Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2025 i Classic Bike

July 1972, sidecar race, Belgian Grand Prix, Spa Francorchamps Chris Vincent and passenger Mick Casey qualified second for the 1972 Belgian GP sidecar race, but on the last lap of practice on the 8.79-mile circuit their four-cylinder Münch-URS engine seized. “We’ve got no option but to fit the old, slower engine for race day,” he told Motorcycle News. As usual, the rest of the grid was dominated by BMWs. Siegfried Schauzu and Wolfgang Kalauch were on pole, but Klaus Enders and Rolf Engelhardt took the win, with Vincent fourth. British teams of Graham Milton and John Thornton were fifth, with Tony Wakefield and Alex Macfadzean sixth. Vincent went on to win that year’s Finnish GP. “When the URS wasn’t running well, it was bad,” he told Classic Bike in 1980.…

People have tried making road bikes from Harley’s magical XR750 dirt track racer. But a pur sang oval racer with a front brake just looks wrong. Just as a motocross machine with a rear numberplate looks wrong. Fortunately, the Motor Company understood people’s yearning for something more in the XR vein than a Sportster, and in 1982 asked the Race Department to see what they could do. The response was the 1983 XR1000. The XR750 chassis was not a street-able proposition, but key elements of the 748cc all-alloy V-twin track engine were. The result was a new 998cc engine in a 1982 Sportster frame. The aluminium alloy cylinder heads of the race engine bolted to new iron barrels with vastly more generous finning were the big takeaway. Where the iron…

£1,062,070 1915 Cyclone V-Twin This jaw-dropping sale price reflects the continued interest in vintage American machines in the USA. A superb restoration by noted expert on early American bikes, Stephen Wright; a rare example of probably the most advanced machines of its era. £60,184 1974 Ducati 750GT This gorgeous GT sold for the kind of price only a Desmo 750SS would command just a few years ago. Originally supplied to the USA, the bike underwent a no-expense-spared restoration in 2014. Supplied complete with a report by marque expert Ian Falloon. £27,437 1973 Kawasaki Z1 Still riding high as one of the most desirable Japanese classics, this first-model Zed has been meticulously restored with a totally rebuilt engine, powder-coated frame, rebuilt carburettors and clocks, and numerous new parts including a complete…

DIY V8 at NMM The National Motorcycle Museum have acquired the one-off 500cc V8 motorcycle built by Fred Marsh in the 1970s. The bike was acquired from Don Lowman, a former apprentice working under Fred Marsh, and will be restored before going on display at the museum alongside the Marsh 500cc four already at the museum. Also at the NMM, this year’s Museum Live event will happen on October 25-26. The event will follow the usual popular format. thenmm.co.uk Beezumph at Cadwell The Trident and Rocket 3 Owners Club’s famous Beezemph rally is back for its 31st running, at Cadwell Park in July. There will be ride outs and socialising on the 24th, with a track day on the 25th. The five-time TT-winning Triumph Trident, Slippery Sam, will be guest…

The weather forecast for this year’s Exeter Trial was grim, with the the threat of sub-zero temperatures and snow in the West Country. Despite this, there were over 100 motorcycle riders and a similar number of car teams at the Haynes Museum in Somerset for the start of the event on the evening of January 3. An outbreak of mass insanity? It seems a fair assumption. At 00.24 on Saturday morning, after a warning from the timekeeper about ice on the roads, I turned on my electrically-heated vest and set off into the night. Ahead were 150 road miles, two special tests and 15 off-road sections before the finish, near Newton Abbot in Devon, at which we were scheduled to arrive at 12:42. God willing. My machine preparation had been…

When Bernard Kuropka bought a Triumph Bonneville with the registration number MAC 234E in the late 1970s, he had no idea of its historical significance. “I bought it for £260,” the Hampshirebased engineering company director recalls. “It looked like a normal Bonneville with an Aubergine and white tank – but it was quick, always went well and had a close-ratio four-speed ’box. I knew there was some factory connection, but thought it may have been a TT Marshal’s bike.” What he had actually stumbled upon was not only one of the limited-edition 650cc T120 Thruxton versions made for production racing from 1965-69 that carry the most kudos of all Bonnevilles – it was also one of the batch of four built for 1967 for factory riders and factory-backed teams that…

Honda might not have started the big-bore adventure bike revolution - that distinction probably goes to BMW’s 1980 R80 G/S – but its Africa Twin remains one of the most popular and competent ‘Dakar replicas’ to come out of the ’80s. It’s still a great all-rounder, equally at home on the ride to work, a touring holiday – or even that once-in-a-lifetime adventure trip – and its liquid-cooled 52° V-twin sohc engine remains one of the most reliable units to ever roll out of the Honda factory. The Africa Twin may not be as fast as some of its contemporaries, but there’s bags of midrange torque for lazy cruising and enough bottom end to tackle genuine off-road going with ease – for bike and rider. And a top speed somewhere…

Wasp boss Mark Coombs has been enmeshed with the company for over 30 years, first helping out building road bike frames in 1993. “I was 23 at the time,” he says. “Rob [Rhind-Tutt, the company founder] never liked running Wasp; he just liked making things, which I have great sympathy for. He started making frames around 1960 while he was doing his apprenticeship at Boscombe Down [the nearby military engineering centre]. “He had two or three of the blokes there making racing parts – and in the end, half of Boscombe Down were making bits for him. That’s how the first few of his bikes were made. By the time he’d finished his seven-year apprenticeship and started the business proper, it was already established because he’d already made a couple…

Rick Parkington ‘Many people hate electrics, although since Lucas alternators are all basically the same, at least there’s no too much to learn! ’ Electrical current is generated in wire by moving it within the influence (field) of a magnet; more wire, magnetism or movement makes more current. To keep a long wire within a magnet’s field would take a long magnet, so for practicality the wire is looped into coils. Most Lucas alternators have six coils in a stator surrounding a rotating magnet with six segments, providing north-south magnetic poles which, as they pass the coils, create an alternating current. AC goes back and forward, so it will light a bulb – but to charge a battery it needs to be ‘rectified’ so it flows in one direction, like…

Greetings from across the pond! I look forward to picking up every issue of CB at my local Barnes & Noble bookstore here in the States. I wanted to share these two pics with readers. The first is from 1980, with me on the right on the green Puch Maxi moped with an astonishing two horsepower! My best friend at the time, Rob, is on the left. I worked at a local pizzeria to earn the money to buy the Puch – I don’t remember what I paid for it, but it gave me my first taste of the open road and freedom to travel. The other pic is me in 1982 at 17 with my first road bike, a 1978 Suzuki GS750EC that I bought used at Westwood Suzuki…

1 Following another happy read of CB, I thought I’d write after spotting Graham Storer’s letter regarding Alastair Laurie Triples in the February issue. I am pleased to share that, several years ago, I was lucky enough to find Al’s very first triple special, registration OSW 2M, which was featured in a number of magazine articles in the late ’70s. The bike is really quite special and instantly recognisable, with some trick bits which luckily she has retained! That is sadly where the luck depleted – although I was able to spot the bike when it was offered for sale, she was in a sorry state, needing a full restoration. Over the last two years, I have been painstakingly rebuilding, sourcing and machining the missing components – and hope to have…

€3584 (£2998) 1976 BMW R75/6 Part of a one-owner collection being sold at Bonhams’ Dortmund sale. Excellent cosmetic order, original and with German registration documents. Low mileage (24,147km), but mechanical condition unknown. bonhams.com £1668 1987 Suzuki GSX-R750 From the final year of production, this looked like a great opportunity to buy an iconic ‘Slabby’ at an affordable price. The bike will need recommissioning, but looks largely original apart from the exhaust. manorparkclassics.com £1243 1972 Yamaha TX750 Barn-find condition and has been unused for 20 years, so will require thorough restoration. The engine turns over, though – and this rare machine looks to be largely complete and original, if lacking a V5C. ebay.co.uk €5152 (£4310) 1978 Hercules Wankel 2000 Rotary machines seemed to be the future in the 1970s. This DKW…

Richard Negus, a key figure in Norton Commando and Rotary development, has died aged 80. After obtaining an engineering degree in technical drawing, he joined the draughting team at the BSA Group’s Umberslade Hall facility. Mild-mannered Richard was so driven to despair by his boss’s indecision over a crankshaft design that he snapped his pencil in half and left to join Norton Villiers. Countless Commando components came from his drawing board, and in his spare time he applied his skills to fielding several riders on meticulouslybuilt machinery. Ridden by Pete Davies and Pete Lovell, the 750cc Negus Norton Commando racer averaged 100.33mph for 24 hours to finish second in a Spa endurance race, out-shining the official John Player Norton team. After production of the Commando ended, Richard worked for Yamaha…

Navigation DIY route book holder is made from a sandwich box with dowel rollers and a bicycle light. Bigger type would have made for easier reading. Mobile phone, using excellent Quadlock mount from moto-direct, is back-up. moto-direct.com Warmth Reducing windchill on delicate digits is a good idea. Extended handguards are made from a cut-down anti-freeze container. Alpinestars Bogota textile suit and gloves were augmented with a battery-powered electric vest. alpinestars.com Visibility Some Exeter Trial entrants use high-powered mountain bike head torches to see where they’re going in the sections. I prefer a ridiculously powerful LED headlight bulb from Paul Goff (website below). My head torch is to aid route book reading, and to find tools in my bag. Ingenious mounting is the cap from WD40 tin. norbsa02.freeuk.com…

1988 The first RD-03 XRV650 Africa Twin is launched to cash in on the success of the factory NXR750 racers in the prestigious Paris-Dakar Rally from 1986-1989. The V-twin engine is based on the 1986-on XL600V Transalp unit. 1990 The 750cc RD-04 version of the Africa Twin becomes available in the UK and elsewhere. 1993 RD-07 model introduced. Comes fitted with Tripmaster onboard computer – fairly basic by modern standards. New frame, bodywork and lower seat height. 1996 RD-07A model features a larger silencer, redesigned seat, modified ignition, luggage rack and revised upper fairing. 1997 From this year onwards, the Africa Twin remains essentially unchanged. 2003 Last year of production for the XRV750.…

Yamaha’s YZR500 terrorised the race tracks of the world for 30 years, first appearing in 1973 as the across-the-frame, piston-ported OW20. Over the following three decades it evolved briefly into a square-four, then a V4, winning 10 world championships – its first with Giacomo Agostini in 1975 and last with Wayne Rainey in ’92. The YZR brought a host of technical firsts to top-class GP racing – from powervalves, aluminium beam frames and ‘banana’ swingarms to electronic telemetry and carbon-fibre brakes. The 2002 OWL9 was the 28th and final iteration of Yamaha’s 500cc two-stroke racer. Subtle tweaks were made from the previous OWL6 – engine position was brought forward slightly and the centre of gravity altered, with the swingarm made from slightly thinner, lighter aluminium. In 2002 the OWL9 competed against both…

1979 Suzuki GS550E My first bike after passing my test, so I suppose it taught me how to ride. I bought it with a crashed front end for £350 and completely rebuilt it. It’s a lovely bike. It was the first bike bigger than 200cc that I’d ever ridden and I’ve still got it. I haven’t sold a bike since I was 16. 1995 Ducati 600SS This taught me how bikes could handle – and I’ve had to modify every bike since to get the same feeling. Saying that, I did crash it in Scotland, four days into a two-week holiday. I sent it home in a van, caught a train to the only bike shop in Inverness and bought the VFR800. 1999 Honda VFR800 I was supposed to get…

Rick Parkington 1914 750cc Bradbury ‘This Bradbury V-twin is one of my back-burner projects. I got the frame sorted a while back and now it’s all coming back together.’ Remember the Project Bradbury that needed a frame re-tube? The engine and gearbox had been rebuilt, parts plated and the tank painted by late owner Bill Crosby of the London Motorcycle Museum, so that all bolted together – but the next problem was the wheels. I enjoy wheel building, but can see why people are wary of it. With the right rim and spokes, and necessary notes and measurements, it’s easier than you’d think – but the front rim was rusted through and the rear buckled. Worse still, the wheels had been stripped before I got them, leaving me very little to…

Me and my friends were born in the early ’60s and our biking lives began with FS1-E, Fantic, Gilera and Puch mopeds. Living in Dorking meant Box Hill was our nearest biker hangout. Bikers of this era still had the Wild One image – choppers were in, while British bikes were slowly being replaced by a new wave of Japanese machines. Box Hill had a bit of a bad reputation; on Sundays in the summer, big crowds would gather each side of the A24 and cheer as young tearaways pulled wheelies and raced against each other up the dual carriageway. Hardly surprisingly, this attracted the police. I remember seeing a guy on a large Suzuki try to pull a wheelie out of the car park, lose control and hit two…

Mick Duckworth Mick’s been writing about old bikes for a long time, but still turns up extraordinary machines with great stories. Like this Thruxton Bonneville. Pages 30-36 Gez Kane When he was a lad, working as a mechanic at Honda dealer Mocheck, Gez rode one of the first Africa Twins in the UK. He’s still impressed by them. Pages 46-50 Jim Moore Jim loves a two-stroke sports bike, so when he heard a rumour of home-built 500GP two-strokes, he had to investigate. It’s a great tale. Pages 52-59…

£25,000-35,000 c. 1974 ex-Scuderia Spaggiari Ducati 750 race bike Formerly owned by ex-works rider Bruno Spaggiari and raced in Italy by his team riders Franco Uncini and Giulio Sabattini. Restored by Giorgio Grimandi in 2003. April Bonhams sale £7495 1950 Norton 500T Norton’s trials contender is a handsome beast. This late production example benefits from an engine and magneto rebuild just prior to the previous owner competing in the 2023 Arbuthnot trial. Ready to use.  Dealer sale anthonygodin.co.uk £2650 1960 Triumph T20 Cub Cubs are good value at the moment – and great fun. This one has been fully rebuilt to a very good standard with loads of documentation and photos from the restoration and is ready for go or show.  Private sale 07395 057343 £12,000-16,000 1915 Norton Brooklands Road…

’How much?’ Gez Kane on classic values Moto Guzzi values remain markedly lower than other Italian marques like Laverda and Ducati. But Guzzi fans are predominantly riders rather than collectors, so they’re more affordable for those who want to rack up the miles. The most desirable models are the big block twins, with the MkI Le Mans at the top of the tree. You’ll be unlikely to find a tidy MkI for under £5000 and a mint Series I example might be over £10,000, with V7 Sports making much the same. There are some ‘small block’ bargains though, with fun and affordable V50s between £2000 and £3000. The lightweights are attractive too – but parts can be hard to find, so it’s probably better to go for an up-and-running bike at…

After years of painstaking work, Velocette specialists Ivan Rhodes and Bob Higgs will present their replica of a historic 1930s Hall Green machine at April’s Stafford Show. They have recreated the 600cc sidecar outfit driven by Bristol dealer Stuart Waycott as part of Great Britain’s victorious ISDT Trophy team every year from 1936 to 1938. Designed by legendary Australian engineer Phil Irving, the purpose-built outfit’s sohc 595cc (85 x 105mm) engine shared features with Velocette’s factory road racers. The original outfit was broken up long ago; a solo racer in a private UK collection has the engine. The faithful replica was created without factory drawings, thanks to Ivan’s stock of original and replicated race shop parts, plus Bob’s engineering skills – he is known in Velocette circles for his 100,000-mile…

BSA has revealed a new dirt-styled Gold Star Scrambler. Powered by the same liquid-cooled 652cc single-cylinder motor and steel tube frame, it gains longer travel suspension, a 19in front wheel, wider bars and knobbly tyres. It’s not a pukka dirt bike in the way most of the B50 variants were back in the day (which is perhaps why BSA have dropped the B65 name they first attached to the new bike). The Scrambler’s 218kg weight and large, exposed radiator mean any serious off-roading is only for the brave. It should be a decent bend-swinging road bike, though – and could no doubt cope with gentle trails. Peak power is identical to the current Gold Star’s (45bhp at 6500rpm) and there’s a useful 40.6lb ft of torque – on a par…

RESCUED Family favourite In the 1980s, from a box of rusty parts, my husband John Kenny worked every hour he could to restore this 1939 Triumph Tiger 80. When it was finally completed, John was able to give his dad Peter the shiny bike to ride. Peter was so proud of this achievement that he encouraged John to put the Tiger 80 into The Northern Classic Bike Show at Stafford in 1989, where it won ‘Best Post-Vintage’. In 1997, when Peter passed away, the Tiger 80 came to John’s garage. John rode the bike many times, being careful not to let the weather or salty roads soil its pristine condition. On the weekend of May 11, 2024, John rode the Tiger 80 to a local motorbike show at The Shippons…

In 1996, life should have been easy for Ducati. The 916 and Monster were in huge demand, Carl Fogarty had won two World Superbike titles and Ducatis hads become regarded as two-wheeled Ferraris. Yet the company was swirling into yet another vortex of financial doom. “We just couldn’t get bikes,” says Hoss Elm, sipping tea in his London flat. Fortunately, Hoss had spent the last 10 years honing his deal-making skills as Ducati’s UK importer. “I remember being at the factory in 1996 and there were all these 916s lined up at the end of the production line – finished, but with no front ends. Later that day, I saw Massimo Bordi [the genius engineer who headed up the 851 and 916 projects] who waved me into his office. He…

Back in the ’80s and early ’90s, the Paris-Dakar Rally was big news for bike fans. Honda had ended BMW’s dominance of the event in 1986. Their factory bikes won the event for the following four years and the successes of the works Hondas in what had become a widely followed event, inspired a production spin-off from their all-conquering NXR750 racers. The result was the Africa Twin. There are four variants of the original (V-twin) Africa Twin – and all have their admirers. But the first production version is the 1988-89 RD-03 XRV650 – and it’s a bit special. The dedicated design team stuck closely to the specification of the works racers and the production bike was produced at the HRC facility – just like the legendary VFR750R RC30. Quickrelease…

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Footrest press tool Cost: Not much Where: Hand-made “This is a press tool for the rear footrest exhaust hanger on a Featherbed Slimline frame I made recently,” says Mark. “I made it out of bits I’d found lying around the workshop. It was always going to work – I find it easy thinking about things in three dimensions – and I really like it.” Frame squasher Cost: Minimal Where: Hand-made “I made this to squash the oil pump dent into Gold Star frames,” says Mark. “When Rickman did a Gold Star frame, they cut and squashed a piece of tube to go round the oil pump. I thought we could do better than that, so I had a go at making a frame-denting tool. It’s crude but effective.” Suspension press…

This is a shot of my 1988 BMW R100GS, taken in Iran during an overland trek to India, setting off in 1995 and returning to the UK in ’96. I covered around 40,000 miles in total, through France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan (including the Karakoram Highway), India and Nepal. I either stayed in very cheap accommodation or slept rough. The bike had many mods, including the big plastic Acerbis petrol tank, and continuously evolved over the trip. I still use it now. The other picture, taken around 1993/94, is of a drag bike I built up on a long hardtail frame. It had a Z1R engine bored to 1200cc with low-compression Wiseco pistons, a Rajay turbo, TMC nitrous kit and an air shifter.…