Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2024 i Classic Bike

July 1973, Cock o’ the North road races, Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough On a baking hot summer’s day, the 350cc race at Scarborough’s Cock o’ the North meeting has just got underway. The front row is Derek Chatterton (35), Mick Grant (33) Charlie Williams (2) and Steve Machin (1). John Williams (behind Chatteron), Tony Rutter (behind Grant) and Neil Tuxworth make up the second row. Paul Cott is behind Tuxworth and the whole grid is Yamaha mounted. Mick Grant took an immediate lead and held it to the finish of the eight-lap race, winning from Tony Rutter, Paul Cott and Charlie Williams. In the event’s title race, it was Williams – who was making his first visit to Oliver’s Mount – who took the victory along with the title – and…

I loved the article on Freddie Spencer in the November issue. Back in 1980, me and my mates were just 20 and loved the Transatlantic Trophy races at Brands Hatch – although this was before the M25 was built, so it meant a long ride on the A25 from Dorking. With the bikes we had at the time, the journey was epic and usually quite spirited – I remember that one year, this resulted in my first speeding fine. Another time, I had to leave my Royal Enfield Continental GT in a kind person’s drive when the tappets opened up so much it broke down. I also recall a 100mph dash on my Guzzi Le Mans one year. Back then, I was a keen amateur photographer and have many photos…

£7130 1951 Triumph TR5 Trophy The top seller out of a number of bikes formerly owned by trials, motocross and ISDT legend Arthur Lampkin. Owned by Arthur until 1990, it is an earlier restoration that will require some recommissioning. bonhams.com £322,000 1936 Vincent-HRD Rapide The 1936 Series A Olympia Show model achieved the best price of the weekend at the Autumn Stafford Sale, setting a new world record price for the model. Subject of an exhaustive 18-year restoration. Stunning. bonhams.com £1550 1965 Suzuki K10 This delightful little Suzuki has been restored with no expense spared, apparently. It’s a genuine UK-market machine and has only run for about five miles since its resto, so will need further running in. eBay £8050 1982 Laverda Jota A 180 Jota in good cosmetic order…

P&M no longer RIP Phelon & Moore, makers of Panther motorcycles which were last produced in 1967, is the latest historic brand to be revived and will display new models from 125-600cc at this year’s EICMA show in Milan. Their generic range of machines appear to originate approximately 5000 miles east of the company’s original Yorkshire factory. phelonandmoore.com Andy Tiernan calendar Andy Tiernan’s 2025 calendar, this year with a Royal Enfield theme, is now available. Illustrations of six key models were produced by Mike Harber. All proceeds to East Anglian Air Ambulance. UK cost is £12 including p&p. AndyTiernanCalendarDonation@outlook.com A life with bikes Former north-west local newspaper journalist and bike shop manager John Moulton has written a biography detailing his time as a reporter, road tester and bike trader in…

RESCUED Iron in the soul I have just bought this import 1978 Ironhead Harley-Davidson Sportster – a non-runner with loads of stuff missing. The plan is to rebuild the engine and then fit it to my hardtail bike, which I currently race with a five-speed Evo Sportster engine fitted. I want to see what I can get out of the Ironhead, aiming to make a manifold to fit an SU carb as a first step. I plan to do it ‘old school’, using secondhand or home-made parts to keep the cost down and race it in the ‘Special Partial Streamlining pushrod Fuel 1000’ class. The wheels and carb are for the five-speed engine. I will be building a modified Sportster Evo frame to run it in. The plan here is…

Metal Malarkey specialise in designing and manufacturing very small runs of bikes based on iconic classics using chassis they make themselves. Proprietor Malcolm Sheperdson is a skilled engineer who used to work at MRD Metisse. He explains: “The idea for the modern Gold Star came after a conversation with my customer Tony Benyon, who had the idea of doing something special with a Dutch-made ABSAF 500cc Gold Star motor matched with a Nova five-speed gearbox conversion and a belt drive/clutch conversion. A BSA Gold Star enthusiast, he already owned original examples and had a clear vision of what he wanted. Sketches were made and we came up with some 2D and 3D drawings and a spec list. Maintaining our usual frame geometry, we concentrated on the interaction of frame/engine/tank/seat/tailpiece and exhaust.…

1. Do what you love ‘For almost all my working life – 55 years – I’ve worked on Norton Commandos, and I still love them. Partly that’s because of the people they led me to work with. John McLaren, who came from AMC, taught me a lot – and, of course, Peter Williams [the brilliant racer and engineer] was amazing.’ 2. Learn from Honda ‘I went to Honda as chief race engineer and test rider in 1973, and I would go to Japan to help prepare the race bikes. It was a revelation. They had experts for each part – carbs, engine, etc. There was no mucking in. And the precision! Honda taught me that engineering was moving on.’ 3. Don’t believe the hype ‘When the CB750 came out, Norton…

Having read Rick’s piece on the Kawasaki Z1B in the October issue, it reminded me of an anecdote my best mate Rob-2 told back in the day – around 1973-ish, before we’d reached our twenties. Bear in mind that neither of us ever owned a Z1, although it was top of our wish list. At that time, I didn’t have a license yet, and was putting together my 1954 BSA B31 which I’d acquired in boxes. But Rob-2 did – he rode an RD200, so I went on the back of that when we went to visit the larger bike shops in Rotterdam, 30 kilometers from our village. We did that every Saturday, most of the time. But the one Saturday I missed was when the following happened at Safe…

When I was 23, looking for a project, I heard of a ‘Brough Superior’, which turned out to be an ex-WD Harley-Davidson WLA 45 – in bits in a tatty garden shed. I struck a deal with the owner to buy it for £110. My dad said it looked like I’d bought “a pig in a poke,” but I’d previously restored a Sunbeam S8 in a similar state to concours condition, so he knew we’d get there. The Harley restoration took six months, with many late nights in dad’s shed – he was a former motor mechanic. At the time, I was working in The Experimental Department at the Standard Triumph Motor Company in Coventry, so I also had access to all the necessary trades to support my restoration endeavours,…

No reserve 1980 Harley-Davidson XR750 Immaculate example of this desirable and iconic Harley, from the final year of XR750 production. Engine rebuilt by Carl Patrick, regarded as one of the best engine builders on the AMA National circuit. January auction: mecum.com £3650 1971 BSA A65L A tidy, late model A65 at a very tempting price. Although not catalogue correct, the bike has had an uprated SRM oil pump fitted. Originally supplied to the USA in April 1971, it is now UK registered on a V5C. Dealer sale andybuysbikes.com £6995 1974 Norton Commando Fully restored a few years back with a fortune spent and all invoices and receipts available. Recently recommissioned but not used since. A lovely, practical Interstate model for everyday use that needs nothing. Private sale 07453 568092 No…

’How much?’ Gez Kane on classic values RD 350s and 400s have traditionally commanded higher prices than 250s and 200s – but with classic prices having dropped noticeably, that price differential has compressed. The RD350LC remains top of the tree, but the £10,000 LC seems to have disappeared and you can buy a very nice 350LC for £7k-8k, with comparable 250s at £5k. Similarly, while the RD400 is still the most sought-after air-cooled model, £6000 should buy a tidy one. And the 250s are catching up. Even average examples are £3500 and up now. Lightweights are in demand now too, in stark contrast to a few years ago. Look at the price made by the (admittedly very tidy) RD200DX above. Mint 125s won’t be too far behind, either. The Classic…

Back in 2022, Enfield launched the Classic 350 single, which was great for pottering around town, but was too small and slow for many riders. This new Classic 650 is the answer. Powered by the 646cc, 47bhp parallel-twin engine from the Interceptor and Continental, it promises a lot more speed – 70mph cruising should be a doddle. The sohc air/oil-cooled motor is housed in the same tubular steel spine frame as Enfield’s Super Meteor and Shotgun cruisers, though the Classic is available with or without a pillion seat. The wheels are the same as the 350’s – 19in front and 18in rear – as are the 43mm Showa forks and chromed front headlight surround. The mudguards look identical, too. All that metal adds up to a hefty overall weight –…

In all honesty, the Ultimate Streetbike modified class in which we compete has been woefully undersubscribed this year. By the time the last round rolled around at a dry but overcast Santa Pod Raceway in mid-October, there were only two of us in it – myself and Mark Taylor. There were double points at stake for the last round, but I knew that Mark and his Suzuki GSX1100 were packing superior firepower, so the win would be his barring a blow-up or a red light if he left the line too early. Still, racing is racing, and my plan was to make Mark work for the win. The two of us are fast becoming firm friends and, after a sincere handshake just before we were waved forward, both of us…

If there’s one thing you need to know before restoring a 900R,” says Mark Glitherow, who’s recently completed the rebuild of his magnificent 1993 GPZ, “it’s that refitting the carbs can be an absolute pig of a job.” When it’s your fifth or sixth attempt at re-attaching the Kawasaki’s bank of four 34mm Keihins, having had them on and off as many times in an effort to get the fuelling spot-on, it becomes a soul-destroying task. “The trick… or tricks,” continues Mark, “is to first fit the airbox before the engine – you’ll not get it in easily if you try it the other way around. Second is to use new engine-to-carb and carb-to-airbox rubbers. I thought about re-using the originals on this bike, but they go hard over time,…

1939 Hard on the heels of the revolutionary Speed Twin of the previous year, the sports Tiger 100 version is introduced in November 1939 with a tuned iron engine in a rigid frame with girder forks. As per single-cylinder Tigers, the tank is chrome plated with silver panels. 1946 Production resumes and the ‘GP’ racing version is introduced, utilising the alloy cylinder and head from a wartime 6kw generator plant enabling high compression on poor fuel. Also fitted to TR5 trials model; the T100 retains iron head and barrel. 1947 Optional sprung hub rear suspension introduced – an ingenious way to offer rear springing without changing the existing rigid frame. 1951 Tiger 100s finally fitted with an alloy cylinder and head, purpose-made with closely-spaced fins. A factory race kit is also manufactured…

Rob North was a freelance welder and fabricator who got his big break in 1969. He’d made a frame for Triumph tester and racer Percy Tait’s semi-official 750cc twin in 1968 – and the following year, Doug Hele, boss of Triumph’s experimental department, was tasked with preparing 750cc Triumph Trident and BSA Rocket 3 triples to compete at the 1970 Daytona 200. American racing rules allowed the mandatory roadster-based engines to be installed in lightweight racing chassis. Reynolds Tube, a usual supplier of frames to factories and privateers, couldn’t promise to complete the project in time, so Hele, impressed by the 750cc twin’s duplex frame, chose North to make Daytona frames. A fee of £145 per unit was agreed and to help keep Rob – who always had a full…

Valve spring compressor Cost: Varies Where? Jumbles ‘John McLaren brought this with him from AMC [Associated Motor Cycles], where he was an apprentice. There’s a stamp on it saying ‘Race Department’. When John died, he left me several of his tools and they’re all still in regular use. They just show that if you get a quality tool, you’re set for life.’ C-spanner Cost: £20-ish Where? All good tool shops ‘John McLaren made this when he was at AMC – his initials are on it. When AMC became Norton Villiers, he came from Woolwich down to Andover and was chief mechanic here at Thruxton in 1969, when I joined. I use this tool almost every day – I can’t live without it.’ Clutch compressor Cost: £15 Where? Jumbles and eBay…

1983 Harris Magnum A year and a half in, and this Suzuki-powered, Harris-framed jigsaw is providing typical levels of project challenge and frustration for CB’s modern classics man. At last, a resolution to the problem of an exhaust system for Project Magnum. A combination of goodwill from mates and the skilled expertise of an exhaust-making artisan have moved the Harris closer to the finishing line. The original plan was to use what was believed to be a period Harris GSX1100 system my mate and hydraulic hose specialist Rich Hocking had in his spares stash. On attempting to fit it during the dry build, the headers proved to be too short. After some head scratching and staring blankly at the system’s component parts, I spotted some faint stamping on the silencer…

Having inadvertantly bought this vintage Henley two months ago, Rick’s enthusiasm for his new project is still strong, so it’s displaced other bikes in the work schedule. You hear it all the time: ‘I’ll need to live a long time to get all my projects finished’. I’ve had too many projects since my teens – but as the years go by, I admit it all feels a bit more… pressing. My solution? Work faster. I use ‘new toy’ excitement to tear straight into it – but you have to think about where you will be when that burst of enthusiasm pales. You may find you’ve just turned a complete motorcycle into a load of depressing problems in cardboard boxes. To get away from that low point, you may start sending…

Mat Oxley Modern day MotoGP journalist and former TT winner Mat is also a student of bike sport history. Here’s his take on the evolution of aerodynamics. Pages 58-63 Mick Duckworth Years ago, Mick met Rob North in his California workshop. The master frame maker was as happy to weld up local choppers as historic racers. Pages 70-73 Alan Seeley An obsessive projecteer and occasional drag racer, Alan has distilled the essential information on a vital piece of equipment for driving bikes. Pages 90-91…

Who didn’t want an XR75 as a kid? And what kid wouldn’t want one today? This Honda remains the standout mini-bike since its introduction back in 1973. Simple, robust, handsome, friendly – and the most effective introduction to motorcycling the world has yet seen. It might be a playbike now, but in the early and mid-’70s the wee XR was a competition tool, the hot ticket in Stateside mini-bike racing. It was the machine many motocross stars of the ’80s cut their teeth on, including Jeff Ward (whose family moved from Scotland to California when he was four), who became a five-time AMA Motocross and two-time Supercross Champ. And for every Jeff Ward, there were 100 other riders – either at the sharp end in racing or jumping their XR75s…

After being ditched five years ago, the Classic TT is back, running in tandem with the Manx GP as it did between 2013 and 2019. It means there will be a 12-day racing festival in 2025, rather than the reduced nine-day format the Manx has run since 2022. From August 17-29, there will be four Manx GP races for modern bikes, while all the classic machines will go in five Classic TT races. This means the Manx GP can return to its original role as a TT-feeder event for less experienced road racers, while the Classic TT can feature the likes of John McGuinness, Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop to pull in the crowds. “This is very encouraging,” says Rupert Murdon, an ex-Manx racer who now helps to run the…

Joey Brindley, 2000 Suzuki SV650 Joey, from Bawtry in South Yorkshire, is the closest thing you’ll find in sand racing to a works rider. “I ride the bike for its owner and builder, Donald Walker,” he laughs. “I just turn up and get on it. I’ve been riding here since 2007 – my dad and uncle both raced here too – and I race flat track in the summer, too. The SV is great fun to ride here, though. It’s got plenty of torque – just what you want on the sand.” Owner Donald comes from just a few miles down the coast in Sutton on Sea, and reveals that the bike is surprising close to standard trim, too. “I’ve just stripped off the bits you don’t need for racing,”…

Jon Wiggins, 1981 Suzuki GSX1100ET “When I got this, it was in a sorry state, but it had Dymag wheels, Laverda forks, RG500 discs and Harris cantilever monoshock suspension. At a Cadwell Park trackday, someone asked me if I was Dave Turner, the Ultimate Streetbike racer from back in the day. The penny dropped – this is his old bike, once featured in Performance Bikes. I even had a picture from the mag on my wall as a teenager. So I took it to the strip. It’s an all or nothing bike that only works flat out. My best time for the quarter is 10.6s. I haven’t touched the engine; it still has the 1290cc Cosworth kit Dave had fitted. I’m chuffed to be its custodian; I’ll compete in Straightliners…

After 15 years at the top of British 250 racing, Nigel Bosworth decided it was time to retire and join the rest of us by getting a normal job. It didn’t last long. He’d just settled back into his pre-racing career as an engineering model maker, when he learned that Kenny Roberts was setting up his Modenas Grand Prix team factory down the road in Banbury. “I went there to see if I could meet him, but the team wouldn’t let me in,” says Boz, as he’s known to everyone (including his mum). “I kept going back and eventually saw him going to his car, so I walked alongside him, told him what I could do and asked for a job. He didn’t say anything and kept walking, then finally…

HOW TO LIE FLAT-OUT WHILE GOING FLAT-OUT The ‘Flying Hammock’ record breaker was created by NSU rider/designer Gustav Baumm, during a wind-tunnel test. Baumm lay in a virtually flat riding position in the streamliner, so the whole machine stood only 75cm tall! During 1954 and 1955, he broke dozens of 50, 75, 125, 175, 250 and 350cc world records with this concept, using a Munich autobahn. In May 1955, Baumm determined to show critics of his creations that they could go around corners as well as they went down straights. Sadly, the attempt proved a fatal failure – he was killed in a crash at the Nürburgring. THE POINT OF IT ALL BECOMES CLEAR Early attempts at motorcycle streamlining in the 1920s involved small fairings copied from World War I…

In a Shropshire layby on the A489, a discussion that verges on the heretical is occurring. Can the greatest of all BSA Gold Stars, – the legendary DBD34 – be improved without destroying the original’s character and race-bred excitement? I’m having that discussion with Malcolm Sheperdson, proprietor of Metal Malarkey engineering, who has just finished this re-imagined DBD34 for a customer who wanted a Goldie like no other. I’m about to find out if the Gold Star really can be made to shine more brightly… To establish a benchmark, Malcolm has brought along an original 1964 bike in Clubman trim. The only significant deviation from period is the modern Mikuni carb which replaces the notoriously fickle Amal GP. Undeniably handsome, the Goldie stands with the sun glinting off the chrome…

FRESHLY OVERHAULED WORKSHOP SECTION Britain’s foremost Commando expert ‘I’ve been in this workshop at Thruxton since 1996. I had two more here before this one – my first was right next to the old JPN [John Player Norton] race shop where I worked from 1969. The bike in the foreground is a lighter version of my 1972 John Player race bike, which was always on the heavy side because it had pannier tanks for the 200-mile races. The new one is 40lb lighter. I’m going to finish it when I retire [Norman is 76 and shows no signs of retiring – Ed]. On the far left is the beginning of a replica of the bike that Rex Butcher and I used to win the Thruxton 500 in 1973. I’ve made…

I’m keen to see what goes into fabricating headers, and Den is happy to demonstrate the key parts of the operation. Pivotal to the process is an Ercolina pipe bender; there are a few of these on the premises and the one Den chose for this demo has a three-metre bed. At the business end, a mandrel and wiper die apply 2.5 to three tonnes of pressure to tubing to give the right bend. The wiper dies are made from aluminium bronze to withstand the heat created by friction during the process. Their leading edges are keen enough to offer a decent shave if you have a steady enough hand. The mandrels can be changed, along with their associated wiper dies, to cater for different diameters and thicknesses of tube.…

While tank sealer can be a very useful ally, the defining factor as to whether or not it will work is cleanliness. To get an oil tank clean enough inside, you need to rinse it thoroughly with solvent, using a long-handled brush to poke any sludge deposits out of the corners. After that, I’d use boiling water and washing up liquid – a hot jet wash would probably do equally well – followed by a good flush with clean water. ‘It has been run on Castrol R; it’s sticky and resists most solvents’ But the Henley has been run on Castrol R, which is sticky and resists most solvents. This tank leaked where the skin was soldered to the internal frame – where the oil would be hardest to flush…