Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2020 i Classic Bike Guide

GREETINGS, ONE AND ALL, AND I HOPE you're well. With the wide Norfolk skies bringing us some wonderful weather, and some of the old bike gatherings starting up again, we've been soaking up the rays while enjoying the sight of some gorgeous bikes. We are most lucky to have two fantastic meets, one at Old Buckenham, South Norfolk, on a Tuesday and one at the Whitwell and Reepham railway, North Norfolk, on a Friday. Each has their own feeling and catchment and both are within 20 miles of Classic Bike Guide HQ! It's been great to see old friends, lovely to see what folk have been up to while tucked up at home and catch a drink under the summer skies, with a pootle on an old machine. The vast…

This is what Alfonso had to go through to get his MV Raid 250 back on the road in Italy. Let's consider ourselves lucky over here ..... At one point, it looked as though the MV that Alfonso had bought would have to stay in the garage forever. Then by chance one day, I read in the Italian version of 'The Classic Motorcycle' about a new arrangement between the Italian Motorcycle Federation and the transport ministry that offered a glimmer of hope for the MV. Basically, bikes in a completely original condition, restored or not, but lacking documentation or a plate, could be re-registered for use on the road, subject to various conditions. I downloaded the forms required from the FMI website and rushed to tell Alfonso, who set to…

ROYAL ENFIELD'S INTERCEPTOR 650 hit a significant target when it became the best-selling motorcycle in the UK in June. Royal Enfield is emerging as the fastest growing brand among the top 10 motorcycle manufacturers in the UK over the past five years. A series of attractive finance offers, aimed at reducing as many barriers to entry as possible, has helped boost sales. As well as transferring senior staff members from India, Royal Enfield have been recruiting other high-flyers from Suzuki, Kawasaki and Harley Davidson. There are seven new UK dealers in Oxfordshire, Central London, Essex, Dorset, North Wales, East Midlands and Cornwall. Buyers can now use a tool on Royal Enfields website to configure their bike with accessories enabling a complete look to be built and priced prior to placing…

AS THE NATION is asked to don face coverings when out and about, motorcyclists are likely to find this less of a chore than most as the silk scarf, bandana or snood is a regular part of our wardrobe anyway. One of the betterquality products comes from Buff, who have produced a new neck tube in homage to legendary biking icon and creation of artist Paul Sample, Ogri. The Classic Ogri Buff can, according to the manufacturer, be worn in 13 different ways, though to be fair over your mouth and nose is likely to be the most common arrangement these days. The Ogri Buff costs £16 and may or may not make admirers swoon with admiration. visit teamogri. bigcartel.com/product/ classicogri-buff…

The entire range is well served for parts and pretty much anything other than the frame, hubs, engine castings, gears and the like have been reproduced at some time or another. This includes engine bearings, valves, guards, badges and even tanks. The bike has a desperately loyal following and there really isn't a problem that hasn't been solved over the last 50 years. Seat pans are known to rust away and passenger grab rails are notoriously hard to find. Most of the pattern parts out there seem to be fine in use with the one caveat of pattern points; aftermarket Japanese are generally ok, but the cheap sets from SE Asia are often simply dire. The OEM tank badges for the XSl & 2 are impossible to find, but good-quality…

Of all the Triumph twins, the early Oil in Frame (OIF) models from the 70s were the most controversial. Introduced in 1971, these Triumphs had an unhappy birth. The last of the pre-OIF twins have become loved and respected as the pinnacle of the twin's design. With the decision to radically change the frame, when the team at Umberslade Hall Technology Centre - set up by parent company BSA - came up with their new frame they were always going to have a tough job winning hearts and minds. The late 60s twins had been so popular in the US that Triumph had to place press adverts apologising for not being able to make enough of them to meet demand. For 1971 Triumph had the new frame for their biggest…

The Japanese giant has always made some interesting machines, so over the next few pages we bring you both the 2900 and 500 Hl. But this month, we've also been rooting through the Mortons archive to bring you some of the best shots we have of early racing Kawasakis that we've not seen before. Hope you enjoy!…

PRODUCED 1956-1962 4 STROKE SINGLE CYLINDER OHV BORE/STROKE: 69x66mm COMPRESSION RATIO: 7.2:1 POWER: 16bhp at 5600rpm TIMING: Pushrod IGNITION: Battery coil and points mounted on end of camshaft CARBURETTOR: Dell'Orto MB22B LUBRinCATION: Wet sump CLUTCH: Wet multiplate GEARBOX: 4 speeds, change by heel/toe pedal TRANSMISSION: Geared primary, final chain drive FRAME: Open tubular duplex cradle SUSPENSION: Front telescopic, rear swinging arm and rear hydraulic shocks WHEELS: 2.75x19, chromed steel rims TYRES: 3.00-19" front/3.25-19" rear BRAKES: Drum, 220mm front and rear DRY WEIGHT: 145kg FUEL CAPACITY: 17 litres WHEELBASE: 1340mm TOP SPEED: 115kmh…

NEW PRICE £11,29sf £12,795 CAPACITY: 1079cc BORE x STROKE: 98 x 71mm ENGINE LAYOUT: L-twin ENGINE DETAILS: Aircoooled, desmodromic, 4v POWER: 86hp @ 7,500rpm TORQUE: 65lb-ft@ 4750rpm TOP SPEED: 130mph (est) TRANSMISSION: Six-speed AVERAGE FUEL CONSUMPTION: 45-55mpg TANK SIZE: 15 litres MAX RANGE TO EMPTY (THEORETICAL): 165 miles RIDER AIDS: Cornering ABS, traction control, three rider modes FRONT SUSPENSION: Marzocchi 45mm inverted/ Öhlins 48mm inverted FRONT SUSPENSION: Fully adjustable REAR SUSPENSION: Kayaba monoshock/ Öhlins monoshock REAR SUSPENSION: Pre-load and rebound FRONT TYRE: 120/80 ZR18 Pirelli MT60RS REAR TYRE: 180/55 ZR17 Pirelli MT60RS RAKE/TRAIL: 24.5°/lllmm WHEELBASE: 1514mm SEAT HEIGHT: 810mm DRY WEIGHT: 189kg WARRANTY: Unlimited miles/2 years MAINTENANCE: 7500 miles/12 months WEBSITE: www.ducati.com/gb…

BMW actually pioneered the idea of a full face helmet with a folding chin bar as far back as 1978. The helmet law had only been in place since 1973 (incidentally wearing a seatbelt was only made law in 1983, 10 years later - work that one out) and full face helmets were still relatively new, with the majority of riders wearing open face helmets still. Working with German helmet manufacturer, Schuberth, who had been making military helmets, they also quickly realised the importance of aerodynamics, hence the intriguing golf ball-style dimples seen in earlier System helmets. This new System 7 is apparently the first helmet made by BMW and not just designed by them. First impressions are it is light, thanks to the carbon fibre shell. It has the…

Scour the web and you will find numerous references to the fact that Yamaha's 650 twins are, in fact, little more than upgraded copies of the Japanese Hosk and/or Showa 500cc parallel four-stroke twins. There are also references to both of these engines being strongly influenced by West German manufacturer Horex and an implied link that the 650cc XS series engine is somehow related to this European manufacturer. The various associations are, to be brutally honest, feeble to say the least, but the venerable Yamaha twin does deserve to have its name cleared. At the beginning of the 1950s Horex embarked upon a 500cc OHC twin engine design aimed purely at racing with the motor built around a four bearing crank for reliability. By 1952 the bike had gained a…

Triumph Owners Motorcycle Club www.torncc.org SPECIALISTS US: British Only (Michigan): britishonly.com British Cycle Supply (Maine/Nova Scotia): britcycle.com Classic British Spares (California): classicbritishspares.com The Bonneville Shop (Colorado): thebonnevilleshop.com Vintage Triumph Supply (Massachusetts): vintagetriurnphsupply.com UK: TriCor Andy (Trident oil filter kit): tricor-andy.com Monty's Classics rnontysclassic rnotorcyclesshop.co.uk LPWilliams www.triurnph-spares.co.uk…

IT'S THE EXOTIC FOURS THAT CAME OUT OF THE MV Agusta factory at Cascina Costa di Verghera that grab the attention. And fair enough too, seeing as human legends of motorcycle racing rode bikes just as legendary, creating a mythical and revered history around a factory that sadly bit the dry Italian dust in 1977. The fact is the motorcycling side of the industrial giant that was Agusta had to be sacrificed to balance the books. MV's motorcycle racing and production were embodied heart and soul by Count Domenico Agusta who had passed on in 1971, and none of the remaining Agusta family members that remained had either the passion, tenacity or knowhow to want to carry on motorcycle production, or the racing, once it became clear they didn't even…

ANOTHER MAJOR EVENT has succumbed to you know what. This year's National Motorcycle Museum LIVE event, which was due to take place at the end of October, has been cancelled. The museum bosses say that operating an event as popular as Museum LIVE simply isn't possible under Covid-19 related restrictions, and in particular, the issues caused by social distancing requirements. Museum bosses have thanked everyone who has supported the event over the last six years and have assured bike fans that it will return even bigger and better in October 2021. The museum currently remains closed following the launch of the Covid-19 Reopening Appeal. To support the museum and possibly ride away on a new old stock Norton Commando from the 1970s, a 1948 Ariel NG 350c or a 1959…

INTERESTED IN A Royal Enfield Himalayan, but disappointed with the colour schemes available? Watsonian have added a splash of colour to the Himalayan, with three special edition options. Best known as the UK's leading and longest established sidecar manufacturer, Watsonian are also a Royal Enfield main dealer and decided to experiment with different colour schemes on the popular adventure sport bike during lockdown. Based on brand new 400cc Royal Enfield Himalayans, the fuel tank, front and rear mudguard are all resprayed, with headlight grille and handguards added during reassembly. Customers can choose from postbox red, sky blue and mustard yellow, and other colours may be offered in future. "We imported Royal Enfield into the UK from 1999-2013, prior to becoming a franchised dealer, so we know the bikes inside out,"…

Investments Steve Cooper is concerned about a number of problems with old bikes as investments, but does, I feel , overlook a few points. Firstly, old vehicles in general are not subject to Capital Gains Tax on sale. Sell an old picture or 'antique' collectable, and our government takes its slice. Ok, they are not bothered at most of the sums old bikes go for, but if a Vincent Black Shadow were a picture, its sale would have HMRC knocking at your door if you did not declare its sale in your tax return. But this is not the case for old cars or bikes. Sell a Ferrari 250GTO for a few million and it doesn't, apparently, worry the tax man. Hence its value as an investment, and which, partly,…

Norton story BY BOB HOLLIDAY I love old bikes, but I wasn't there when they were made, I wasn't a worker in the factory and I don't remember them as a child. So my knowledge has to come from talking to folk and reading books - and I must trust them. Not being the most academic person, they must also be easy to understand. Bob Holliday's Norton story is just that. The timeline of the early days is great, once you can picture it in your own head, and this book just seems to talk in my language. That's the period I had trouble with; J L Norton dying early, constantly changing names of models, and too much of Norton's history is wrapped up around the racing that it's hard…

Age is probably the bike's greatest issue. The generator's insulation tends to decay with age, leading to poor charging so one rewound with wire utilising modern coatings is a good idea along with a solid state regulator/rectifier unit. The springs on the advance/retard unit can go weak over time and the HT coils have been known to die. The oil filtration system is two gauzes and the lower sump one can split. High mileages are well documented and generally without major issues; valve guide oil seals can decay over time, leading to smoking on the over-run. If the motor has a weak spot it's probably the little ends of the conrods which run directly on to the gudgeon pins. Poor oil change regimes and/or low levels can exacerbate the problem.…

IN 1971, WHEN RICH MUELLER LEFT THE ARMY, Triumphs, Nortons and BSAs were popular in northern Illinois. The first thing he and riding buddy Glen did once they were out of uniform was to buy new Honda CB450 twins, but when his friend got the urge for a Bonneville and got a used 1970 Triumph, Rich decided to follow suit. In March 1973, Rich walked into Morrie Gauger's Triumph dealership in Richmond, northern Illinois, and rode out on a brand new Triumph Bonneville T120R. He put around 12,000 miles on the Bonneville over the next 10 years or so. While the first Oil-in-Frame Bonnevilles had a bit of a reputation for problems, not least the seat height, at six feet tall this didn't bother Rich. "Things were pretty partisan over…

Gauger's Motorcycles, where Rich bought the Tl20R in 1973, is now called Morrie's Place, and is owned and operated by a gentleman named Ed Zender, who began hanging out at Gauger Motorcycles back in the 80s. Morrie Gauger and his wife Ruth started out as BSA dealers in 1954 from a farm shed and added on the marques of Triumph, Norton, Matchless and BMW. The roof of the shed was made from the old packing cases that Triumph shipped bikes in from Meriden. Even into the early 1990s the shop did not have running water, a toilet or heating, let alone a phone. Morrie had a farmer's mentality, and didn't believe in using banks, stashing cash in various locations around the farm. In 1993 the couple were brutally murdered. Initially…

FAMOUS LAST WORDS Nights are drawing in; time to don that autumn anorak ... “Although it is cheerily charming, chock-full of character and charisma, it is also very slow, poorly braked and steers precariously, and its dual seat and jampot rear ‘suspension’ combine in a spine-threatening way to make every decent ride a sales opportunity for any passing chiropractor” THIS MOST PECULIAR OF YEARS HAS SEEN terrible things done to my previously decently large store of parts. The Shed contains a lot of them, parts, that is, and lots of them are what we currently refer to as 'new old stock'. In other words they date from the time when the bikes were at least vaguely current and have never been previously used. NOS (you can work that out) has…