Innehållsförteckning för March 2019 från Classic Bike Guide

A DEAR DEPARTED RELATION ONCE explained to me how people were different. “An angel will have a bucket with your name. It then goes along a line of drums, with each drum full of a different attribute. These drums are full of braun, brains, confidence, fitness, adaptability, reactions, thought, emotion or empathy. Now, there are seasoned angels, who will take a scoop from each drum until the bucket is full: this leads to a balanced person. But if your bucket is filled by a young angel, or even a lazy angel, they may just get to one drum and fill your bucket completely with just one attribute.” Tosh told to a naive young boy it may have been, but I love the thought. I’ve known some lovely brainiacs at Cambridge…

TOP RACERS AND THE famous machines that carried them to victory around one of the world’s most iconic circuits will help this April’s Stafford show mark a motorcycle milestone. The Isle of Man TT celebrates its 100th event this summer and the International Classic MotorCycle Show on April 27-28 will have a list of star guests which reads like a who’s who of the TT, including Ian Hutchinson and Tom and Ben Birchall, with an impressive 24 TT wins between them. The line-up will also include former Honda factory team-mates from the Sixties, Tommy Robb and Jim Redman. Nine-time TT winner Charlie Williams and fans’ favourite John Cooper will also be there. John intends to launch his biography on the same weekend. Running the stage sessions is the show’s resident…

THE JAPANESE ARE getting serious about modern retro bikes, with Kawasaki looking to resume the use of the Meguro name in Europe, the US, Australasia and the Philippines. The company has filed a new trademark application with the European Union for Meguro. Kawasaki has been expanding its retro range which now features the Z900RS and Z900RS Cafe and the new W800 Cafe and W800 Street. Meguro was one of the first Japanese motorcycle manufacturers, becoming established in the 1930s. After the Second World War Meguro started building licensed clones of the BSA A7 in the 1950s. When Kawasaki acquired an interest in Meguro the BSA clone became the Kawasaki W1, a machine so iconic in Japan that it inspired the modern day W800 twin.…

MONTY FROM MONTY’S Classic Motorcycles, between Plymouth and Launceston, had a new Daytona in 1973. He said: “It was a phenomenal motorcycle, really, really quick, and even today its not going to be far off a Bonnie. It does have to be revved and the handling is very good, as is the TLS 8in front brake. The whole thing is excellent as a package. “By the time it got to 1970 the engine was sorted out and they didn’t do much more to it. The twin bearings on the crank, one roller and one ball bearing, are pretty much bulletproof. “The twin carbs do need to be in really good nick. On a single carb bike, you can get away with it if they are a bit worn, but on…

For many classic enthusiasts tiddlers make little if any sense, and why should they? You can’t go touring on them, they’re not fast, they’re generally designed for stick-thin teenagers and you can potentially look stupid riding them... and for many people they are the total antithesis of the stereotypical male ego. So what on earth is this irrational obsession appeal with tiddlers about? For a fair number of fans it’s the ease of access small bikes facilitate – if you have issues with ageing hips, arthritic shoulders and the like, a tiddler is a much easier machine to manoeuvre around the garage and pilot on the road. Okay, so what about those who aren’t suffering? What’s in it for them? The appeal is not chasing large numbers on the speedo…

“YOU NEED TO ride one to understand,” says John Fallon of Made in Italy Motorcycles. “Everyone should ride one at least once. They are fantastic motorcycles. If you had to criticise the ride, and its hard to do that, you might say the steering is a bit slow, partly because of their length. But they’ve got great suspension, great engines and great brakes – the three Brembos are the same as were used on Laverda Triples, but the SS is 100lbs lighter.” The SS does have lots of potential weak spots. “There are various issues with the alloy wheels failing, with crankshafts breaking and gearbox problems. They are expensive to rebuild and restore and there’s really just one source of parts. Most of those parts work well though and the…

AUSTRIA; HOME TO THE WORLD’S oldest restaurant, plus a vehicle manufacturer, known as Puch. The marque’s bicycle production goes way back to 1889 and ceased in 1987, but not before the magnificent Maxi hazed over our streets in blue. Those of a certain vintage will reminisce the virtues of the Maxi at a time when the FS1E ruled and the Fantic Chopper was just a pipe dream. The little Puch was considered the housewife’s choice... but often became the perfect steed for teenagers to tear up local wasteland. History has shown for longevity and reliability the Austrian not only became a ‘top-tenner’, but for those current ‘Ped Preservers’ it’s an obvious choice. According to my Haynes manual, Puch in the UK became official in 1968 before introducing the Maxi in…

So often our archive photograph hails from Mona’s Isle. This is simply because the TT races were, for decades, the single most-important proving ground, promotional springboard and manufacturing bravado contest for motorcycles in the world. This was also at a time when the internal combustion engine was possibly the most important product in the world, with the greatest brains, largest investment and a promising future. Back to the photograph you see here, and it’s not always the top runners that have a story to tell. Here you see a splendid captured moment of Francis Reynolds, at 26 years old, winning his first Manx Grand Prix, the Junior, in 1961. Reynolds was a motorcycle dealer from Middlesbrough. He first entered in 1957 on a 350 but reportedly crashed at Windy Corner…

BONHAMS’ LAS VEGAS Motorcycle Auction saw a 1938 Triumph 5T Speed Twin formerly owned by Steve McQueen sell for £135,300. When the hammer fell and the King of Cool’s ride set a new world auction record, the audience erupted in cheers and applause. Another highlight was the 1993 Ducati Supermono, one of just 67 made, that was bought for £88,675, as well as the 1974 Munch Mammoth TTS, known as the world’s first superbike, that made £86,400. Japanese and Italian motorcycles were the most popular lots, while a Vincent Black Lightning was unsold and two 650cc BSA A65 Hornet twins went for £1600 and £2500 each. Craig Mallery of Bonhams’ US Motorcycle Department said: “We had a very impressive selection of approximately 125 rare, uncommon and high-quality motorcycles on offer…

ITALIAN MOTORCYCLE MANUFACTURER SWM has appointed Dorset’s 3X Motorcycles as its official UK distributor, ensuring that new 2019 models will be available through the dealer network and existing owners continue to receive support. The move comes after 3X also secured the Mash brand to sit alongside its Peugeot scooter and Rieju motorcycles. Founded in 1971, SWM had success in European motocross and endurance races. After going out of business in the 1980s the name was resurrected by an Italian/Chinese consortium in 2014, building machines on the shores of Lake Varese in northern Italy in a former Husqvarna factory. As well as enduro, adventure and supermoto machines SWM builds an expanding range of what it dubs ‘modern classics’ with a single cylinder 440cc engine. It has just launched a new 125cc…

MARCH 2019 1 APRIL ISSUE OF THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE 1-3 The Carole Nash Irish Motorbike and Scooter Show: Head down to the RDS and share a brilliant biking weekend with more than 27,000 motorcycle and scooter enthusiasts at the Irish Motorbike and Scooter Show 2019. Across three action-packed days you’ll be spoilt for choice of things to see and do, including taking a stroll around the Classic and Retro Zone hosted by London’s world famous Ace Cafe. Main Hall, RDS, Merrion Road, Dublin. Admission: €15 (advance) adult any day. 2 MARCH ISSUE OLD BIKE MART 3 Sidecar Sunday: Ace Cafe London, Ace Corner, North Circular Road, Stonebridge, London NW10 7UD. london.acecafe.com 3 Malvern Drive-In Classic Car & Bike Autojumble: Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Worcs WR13 6NW.…

SOME OF THE BEST BRITISH MOTORCYCLES WERE built as most of the industry hurtled towards oblivion at the end of the 1960s. While the management began to fail and the unions fought, the engineers were running out some superb motorcycles. For a modern rider a late Sixties classic is going to be easier to get along with than a late Fifties model, and the Norton Commando, Royal Enfield Interceptor 2, the Matchless P11 and the last T120R Triumph Bonneville are all tempting for the well-built and, it must be said, the well-heeled. But these beasts can be an effort to haul about and the choice is more limited for those who have found the years catching up with them, those of a more diminutive build, or those who just don’t…

THE BIKE TICKS OVER WITH BARELY CONCEALED enthusiasm, burbling away gently through a pair of seamed silencers. A whiff of throttle sends the revs rising and the little motor snarls its approval at another opportunity to get its skinny tyres turning once again. Clutch in, tap the gear pedal down, increase the revs and let the clutch out... we’re off and in some style. Knocking the pedal down again into second has the simple iron barrelled motor picking up the pace and then comes third with an increase in revs as the bike comes on pipe. Where before there was some admittedly enthusiastic crackling, there’s now an almost high-pitched banshee scream as the tiny twin gets the bit between its teeth. As 40mph comes up on the oval gauge, a…

Don Godden was a talented man. Nine times British grasstrack champion, he also competed in European grasstrack and long track championships, winning the latter in 1969. But he also had a gift for engineering, especially eeking out more power from the JAP single-cylinder engine commonly used in grasstrack, long track and speedway, making it competitive into the late 1960s. Not bad for an engine designed in the 1930s. Godden teamed up with Alf Hagon to build Gold Top engines, so called because they had the rocker cover anodised yellow, and would improve on the materials used, an issue that took a lot of time and testing to work out what worked on the short, high-revving short tracks. He also heavily changed the cam timing, giving the engine a longer overlap,…

UNLESS YOU HAVE AN engineering background, few will know how to read a Vernier. First, check for zero when the jaws are together: so you’re starting from the right place. Next, use the jaws or slider to determine the measurement you require. Take some time here – especially if measuring something round or not solid. Don’t force the measurement. To get an accurate measurement, break the reading into whole digits and fractions, whether you’re using metric or imperial. 1 METRIC The metric scale is on the bottom and imperial is on top. Measuring in metric first, look for the mark the 0 has passed – in this case 36mm. By eye, we can roughly assume the fraction will be around 0.2mm. Using the Vernier scale, look at where the lines…

SOMETIMES, AS A SPECIAL TREAT, I SEARCH FOR ‘AJS 7R sound’ on YouTube just to hear the 7R’s majestic, visceral purr (I’m from Rochdale – it doesn’t take much). But the 7R has many feline qualities, even beyond its sensational growl: it is deceptively powerful, light, agile and one of the ‘prettiest’ machines of the postwar period. It’s also thanks to the 7R that we have the term ‘boy racer’, for this dainty little beast – which first rolled out of the factory in 1948 – was designed and built for the amateur racer. It was one of the most successful over-the-counter racers of all time. And as such, it is a marvel of economy, on every level. As the Vintage Motorcycle Club’s marque specialist Ray Carter said: “There is…

What is Motogymkhana? Born in Japan through a lack of space, Motogymkhana is a sport that uses all the skill, balance and accuracy of racing or trials, but at a fraction of the cost. It is a great test of riding ability, balance, confidence, tight turning and remembering where to go – you can walk the course before you ride with a map that you’re provided with, but just like trials, you can’t ride it. Although to help there is always a warm-up course for practice. A layout is set using cones – you have to turn right at a red cone and left at a blue. If it has a yellow ring then you have to go all the way around and smaller yellow cones are used to help…

TRIUMPH’S DAYTONA 500 has been sparking increased interest in the classic field in recent years as the prices of other bikes of the period have also risen. The Daytona’s light weight and timeless good looks, as well as ease of use has a lot to do with this. Around a year ago we spotted a late model, that just needed the dust wiping off it. It was unmolested and unrestored, on offer for £5000. While tempting, that sort of money would have stretched the household budget a little. At the end of last year, we saw the owner again and asked whether he still had it. He had sold it a few weeks beforehand for £6500. Search for a Daytona online today and you’ll see decently restored models now on…

“IT IS THE PERVADING LAW OF ALL THINGS ORGANIC and inorganic, of all things physical and metaphysical, of all things human and all things superhuman, of all true manifestations of the head, of the heart, of the soul, that life is recognisable in its expression, that form ever follows function.” Louis Sullivan, architect, 1892. The rule of form follows function says that the shape of an object should primarily relate to its intended function or purpose. You could interpret it as ‘if it looks right, it is right’ and if there was ever a manifestation of form follows function, it’s the bevel-drive Ducati 900SS. In the late 1970s a series of advertisements appeared in the motorcycle press that became fixtures on thousands of British teenage boys’ bedroom walls. At that…

WITH ITS CHUNKY TYRES, MINI-‘APE’ STYLE handlebars, minuscule fuel tank and big, squashy seat, the Monkey is one of the most unusual, distinctive and fun motorcycles in existence. Originally known as the Honda Z100, it was quickly renamed the Z50 and its popularity was mainly as a result of its instantly-likeable design, tiny dimensions and light weight – which made it a whole load of fun around town. And because it was so easy to ride and unintimidating to look at, it could be argued that the original Honda Monkey sold the idea of motorcycling to the general public more than larger bikes; in an unthreatening way. Though be warned – the name ‘Monkey’ comes from the fact that the bike is so small, you look like a monkey when…

'GET THE WHEELS SORTED – THEY take time to build and you can’t put it back together if you ‘int got no wheels’ a friend suggested. But simply going on my brief assessment of the three wheels that came with the project, they should just need a clean up. Oh, how I never learn. HUBS AWAY Closer inspection revealed the two rear wheels have good hubs which just need a deep clean and one has the thin tin cover which will straighten up and a good drum; though the rear sprocket has seen its best. But the spokes were corroded – not badly, but enough not to look good and too far gone to easily remove, and the rims were rusty. I was gutted about the rims as both had…

GETTING THE PARTS NEEDED FOR our G3 wasn’t too tricky, with most parts available. But getting them to work together was another matter. We should be thankful that you can still get parts for 60-plus year old engines, but be prepared to do a spot of machining to get everything to fit as it should. PUTTING THE HEAD BACK TOGETHER The four valves were all checked for pitting, straightness and cracks, then cleaned on a valve cleaning tool. A bench grinder can be used, just make sure the bristles are not too harsh – you’re just taking carbon off. Now the seats are being refaced. This saves time when lapping in and gives a better finish, but lapping is the only other way of getting the angle perfect. The seats…