Innehållsförteckning för December 2024 från Real Classic

RealClassic TRIUMPH 500 TWIN This machine arrived at my workshop under its own power, covering around 40 miles to reach me. That’s always encouraging with machines which have been booked in for a straightforward going over and setting up. From what I had been told there didn’t seem much to do, but the little things I did totally transformed the Triumph. Initially, it was a pig to keep going with the choke slide anything like open. This was down to the pilot circuit being blocked in the rather small and non-standard Amal 622 Concentric carburettor which had been fitted. There were also reports of pinking noises, so I checked the ignition timing – to find the static timing was almost at full advance! I took some 15 degrees or more off…

RealClassic ENFIELD AIRFLOW CRUSADER PART THE FIRST The low evening sunshine stretched a shadow of a 1950s motorcycle and rider onto the Dorset roadside so that it resembled the familiar silhouette from UK road signs. I was heading for the Portsmouth ferry in warm spring weather which raised my spirits and suppressed the niggling uncertainty of completing a very long journey on an old bike. I really hoped this would be the motorcycling adventure of a lifetime. The two-year delay which affected the REOC’s International Rally in Greece was a minor inconvenience among the worldwide disruption caused by covid, but it now gave me more time. In fact, I had all the time I needed since I’d recently retired, eliminating the time constraints of the past 45 years. After all, old…

RealClassic BMW R1 100GS My close friend Tim is a real fan of BMW's GS motorcycles. He currently owns a standard R1100GS, a standard R1150GS, a standard R1200GS Adventure LC and the beautiful Dakar tribute R1100GS that you see on these pages. He's previously owned a Paris-Dakar R100GS, another R1150GS and a twin-cam oil-cooled R1200GS. I, on the other hand, previously owned one single 1996 R1100GS for a short period of time in 1999. Then in 2023, after a ride on Tim's standard machine, I succumbed to purchasing another 1100GS which is almost identical to my first. It's really dangerous riding someone else's bike, especially while wearing those rose- tinted glasses. Funny how we always remember the good bits! Tim has long had an interest in the Paris-Dakar event, matched with…

Over the last few years my once extensive Guzzi collection has dwindled. Gone, and mostly missed, are the 1974 Nuovo Falcone, the 1976 Convert, the 1974 750s and the 1974 CaliforniaI bought for spares then resurrected. I’m down to just two now – my sometimes capricious but robust 1972 Eldorado (or 850GT for those of you on the east side of the Atlantic), and the 2007 Breva 1100 whichI bought last November. Ancient and Modern. Those are relative terms, by the way. 1972 barely counts as ancient in this august company, and many riders wouldn’t regard the seventeen year-old Breva as modern. So let’s begin by talking about the differences between the two bikes. It’sabit like trying to compare apples and zucchinis, or radishes and bananas, they are so different.…

Triumph first introduced their unit-construction 500 twin in 1959, following the launch of the 350 3TA in 1957. Both were intended to be tourers and were suitably attired as such with a big bathtub and fully valanced front mudguard. When the Tiger 100A joined the range in 1960, this more sporting machine wore near-identical bodywork. Apart from the name badges on the side and the colour schemes, you’d be hard pressed to tell them apart. However, the Tiger always had a bit more roar in its tank. The two models shared the same 69 by 65.5mm motor giving 490cc, but while the touring 5TA delivered a gentle 27bhp at 6300rpm, the feisty Tiger output 36bhp at 6500rpm. Those nine horses were more than enough to cope with the Tiger’s extra…

RealClassic CLASSIC RACING The first Isle of Man Tourist Trophy race took place in May 1907 on the St John’s Short Course. The TT moved to the longer Snaefell Mountain Course of 37.73 miles in 1911. This circuit rises from near sea level to a peak of 1300 feet. The first Manx Amateur Road Race Championships took place in 1923 and consisted of a five lap race for 500cc machines, with a special award for the best performance by a 350cc. In 1930 the event was rebranded as the Manx Grand Prix when a new set of rules were introduced to exclude expert riders. The races have been going ever since, either at the end of August or in early September. The TT and MGP, although called races, are actually time…

I have owned precisely two Norton Commandos in my lifetime. In fact, I have ridden many more modern bikes than 'classic' bikes, whatever they may be. If you are a follower of the RealClassic FaceBook page you will know that the black 1975 Interstate - previously owned by Editor Westworth - has been in my garage since earlier this year. I have now, with considerable financial input and help from friends, got it to the state where it is running, and Rowena asked if I could share with you what it is like to ride. Which I will, but first some history; not a history of the genesis and development of the Commando, but my history with the marque. I blame the police. No, I really do. As a very…

It’s not easy being the person who has to decide in what order the several different new models which a major motorcycle manufacturer always has under constant development should be put on sale to the public. But few have been more eagerly awaited than the Classic 650 model which Royal Enfield has been working on since 2016. This finally made its debut at this year’s EICMA Milan Show that opened on November 5, and is already available in the Indian manufacturer’s dealerships around the world in four different colour schemes. Actually, make that three, because besides the very ’50s Streamline styling cues of the Teal Green, Vallam Red and Bruntingthorpe Blue hotrod paint jobs with cream panels, the fourth and likely most popular variant–complete with polished mudguards – is the…

If you own more than one motorcycle you can probably divide them into different categories. There are the everyday bikes like Imy Triumph 900 Scrambler. I ride more or less every day and the Triumph is my first choice. Then there are the 'special occasion' bikes; my 1976 Triumph Tiger or my Norton single. The special occasion bikes tend to be more finicky. They have to be kicked to life, they're generally more demanding and they need a great deal more rider input. If you feel like it and the conditions are right, they can be hugely rewarding. Finally, there are the projects; bikes you just enjoy working on which might function in due course. Many of us, I suspect, harbour the notion that our 'special occasion' bikes will become…

FRANK WESTWORTH There are some jobs on some bikes that I simply do not like. Maybe I should type that again – in capitals for emphasis? In this particular case I had a problem. Not a major problem, really, but a major irritation. My most wonderful in every measurable way and certainly entirely perfected BSA is a complete horror to heave onto its centrestand. It really is. Why? Because – or so I assumed – the stand itself is bent – badly bent. This is common enough, and has afflicted almost every repatriated BSA and Triumph I have had the pleasure of working on. It’s also common on AMC heavyweights, and for the same reason. It appears that our transatlantic cousins like to start their motorcycle engines while standing on…