Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2025 i Classic Bike

September 1992, Bol d’Or, Circuit Paul Ricard, France The 1992 Bol d’Or promised much for the thousands of British fans who made the traditional end of summer pilgrimage to the south of France for the event. Carl Fogarty and Terry Rymer had been recruited to the factory backed Kawasaki France endurance team and had already won 24-hour marathons at Le Mans and Spa, so were leading the World Championship – and Steve Hislop had been drafted in as the third rider. It all went off pretty much perfectly. Fogarty put the #2 bike on pole, with the #1 Kawasaki France ZXR750 of reigning world champion Alex Viera alongside. Guy Bertin’s factory Honda V4 (#36) led until Foggy passed him at the final corner to lead across the line for the…

Startline How many riders from the 1992 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 Subscribe to CB: go to page 72 or visit greatmagazines.co.uk/classicbike Simply scan the code from your Smart phone…

£5500 1984 Kawasaki GPz900R A1 Always garaged and largely original, the front discs have been replaced (originals included) and the factory exhaust is in great condition. Starter clutch has been replaced (a known fault) so should be good for many more miles. Private sale 07961 576727 £9500-11,000 1926 BSA S26 500 Restored over a 17-year period by the previous owner at a cost of around £10,000, this could make a ready-to-ride mount for next year’s Banbury Run. Engine and gearbox rebuilt, and unused since the restoration. charterhouse-bikes.com £4999 1967 Honda CB77 Imported from the States, where this model was known as the Super Hawk, this bike is not UK registered, but is on the NOVA database. Restored in the USA, it has covered a mere 721 miles since. Runs superbly.…

’How much?’ Gez Kane on classic values The crop of supersports 400s brought into the UK in the late ’80s and early ’90s as ‘grey imports’ proved so popular for a while that the Japanese factories felt pressured to release official UK-market versions of some models. Now, some have fallen into the ‘just another cheap old bike’ category. But a good one is great fun to ride, with a lack of bulk and great handling that will flatter any rider’s abilities. Hondas remain the most popular, with VFR400R NC30s top of the heap. A good one should go for £3000-4000. Top-class examples of rare models make more, though – look at that Yamaha FZR400RR, for example – and the few two-strokes remain popular. Beware money-pit projects (especially V4s) unless you really…

A Honda RC30 that competed in the 1991 Bol d’Or endurance race for Team Bike has just beaten a hatful of more modern, powerful machines at Donington’s CRMC meeting. Ridden by 17-year-old hotshot Casey O’Gorman, the RC30 came second in one of the races, only beaten by TT star Ian Hutchinson on a Kawasaki ZXR750 built to freer Classic TT regs, so with a significant power advantage. “It was a really good performance,” says Team Bike boss Ian Martin. “This was one of the original Howard Lees racing bikes [from the 1990s] that we haven’t used since the 2019 Classic Bol d’Or and this was the first time we’d run it since I rebuilt the engine. “I had to recommission the whole bike because it had been sitting in my…

Paul Hawksworth must have grown four-leaf clovers in a previous life. That’s the only way to explain his uncanny knack for finding amazing projects for next-to-no financial outlay. And his ability to put them back on the road or track for only a few quid more. “I’ve been called a lucky bastard many a time,” he grins. “But I think it’s just a case of right place, right time. That and the fact I make every effort to restore parts rather than simply replace them.” In recent years Paul’s rescued a Honda NC30 from a flooded pub basement, then got it back on the road for an all-in spend of just £375. A sick-sounding Ducati 916 also fell into his lap. “The owner said it was making a knocking noise,…

Start ‘em young John aged 17 months, behind the screen of his dad’s Velocette Venom. By the age of eight, John was motocrossing on a modded Honda step-through – he came third in his first ever race. Onto the dirt On a Kawasaki KX250 in 1980. Though John came third in the AMCA European championships, he was never quite GP material. But he’d always fancied road racing… Lure of Cadwell After becoming disillusioned with motocross, John and his dad Jack restored a 1934 Velocette MOV 250 so John could go vintage racing. Above is the first outing at Cadwell. Hitting the big time John quickly rose through the club racing ranks and by 1989 was riding for Kawasaki. This shot is from 1992, the year John won his first British…

Anyone buying a new bike nowadays is spoiled for choice. Faults have been ironed out to the point where you can’t really buy a bad one any more. Isn’t that great? Buzzing along on this quirky MZ, I’m not so sure. I don’t mean it’s a bad bike – far from it – but it reflects the fact that perfection comes at the cost of character. The Eastern Bloc origin of the MZ is most obvious, and while it’s not everybody’s cuppa it reminds me that not very long ago everything – not just bikes – reflected the style of its land of origin, rather than the uniformity we’ve ended up with today. Although most bikes were Japanese back in my bike-pub days, the car park would have a British…

When Norton Villiers Triumph took over running Triumph after the collapse of BSA in mid-1973, Hopwood’s plans for a new range of modular machines were ditched. He resigned as technical director at Triumph in August 1973, citing ‘fundamental differences of opinion with the present management’. Letters show his departure did not go smoothly. Concerned at how it should be made public, NVT Chairman Dennis Poore drafted a press release for Hopwood’s approval – but also suggested an alternative, merely stating Bert had retired (he had turned 65 in August). Poore was concerned that the press would ‘seek more details on the disagreement’. Hopwood insisted on the ‘fundamental differences’ wording and raised the question of a termination payment on top of his company pension. He also referred to an ex-gratia pension…

Indian Four I’ve had a couple of Indian Fours over the years. Recently I had a low-mileage 1931 model that came from Edinburgh. It was untouched and, of course, it came with that quality four-cylinder engine. I wish I’d never parted with it; it taught me to hold on to bikes I love. Francis-Barnett Falcon A Francis-Barnett Falcon was my first bike on the road – and it taught me to avoid Francis-Barnett Falcons! I dearly hope to never see another one in my life. A twostroke that just kept on breaking down, it was a horrible thing. It would just stop for no reason. BSA 650 Golden Flash A 1959 650 Golden Flash (the air-cooled parallel twin designed by Bert Hopwood) was the first bike I loved – and…

Piston ring gauge Piston rings are hard to measure without one of these. I bought his one for a fiver in my early 20s and it’s been well worthwhile. A tape measures circumference and converts to diameter on the dial. Slip gauges Slip gauges are like thick feeler gauges; accurately ground, you can use them with feelers to measure wide gaps accurately. My box isn’t a full set – but it only cost £2 at a bike club auction. Check your files Although there’s usually still a sharp bit up near the handle for gapping ring ends, blunt files are a curse. Replace them occasionally and go to a tool shop – not a DIY store, as quality varies quite widely. Next Month Rick takes on a Triumph engine that’s…

Early GSX-R750s are getting thin on the ground, especially untampered-with original machines. This 1987 H model, last of the so-called Slabbies (ie slab-sided), is in very good order. Apart from the addition of a Shoei sticker (easily removed with a hair dryer to soften the old, hard adhesive) it appears to be totally original. And that is a minor miracle. The genuine 4081 miles showing on the odometer further marks this machine out as a rare find. The sports market truly took off post-’85 and most of the landmark machines still around today – GSX-R, Kawasaki’s compact GPZ600R, Yamaha’s five-valve FZ750 – will have been either modified beyond recognition or flogged beyond economic salvation. The 1987 machine changed little from the first-year 1985 F-model. The engine was the same screaming…

The original Bantam was a low-cost passport to freedom for a generation of riders and was a money-spinner for BSA from 1948 to 1971. They made around 400,000 of the 123cc (later 173cc) two-stroke tiddlers. This new Bantam is completely different mechanically, but is intended to achieve the same things. It’s powered by a 334cc liquid-cooled four-stroke single developed by BSA’s Indian owners Mahindra. The perky engine has a four-valve head, over-square cylinder (81mm bore x 65mm stroke) and an 11:1 compression ratio. That helps it make 29bhp – almost 10bhp more than the air-cooled Honda GB350S and Royal Enfield 350 range, albeit at higher revs. The BSA also has a six-speed gearbox, whereas the Honda and Enfield have five speeders. A first ride by Classic Bike’s sister title MCN…

Often called ‘the best privateer in the world’, Jack Findlay was a thorn in the side of factory riders for much of his 20-year GP career. This book traces Findlay’s story as he leaves his native Australia to race in England, gets a job at BSA, then joins the GP circus in 1958. Astonishingly, he only packed up in 1978, having helped develop the RG500 with Paul Smart and Barry Sheene. The hardback by Jacques Bussillet is the first biography in English. It costs £25 at veloce.co.uk/store…

RESCUED Big bore booted out This is my 1975 Kawasaki Z1B, imported from the US as a non-runner with seized brakes. It had the wrong exhaust and a plastic seat, but otherwise was all there. I bought it from Triad in Brighton and did a nut-and-bolt rebuild. While stripping the engine down, I found it had a 1000cc big-bore kit – I sold that and fitted standard liners and new pistons. I prefer a well running 903cc standard bike than a poor-running big bore. The engine was rebuilt with new gaskets and seals after a clean and inspection. The wheels were rebuilt with stainless spokes, the frame powder coated locally, with paintwork by Cycle Sprays in Cowfold. Most parts were purchased from Z Power. With the electronics upgraded and the…

PRICE GUIDE Mint £7000-8000 Good £5500-6500  Project £2000-3000 Nearly 60 years after it first burst on the scene in 1967, the Commando is still on a mission – to convince riders that a big Brit parallel twin can be more pleasure than pain. And riding one should convince you that the mission has been a resounding success. This bike backs up its attitude with full-on thrills and the ability to stand up to modern traffic – and these days it’s less of an assault on your wallet, with prices becoming much more affordable. The Commando’s development was almost as rapid as the bike itself, having been conceived as a stop-gap model in the late ’60s. Norton were desperate for a new range-topper to tackle imminent competition from BSA/Triumph triples and…

1920 The DKW company of Zschopau produce a lightweight motorcycle based around a two-stroke engine. By the end of the decade, the firm has become the world’s largest motorcycle maker. 1932 The Depression leads to an amalgamation with Horsch, Wanderer and Audi to create Auto Union – a name that soon becomes famous in motorsports competition. 1934 Having licensed and refined Adolf Schnurle’s loop scavenge idea, DKW create a flat-topped piston design and fit it to their new RT 100 lightweight 98cc single (among others). 1939 The RT100 grows into the RT125. The three-speed unit-construction two stroke is an immediate success and adopted by German armed forces during World War II. 1949 Under Russian control, post-war production resumes with the RT125, now with telescopic forks and rear springing, and badged ‘IFA’.…

Visit greatmagazines.co.uk/classicbike OR CALL 01858 438884 SAVE 70% ON SHOP PRICES* Great reasons why you should Subscribe… » Your perfect guide for fixing and enhancing the bikes resting in your garage, with practical workshop tips to help keep your bike running sweetly. » Insightful buying advice every month to help you make great buys. » Great tales from motorcycling’s heroic past as well as reader restorations and rebuilds. » Save 70% on shop prices*. » Digital access via our dedicated Classic Bike app where you’ll find past issues and exciting rewards. » Bonus content and an exclusive newsletter every month, straight to your inbox. » FREE UK delivery straight to your door every month. HURRY! Offer ends August 31 TERMS & CONDITIONS *Saving applies to initial trial term. The minimum term…

Cable crimper Cost: Nothing Where: Home-made “This is a tool for holding cables so you can crimp the ends over. It was made by our old mate Dave Berry. You put the cable in, then into a vice and tap the ends of the cable over. That way the nipple won’t slip off.” Bearing puller Cost: From £20 Where: All good tool shops “This is a bearing puller which is very compact and handy. It’s for pulling bearings off shafts or sprockets; we use it a couple of times a week. I bought it about five years ago – you can get various types.” Chain tensioner Cost: From £20 Where: Good tool stores “A very useful little tool. It’s a chain tensioner, which helps you put the link back on…

Starter/generator rotor puller The thread within the rotor is small (M10) and could easily be damaged. Parts are getting hard to come by for the 200, so buying a puller is essential – although it still needs to be modified slightly. I used it with a small extension to neatly fit into the end of the crank. Works a treat. Paper clip With parts availability, delivery times and impatience, it’s sometimes easier to come up with a fix. I found the spring clip that keeps the needle in place under the carb slide was missing, so I used a paper clip. Looks a bit of a bodge, but works well. They’re also handy for attaching yet more bits of paper to the to-do list… Vernier calipers Having accurate measuring equipment…

Breaking for spares Your old-school bike breakers article in August’s CB brought memories flooding back. A time when you could ring a breakers in another part of the country, discuss what you needed and would be assured the correct parts would arrive, securely packaged (usually in old newspapers) a few days later, ready to fit. In 1980, whilst at college, I was knocked off my bike, sustaining a badly smashed right leg and an equally smashed Z400. It was declared a write-off, but I decided to rebuild it myself. My girlfriend (now partner) worked for a Kawasaki dealer, so was able to help me buy another accidentdamaged 400 from its insurance company (something unlikely to happen these days). The donor bike had an aftermarket fairing, top box and paniers –…

My partner sent me the photo above from your article ‘The Breakers’ in the August issue, as we remember Foundry Motorcycles so well. It was in Fleetwood, Lancashire and has long since been knocked down. One of the two ‘youngsters’ who ran it was Tony Sillis, who was so well loved but sadly passed away far too young, leaving behind his wife Seanene and two sons, Aaron and Michael. His partner in crime was Ian Barnes who, together with his brother Kevin, owns Foulds Metals in Fleetwood. Thank you so much – the photograph shows such a classic scene, bringing back such happy memories of a bygone age. Deb Mckenna With regards to the photo in your article on old-school bike breakers, I remember one of the places you couldn’t…

£4025 1974 Honda CB750 K4 More affordable than the original 1969 CB750, this K4 model looks beautiful. With original code-stamped exhausts and having been restored some time ago, it requires light recommissioning having not run for a while. handh.co.uk £11,500 1982 Honda CB1100RC A fine example of Honda’s road-legal racer, this was imported from the Netherlands in 2024 and was a daily rider in excellent running order. Recently serviced and mostly original, apart from a replica exhaust system. iconicauctioneers.com £1625 1971 MZ ES250/2 MZ’s two-strokes seem to be enjoying a surge in popularity – none more so than the ES series with their idiosyncratic styling and swingarm front suspension. Complete, original and running, but needs a sort-out. ebay.co.uk £4600 1996 Bimota SB6 Looks like a good buy for a nailed-on…

Liverpool Cup comeback After almost 100 years, the VMCC are reviving the Liverpool Cup. The annual trial used to cover over 360 miles, but the new two-day route will be a bit less arduous. Various classes include pre-2000 lightweights and pre-40 girder-fork bikes. Support and GPS allowed. More from john.m@vmcc.net New Norton headwear There’s a new ‘Hedon for Norton’ range of helmets. Coming in red, black and silver schemes, there’s a leather lining and a choice of glassfibre or carbon-fibre shell. A digital tag carries your info and can be scanned in a prang. Classy isn’t cheap, mind: the glass shell is £849, the carbon £899. More from nortonmotorcycles.com New brake adjusters Venhill Engineering has started making slotted brake and clutch adjusters for BMW airheads and R and K oilhead…

With a jam-packed schedule of 40 races, 12 practice and qualifying sessions plus 10 parades, there was barely a moment without action at the Classic Motorcycle Racing Club’s huge meeting at Donington Park (August 2-3). Quite a treat for the ears too, with everything from the bark of long-stroke Manx Nortons and the wail of Yamaha TZs, to rumbling Guzzis and droning Honda VFR400Rs. The weekend delivered top racing. The Supermono National and Supersport 400 races were particularly good, but there was lots of overtaking and dicing through the field in all classes. Lots to entertain in the parades too – there aren’t many places to see a Velocette KTT, rotary Norton, Honda RS125 GP bike and Saxon Armstrong being used as intended, side by side. The next CRMC meet…

Rick Rides… Yamaha RD350LC Can the iconic 1980s hooligan win-over our Brit bike lover? Plus Commando-framed Norvin  Honda 350 twin buying guide Paddock life at the Classic TT  At lunch with Triumph factory insider Bruno Tagliaferri On sale September 24 Subscribe at greatmagazines.co.uk/classicbike Plus Girder forks masterclass + Inside a Ducati fettler’s den + Fix fuelling with a beer can + Triumph twin rebuild + Harris project bike…

DRM V6 500 Long before Allen Millyard started adding cylinders onto Kawasaki triples to make fours and fives, this enterprising gentleman constructed a V6 through the simple expedient of grafting together a pair of KH250 engines. Given that Kawasaki’s smallest-capacity triple has a power output of around 30bhp, doubling that should be enough to give this special a decent amount of oomph. The upper engine appears to have kept its gearbox, but has the cylinders reversed to put the carburettors into the vee. Registered in 1978 as a DRM – the initials of the father and son team who built it – the bike was sold in restored form (with Mick Grant replica paint) by Bonhams in 2011, who stated the much-modified frame started as a Norton Featherbed. Forks are…

Andy Tiernan has been buying and selling motorcycles for nearly half a century, and his workshop in Framlingham, Suffolk, now houses a vast collection containing some of the most soughtafter bikes. “I moved here about 40 years ago, but I’ve been selling bikes all my life. I used to sell parts, do car repairs – a bit of everything really – but once we moved here, we were geared up for just selling bikes. We’ve sold bikes and shipped them to Japan, Australia, Singapore, eastern Europe – all over the world.” In a fluctuating market there’s always one type of bike that sells, according to Tiernan: “Pre-war BSAs. The nicer the better and particularly the overhead valve V-twins – they’re always in demand. Also, any WWII bike will sell. Everyone…

Engine parts don’t actually get much simpler than piston rings. They’ve been around forever, and broadly similar squaresection ferrous open-rings are still found in any engine. Given that Scott made the same engine for decades, you wouldn’t be surprised to find that you can buy brand new piston rings for a 1928 model nearly a century later. Except you can’t. Scott’s adherence to one design means original stock of pistons and rings ran out long ago – and while there’s enough demand to see reproductions made, inevitable design improvements means the new rings do not interchange. So can you make your own? Tales of making rings from cast-iron drainpipe during World War II may be true, but I suspect they were just better than nothing. Today, companies like Cox and…

Matchless was the first UK manufacturer to go heavily into telescopic forks. Having looked closely at a captured Wehrmacht BMW, they developed the ‘Teledraulic’ design and fitted it to the military G3L of 1941. Other makers followed, making their own designs post-war – all of which stayed largely the same, apart from gradual reinforcement mods to cope with more powerful brakes and improve ride quality. Girder forks had been an easy act to follow, but into the ’60s riders were expecting better damping to match increasing road speeds, leading to aftermarket damper conversions like the Taylor Dow ‘Superleggera’ popular on BSA Gold Stars. But café racers aside, most original forks are adequate for the bikes they were fitted to. While Japanese fork legs come off fully assembled, British ones are…

The summer of 1982 – what a year that was! Me and my mates were excited about the idea of seeing Barry Sheene and Kenny Roberts racing in the Transatlantic Trophy at Oulton Park, so we decided to ride from Liverpool to see this classic race meet. When we got there, it was packed – bikes everywhere. We pulled in and found a slot, then decided where to watch. This photo of our gang shows, from left to right: John (Danny) Daniels, Dave Hughes, Heather Maine, Scott Christie, John Cantrell, Pete Rowlands and Judy Maine, with myself hiding behind the camera. The smell was immersive, with petrol and two-stroke filling the air. Our lives were normal. We used to ride our bikes everywhere – to work, uni or just to…