Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2022 i Classic Bike Guide

Allan Hitchcock and a team from Hitchcock Motorcycles have spent several weeks in the United States of America this summer. But there’s been no holiday – they’ve been preparing and loading one of the biggest imports ever of classic British motorcycles and spares from the 1960s, ready to come back to the UK and be sorted and catalogued. It’s a huge haul and has been a very challenging process. The bikes come from two sources, including a dealership in Michigan where the bikes needed to be winched down from an upper floor. But those on the hunt for their own project will need patience as would-be buyers should not expect to see those bikes and spares available soon – or all at once. “It’s going to take months and months…

The 750 GT and 750 Sport The first Ducati bevel twin – and whether you call the 90-degree engine a V-twin or an L-twin is entirely up to you – was the 750 GT of 1970. It is known as the bevel twin as it uses a shaft and a bevel drive camshaft to operate the valves. These days it seems to take manufacturers two years to deliver a new paint scheme, but back in 1969 Ducati started work at the end of the year, finished the design work in the spring, built the engine by mid-July... and just 60 days later the first 750GT was unveiled to the press. These first 750s are often referred to as round case models. The 748cc engine was essentially two Ducati single barrels…

WHILE THE LAUNCH OF THE SINGLE overhead cam CB750 back in 1969 had catapulted Honda truly into the limelight, as other Nipponese factories joined the fight, then development from the Hamamatsu factory was vital to compete with the new machines from Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha. But when the twin cam CB750 came to the market 10 years after that first iconic Cee Bee, it didn’t receive quite the same rapturous welcome, particularly when it showed several reliability issues. Aside from having to allay the fears that potential buyers had thanks to the issues that plagued the first of Honda’s DOHC inline fours, the new CBX also had to fit into a fast-moving marketplace that was seeing three-quarter litre bikes become sportier by the month. With the Kawasaki GPz750 Unitrak and…

Details on this photo are sparse, but the naval pilots of the Supermarine Scimitar look to have been drafted in for a promotional photo to push the Triumph Tina. I wonder if they were offered one of the scooters in return? The Tina was designed by none other than Edward Turner to fill a gap in the range for those just wanting simple transport. Triumph already had the Tigress with a choice of two-stroke 175cc or four-stroke 250cc engines, but the Tina was aimed at being easier still to ride and own, with a twist-and-go gearbox and small 100cc engine. It was lighter, too – to help tackle the Italian scooters being sold. Aimed at the lady, not only were handsome pilots brought in, but Cliff Richard was also used…

New RETRO ATTRACTIVE, AND SHOULD BE LESS than £4000. That may get your attention. The new Hunter 350, Enfield’s frugal and easy-to-ride commuter, is light(ish), seems tough and feels agile, with faultless fuelling with a tight turning circle. This is the third bike from Royal Enfield to use the 349cc single cylinder platform. Well, it shares the engine with the Classic and Meteor, but the Hunter 350 is a new bike. New chassis, wheels, dimensions and weight – all helps make it the lightest bike in Enfield’s range. Weight is down to 172kg dry, so about 180-185kg in the real world, while its wheelbase is shorter and the steering head steeper. Price promises to be the cheapest in the 350 range. The air-cooled SOHC 349cc single is identical to that…

THIS MOTORCYCLE CAME TO ME, EVAN Willliams, from my mother’s cousin, Cora Lockwood. Cora lived with her family in a confectioner and taxidermist shop in Bridge Street, Fakenham, Norfolk. This traditional market town is just 20 miles north-west of Norwich, and Bridge Street is still there running through the middle, but the shop has gone and is now a car park. In the early 20th century, Bridge Street would have been a bustling area, servicing the local rural community. In 1913, Cora, aged 20, had a boyfriend who, like many around this time, was called up. Before he left, he immobilised his motorbike and put it in a shed in Cora’s garden. I believe he may have worked on the railways, as the shed was made entirely of railway sleepers…

IT’S A GLORIOUS SEPTEMBER SUNDAY. RAIN IS sweeping across the fields outside the window, which is itself so plastered with artistic rivulets of water that it might also be foggy and possibly raining frogs. Who cares? Not me, because I have my winter wheels all ready for exactly this eventuality – torrential deluge in a time of drought – so my trip to the Post Office to buy bird seed is okay. Post Office? Bird seed? Don’t ask. I wonder how many riders still have a winter hack, as we once called them? There has almost always been at least one scabrous and visually unloved bike in The Shed, and before I had a shed to call my own, my winter hack lived outside in the rain while my best…

Your guide to... IT WAS A LOVELY BIKE. “BEST OF THE NIGHT, TO BE honest. Have you come far?” I asked. When Martin turned up at the local pub bike meet on his Suzuki T500J, it was so spotless that I assumed it was one of those ‘I live just round the corner’ bikes that only come out on sunny days. “Oh, just up from Weymouth,” he replied, instantly banishing my preconceptions into dust. Weymouth is a three-hour, 100-mile round trip across country; quite the journey, even on a sunny Wednesday evening. It’s a long way to come for a pint. The very least that should have happened to the immaculate T500 was the appearance of a drip of oil or a speck of dirt somewhere. But not this one,…

I FIRST SET EYES ON THIS MONTH’S BUILD FEATURE – a gorgeous 1939 Model 95 Panther – on a visit to Sandy Bloy’s classic bike emporium in Perth. Otherwise known as a ‘Redwing’ model, I was struck by this Panther’s lovely patina, ageing paintwork and tarnished chrome. The Redwingembossed timing cover is another marvellous detail; so too is the sump’s oil filler cap with its winter/summer oil recommendations forever engraved onto its brass top. The petrol tank’s faded coach lines, its antique cream paintwork and tarnished chrome are other delights – as are the Panther-embossed tank rubbers moulded by none other than John Bull. I was not surprised to learn that heads turn whenever and wherever this appealing motorcycle is encountered. From a bygone age, it is a very rare…

What’s on October 1 Print and digital editions of Old Bike Mart out today. 1 Rufforth Autojumble: Rufforth Auto Jumble has been established for more than 30 years. It takes place every first Saturday of the month all year round. Doors open at 8am for the public; sellers are welcome anytime between 6am and 9am. There will be a total of 350 pitches with up to 3000 buyers attending. On-site facilities include a cafe, disabled parking, and new large toilets. Drivein pitches, indoors and out, start from £17 and double-depth pitches from £25. Admission is £2 per person. Rufforth Park, York YO23 3QH. Visit www.rufforthautojumble.com 1/2 CRMC Race Meeting: Croft race circuit. Plus Grand Prix bike display and demos. Visit www.croftcircuit.co.uk/racing/classic-bikes 2 End of Summer Mod and Scooter Special: Ace…

THE DUCATI 900SSD WAS INTENDED TO BE a machine that bridged the gap between Ducati’s classy Darmah 900SD street bike and the unhinged 900SS, while combining elements of both and creating a sports tourer par excellence. It came in dramatic silver and blue and used the 900SS engine with desmo heads, which allowed the use of 40mm Dell’Ortos but with the addition of an electric start. There was a twin seat, a faintly space-age swoopy tail piece and a fairing that was similar, though not identical, to the 900SS. It was certainly as crudely finished on the inside as the SS fairing. It used the Darmah frame, got rear sets, clip-ons, stainless mudguards and remote reservoir Marzocchi shocks – and it was touted as the ultimate sport tourer. This concept…

DOUGLAS DOUGLAS Bristol’s finest, Douglas existed on the fringes of UK manufacturing and built some fascinating motorcycles. Its prewar flat twins were the bikes to beat in road racing, sprinting, and speedway, as well as being respected roadsters. BMW reverse-engineered a Douglas engine to create its first motorcycle engine. Postwar, Douglas turned the engine through 90˚ so they looked like tiny BMW twins, but used chain drives rather than a shaft and experimented with off-the-wall suspension systems. The company eventually started importing and building Vespa scooters under licence. Dragonfly 348cc ohv flat twin || 395Ib || 55mpg || 75mph || 1954-57 A curiously stylish touring 350 twin, the Dragonfly featured Earles forks and a faired headlamp/petrol tank, as well as conventional rear suspension rather than torsion bar set up. An…