Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2018 i Classic Bike Guide

GUS KUHN WAS one of motorcycle sport’s pioneers, competing in trials and road races before becoming a successful speedway rider from its earliest days in the UK. He raced in five TTs between 1920-1926 and in 1932 Kuhn started a bike shop in London, with Norton, BSA and Triumph dealerships. He became a specialist in preparing Nortons for racing, with successes including British National championships. In the mid-Seventies attention moved to the boxer twins of BMW, with some notable successes. Gus Kuhn died in 1966, he was 67. Three Gus Kuhn BMWs entered the 1976 Isle of Man Production TT, with Martin Sharpe and Abe Alexander, Dave Cartright and Ray Knight and Alan Rogers with John Cowie (seen here). The Sharpe/ Alexander bike finished second in class, Cartright and Knight’s…

WHEN ARIEL DECIDED to stop making four-strokes and concentrate on a brand-new range of up-to-the minute two-strokes it wasn’t done by half measures. Facing the end of the line for its venerable top-quality singles and twins, the company that had built the Square Four threw away the rule book and came up with something brand new. The pressed steel construction of the frame was far from the norm, but the team at Selly Oak set to it with a will, expensively kitting out the factory with the necessary dies to stamp out the two halves of the frame and the trailing link forks. The engine was suspended from the frame and the swing arm and centre stand were bolted to the engine casings. The engine could be dismantled without removing…

AJS HAS LAUNCHED two new lightweight bikes, one road and one trail, in the form of the Tempest 125. The classically styled learner-legal bikes are designed for leisure riding or daily commuting and have a new 16 litre, classically styled petrol tank in traditional AJS silver or black, with a gold livery. An ohc engine powers the bikes with a balance shaft to smooth out vibration, a five-speed gearbox and the cylinder canted forwards. It has an electric start, stainless steel exhaust, combined disc brakes to Euro 4 specifications, electronic fuel injection, and in the case of the Tempest Roadster, a seat with a removable cowl. A neat luggage rack which will readily accept many proprietary boxes is available as a low-cost accessory. The Scrambler version of the Tempest comes…

WATSONIAN HAS PRODUCED a new platform chassis sidecar with multiple uses. The chassis, which costs £1495, can be adapted for a wide range of uses, from carrying surfboards to lugging around entire motorcycles. The sidecars, have a 200kg payload and go-anywhere potential. So far Watsonian has sold one to become an ice cream sales platform, another to a competition enduro rider to carry his bike and two to divers to carry their tanks and wet suits around on. The chassis can also accommodate the Watsonian Meteor and Monza sidecar bodies, so they can be put to more conventional use.…

REVITALISED ITALIAN BIKE builder SWM has released a new model in its Classic range. The Enduro-themed Six Days 440 harks back to the company’s 1970s heyday and sees SWM produce its first Classic model without the angular rhomboid petrol tank that was its signature design. The 445cc four-valve ohc engine is cooled by air and oil. It has a five-speed box, fuel injection, ABS brakes twin shocks and stainless upswept exhausts, weighs 150kg and runs on adventure tyres. SWM is also experiencing considerable success with its adventure bike range, with the 650 model the best seller in its class. The most successful UK dealership is close to Gatwick, as Australian buyers are coming to the UK, buying the bikes and riding them home.…

DECEMBER 21 JANUARY/FEBRUARY ISSUE OF CLASSIC RACER IN THE SHOPS 26 Ace Cafe London, Cold Turkey Meet. www.ace-cafe-london.com 31 Huddersfield Autojumble (Christmas Do). Old Market Building, Brook Street, Huddersfield HD1 1RG Tel: Jeff 07795 505388 Email: jeffpff@hotmail.co.uk 31 Ace Cafe London, Bike Day. www.ace-cafe-london.com 31 Ace Cafe London, New Year’s Eve Party. www.ace-cafe-london.com JANUARY 2018 1 JANUARY ISSUE OF REAL CLASSIC 1 VMCC (Essex section) New Year’s Day Run, Writtle Green car park. Tel: 01621 892606. 1 Ace Cafe London. The Hangover Meet.www.ace-cafe-london.com 1 Ace Cafe London. German Bikes ’n’ Cars (BMW & Mercedes).www.ace-cafe-london.com 5 FEBRUARY ISSUE OF THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE IN THE SHOPS 5-6 Ards Motorcycle Show and Autojumble. Queens Hall, Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland Tel: Tom Rutherford 07971 681779. 6 JANUARY ISSUE OF OLD BIKE MART 6-7…

Or, if your sole machine is a clapped-out 1953 AJS single, maybe you might enjoy the subtly differing thrills of say, a 200mph Ducati Panigale. Whatever your tastes run to, the formula mostly works. ANY GOOD AT maths? Physics? Heard any good formulae recently? We’ve all heard of one, E=mc². We all know it’s Einstein, but I bet we don’t know much more about it. However, I bet you know another, being a motorcyclist. The formula? n+1. Common reasoning goes that happiness is expressed as n+1, where n is the current number of motorcycles you own. Very amusing. You can express your devotion to this particular version of joy in many ways, there are T-shirts, coffee mugs, wall signs and posters – perhaps even a meme of a beardy man…

IT IS THE industry’s showcase of the latest machines, and this year’s Motorcycle Live event at the NEC was full of classic-styled bikes. Kawasaki went big on the Z900RS and Café, with many onlookers enthusiastic about trying it. There were a couple of negative comments about the lack of 4-into-4 exhaust systems and, shock horror, a radiator, but I fear these people have never had to design a mass-produced motorcycle to pass all the required laws and tests. Triumph really showed how important retro bikes are – nearly half the Hinkley manufacturer’s stand was laid out to show the various incarnations of its Bonneville, Scrambler, Bobber, Speedmaster and Street Twin models. The crowds were constant, with all age groups looking intently at what was on offer. Ducati had the…

ALL THAT WELL-INTENTIONED squit last month I wrote about workshop jobs to do? Well, I, er, there’s an issue. You see, as lucky as it is working around bikes, you are constantly reminded just how much fun riding them is, like my friend Martin, above, on his wonderful Guzzi Ambassador. Never mind that the temperature is waning, light is as sparse as an honest MP and your bike gets covered in the detritus left behind the sugar beet harvest (city folk may be allowed not to worry about that one…), it’s still so tempting to get out for a ride – depending on the condition of your bike. You see all those beautiful bikes at shows? The ones with every nut and bolt carefully polished, tyres so gleaming with show…

TWO NEW TWINS from Royal Enfield have broken cover as the company says it wants to promote ‘pure motorcycling’. A brand new 648cc ohc twin engine developed in India and the UK will power two new machines; a café racer Continental GT and an Interceptor INT roadster. Royal Enfield’s president, Rudratej Singh, and CEO, Siddartha Lal, said Enfield wanted to be the biggest supplier of middleweight motorcycles across the world. Mr Singh added that in developing markets the company was allowing commuters to have a “little more fun” on their daily journeys. In Europe and North America the market was seen as slightly different: “In developed markets, while there is love for motorcycling there is not enough motorcycling happening, because bikes have gone too extreme for real road day-to-day utility.…

‘You can’t wear out an Indian Scout’ claimed Indian’s advertising during the 1920s. This bold statement was justified, as at the time a factory Scout had smashed the world 24-hour long-distance record and turned the Indian into a very desirable motorcycle. Designed by Charles Franklin and introduced in 1920, early models displaced 37 cubic inches, or 610cc. But competition from Harley-Davidson and Excelsior soon forced Indian into producing a larger twin, the Scout 45, which had a capacity of 45 cubic inches, or 740cc. Then in 1928 the Scout 37 and 45 were both replaced by the 101 Scout. The 101 benefited from a better handling frame, longer wheelbase and a low seat height of just 25 inches. Despite an increase in weight, the new Scout was highly praised for…

In truth, I’m at pains to write about this bike. It’s one of my favourite machines, a bike that in my humble opinion is far superior in every way to the Kawasaki Z1, the price of which – due to its legendary status – has put it out of the financial reach of most ordinary folk. But I’m also worried that as soon as this piece goes to print, it will help in ruining the availability of the very bike that appears to be notably under the radar of collectors. Or maybe you’ve noticed it too and are keeping it quiet as well? The bike in question is the Kawasaki 1100 Zephyr. There were two smaller versions, but we’re concentrating on the big boy. This particular bike has really been…

The Amal Mk1 Concentric carb was fitted to many bikes from 1967 as well as being retro fitted to bikes suffering with older carbs. It’s well-proven, with good adjustment and excellent spares back-up. It could come set up as a single or for use as half a twin set up, so controls would be on the correct side and came in two different body sizes, series 600 and 900, giving bore sizes from 22mm to 32mm. You could also specify one for two-strokes, or the larger 1000. GETTING THE CARB OFF Our B31 had performed well over the year, but had recently started playing up, possibly water in the carb, so a strip down was warranted. First job is to clean the body of the carb, to prevent getting dirt…

The Triumph Daytona, like its relatives the Bonneville, Trophy and Thunderbird have seen several incarnations over the years. And ever since my teenage years, I have had a love for this first production issue of the Daytona; a rather beautiful little Meriden 500. It has a timeless classical design, a punchy reliable motor, stylish fuel tank and handles superbly. With its large eight-inch twin leading shoe, the bike has plenty of stopping power. Our rebuild for this month looks rather gorgeous now it has been restored in the capable hands of John Williams, but it came to him in a very sorry state. Take a peek at the ‘before’ photos and you will see what I mean. When you look at a bike in this state, recognising that every nut…

Falling sales became a significant threat to the motorcycle division of BMW’s existence, however, BMW North American sales director, Bob Lutz as well as Suzuki Katana stylist, Hans Muth, came to the rescue by creating the R90S – the bike that turned around BMW’s fortunes. The R90S changed the German marque‘s course, albeit at a price. Owning BMW’s latest and arguably greatest model would set you back a staggering load of beer money when it was launched in 1973. And its high price, £1799 – compared with £585 for a Bonneville – attracted a great deal of flak from the motorcycling press. Costing as much as a small family car, the R90S nevertheless won over critics with its impressive specification and remarkable performance. Overnight BMW’s flat twin changed from passé…

SOLID AND RELIABLE. That’s what most of the users of motorcycles wanted in the immediate postwar era. Something you could ride to work in all weathers or home from National Service camps. A machine that would run day-in, day-out, on poor quality pool petrol. While many of the single cylinder motorcycles of the late 1940s harked back to prewar days, BSA’s B31 single, introduced in 1945, was a new offering. Even though the 350cc ohv single only produced 17bhp, BSA marketed it as a sports model, while concentrating on its ability to keep slogging on in the worst of conditions. It would pull to over 70mph on a good day, it was robust and simple with little to go wrong in the engine department thanks to being well engineered. The…

NORTON HAS LAUNCHED a limited edition of its 961 parallel twin to mark the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the original Norton Commando. The new Norton Commando 961 California has been built with high bars and a selection of paint jobs, including one with blue and white paint that apes the look of the classic 1975 Commando Roadster. Described as “the easy riding roadster” by Norton, the 961 California will be produced as a batch of 50 as will anniversary editions of the rest of the Commando range. Each anniversary bike will have its production number marked on the instrument binnacle. The high barred version is designed to attract foreign sales as 80% of Norton’s sales – currently nudging 1000 bikes a year – go abroad. The California has…

FRENCH COMPANY MASH has expanded its range of bikes, which now boasts a scooter, the 125cc City, as well as 50, 125, 250 and 400cc motorcycles, and even a combination. The latest models include the 500 Classic Chrome roadster and Scrambler Chrome models with shiny bodywork and 400cc engines fitted with traditional kick starters. The Black 7 125 and 250 café racers themed roadsters have a classic look and a new sidecar outfit has been unveiled. This is fitted with reverse gear and an interchangeable sidecar chassis, which will allow owners to swap the side the sidecar is mounted on for use on the continent. The company’s biggest selling model is a 50cc four stroke café racer styled full-sized motorcycle, the Roadstar 50, which has proved popular with 16-year-old riders…

With the demise of Victory earlier this year, Polaris Group’s now standalone motorcycle brand, Indian, has come late to the party at the Bobber bash. The new-for-2018 blacked-out lowrider version of its mid-size Scout model platform which carries that name is only now reaching dealers around the world. But Indian surely hopes to be better late than never in expanding its Scout troop, capturing an ironically more youthful customer corps than the many thousands who’ve so far bought this best-selling model with its liquid-cooled 1133cc/69 cubic-inch 60º V-twin eight-valve engine. Since making its debut in 2015, that platform was then joined last year by the entry-level Scout 60, with its smaller 999cc/61ci motor. However, unlike the authentically-styled Triumph Bobber released last year, which screams ‘Bobtail’ at you aesthetically as soon…

1971 WAS THE first year of the Formula 750 championship, providing somewhere for the short-circuit race bikes to race at the TT. Here we see Ray Knight aboard his Triumph Trident. After battling with BSA’s Ray Pickrell and Norton’s Peter Williams, Tony Jefferies won on his works Triumph, while Knight came in 11th, second Triumph home. Ray Knight can be seen pitching into Ballacraine corner – which for the rest of the year was a crossroads and nowadays is traffic light-controlled. It’s around eight miles into the lap, yet only the second heavy-braking area after Quarter Bridge, which must have been a consideration for photographer Nick Nicholls, should anything go wrong. Of course none of this bothers the fans, who are practically pouring over the stone wall. Look at the…

Classic Bike Guide: With a racing engine of this quality, is there much of the original engine left? Les Whiston: Hardly anything to be honest, apart from the barrels. There is a redesigned and highly polished crankshaft which is superfinished by Midland Deburr, high compression pistons with high lift cams made by Newman and that’s just the start. This year we are trying out a different type of electronic ignition. In past years we have used Boyer ignition, but last year we tried out an ignition system made in New Zealand by Tri-Spark. The company specialise in electronic systems for older British classic bikes, and it worked well but we did notice changes within the power curves. So, with this bike we have fitted a system from Race Technical Development…