Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2024 i Classic Bike

THE RELATIVELY conservative trials world raised a collective eyebrow when Yamaha’s Mick Andrews wheeled his works machine out of his van for the Hurst Cup Trial in Northern Ireland on February 16. In place of a conventional twinshock rear end, it had a cantilever, monoshock set up of the type Yamaha’s factory motocross team had campaigned so successfully the previous year. The new suspension, originally designed and developed by Belgian engineer Lucien Tilkens, featured a 15in shock absorber – mounted almost horizontally under the tank, it provided around eight inches of rear wheel travel, compared to the four inches from the previous twinshock layout. It was good too. Mick was second behind Montesa’s Rob Edwards on the mono’s maiden outing. The next weekend the pair won the Belgian FIM Championship…

The 1974 250cc Word Motocross Championship should have been settled at the final round in Switzerland on August 25. Instead, a cloud of cold-war conflict and controversy meant the champion wouldn’t be confirmed until protests were heard at the FIM Congress in October. The two main contenders both hailed from behind the Iron Curtain that divided the West from the Soviet-controlled states of the East – but their allegiances and personalities couldn’t have been more different. While rugged hard man Gennady Moiseev was a 26-year-old soldier from communist Russia, his rival Jaroslav Falta was a mild-mannered and popular 23-year-old from Czechoslovakia – a country Russia had ruthlessly invaded in 1968. With sporting success a prized source of propaganda for Moiseev’s bosses in the Kremlin, the scene was set for a…

Dreams are made of this. It’s a crisp and dry autumn day – a rare chance to enjoy some favourite local roads before they succumb to the slime and salt of winter. And here in front of me are a 1937 Brough Superior SS80 and a 1977 Moto Morini 3½, ready to ride. Astrange pairing maybe, but they share a purpose. Both bikes are owned by clubs who are happy to lend them out to members – and we’ve been given the opportunity to give them a run out. So let’s not hang about. A ride’s always best shared, so I’ve got CB editor Hugo along for company – his greater experience with these machines will be valuable too. That’s certainly the case when it comes to starting them... Bringing…

When a Yamaha RD400 hits 7000rpm, magical things happen. The instant gratification and sheer fizzing urgency of the ensuing 1500rpm burnt itself into David Shuttleworth’s 18-year-old psyche way back in 1978. Memories like that never fade. Instead they emerge years – sometimes decades – later, just as vivid as when first enjoyed, as a reminder of the very best of times. “It’s that two-stroke thing,” grins David, patting the seat of his 1980 RD400F. “I’ve owned countless four-strokes over the years, most of them infinitely more powerful than this, but they just don’t give the same buzz. There’s something uniquely evocative about a two-stroke coming on-pipe – that powerband thing. It takes me all the way back to that very first time, 45 years ago.” Not that David was a…

Alan Seeley attempts to make a fast period-style bike from a bunch of old bits Shortly after acquiring this 1982-83 Suzuki GSX1100 engine with unknown history for our Harris project, I lifted the rocker cover and checked the sump. The cam lobes were in good fettle up top and there was no debris or dirt down below. It looked very promising. However, my good buddy and Suzuki specialist, Gary Hurd, cautioned that we should replace the camchain, fit a manual tensioner in place of the fussy Suzuki original, and give the cylinder head a thorough inspection before fitting it into the chassis. All of this meant that we may as well strip the engine to make a couple of simple case repairs easier and fit new oil seals and…

BULTACO MONTESA What’s the attraction? Trials is the most affordable way to scratch your competitive itch – and a great way to get your motorcycling fix in the winter months. Twinshock trials are particularly accessible. Bultaco and Montesa bestrode the golden era of trials in the ’70s like a pair of colossi and today, the Bultaco Sherpa 350T and Montesa 348 remain icons of the sport. They’re more than competitive for the average rider and have bags of attitude, character and cool. Which is the obvious choice? The Bultaco. Probably. Developed by trials legend Sammy Miller, the first production Sherpa T models appeared in 1964. With Miller’s input, the Sherpa T was an instant success and, effectively spelled the end for the Brit bike dominance in trials. Alater model is…

DEALER EXPERT Here at Classic Superbikes, winter usually means spending a little more time in the workshop finishing (or starting) all those jobs that have been put off during the warmer and busier months for bike sales. It always seems a good time to reflect on the past year and plan for the next one – in terms of the business and my own motorcycling life. Classic Superbikes marked 15 years in business in 2023. During that time, I’ve had the chance to ride a lot of wonderful classic machinery – and I’ve often been asked what my favourites have been. That’s a tough question to answer. I love riding my 1947 AJS trials bike, for example (and the Cheney Triumph ISDT bike that I haven’t ‘quite’ got round to…

AUCTION EXPERT The interest for our upcoming Las Vegas motorcycle auction in January started earlier than ever this year and has not slowed. We have more than 1500 lots consigned as I write this; we have allowed for 1650, but I imagine we’ll surpass that. The sale has become a four-day behemoth attended by buyers, sellers and spectators from all over the world. All Mecum auctions have a ‘something for everyone’ component; we sell many entry-level motorcycles to those just starting in the hobby. A good deal of our younger customers come from this component of our offered range, ensuring the future of the vintage motorcycle hobby. Many one-owner collections will be featured, in many cases representing the culmination of the ‘hunt’ for the collectors. In some instances, collectors will…

I thought you might like to see my TriBSA special (OPL 76E), built in 1966 and registered in May/June of that year – it was quite an achievement at the time. It had a B31/Gold star frame and a Triumph 110 engine and it handled very well. In this photo my girlfriend (now my wife of 55 years) is on the pillion. On Dunlop alloy rims and with lots of chrome and a good finish, it looked great parked outside the Manor Cafe at Camberley, a meeting place that was all the rage at the time. I sold the bike to Comerfords at Thames Ditton a couple of years later to get married. If any CB readers know of its whereabouts, I would like to hear from them. Roger Priestley…

PAGE 28 Brian Crichton In 1974, ‘Badger’ was a young reporter and road tester on Motorcycle News and wrote the paper’s report on the ‘74 London bike show. Fifty years on, he’s still a motorcycle obsessive. PAGE 48 Mike Nicks Peter Williams’ career-ending accident shocked the racing world in 1974 and signalled the end of the John Player Norton era. Williams fan and former bike magazines editor Mike recalls the time. PAGE 52 Jack Burnicle (Long) before he was a TV bike race commentator, Jack was a motocross photographer. He followed the 1974 250 World Championship, watching the Cold War drama unfold. Next Month Rick on a Hesketh, an Ariel single from bits, Moto Martin specials and lunch with a Norton test rider. On sale January 24…

Restored New Hudson Autocycle In the last year, I have brought back to life a 1946 New Hudson Autocycle. My son told me about this bike in a shed belonging to an uncle of his friend – it had been laid up for over 40 years, but most of it was there. It seemed an ideal starter as a restoration project – my first on a road bike after years of dirt bikes. After a stripdown, I tackled the rust with emery paper – hard going and time consuming, with the longest job being the wheels, which involved hours of rubbing away at the rims, hubs and spokes. I must’ve been mad. But the satisfaction I got when hand-painting everything but the petrol tank was amazing. It looked so good…

In March 1974, Giacomo Agostini flew into Florida, USA, to start the biggest adventure of his life. The 31-year-old Italian heart-throb had raced MV Agustas since he was 23. Now he had defected to Yamaha and was very apprehensive. The Daytona 200-miler – arguably the world’s biggest motorcycle race at that time – would be his first assignment for the Japanese factory. Ago had quit Agusta for two reasons. First, he disliked the team’s new manager Count Rocky Agusta, nephew of the marque’s late founder Count Domenico. “Rocky liked to be the big boss – ‘I’m Count Agusta, I’m the team owner’,” says Ago. “I think he was jealous of me.” Second, he knew that the writing was on the wall for MV’s four-stroke machines. “By 1973 I could see…

A Alan Price on his immaculate Benelli Sei at our road test rendezvous point, high on the Long Mynd plateau in Shropshire. It’s always encouraging when an owner hands a bike over without any caveats or a list of outstanding faults – and so it is with Alan’s Benelli. Fifty years on from the launch of the world’s first six-cylinder production bike, it will be fascinating to see whether time has been cruel or kind to its creator’s vision. The Sei was the brainchild of Alejandro de Tomaso, an Argentinian racing driver who, after retiring from motor racing in the 1950s, became implicated in a failed plot to overthrow the Argentine government and fled the country. He rebuilt his life in Italy by forging a successful career in the car…

On Saturday night, March 6, 1999, Mark Wilsmore and a dozen or so other motorcyclists were in the Ace Cafe, north London, drinking coffee and talking bikes. Back then the cafe was tiny, occupying a fraction of the space it does now, or had done when it first opened in 1938. But new owner Mark had expansion plans which – unbeknown to him – were about to take an explosive step forward. “There was this incredible roaring noise,” he says, sitting eating his favourite poached egg on toast (no butter) in the revamped Ace Cafe. “It was like your head was in a jet engine – and, in the blink of an eye, the car park lifted up like a massive piece of carpet. Two thirds of the tarmac was…

SEND YOUR PROBLEMS TO workshop@classicbike.co.uk THANKS TO everybody who resisted the lure of Henry Cole’s stage show at the National Motor Cycle Museum ‘Live’ event to attend my museum tours. I had a great weekend – although it started badly, finding my van wasn’t charging the night before driving up. Luckily I managed to sort-of fix it – but still took three ‘spare’ car batteries, a charger, long extension lead and jump leads for insurance! The reason I do these tours is that, like most museums, the National suffers from an embarrassment of riches. Having marvelled at the pedals, levers, rods and wires on the first veteran bike you see, you’re likely to pass an aisle of brightly nickelled acetylene headlamps without another glance. So it’s easy to miss all…

It was my birthday a few weeks ago. I won’t say which one, but suffice to say a haircut is now two quid cheaper. To celebrate I decided to treat myself to another classic to join the ISDT Laverda ‘resting’ in the workshop. The new acquisition had to fulfil three criteria: it had to be a Laverda, it had to be a runner and had to have knobbly tyres. The bike I chose was Laverda’s LH3 125cc enduro bike. The ‘H’ stands for Husqvarna – this model featured a modified version of Husky’s feisty 125 motocross engine. In Europe, the Breganze factory had a long-established reputation for building quality off-road bikes, so the collaboration was not as unusual as might first appear. Back in the day, the LH3 was a…

A unique slice of British engineering history, the ultimate classic track day tool or a stunning super-focused sporting roadster for an adrenaline-fuelled Sunday morning thrash? This extraordinary special is a bit of all three. It was built by aircraft engineer Miles McCallum, whose great uncle Archie Butterworth designed and built the innovative engine with a swinging (rather than reciprocating) inlet valve as part of a project to produce a competitive Formula 2 or sports car racing engine. The 600cc single-cylinder engine in the bike is effectively a quarter of the proposed four-cylinder car engine converted to run with the cylinder vertical. The engine runs a custom-built Ignitech electronic ignition system, a six-spring Norton clutch, Norton laydown gearbox and an oil tank (with cartridge-type filter) under the engine. It produces more…

PRICES Mint £4000-5000 Good £3000-4000 Project £1200-2000 Derided by some as a ‘two-wheeled car’ at its launch, Honda’s Gold Wing has continued to divide opinion for almost 50 years. During that time, it has metamorphosed from a 999cc flat four into a gargantuan, 367kg, 1833cc, flat six behemoth. And, along the way, it has attracted thousands of devoted admirers - as well as a similar number of motorcyclists who wouldn’t be seen dead on one. But if you get the chance, take a ride on an original GL1000. Open your mind and you may just appreciate what an innovative and impressive motorcycle that first Gold Wing was – and still is. Throw a leg over a GL1000 and its 584lb dry weight seems to melt away. Thanks to a low…

SOLD FOR £9775 1976 Harris Triumph T150 Trident prototype A fascinating machine that looks like it will provide its new owner with a lot of fun. It’s one of three prototype T150 machines built by Harris for track testing and evaluation. Raced in F750 and endurance races by Jim Wells in period, the vendor had owned the bike for 36 years, entrusting it to Lester Harris to restore after buying it in pieces. The engine and gearbox were rebuilt, a one-off exhaust system fabricated and various other parts, including a fork brace, battery box and chainguard, remanufactured. Following the completion of the restoration, the bike was featured in Performance Bikes magazine in 1989. Described as running very well, it’s ready for the road again. SOLD FOR £8625 1957 Ariel HT3…

This is me on my Kawasaki Z250, taken at Telscombe Tye near Brighton in 1982. Check out those gauntlets and all the buckles on the boots! I bought it secondhand from Bol d’Or motorcycles, who used to be in Worthing, after trading in my Honda CG125 which I bought from there new in 1980. You don’t see many Z250s around these days. My husband says that’s because they were a ‘pile of s***’, but I loved my bike. I was proud to be a girl rider, as back then it was mostly men and boys. I always remember riding along Worthing seafront one evening, keeping to the 40mph speed limit. A police car pulled in front of me and it’s STOP sign in the rear window was illuminated. I thought:…

Steve Higgins 1951 Vincent Comet Steve Higgins rockets up one of the trial’s slippery and leaf strewn inclines on his self-built Vincent single. Higgins specialises in Vincents (his business is Conway Motors) and apparently built this with spare parts that were in his workshop. “[I built it] purely because I restore Vincents for a living,” explains Higgins. “It’s a scrap cylinder head – a rear head, not a front head – crankcases we had lying around and my dad had had the gearbox for the last 30 years, so it is sort of workshop sweepings. It’s a basically a 1951 Vincent Comet. The oil tank is normally steel, so we made it out of aluminium to make it lighter; we also split it in half so it’s half oil/half…

Confession time. When the Exeter Trial arrives at the village of Ilsington on the southern fringes of Dartmoor, South Devon, on the morning of Saturday January 6, I’ll be 250 miles away, tucked up in bed at home. I’m not riding this year, but I’ll have a nagging sense of disappointment that I didn’t enter the event – and I’ll be jealous of those who make the effort to get along and watch. Just outside Ilsington village is Simms Hill, a steep, slimy, slab of rock that has been challenging Exeter Trial competitors since 1933. In 2020, I failed to get up, much to the amusement of cheering spectators. But in 2023, Imade it to the summit riding my Morini Camel trail bike (CB, March 2023); one of my best…

January’s International Racing and Sporting Show always generated plenty of excitement because of the new bike models and the celebs who would turn up. Held in the Horticultural Halls at Westminster, London, it kickstarted the year. And of course there wasn’t much bike sport happening in January, so Motorcycle News gave it lots of space. I went down to report on the event. Londoner Barry Sheene, long-haired, fresh faced and with the world at his feet, was there in 1974 with the 1973 FIM 750 Championship in his pocket, along with the Shellsport 500 title, the MCN Man of the Year award and several other accolades. A Cockney with a quip and a ready smile, especially for the girls, was undoubtedly the star turn on home turf. Six-time world champion…

Simply scan the code from your Smart phone Visit greatmagazines.co.uk/classicbike or call 01858 438884 After the Brands Hatch round was cancelled due to snow, mechanics warm the bikes before a 1975 Transatlantic Trophy race, with everyone dressed for the cold. Norman White is on Dave Croxford’s Norton (16), while Percy Tait’s Yamaha (11), Pat Mahoney’s Yamaha (18) and Mick Grant’s Kawasaki (14) get up to temperature. Steve McLaughlin sports gratuitous sunglasses at the back SALE OFFER GET AN EXTRA 15% OFF ** see website for details CB SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS A subscription to Classic Bike gives you access to great tales from motorcycling’s heroic past, brilliant reader restorations and rebuilds, buying advice and workshop tips to help you make great buys and keep your bike running sweetly. Choose from a Digital,…

Jeez! This concrete is bumpy! But then it would be. I’m finally realising my ambition to ride my 1915 Blackburne track racer at Brooklands race track, for which it was originally conceived. Concreting was in its infancy in 1907 when the track was built and the banked track was famously rough, but the engine is chuffing away comfortably – and I’m gripping the bars, trying to imagine just what it was like, racing motorcycles before the Great War. Bloody good fun, I’d imagine! This may not be a comfortable experience – but it is a very vivid one. Despite the fact that all I’m doing is riding a featherweight single-speed bike with a very softly-tuned side valve engine. With few controls to operate, how difficult – or interesting – can…

inches BSA BANTAM Earth works Poor Doug Orchard isn’t having much luck with the D7 Bantam I’ve been trying to help with. In desperation, he changed the new coil for the old one and, having just loosely connected the wires, was delighted when it fired up for the first time since buying it as a wreck from Blay’s of Twickenham 50 years ago! But after tightening everything up, it stopped sparking again. Initially he wasn’t sure he’d got the position of the fibre washers right in relation to the wires from the condenser and coil to the points – and was it OK that they were attached by a plastic screw? The condenser and coil wires should contact each other and the moving contact point. That connection is usually made…

My 1997 Kawasaki ZX-7R was lot number 405 in Bonhams auction at October’s Stafford classic show. Standing at the side of the sale room, I watched the hammer come down on lot 388, a 1988 Kawasaki ZX-10, at £3600; lot 390, a 1989 Yamaha FZR1000 Exup, at £3200; and lot 396, a 1986 Suzuki RG500, at £16,000. It made me think that maybe prices for the next generation of classics have taken off. Then came lot 403, a clean 1993 Honda VFR750 with just 16,614 miles, in that excellent pearl white paint. Its estimate was £1500-2500, but it went for £850. So much for prices taking off. What hope for my Kawasaki? Auctioneer Briony Harford started the bidding at £500, with two absentee bids before it came back into the…

£995 1967 Honda P50 Step back into the ’60s and join in with your local moped/autocycle run on this lovely little Honda. Untouched and original, apparently it starts easily, it just needs a little love. cjpmotorcycles.weebly.com £1000 1953 Velocette LE Needs a little work, as ther’s no spark at present, although it was running (video available). The bike is complete and has recently had a new battery and stainless steel spokes fitted. 01455 841171 £695 circa 1974 Kawasaki KE100 This import has just had a rebore and new piston, starts and runs perfectly, the lights work and the autolube system is all present and correct. It needs registering, but has a NOVA certificate. 07885 318285 £495 1988 Honda CBR600F A project – but a running one. A few parts missing…

1909 Indian Single A delightful veteran machine that’s been well sorted for riding in the present day. The bike won the prestigious Overall Champion award in the 2023 motorcycle Canonball Run, covering 3800 miles in 16 days and becoming the oldest machine to win the event. It is being offered for sale in ‘as-raced’ condition and fitted with Puch moped hubs and drum brakes as a concession to modern use. The engine has been rebuilt with roller bearings and a high-compression alloy piston, while the gearchange mechanism has also been modified to permit faster changes. This may be the closest you’ll get to a practical veteran machine. 1957 Mondial 250 Bialbero Grand Prix racer One of a number of stunning Italian machines from the Museo Moto Italia collection of John…

£8050 1989 Yamaha RD350 YPVS Yamaha RD350LCs (and to only a slightly lesser extent, RD250LCs) have been on collectors’ radar for a few years now, with prices creeping ever upward. Now it seems that the next model on, the YPVS, is heading the same way. Certainly, this late matching-numbers example made good money at Iconic Auctioneer’s final sale of the year. Largely original and unrestored and showing just 7346 miles on the odometer, the bike has covered a mere 249 miles since 2015 and was offered in good running order, having been recently recommissioned, including a new chain and battery fitted. £241,500 1938 Brough Superior SS100 Brough Superiors seem to steal the show at most sales – and Iconic’s Classic Motor Show sale was no exception, with this stunning machine…

THE MAIN PHOTO above shows a Saturday afternoon line-up outside my parents’ house, where we would meet up, fettle the bikes and then go for a ride out for the rest of the afternoon and evening. It was probaby taken in 1961. The regulars were Den, Tim (the guy on the bike) myself and Pelv (looked like Elvis, get it?) plus, on this occasion, a couple of mates on leave from the Navy. In retrospect, my parents must have been quite tolerant because when we all went off as a group the neighbours were less than impressed. The bike in the picture below (and the one Tim is sitting on) was my first ever rebuild project, a sprung-hub Triumph Speed Twin made up from a box of bits and whatever…