Innehållsförteckning för October 2025 från Classic Bike Guide

Final call for Norton’s biggest twin It looks as though it’s finally the end of the line for the Norton air-cooled OHV twin, bringing seven decades of a legendary line to a close. As Norton gears up for the launch of its new range of machines, due in early November, the 961 twin, which has its origins in the Bert Hopwooddesigned engine of the 1940s, will go out of production, along with Norton’s more modern V4 range. Richard Arnold, Norton’s executive director, said: “The Norton V4SV, V4CR and Commando 961 are revered the world over as the latest in a long line of iconic Norton motorcycles. “As one chapter ends, another begins, and the wait is almost over to reveal our exciting future. Norton’s rich and storied history has always…

THIS IS A UK DIRECTORY OF mechanics and engineers happy to work on our older bikes. Bikes with points and carburettors, as an example. Let us know who is out there, who you trust, because no mechanics means no assistance, which means we’ll be stuck looking at our stationary bikes in the shed thinking of the good ol’ days... Let us know at editor@classicbikeguide.com • Renaissance Motor Cycle Workshops, Addingham, West Yorkshire. 07759 724123 Motorcycle learn about and work on your own bike with Roger – and you don’t even need a bike! • Engineering Services, near Norwich, Norfolk. 01603 759508 / jdebohun@gmail.com Jon excels in BMWs, electrics, thread cutting, CAD design and projects. • RiE-Store, near Brighton, West Sussex. 07741 261851 / rie-store.com Ash and the guys know their early…

ROADHOLDER FORKS HAVE BEEN PART and parcel of good handling folklore since the 1950s, especially when coupled with the infamous and often copied Norton Featherbed frame. As these forks’ reputation rose in notoriety, so they started to wear a ‘Roadholder’ badge, complete with patent number. What was their secret? Part of the Roadholder fame came from the evolution of the engine. Performance gains had always been seen as the job of the engine. Evolution up to the 1940s was so fast, with engines getting better and lasting longer. Even on courses like the TT, a fast engine was what you needed. But as they got quicker, more reliable, and more even, so the riders needed a bike that handled, especially with the still common unsealed roads. Before the Second World…

IN THE DIM AND DISTANT PAST, WE looked at how best to remove decade’s worth of carbon from two-stoke exhaust systems using both solvent to strip out the old, gungy oil and caustic soda to get back the base steel. In most instances, these techniques will give you a freer-flowing silencer, less smoke and suitably decoked baffles. However, what you often cannot achieve is removing substantial volumes of carbon from the downpipes. This is the place where the exhaust gases are at their hottest, the discharge velocity is at its greatest, and everything is very turbulent. The good news is that most of the combustion by-products happily hurtle rearwards, leaving minimal evidence of their passing. The bad news is that those components which do stick to the downpipe’s inner surface…

This image captures what we think is Hawkstone Park, from 1956. The British round of the World Championship was held there from 1958, so it is thought this was a European round. The riders are heading up Hawkstone Hill, where the reason for the track comes from – as in 1938, a car club had fun seeing who could get furthest up the hill. The circuit was created after the war, and you can see from the car park that there were regularly tens of thousands of spectators happy to climb up and see the likes of Jeff Smith power his BSA up and around.…

Ruroc AT4.0 Titanium helmet ■ www.ruroc.com■ £375 Ruroc has only been making bike helmets for a few years and started out making snowboarding helmets. And this is no bad heritage – your average snowboarder is far more likely to make head-to-ground contact than your average motorcyclist. The British-designed bike helmets are not really targeted at classic riders, with huge parts of the range made in groovy and hip paint featuring Hollywood superhero schemes, through heavy metal tributes, to funky steampunk styles and Viking and Inca graphics. They also come in striking colours, and there is an Ace Café tie-in, too. The Ruroc helmets are physically substantial, while feeling light, which is down to their carbon fibre construction but the way they balance on the head too, which makes them feel far…

I’VE NEVER WORRIED ABOUT ultimate appearance of my BMW R100RS. Though it’s been totally rebuilt, I’ve kept the original, bubbly and tired paint scheme as it is part of the bike’s history. Best guesses are that dealership Alan Jeffries had rather a lot to sell because the Deutschmark was so strong, so he tarted a few up. And I like it. But we do a lot of miles, and the appearance of the top yoke, handlebars and yoke nut are, frankly, poor. So, after seeing a spray can of ‘chrome paint,’ I had to give it a go. Surely, it’s never gonna work? TITIVATIN’ To get the yoke off, I need to remove the handlebars, which means that ‘bar position I’ve been adjusting and perfecting for months will be moved,…

YOU KNOW YOU’VE MADE IT AS A bike designer when a fellow fashionista praises your work – and even better, is inspired to produce his own variation on a similar theme. That’s what’s happened to South African progettista Pierre Terblanche 20 years on after creating his acclaimed neo-retro Ducati MH900e, a fascinating and back then totally innovative blend of old and new, conceived during his decade-long stint as head of design at Ducati, production of which began exactly 25 years ago in December 2000. For the now ex-MV Agusta design director Adrian Morton is on record as attributing the genesis of his sensuous, seductive and ultra-striking Superveloce 800 – and by definition its current Superveloce 1000 spin-off model now in production – as being his admiration for that very bike.…

September • 27 AJS Club Meet: For owners of AJS and Matchless motorcycles. Show off your pride and joy in the Sammy Miller Museum courtyard. Museum admission reduced for members. Club stand, Sammy Miller Museum, Bashley Cross Roads, New Milton, Hampshire BH25 5SZ. • 27/28 Squires Café Annual Show and autojumble: Pitches are £5 each for sellers. South Milford, Leeds LS25 5LX. Visit www.squires-cafe.co.uk • 28 Notts Classic Car & Motorcycle Show and Autojumble: Thoresby Park, Ollerton, Notts NG22 9EP. Visit www.classicshows.org • 28BSA Bantams + RE OC + Norton OC: Ace Café, Ace Corner, North Circular Road, Stonebridge Park, London NW10 7UD. london.acecafe.com October • 3 NOVEMBER ISSUE OF THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE IS OUT NOW 3-5 Weston Beach Race: Weston Super Mare Beach, Somerset • 4 The Lakeland Historic…

ONE OF THE PROBLEMS WITH owning an obscure classic motorcycle is that consumable bits can be rather a bother to find. In fact, some bikes are nigh-on worthless when parts become unobtainable and they can’t be repaired. The rear sprocket on my Aermacchi Harley-Davidson Sprint was done for when I got it, and while a replacement chain helped, it was unbearably jerky. Replacement sprockets are almost impossible to find because the design has four cast-in flanges that sit in the rear cush drive and the sprocket must move with it. It is a design used by Honda, but its design bolted the steel sprocket to an alloy flanged hub. On the Aermacchi, the sprocket is held in place with a flat plate, which is bolted to four studs, and the…