Innehållsförteckning för July 2020 från Real Classic

There were few motorcycles in 1935 capable of withstanding the trial of endurance which Theresa Wallach and Florence Blenkiron undertook, from London to Cape Town, straight through the Sahara desert, towing a trailer and with a sidecar mounted alongside. Perhaps only a Panther Model 100 could have survived… The story is told in Wallach’s memoir, ‘The Rugged Road’, which details the women’s epic ordeal of 7500 miles on unpaved roads – or no road at all – through scorching landscapes to reach equatorial Africa. The Panther, generously provided by P&M, certainly took a hammering. Minor items broke all the time, including the tyre pump, so often was it needed to inflate the tubes after punctures. But the most serious incident came as the explorers neared the far side of the…

➤ WE WANT MORE STORIES about real life classic bikes. We like profiles of a single model or a comparison of two machines. Most magazine features are between 1000 and 2500 words. If your story is much longer then it’s probably not for us. Shorter stories appear in the letters section. ➤ TO SEE WHAT WE MEAN look at the Kawasaki, Harley or Ariel articles ➤ DON’T WORRY about your writing, grammar or punctuation; we’ll make sure that your article reads the right way. Just concentrate on telling a good story and we’ll do the rest. ➤ INCLUDE AS MUCH INFO as possible. Tell the RC readers exactly what model your classic bike is, when it was built and its history since then. What condition was it in you bought…

When I was ateenagerinthe early 1960s, my first road-legal motorcycle was a 1946 BSA 250cc C11 with a rigid rear end and a dynamo that did not work. It was a wreck, but to me manna from heaven. If I tried to do a fast getaway to impress my mates, all I got when I dropped the clutch was a loud rasping noise and no go. It was the chain jumping the rear sprocket. It was so worn that the worn chain simply jumped the hooked teeth unless you were gentle on the clutch. Being a bit of an engineering twit back then, I removed the sprocket and took it to work to file the teeth deeper. A toolmaker pointed out I was actually reducing its diameter and making things…

What is this you see before you? A 1977 Harley-Davidson FLH 1200 Electra Glide. An iconic name if ever there was one. AMF’s (American Machine and Foundry) range-topping heavyweight cruiser, which is obvious from the letters in the model designation: F, for the big ohv twin engine; L, for Hydra-glide style front forks and wide front tyre, and H, for Highway – which refers to the touring frame. Alternatively, you can find that FL stands for the heavyweight engine, in this case 74cui, and H is for hand shift (erm, I don’t think so), high performance (erm, again), or heavy duty (heavy, certainly). This confusion typifies Harley ownership; there is an established nomenclature and machine specification, but over the years there have been so many variations that the exact meaning…

In the classic world, the earliest models of any bike tend to become more sought after than their successors. Kawasaki fours are no different. While the Z1 has become a legend, the later z1000 is largely overlooked. So why would I sell a Z1, only to replace it a few months later with a z1000? I bought my Z1B unseen from the internet, to satisfy a long-held lust for a Z1. It was photogenic but a bit ragged round the edges and periodically lapsed into a misfire. The longer I owned it and the more I tried to fix it, the more it infuriated me. It had to go. And yet there was something in the DNA of the big Kwak that struck a chord with me, as though there…

Drop a gear to third to get the revs near to four grand. Grab a handful of throttle and wow, you’re riding a complete rocketship. The resulting acceleration hurtles you forward, riding the wave of torque that makes Brit twins so delightful and Jap fours so bland, no matter how fast they are. This A10-engined NorBSA has mid-range thrust that’s so addictive you find yourself looking for cars to go careering past as you scream out of roundabouts. Hooligan? I guess the old rocker in your soul never leaves you... And this featherbed-framed café racer is more than familiar with being ridden rapidly. First registered as a ‘Norton Special’ in 1968, it was tuned and raced by Neil back in the day, before being sympathetically restored by Steve in recent…

My favourite uncle had an Ariel Square Four in the early 1950s. He used to sit me on the tank, driving round Gloucestershire at high speed. So when a 1955 model came up for auction in 1992, I had to have it. Since then it has been well used, and with my wife as pillion we have had seven continental trips and covered many thousands of miles. Over the years the engine has been rebuilt and many minor things have been improved to suit me – including indicators and a 2ls front brake for safety, a 12V alternator for better lighting and to power heated grips, and a satnav for navigation (especially useful in foreign cities). A while ago someone called the wiring a mess, and that has niggled ever…

In 1911, Phelon & Moore claimed to have created ‘the perfected motorcycle’, advertising hype which might, with hindsight, have been just a tiny bit premature. Half a century later, it must’ve been easy for the fast lads of the 1960s, sitting astride their Bonnevilles and Gold Stars and Dominators, to scoff at the slow-revving heavyweight singles. As our own Editor once said, ‘they are undeniably primitive, even by the standards of the day.’ But – like Vincent, Douglas and Velocette – P&M did things in their own inimitable way, experimenting with innovative engineering which the mass market manufacturers simply wouldn’t risk. So perhaps we can (with not inconsiderable kindness) consider P&M’s statement to be an ambition; an admirable intention to achieve excellence in an industry where the parameters are permanently…

The doorbell of my parents’ house in Taunton chimed. I answered it, sure it was for me. It was for me. I can read the future. ‘Hi Frank,’ a policeman in uniform, complete with sergeant’s stripes on his sleeves was standing there, grinning. He’d been in my class at school. I suggested that he’d done well, attaining the three stripes of superiority so soon – it was only five years or so since we’d all left that educational establishment. He grinned more, and we chatted with animation for a while. ‘We’ve found your bike,’ he revealed at last. I grinned back, and wondered whether he’d give me a lift in his panda car so that I could collect it. He shook his head, the smile fading. He shrugged. ‘It was…

Most people can remember their first bike, often with considerable affection. Mine was an MZ TS150 Eagle, which was the posh one in lustrous black with the rev counter and the chrome tank panels. It cost me £349.99 and I loved it. It took me everywhere, and I mean everywhere. I went from Land’s End to John O’Groats on it and won a long-distance award for riding from Exeter to a rally in Buxton. In February. It only ever broke down after I’d tried to do any work on it. And then I stuffed it into a grass verge in a burst of spirited enthusiasm one night, and that was that. Years passed. And then I acquired my second MZ for a tenner. This was a 1973 ES250/2 Trophy, one…