Innehållsförteckning för September 2023 från Classic Bike Guide

Welcome GREETINGS, ALL! FIRSTLY, MAY WE thank those who have forwarded us information about old bike-friendly mechanics for our directory. Plenty have, but not enough to print yet, so please take a minute to send in the details of bike shops you know are happy to work on older machines to: editor@classicbikeguide.com. It’s free – and will really help those who are struggling to find someone to work on carbs or points, for example. This also helps those who do support our hobby by letting others know they are available. Meanwhile, in a land far, far away... In the West Country, Oli has been riding around, sometimes in the rain, which was his own fault as he bought a new summerweight jacket, so he blames the UK weather on his…

THE WELLS CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE CLUB’S Tortoise and Hare Run attracted more than 120 classic motorcyclists to England’s smallest city. Riders brought along café racers and cruisers, Vincents and Velocettes, and Scotts and Suzukis along for the ride. Machines made before the First World War lined up alongside modern classics before being waved off by town crier Len Sweales and thundering out of Wells into the Mendip Hills. The run took larger and more modern bikes, the ‘Hares’, on the longest route. The ‘Tortoises’, smaller capacity and older machines, were given a shorter route, and there were also ‘Snails’ for vintage machines and mopeds, which had the shortest route of all. Stand-out machines included a splendid pair of prewar Triumph singles and, curiously, a large number of BSA C12s that emerged,…

BONHAMS Traditional auctions are only one way to buy or sell these days, so Bonhams has rebranded its classic vehicle department as Bonhams|Cars, to show what else it can offer. As well as traditional auctions, the new Bonhams|Cars service is staying in touch with new rivals, so is offering online and private platforms for buying or selling collector cars and motorcycles, including 24/7 online auctions and a ‘private sales’ service. Bonhams|Cars hosts 17 live auctions annually and Bonhams|Cars Online provides single-vehicle auctions. For more information, visit BonhamsCars.com THE MOTORCYCLE DEPARTMENT OF AUCTIONEER Bonhams is selling 81 lots from the collection – from an Ariel Square Four to a 1993 Jawa Babetta moped – all at no reserve at The Autumn Stafford Sale, held at The Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show on…

New RETRO THE BMW R18 ROCTANE IS THE fifth variant of the 1802cc heavy cruiser to be seen since the model was unveiled in 2020. As German as schnitzel yet thoroughly American in outlook, it is low and long, with an 1802cc air-cooled motor packing 116lb.ft of gooey torque and styling that’s somewhere between 1930s Berlin and a sci-fi thriller. The new Roctane stands out from the rest with a black-out finish, a large 21-inch front wheel, mini ape-hanger ‘bars and hard-shell ‘bagger’ luggage. BMW describes it as a ‘touring hot rod’. It sits in between the standard and the R18 B (Bagger). Price-wise, the Roctane comes in between the two at £21,750 on the road. For that you get the most exquisite finish you’ll see on a production bike…

CBG Workshop What are they? Steering dampers are a physical method of dampening the steering movement of the front wheel on a motorcycle. They do not limit movement, nor make it smoother – they dampen the movement in case of sudden jolts, rapid changes of direction or other unwanted sideways movements. These jolts can gain momentum, creating the initial jolt to repeat itself violently and get worse. This is often referred to as a ‘tank slapper’, as that is what the handlebars (and you) are doing – slapping either side of the tank! If unlucky, tank slappers keep their momentum, giving you no control and throwing you off the bike. Why do motorcycles need a steering damper? A damper is used to calm these rapid, unplanned sideways movements of the…

THE TAVERNERS SECTION OF THE VMCC (VINTAGE Motorcycle Club) is based in the Leicestershire area and is one of the busiest sections. Trials and regular rides are joined by its big operation – Founders Day. One day a year, the club sets up at Stanford Hall, not far from the site of the battle of Naseby (1645, English Civil War, Cromwell defeated Charles I, in case you were interested) on the west end of the A14 in Northamptonshire, which seems to be accessible for most, being slap in the middle of the country. Over the last 50 years, it has built up to a large autojumble, which has far less junk stalls than most (though prices seemed high) and then a central ring with club stands all around. Special mention…

‘ST SWITHIN’S DAY, IF IT DOES RAIN, full forty days, it will remain. St Swithin’s Day, if it be fair, for forty days, t’will rain no more.’ I’m not saying there’s anything in ancient English folk sayings, but frankly, it’s been chucking it down since July 15 and as I type this, we are 25 days in. According to my mate Charlie, it’s something to do with El Nino, who I assume is a Central American gangster. Still, on the plus side, it’s making short work of all the chain lube and brake cleaner on the ground at the front of my garage and the allotment has gone bonkers, so every cloud etc. Despite the somewhat inclement conditions, I did manage to get quite a bit of riding in. On…

BIKE TRACKDAYS ARE MUCH MORE COMMON than they used to be. You can pick from several around the country every day. But before the 1990s, riding on track was a rare experience unless you raced, which was much easier than it is now. You could literally ride to and from the track and have a day’s racing, whereas now it seems you need a small army to even do a trackday. Tyre warmers, snotty rubber, race fairings, enough tools to fill a garage, and food for 500... even carpet is not an uncommon sight at a trackday. And the bikes are all dedicated track bikes; not a single registration plate is to be found, apart from the dozens of vans littering the paddock. It can appear, to be frank, an…

LIKE MATT, I HAVE A REAL AFFECTION FOR BMW airhead twins, having owned a few and covered many miles on them. But although I’ve had lots in the workshop, I’ve not owned one for about 10 years. That recently changed when an R80ST, a bike I have known and coveted for many years, found its way into my possession. The BM had stood a little while and needed a bit of a light cosmetic work all over, but the plastics seemed good, and after a carb clean and some fresh petrol it started and ran nicely. The exhaust downpipes were a little wanting, but having looked at the price of new ones, I opted for the cheaper weld repair and wrap option for the time being. The major problem with…

HAVE YOU EVER TAKEN AND POPULATED a stand at an autojumble? I’ve shared that remarkable delight many times, but almost never to actually offer autojunk for sale. Until recently. Over a half-century of being somewhat nutty about old bikes of all sorts pretty much, I had accumulated a considerable amount of – how shall we put this? – used spares. Some new spares as well, but these have been used up, pretty much, as the years have passed and genuine NOS has become very hard to find. And there does indeed come a time when a chap should consider clearing out the large accumulation, if only on the grounds that if it’s not got used by now, then it’s unlikely to get used in the future. Used by me, that…

ALL OUR CLASSIC MOTORCYCLES HAVE history, no matter whether they are one owner from new, or if that little box on the V5c says ‘number of previous owners 17’. It’s often fascinating to research the bike’s origins... but it’s unlikely that many will find a motorcycle with a history like this Ariel. The Czech link First, let us go back to 1926, and a visitor to the UK from Czechoslovakia. In November that year, Mr Hanák, one half of a Prague motorcycle distributor, Štepar, Hanák A Spol (Spol being Czech for Ltd), attended the London Olympia Motorcycle Show, looking for bikes to import. They were already a Levis importer, selling 450 models a year, and the Levis boss directed him to the Ariel stand. After handing a business card to…

MOST OLD BIKE ENTHUSIASTS HAVE HEARD OF Sammy Miller, whether it be for his off-road riding, his 11 British trials championships, his road racing or his museum. Tucked down near Bournemouth on the south coast, many have yet to visit the venue, including myself, so I went down to have a look. The museum sprawls through different halls, focusing on early, mainly British bikes and looking closer at the dawn of biking through the Norton hall, the Vincent hall, a vast collection of racing bikes and plenty of off-road bikes and Japanese and European bikes. There are the everyday and the extraordinary, often side by side, and there is plenty of room around most of the bikes to have a good look at the details. Most have a good explanation…

YOU NEVER FORGET YOUR FIRST, THEY SAY. IT was the summer of 1983, a Sunday, about 1.30pm. I strolled into my favourite disreputable Exeter watering hole to find a friend looking the worse for wear, patting his pockets. His girlfriend beckoned me over and slipped me a set of keys. “Could you take his bike home for him? He can barely stand.” Well, of course I could. He had a Triumph TR65 Thunderbird, which was about six months old. I borrowed his helmet, slung my leg over the Triumph, looked with some confusion at the ignition switch where the rev counter should be, turned it on, kicked it over, and marvelled at the lack of resemblance or feel to any motorcycle I had ever ridden before. I took it home,…

THERE’S THREE LINES IN A LATER Rolling Stones song (Doom and Gloom) that go: “Sitting in the dirt, feeling kind of hurt, all I hear is doom and gloom.” Mick and the boys had a minor hit with it in 2012. Good song if you ask me, but it’s also possibly something of a metaphor for some who have latterly moved into the classic bike scene. Over the last decade, we seem to have garnered a whole new group of owner/riders who sadly don’t seem to have the practical skills necessary to keep old bikes running. Now don’t get all fired up and start launching angrygrams to Matt – bear with me here, please. It’s not their fault; more an issue with schooling, so-called progressive think tanks, government policy advisors…

CBG WorkshopHints & tips FROM HUTCH'S WORKSHOP I OFTEN THINK A LOT OF REPAIRS, particularly non-powertrain, are mostly strip, clean and reassemble. We have a much-ridden, mid-1990s 883 Harley-Davidson Sportster in the family. On one of its infrequent visits back home recently, I noticed that the rear brake lever was seized or binding on the foot peg shaft. But there wasn’t time to address this properly, as the bike was off for a 1000-mile trip to Ireland. Upon its return, I got the bike on the bench and stripped the foot peg and sprocket cover off, which took far more disassembly than I had first envisaged. Harley really does have its own ‘different’ way of putting things together. I had thought to drill the brake lever and fit a grease…

CBG Workshop TIME TO FIND OUT WHY THE Aermacchi did not charge the six-volt battery. Despite my fears, it turns out the electrical system is very simple, being a negative earth set-up consisting of an Italian CEV generator (dynamo), a Bosch regulator, a battery, a coil/points ignition, some wires and some bulbs. I followed the wiring diagram in the 1970 manual and used the ohmmeter setting on my multimeter to check all the circuitry. Simply put, this involves putting a probe from the meter on each end of the circuit you are testing. If the ohmmeter reads zero, it shows there is no resistance and the circuit is complete. I could find no issues with continuity at the battery side, so it seemed unlikely that the issue was with the…