Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2025 i Classic Bike

August 1981, 24 Heures de Liège Moto, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium It’s the moment on Saturday afternoon, when the flag drops at the start of the 24 Heures de Liège and the riders sprint across the track to their machines. Closest to the camera is Richard Hubin, whose bike (#4) is being supported by co-rider Herve Moineau. Unfortunately, someone had forgotten to turn the factory Suzuki’s ignition on, so Richard’s speedy sprint was to no avail as they were left on the line until one of them realised what was wrong. With the Suzuki temporarily delayed, Dave Aldana (next in the line) took an early lead. His factory Honda is being supported by legendary (and hirsute) French race engineer Guy Coulon. Aldana and his co-rider, fellow American Mike Baldwin, had won the…

Startline How many riders from the 1981 startline can you identify? Your classics Just acquired a new project, completed a restoration or been for a great ride? Letters Want to start a conversation about bike values or commend good service? The Way We Were Have you got pictures and a story from your biking past? Let us know. Contact us at… letters@classicbike.co.uk Turn to page 70 for more details or go to greatmagazines.co.uk/classicbike Simply scan the code from your Smart phone…

£2250 1966 BSA Bantam D7 Not totally original, but a tidy-looking 175cc Bantam fully rebuilt around five years ago. Used regularly since and described as a good starter, it’s fitted with electronic ignition and is offered in ready to ride condition. Private sale 07496 935056 £7000 1979 Ducati GTS Tasteful café racer offering affordable entry into bevel Ducati ownership. Present owner for 20 years, well looked after and appears well put together, too. Lovely alloy tank, race-style seat and two-into-one exhaust. Private sale 07746 699151 £9950 2007 Bimota DB6 Delirio Bimota’s sublime frame and top-notch cycle parts wrapped round Ducati’s 95bhp air-cooled four-valve 1078cc V-twin engine is a recipe for fast and furious fun in an ultra-lightweight package. Dealer sale classicsuperbikes.co.uk £3999 1952 Triumph TRW Triumph’s side-valve 500 twin rarely…

’How much?’ Gez Kane on classic values The days of the 10 grand Fizzy might not be quite over as the beautifully restored machine sold recently by Iconic Auctioneers proves – but I feel it will become the exception rather than the rule. Generally, £5k-6k looks enough to buy a very tidy original or well restored one. Possibly held back by the more precarious parts supply, the exotic Italian machines like Garelli’s Tiger Cross and Fantic’s Caballero seem to have dropped back in value, too – when they do appear on the market at all. And, while Honda SS50s and Suzuki AP50s don’t come up for sale with anything like the frequency of FS1-Es, when they do their prices don’t seem to be much less than for a Fizzy in comparable…

In the left side of the tank of this 1937 Series A Vincent-HRD Rapide is a small lead-filled repair which is thought to have been undertaken during the bike’s wartime air service. “We’re still researching the bike’s history and this photograph,” says Bonhams’ Ben Walker, who will be auctioning the bike at the Stafford Show on October 12. “It’s all quite fascinating.” Ben’s research so far suggests the photo was taken at RAF Langham in Norfolk. “The plane is clearly a Consolidated B‑24 Liberator, which Coastal Command used for anti-submarine patrols over the North Sea. Combined with some handwritten notes and the grass airfield, RAF Langham is the most likely location. Hopefully the RAF museum can confirm that. But as for the gentleman… if any Classic Bike readers have any…

250 Manx Norton “At one time I had the 250 and 500 Manx Nortons of Bob McIntyre [the Scottish TT star]. The two outside ones are Bob’s 500s, and the middle one is my 250 that was built for Bob by his friend and sponsor Joe Potts. I road raced it and it was magnificent.” Triumph Metisse “My Triumph Metisse is one of my all-time favourites. I made new camshafts for it and both cylinders fired together so it was actually a twingle instead of a twin. I just sold it last year to a chap in Ireland. What a superb bike.” 250 single port CZ “I had a lot of success when I won my championship on the single port CZs in 1967. There were ten meetings in the…

Scott two-stroke water-cooled twins have been considered a bit odd since they first appeared, although the design was as simple and effective as it was unusual. But that’s not to say it cannot be improved. Last month, I explained how reduced crankcase sealing may have contributed to the big-end failure on my partner Judy’s 500cc Flying Squirrel, and this is one of the Scott’s oddities. Crankshaft sealing is by ‘gland seals’ – spring-loaded discs, rotating in oil against the main bearing outer. They’re victims to corrosion, wear, distortion or lack of oil, so long-time Scott specialist Roger Moss devised a replacement system using conventional garter seals. It’s simpler and makes the bikes easier to start. However, finding a split gasket let the gland seals off the hook. Last month had…

Hobby lathe Any size lathe is a wondrous thing but something like the Clarke CL300 is small enough to fit in a garage workshop. Mine sits on a bench about 14in deep. I can’t imagine life without it. It makes spacers, and it does boring and screwcutting. £700 used, £850 new. Makeshift press tool To pull new bushes into their housing, it’s worth making a tool that’ll do it squarely, rather than chance it with a hammer and drift. In this case I used a 12mm threaded rod to seat a bush with a 12mm ID. Expanding reamer set I got this for £8 at a house clearance auction. More usually you pay £40-£300, depending on quality. It’s a tool to embiggen holes, accurately. You get a threaded shaft with…

When bikes only had an engine and belt drive, with no gearbox and no clutch, the handlebar controls were just throttle and front brake on the right; ignition advance and decompressor on the left. The decompressor was used for stopping the engine, but also (echoing the steam age) for softening its punch, acting as a clutch substitute for things like slow turns. So when a ‘free engine’ (clutch) was invented, its lever went on the left bar. With the left hand operating the clutch, the arrival of the gearbox a little later meant the hand-change had to be on the right – and once that was established, it stayed there when the mechanism was adapted for foot operation. The US market was primarily behind the gearchange switching to the left…

Much is made of Kawasaki’s three-pot stroker options of the earlier 1970s; the H1 500 and the H2 750. Quite correctly too – as raw two-stroke experiences they are both standout items. Yet the jewel in Big K’s triple crown, the more refined, yet equally rewarding to ride KH400 is the tool to have. With ‘only’ a real-world rear wheel 35bhp you might imagine it’s not a patch on the fiery H1 with its claimed 60bhp. Mere numbers, however, never paint a complete picture. The 1977 KH400 A4 shared the same running gear as the 250. That chassis was without doubt the best of any of the triples; stable, compliant, agile enough, and possessed of passable brakes for the time, it a was a perfect match for the well-mannered 400.4cc…

This year’s Classic TT F1 race looks set to be a cracker, with hordes of Kawasaki ZXR750s lining up against the pre-race favourite: Key Racing’s all-conquering Ducati 916. Key Racing announced it will run two 916s – one for last year’s winner, Mike Browne, and another for the bloke he beat into second, Rob Hodson. And they’ll be faster than ever. “Last year’s winning bike was fine,” says team boss Tim Key, “but we lacked a little speed. This year it’ll be quicker due to the engine work we’ve done. “We use the biggest valves we can get into a 996 engine [the latest version of the 916 motor allowed by the rules] and factory throttle bodies. But just twisting the cam timing back and forward on the dyno produces quite…

A group of 15 sub-175cc classics recently completed a rerun of the 1903 Paris-Madrid race, taking five days to complete the 1200-mile route. “We had three Ducati 175s from the early 1960s, two Triumph Terriers, three MV Agusta 125s, a Morini 175 Turismo, a few 125 and 175 Hondas and a Mondial,” says organiser Russell Benney. “All riders finished, albeit two on back-up machines – the Morini threw a big end at half distance and a Ducati entered the Van of Shame just south of Paris with electrical problems.” Russell’s next event is the excellent Three Moors Run – the jewel in the tiddler crown, taking in three days and 500 miles of deserted west country roads for sub-175 machines built before 1970. Contact Russell@phaseone.co.uk…

RESCUED Family connection In 1977, when I was 19, I moved into a flat that had a storage cupboard on the ground floor. When I opened my cupboard, I found a Honda SS50 inside – identical to the one I’d owned at 15, but with a bent pedal and snapped exhaust studs. It belonged to a chap who happily sold it for £10 and a bottle of scotch. By mid-’78, I had it MoT’d and running well. I got married that year and my wife used it for commuting and visiting her parents. When my daughter reached 16, she used it for work for a while – but although still a runner, it has spent most of its recent years in the back of my garage. I probably ought to…

Woody’s Motorcycles, Abergele “That’s John the Ghost,” says Andrew Woods, sat on the W-reg moped, of the figure on the left. “He was an unemployed customer who used to help. There was no work in North Wales. I opened in 1983 when I was 19. I spent my last £25 on paint and had to borrow £100 from my mum to get a phone put in, but it took off when I started stocking new parts too. We moved from this shop in 1988 when it started to crack.” It continued to do well. “We got a Guzzi franchise in 1989, Ducati in 1990 and Triumph in 1992.” Woods of Abergele went on to become one of the best regarded Triumph dealers in the country. Mystery soft drink fans A…

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Deburring tool Cost: Nowt. Where: Joe’s brain “It’s a drill that I’ve put a handle on. I use it for deburring holes. I have proper deburring tools [you can get them from stores such as Cromwell Tools for £30 or so – Ed], but I find this quite handy for some jobs.” Calipers Cost: £15-£150. Where: Tool stores “My digital calipers and manual calipers are used daily and are always sitting on the benches ready for action. But if I’m working with the CNC machine, the tolerances are finer and I’ll go to the micrometer.” Pivot head ratchet spanner Cost: £7.99-plus. Where: Cromwell Tools “I don’t go for specific brands. When I was serving my time there were a lot of King Dick and Britool spanners but we went for…

Grinding paste Valve grinding paste isn’t only for valves. Mixed with thin oil, it will blend surfaces and reveal irregularities. Beware use on tapers, however – it can leave a series of rings that make the fit worse. End-float check tools You don’t need to pay out for an expensive micrometer or dial gauges to measure end float – all you need is a stout bracket, bolted to the engine with an adjustable bolt to set as a fixed stop. Then push the crank both ways and measure the difference with feeler blades. Vee blocks Don’t assume vee blocks are just for engineers with bustling machine shops. They’re a cheap, useful way to support round things for drilling, marking, cutting or filing, preventing damage by spreading the load. Next Month…

Kats at the Cat This was taken outside the Cat & Fiddle pub in the early ’90s. That’s my black Katana, which I’d bought from Twiggers in Loughborough for £1600. A chap called Blounty had made the exhaust – it was the loudest thing in the world. He’d also misspelt ‘engineering’ on the engine covers, which took ages to polish out. Jez and Michelle are at the back with his banana Katana (it was the reason I bought my bike). The blue Z1-R was Tony’s and the Z1000 belonged to Stuart (I now have that bike, the black Katana and another Z1000, plus a Z900 A4 that I bought in 1986). We’d do five or six big meets and rallies a year, which took a bit of planning around work.…

The news in July’s Classic Bike that we may have to fight to restore barn finds is the thin end of a very sharp wedge hurtling towards the classic world – with little attention being paid to the matter by any of us busy at the lathe. This is not a mad conspiracy theory, but based on a UK Government consultation paper that is already going through parliament. The Call For Evidence by The Department for Transport on the Registration of Rebuilt, Kit Built, Kit Converted, Radically Altered, Reconstructed, Classics and Vehicles Converted to Electric was opened on May 9, 2024 and closed on July 4, 2024 (read the report at tinyurl.com/yd9djmzr). It wasn’t widely known about and had less than 1500 responses. The ‘opinion and expertise’ of just 1500…

£4550 1956 BSA Road Rocket Great all-round condition and ready to ride. Fitted with an electric start conversion, new advance/retard unit, clutch (hub, springs and pressure plate) and recently serviced. A very practical Brit classic that looks a great buy. eBay.co.uk £4830 1970 Honda SL350 K0 This lovely US import has benefitted from a full engine rebuild by noted CB350 race tuner Ken Garfield. Since that was completed, it has covered a mere 600 miles. It’s in superb cosmetic order, too. bonhams.com £300 circa 1970 MZ150 A wonderful period piece from MZ’s classic era. Sold from a deceased estate and obviously needing some work. Nonetheless, it could make a rewarding project. It’d be a real shame to over-restore it, though. charterhouse-bikes.com £1220 1989 Kawasaki ZXR750 H1 Needs tidying up and…

The heat and humidity at this year’s edition of Dragstalgia was problematic for both motorcycles and riders, with a number of machines suffering engine damage. Unfortunately, this included the legendary Hogslayer Norton, which experienced major front motor failure. However, there was still a weekend of great machines, racing and noise. One highlight of this popular nostalgia event was the arrival of a contingent all the way from New Zealand, with Michael ‘Spike’ Lauria and Ron Smith riding a pair of very neatly prepared Triumphs. Star exhibit among the interesting machines on display was John Hobbs’ double-engined Weslake, celebrating 50 years since it first made its spectacular debut at Santa Pod. If you missed this year, definitely get Dragstalgia pencilled in for 2026.…

There are always big numbers involved with Laverda’s imposing three-cylinder superbike. 981cc and over 90bhp. 140mph. 250kg (551lb). But with Keith Prentice and his 1982 Series 2 Jota, the really impressive ones are 42 – the number of years he’s owned the bike – and the figure on the odometer, which reads over 100,000 miles. What’s perhaps even more remarkable is that, over more than four decades of ownership, the Jota has never been off the road – save for essential maintenance – and it’s never been restored. Up until it chalked up its 40th birthday a couple of years back, it’s always been taxed and MoT’d. Its odometer on the Nippon Denso speedo clicked round to read zero for the second time in the bike’s life just a few…

1913 After a few pioneer-era four-strokes, cycle maker Veloce create a lightweight two-stroke, the ‘Velocette’. The model becomes so successful that the name sticks ever after. 1924 With OHC engines beginning to succeed in record breaking, Velocette skirt traditional side/overhead valvers returning to four-strokes with the 350cc OHC Model K. 1933 Seeking a model between their 250 stroker and complex OHC 350, a pushrod four-stroke 250, the MOV, is introduced. Soon followed by a 350cc version called the MAC. 1936 The 350cc OHC K models are still in production, but their dominance is now challenged by a new 500cc version of the pushrod engine, known as the MSS. 1948 In difficult post war years, the range is pruned back to the MAC 350 as Velocette change direction, entering full scale production of the…

On the workbench Joe stands beside one of his latest builds: an immaculate 1977 CCM trials bike. “They produced approximately 110 of this model,” he says. “A customer sent one in for me to do repairs on it and I thought it was a beautiful wee bike.” In fact, he thought it was so pretty that he’s since done 17 frame kits for it. “I make the kits to accept the B40 but personally I always use the B25. With this bike I bought the unit [engine] and forks and made almost everything else.” It’s no great surprise that Joe has specialised in CCM – he was a competitive motocrosser and there’s a cabinet bursting with trophies in his office, along with a black and white photo of him astride…

The thing about buying a new old bike is it takes you a while to understand it. It was obvious the gear change on my 1982 Morini Kanguro was rubbish but figuring out why has proved surprisingly difficult. I’d already bailed out of the Land’s End Trial at about 2am, when it became impossible to select first. Heat soak tightening up the cheap nylon-lined rose joints in the gear linkage, reckoned Morini expert Benjy Straw. But after hours of patient fettling and some expensive phosphor-bronze new rose joints, it remained obdurately crap. I rode it a bit more, off-road with some mates, and tried to understand the problem. The bike could change gear perfectly well, in all six gears, but sometimes preferred not to. It’s as if the shifts sometimes…

The Bantam flies (well, sort of). I’m hazarding a guess at 50mph, because the speedo is still broken – but on its latest 30-mile test ride it felt crisp. And the lights work too. Wonders never cease… After a winter spent fixing the centrestand, plugging fuel tank leaks and fitting a new clutch cable, handlebar grips and finally the original exhaust, I had high hopes for springtime entertainment. But at first the little BSA didn’t want to play. The first test ride of a freshly-fettled bike is always an event full of trepidation, so when the Bantam broke down after 15 minutes it wasn’t a total surprise. Fortunately, it had the grace to coast to a halt outside a pub. It’s important to approach fault-finding in the correct frame of…

This is me on my Yamaha RD125LC. It was about a year old, on a Y-plate, and I bought it from Kirks in Shepshed. He took my AR50 in part exchange and had a buyer lined up, so we did the deal before I was old enough to ride the RD. It sat in my garage for a week before my 17th birthday in February 1984. I was on day release to Loughborough Tech (welding craft practice) on the day of my birthday, but I didn’t go in – there was snow on the ground, but I just had to ride the RD. I got through two full tanks of fuel going everywhere and anywhere. I was a shivering wreck and loved every minute of it. It was my first…