. For 2019 the British factory has updated its hugely successful Street Twin and Street Scrambler – and Classic Bike Guide has been out to Portugal to put them through their paces and see how the experience stands up against the ‘real thing. As you would expect, the 2019 bikes have improved performance thanks to their new high torque 900cc Bonneville powerplant, upgraded front brakes and new cartridge front forks – and there is also a range of technological improvements and styling upgrades too, making the new Triumphs some of the most well-equipped retro-styled machines on the market. So could you be tempted to buy new? I’m ashamed to say…

GERMAN GRAND PRIX NURBURGRING, 1930 Started in 1925 and finished in 1927, the Nurburgring was a purpose-built racetrack and is one of motorsport’s seven wonders. The idea was to use the undulating hills of the Eifel mountains to re-create famous road circuits like the Italian Targa FIorio. It had several different layouts including a North loop and South loop – add them together and in the early years the complete track was 17.5 miles long. Motorcycles started on the North loop (12.7 miles) and on the South loop (five miles) in different years. Many racers protested about the length, bumps and safety over the years, including Ago and Formula 1 never returned after Niki Lauda’s accident in 1976, when his terrible injuries were made worse due to the time it…

ANOTHER RESURGENT BRITISH manufacturer has revived an old name for its latest machine with Norton unveiling its first middleweight twin-cylinder motorcycle since the 650cc Mercury went out of production in 1969. The new 650cc Atlas Nomad and Atlas Ranger twins are designed as entry-level machines and will be the first mainstream production machines from Norton since the 1970s. The Atlas name was last used on Norton’s 1960s 750cc Featherbed framed superbike. The new Norton uses an engine with elements derived from the company’s own high performance V4 RR superbike in a steel trellis frame. Norton says the use of steel, rather than aluminium is ideal for a dual purpose off-roader like the Atlas. The in-house produced 84bhp 650cc engine has a 270° crankshaft and uses the V4’s cylinder head, while…

DECEMBER 2018 30 Ace Cafe London, Bike Day: Ace Cafe, Ace Corner, N Circular Rd, Stonebridge, London NE10 7UD. london.acecafe.com 31 Ace Cafe London, New Year’s Eve Party: Ace Cafe, Ace Corner, N Circular Rd, Stonebridge, London NE10 7UD.london.acecafe.com JANUARY 2019 1 VMCC (Dorset section) New Year’s Day Run: Streeter’s Carpet Shop, Station Road, Sturminster Newton DT10 1BD. Tel. 01258 860864. dorsetvmcc.co.uk/events 1 The Hangover Meet: Ace Cafe London, Ace Corner, North Circular Road, Stonebridge, London NW10 7UD. london.acecafe.com 2 VMCC (Dorset section) Lunch Meet: Henstridge Golf and Leisure, Marsh Lane, Henstridge, Somerset BA8 0TG. Tel. 01258 860864. dorsetvmcc.co.uk/events/ 4 FEBRUARY ISSUE OF THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE 4-5 Ards Motorcycle Show and Autojumble: Queens Hall, Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland. Tel. Tom Rutherford 07971 681779. 5 JANUARY EDITION OF…

In 1953 Triumph were already cutting a swathe through the motorcycle marketplace, with some of the best sports motorcycles in the world arriving in showrooms waiting for eager buyers and adorning catalogues. Triumph practically invented the mass-market sportsbike with the 500 Speed Twin in 1938 and leaving most of their rivals to play catch up and set the pattern for the design of their twins for the next 40 years. Just a few years later, in 1950, the 500 became a 650 as Triumph bored and stroked the Speed Twin to create the Thunderbird. But attractive as these models were, the sprung-hub rear suspension and old-style saddles were still harking back to the 1930s. They had already increased the compression and changed the cams on the Speed Twin to create…

Father and son Paul and Scott Woodland have had a long relationship with Honda’s CX500EC. Paul bought an EC 16 years ago. A former Fowlers Motorcycles courtesy bike, the white EC has covered more than 60,000 miles with no more serious issues than needing a replacement stator. The EC isn’t Paul’s anymore however, as these days it’s Scott’s regular ride. “When he was about nine years old, Scott had to go to football practice and my wife had taken the car, so I told him, if he wanted to go, he’d have to go on the bike. From then on, every time I went out, he would insist on coming along,” said Paul. “When I was in my teens, I told dad it was about time he let me have…

In order for this to be a reality and not just another of my many unfinished piles of junk that only move when I trip over them, a plan has to be hatched. So although I was itching to get started, some mundane tasks are needed. Bah humbug. First – what have we got/what have we duplicates of/what do we obviously need? The basics are there like frame and swingarm along with the bigger brackets and engine plates. Bodywork? Check – mudguards, tank, headlight cowl and numberplate holder, along with stays are present and don’t look like they need much more than a good rub down – the two-piece rear mudguard looks brand-new. Oil tank and toolbox also look correct for the year and have suffered no bumps; so just…

When he was a teenager, Jon deBouhn rode a second-hand BSA B50MX on and off-road, and a 750cc Bonnie to A Archer & Son in Essex, the respected vintage vehicle restoration experts, where he was doing a four-year engineering apprenticeship. However, when he finished his apprenticeship in 1984 the British motorcycle industry was on its knees, while BMW was big news. “They made the bikes to beat in the Dakar,” says Jon. “The G/S always seemed to finish the race without many problems. While other manufacturers were changing engines, BMW’s mechanics were changing the oil.” Now qualified and with a handsome increase in salary, he immediately bought a new R80G/S. “What a bike!” Jon says with a smile. “It was so much better than the Bonnie and touring 600 miles…

THE DEATH HAS been reported of highly-regarded Vincent builder Patrick Godet. Godet was born into a family of road hauliers, spending years working on lorries before pursuing a career in the automotive industry. He bought his first Vincent on leaving the army in 1973. A member of the Vincent Owners’ Club after joining in 1974, he founded the club’s French branch. In 1979 he raced a Vincent Black Lightning in prestigious races. With wins in England and on the European mainland, he went on to become a well-known name in the 1980s classic racing scene. In the early 1990s, Godet imported a batch of Vincents and a stock of spare parts from Argentina and opened a workshop dedicated to their restoration. His restoration of an Egli-Vincent finally brought him into…

ONE OF BRITAIN’S greatest motorcycle racers, the legendary Barry Sheene, will be commemorated at the West Country’s biggest motorcycle race meeting, the Castle Combe Grand National, at the Wiltshire track on Saturday, August 31 and Sunday September 1. Sheene, who went on to win the 1976 and 1977 500cc World Championship, took victory at Castle Combe aboard his Bultaco back in 1969, so plans are afoot to celebrate his 50-year association with the circuit, as well as his extraordinary career with displays and parades exclusively to do with Barry and his bikes over the years. As well as his closest friend Steve Parrish, who is hoping to return to Castle Combe after being a guest of honour at this year’s event, various members of Barry’s family, along with colleagues, friends…

One of the big advantages of buying, riding, running and restoring a Triumph twin is that there are plenty of specialists out there to help you keep your bike on the road. One of these specialists is Monty’s Classic Motorcycles in Devon. With a shed full of his own pre-unit twins and 35 years or more in the trade, Monty has got the kind of knowledge most can only dream of acquiring. “The T110 is a beautiful engine. The cams aren’t wild, and there’s not too much power, so the vibes aren’t as bad. The iron head is easier to work on, and you can change the seals on the pushrod tubes without taking the head off, which you cannot do with the alloy head. You just undo the rocker…

SITTING ON THE Falcon, the first impression you get is that it feels like a full-sized motorcycle. This 1958-registered Falcon 74 is, in fact, a 1955/56 model that must have languished in a dealership for a few years. It is fitted with a 197cc Villiers 8E engine with a three-speed gearbox. The paint lining on the tank is not standard and the seat has been re-stuffed and covered. The 74 was only available in one colour, Arden Green, but a four-speed option gearbox was available, as was a prop stand, leg shields, handlebar fairing panniers and chrome panelled tank, all at extra cost. With this example’s useful screen, the riding position was very much sit-up-and-beg with the feet slightly forwards. That screen, as well as the valanced mudguards and the…

Very little is known about this smartly-dressed lady on her Matchless 500 sidevalve outfit (we think around 1928-29), other than the faces of the children suggest much fun was being had! Not quite sure how the sled was meant to slow down, but it makes you think what life was like in an age where a lady riding a motorcycle outfit, towing children on a sled on the snow-covered road with no helmets was fun; nowadays what a barrage of righteous comments would be thrust her way via social media. Maybe the dog felt the same it has to be said, as it looks somewhat unimpressed… Merry Christmas to all our readers and we all hope your festive period is as much fun as this wonderful shot from the past.…

Price: £9100 (for the standard Fusion White model) Engine: 900cc liquid-cooled, eight-valve, SOHC, 270° crank angle parallel twin Power: 64bhp (48kW) @ 7500rpm Torque: 80Nm (59lb-ft) @ 3200rpm (lb-ft & Nm) Frame: Tubular steel twin cradle Wheelbase: 1445mm Brakes: (F) Single 310mm disc, Brembo four-piston fixed caliper, ABS (R) Single 255mm disc, Nissin two-piston floating caliper, ABS Transmission: Five-speed gearbox, O-ring chain Suspension: (F) KYB 41mm forks with cartridge damping, 120mm travel (R) KYB twin shocks with adjustable preload, 120mm travel Wheels/tyres: (F) 19in x 2.75in spoked steel rims (R) 17in x 4.25in spoked steel rims/(F) Metzler Tourance 100/90-19 (R) Metzler Tourance 150/70-17 Seat height: 790mm Fuel capacity: 12litres MPG: 68.9mpg (claimed) Weight: 198kg (dry) Contact: www.triumphmotorcycles.co.uk…

OUR MATCHLESS G3L is a good looking bike. After recommissioning it a few months back everything seemed in good shape and I was really looking forward to using it – it seems a fun, practical, good handling bike. But the initial shake-down ride gave an inkling that all was not well – and my right leg was hot and slippery. Once warm, the exhaust push rod tube was spewing oil out. Damn! The seals must be tired – not a tricky job except that the head would have to come off. It also seemed to have little compression, which meant that it was easy to start, as in really easy; too easy. Hopefully just valve clearances I thought: hmmmm…. Not having worked on AMC bikes much I decided to see…