Innehållsförteckning för April 2022 från Real Classic

Summat to say? Send your comments, hints, tips, tales of woe and derring-don’t to: RCHQ@RealClassic.net THRILLING STUFF Canada calling. Signing up to a RealClassic subscription two months ago was the best thing I ever did. My copies regularly arrive now so there’s no more poaching magazines from my friends. Digressing away from two wheels, restorations, rescues, trials and tribulations of the two wheel world, I wondered if Frank knew of his alter ego. I am an avid reader and picked up ‘The Shout’ by Stephen Leather. The book’s theme is about fires and murder, and getting into the second chapter the reader is introduced to Frank Westworth, crew manager of a London Fire brigade pumper. I wondered if Mr Leather might be a rider and fan of Frank’s, and put…

Norton’s beefy Atlas engine might not be everyone’s idea of an ideal off-road powerplant, but AMC – Norton’s parent company – also slotted the big twin into a set of off-road cycle parts. The first of these was the amusingly names Atlas Scrambler. This bike, with Norton Atlas power and AMC cycle parts, formed the basis of a forthcoming series of ’hybrid’ machines. Instead of the justifiably famous featherbed frame, the Atlas Scrambler mounted its Atlas 745cc twin carb power unit in the duplex frame that was in current use in the AJS and Matchless range of twins and heavyweight singles. The engine drove the gearbox, which was already common to all three marques, via an AMC-type cast aluminium primary chaincase, which had two enormous advantages over the pressed-steel Norton…

WEDNESDAY 6TH APRIL ► The monthly MATLOCK CLASSIC MEET starts at noon at the Duke William pub, DE4 3BZ. First Wednesday of each month. Hot drinks and food, no entry fee: just bring yourself and an old bike! 07528 178484 SATURDAY 9TH APRIL ► The Cirencester AUTOJUMBLE opens 9am to 1 pm at the Livestock Centre, GL7 5QA. 07831 421455 ► There’s a VINTAGE & CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE AUCTION from 10am at Showell Farmbuildings near Chippenham, SN15 2NU. Richardedmondsauctions.com I 01249 444544 SUNDAY 10TH APRIL ► The NORMOUS NEWARK JUMBLE opens 10am at Newark Showground NG24 2NY. Admission £7. Free parking. newarkautojumble.co.uk / 01507 FRI/SAT 15TH & 16TH APRIL ► The MCC’s LAND’S END TRIAL starts Bridgwater in Somerset on Friday, ends in Cornwall on Saturday. themotorcvclingclub.org SATURDAY 16TH APRIL ► The…

I’m something of a fan of Power Egg BSA twins. The engines have styling that’s a bit Dan Dare, all smooth curves and polishable casings. It’s interesting to see how many people are waking up to the twins, which tend to come in a lot cheaper than the equivalent Triumphs and Nortons. Certainly, they have their issues, or at least they did when they were new, but if those issues weren’t sorted out years ago, the chances are the engine won’t be running anymore anyway. Max’s A65 is one of the lovelier A65s you’ll see. It’s a 1966 Hornet East Coast model... except when it isn’t. The Hornet and its little sister, the Wasp 500, were developed by BSA in 1964 as purpose-built off-road and desert-racer motorcycles. Americans, for reasons…

A tale of three halves. There is good news – hurrah. I shall deal with that first. Then I shall consider the other thing. Maybe more than one other thing. This is the problem with having too many motorcycles, most of which demand attention most of the time. But before the first thing, I must mention the tinny Triumph – possibly the best-ever motorcycle of all time. I can reveal that I have been inventing excuses to take the Blazer for a blast – every day that the roads aren’t actually sodden and there’s enough light to stand a chance of spotting a large pothole before riding into it – I rattle off in search of adventure. Adventure is elusive, however. Quite possibly adventure moves faster than a Triumph Blazer…

This Easter issue of RealClassic magazine was quite possibly hatched from a primeval egg in the same way that Ra, the ancient Egyptian sun god, was created. Alternatively, Frank Westworth and Rowena Hoseason of the Cosmic Bike Company Ltd might’ve assembled the editorial while Chris Abrams of AT Graphics designed the actual pages of this splendid publication. Mortons Media Group Ltd handle subscriptions, trade advertising and all other awkward admin things. But we like the idea that it all just popped out of a cosmic egg... READ MORE about old bikes at www.Real-Classic.co.uk TRADE ADVERTISERS for the magazine or website should call Sarah on 01507 529418 or email SMitchellSavage@Mortons.co.uk EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES should be sent to Frank@RealClassic.net or to PO Box 66, Bude EX23 9ZX. Please include an SAE if you…

I had been waiting for years to ride one of these fabled I beasts and suddenly had the I chance to grasp an unfulfilled dream by the short and curlies. We all know the tales of those who’ve spent every bit of their disposable income on these machines; owners forced into poverty but elevated to riding riches when they took on a legendary Laverda Jota. Back in the 1970s, some joined-up thinking from two genius minds provided British riders with an Italian steed built for extreme speed exhilaration on the road. Starting with developing the performance of the 3CE, through racetrack success with PK Davies in the Avon production series, and with plenty of dogged enthusiasm, the Slater brothers produced an icon that stretched across the biking world. So it…

If any pre-war AJS single has pinged your radar then it was probably a Silver Streak – the chromium-dad sports singles which arrived in 1938. Its stablemates, the 348cc Models 16 and 26 are rather less well-known, and few folk have ever really noticed the 246cc Models 12 and 22. Indeed, there are only around a dozen Model 22 survivors listed on the VMCC’s register which is a pity, because the de-luxe 250 is a cobby little critter – especially with its high-level competition pipes. It’s every bit as handsome as Turner’s Tiger 70, if perhaps not quite as quick. That perceived performance advantage might’ve been a feature more of Triumph’s aptitude for astute marketing than engineering expertise, of course… The Models 12 and 22 arrived for 1935, each with…

I am going to get my excuses in first; my experience of classic British bikes begins and ends with the OiF BSA Lightning I bought in 1990. When the Lightning was first registered in February 1973 I was two years old; consequently I don’t remember these bikes ‘the first time around’. So this is the only British classic I have ever ridden and I keep worrying (or possibly obsessing) that it’s not running ‘right’. I have no point of reference... To further complicate things, real life has got in the way several times. It has taken 30-plus years of repair / restoration / modification / messing around (delete as you see fit) not to mention significant sums of money to get the bike to where it is today. Hopefully some…

For the present it seems that 2022 season and events are going ahead relatively normally. The Dragon Rally was back (February 12-13), and PUB did briefly think about signing up since it was the 60th iteration of the event. However, she had a conflicting appointment (ie. an excuse), and although the weather was relatively mild for the time of year, reports say that the site was very wet – so she would perhaps not have enjoyed it much. For the Bristol Show a couple of weekends later, the forecast was fairly good. Indeed it proved mostly sunny, although it was a cold start when setting out early on the Saturday – certainly requiring lots of clothing layers. Sunny is always good for PUB’s mood, and for the outside autojumble vendors…