Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2025 i Classic Bike

September 1994, TT Superbike Supercup, Brands Hatch A dull, overcast day at Brands greeted the final two races in the 1994 British TT Superbike championship. The front row for the first heat comprised Kiwi Andrew Stroud (#19) on a Loctite Yamaha, Matt Llewellyn (Ducati, #6), championship leader Ian Simpson (Duckhams Norton, #25), Loctite Yamaha-mounted Jim Moodie (#2) and pole position man Phil Borley (#30) on a Duckhams Norton. Steve Hislop on the Castrol Honda RC45 (#3) is making a decent start from the second row. After ten rounds of the championship, Borley, Simpson and Moodie all had a chance of taking the title – but it was Simpson who was odds-on favourite and he secured the championship with a win in the first race, followed by Borley and Moodie. It…

LETTER OF THE MONTH Your feature on powervalves (November issue) brought back some two stroke-scented memories. When we were teenagers, the hottest bikes to have were the RD125 YPVS or, better still, the TZR125. They were the stuff of dreams – especially the beam-framed TZR, which to us looked like a GP bike. Being skint students and apprentices, after we’d scrimped and saved to get a bike, we couldn’t afford the servo whatsits to get the powervalves working and sneakily derestrict them. So the trick was to turn the valve into the ‘full power’ position and pin it in place, which unleashed the full Monty – apparently the TZR had 25 horsepower. To an excitable 17-year-old, the difference was dramatic. The trick effectively doubled the horsepower. It also meant the…

£620 1962 BSA C15 This little Beeza has been in one family ownership since new and has never been restored. It looks complete and original and the odometer shows 38,143 miles – which may be genuine. A nice little starter project. charterhouse-bikes.com £62,100 1992 Honda NR750 The most exotic road bike ever? The 32-valve oval-piston V4 is utterly luxurious and feels like nothing else. This Swiss-market version of the rarity, owned since 2002, is in superb condition with just 1408km on the odometer. bonhams.com £1400 1979 Malaguti Cavalcone Offered without reserve, this rare little bike was in a private collection. Said to ride and run well, it looks pretty original and complete. Great fun for moped and lightweight runs – and something a little different. manorparkclassics.com £9000 1980 Quasar MkII…

750SS cracks £100,000 This 1974 750SS sold for £103,500 at the recent Bonhams sale at the Stafford Show. It’s £40k down on a similar 750SS that sold in 2024, but that had a far more complete history. Little is known of this one before ’84, when it came to the UK and was later restored by Made in Italy Motorcycles. Bullet is bigger than ever Royal Enfield have a new Bullet, using the 648cc, 46bhp parallel twin from the Interceptor. It mirrors the style of the 350 Bullet, with a tubular steel spine frame, hand-painted details and metal body. All the nods to the original 350s and 500s mean the Bullet 650 weighs 243kg – 25kg more than the Interceptor. It will cost £6749. Classic TT expands in ’26 Next…

The first full-scale show for classic bikes at Manchester’s Belle Vue in 1980 reflected the fast-growing scene. Since those days, it’s become twice yearly and moved to Stafford County Showground. Traditionally, the October show has been for later classics, but the healthy crossover with the April event meant it could be hard to tell them apart. This year, under new management, the October show seemed to find its proper footing with a great mix of ’70s, ’80s and ’90s bikes – backed by just enough older British and vintage machines. This year’s ‘Best in Show’ was Paul Cann’s 1967 Kawasaki Avenger. Covid lockdowns devastated some events and this Stafford still felt less crowded than in pre-pandemic times. However, there was definitely an upbeat feel in the air, suggesting the show…

1976 Bumper 50th anniversary special issue, including: Peter Collins, Yamaha XT500, Barry Sheene, Moto Guzzi Le Mans, Honda at the Bol, Suzuki GS750 reader resto, Joey’s first TT, Americans in GPs, Lampkins at the SSDT… Plus Project Dunstall CB750 + Change a clutch like a pro + Triumph engine carry-on + Be an intake know-it-all + Upgrade Norton forks PLUS: Record-breaking Ducati 916 Isle of Man TT racer, Paris-Dakar celebration and much more…

PRICE GUIDE Mint £4750-7000 Good £3500-5500 Project £1500-2250 With their angular ‘coffin tank’ styling and bold speed-block graphics borrowed from their all-conquering factory racers, Yamaha’s RD250C and the 350-replacing RD400C fitted perfectly into the rapidly changing ’70s. And they proved an instant hit. Ride either of the air-cooled twin-cylinder two-strokes today and you’ll understand why. The 250 thrives on revs, with a crisp gearchange that makes keeping the robust engine spinning in the thick of its powerband engaging and fun. Fairly basic suspension can make the ride a little lively on less than perfect surfaces, but handling is actually rather good on smooth roads – especially on modern tyres. Even the brakes are decent. And while the RD250 is fun, the 400 is appreciably better. Surprisingly torquey, it’s perfectly at…

1976 The new RD250C arrives, and is joined by the RD400C which replaces the RD350. Both versions of the RD feature the new squarer-styled ‘coffin’ tank. Cast alloy wheels are an option on the 400, which also gets a disc rear brake. 1977 Disc rear brake fitted to the RD250D. Alloy wheels become standard on both models. 1978 Electronic ignition fitted to both the RD250E and RD400E. Both models now have 35mm forks. Porting and exhaust revisions for the 400 boost claimed power to 44bhp. 1979 RD250F and RD400F are the last of the air-cooled line, with detail changes only. US-market RD400 Daytona model, with ram-air cowls on the cylinder head and revised styling, is released (above).…

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Toolmaker’s clamp Cost: £20-£60 Where: Tool suppliers This toolmakers clamp [often used for holding work while tapping and drilling, with tapered jaws permitting clamping under shoulders] is still used daily, 35 years after Steve made it during his toolmaking apprenticeship. You can buy similar versions from tool suppliers. Depth micrometer Cost: £50-£300 Where: Cromwell Tools This is used to find distances between parallel surfaces and “is a very necessary tool in a busy workshop,” according to Steve. It was bought for him at the end of his five-year apprenticeship. Similar ones cost around £300, with simpler and some digital versions costing as little as £50. Cam timer Cost: Free Where: Home-made “This simple tool does an important job,” says Steve. “It’s for timing the cam to the cam wheel.” It’s…

Drilling buttons Home-made piloting buttons make it easy to position holes easily. This diagram shows how the point on a large drill leaves inadequate support at the sides to keep the point central. Chain wrench A chain wrench makes holding a sprocket while tightening or undoing an easy task. They’re usually a small-pitch chain – unlike this one, which I picked up somewhere. It’s probably home-made. Bearing puller The left-side main bearing has no lip to grab, but this puller has a conical bolt that expands it inside, gripping the bearing by friction. Heat the case and it’ll drop out. Around £60 new. Next Month With the last parts ordered, Rick will be completing the motor and firing it back up. Fingers crossed……

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Mark Graham Nobody looks at classic bikes or writes about them quite like MG. His pick of the market this month is unexpected and puts wallets in real danger. Pages 10-11 Rick Parkington When he’s not grafting in his workshop, Rick’s out finding and riding brilliant bikes – and this month we think he might have excelled himself. Pages 44-50 Greg Moss Greg travels the length of the UK, knocking on the doors of workshops and wading in with a camera. This month’s Vincent specialist is great. Pages 72-77…

Startline How many riders from the 1994 startline can you identify? Your Cassics 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 Classic Bike and save a few quid (and spend it on more bikes). Turn to page 70 for more details or go to greatmagazines.co.uk/classicbike Simply scan the code from your Smart phone…

£2995 1980 Honda XR200 Rare four-stroke that became one of the go-to machines for anyone looking for a serious lightweight trail bike in the ’80s. Survivors are hard to find in this condition. Renovated in 2009 and only light road use since then. Private sale 07395 885932 £3750 1983 Honda CX500C The popularity of the CX is rising – and this one is top-notch. A German-market C model, with twin-spark ignition and twin-piston front brake calipers. Unrestored and UK registered with mph speedo and UK headlight. classicsuperbikes.co.uk £20,000-30,000 1929 Brough Superior Overhead 680 Fancy a project? Well documented and in the same family since the ’60s. Frame, engine and tank are original, gearbox is correct type. Dismantled and dry stored for some time. bonhams.com £14,950 1979 Laverda Jota A matching…

’How much?’ Gez Kane on classic values An as-new Z1 at Mecum’s Monterey sale a few months ago fetched a staggering £61,489. Is it a sign that some classic bike values are back on the rise? I’m not so sure. Neither is Mark Bryan of Iconic Auctioneers who sold a 1973 ex-Rick Brett machine for £11,000 at around the same time. “The US market is very different to the UK scene,” he ventures. “Unused ‘as new’ machines are something of a law unto themselves, too. I’d say our bike sold for about the going rate for a really good, early Z1.” I’d agree. I think the days of the £20,000 Z1 have gone for the time being. There are plenty of more affordable Zeds around, too. I reckon £6k-7.5k would get…

Norton has revealed its new range of machines, featuring two Atlas and Manx models – but those names are the only links with the company’s glorious past. The styling and technology – and the new logo – are all wilfully modern. “Recognise the past, but don’t be harnessed by it,” says Professor Gerry McGovern, Norton’s chief creative advisor and architect of numerous Land Rover and Jaguar redesigns. “Norton has always had this essence of modernity,” he adds. “My favourite’s the 1959 Manx. They were very innovative, very modern, never looking back. That’s what this design strategy was all about. When you look at the bikes together, the first thing that strikes you is the sense of modernity. Some people may look at them and think: ‘Maybe they’re too modern’. Great…

It all started with Mad Max,” admits Trevor Slocombe. “I’d never owned a Kawasaki until I watched that film. It struck a chord with me in 1979 and I’ve had Kawasakis ever since.” The contents of his double-sized wooden garage reflect this allegiance. There’s a headless Z750E motor under the bench, a GPz1100 top end buried beneath the blast cabinet, plus an array of old numberplates from formerly-owned Kwaks and brand-specific memorabilia hanging from the roof. “My first one was a Z550,” explains Trev, whose current haul includes two Z650s (“best Japanese middleweights ever built, in my opinion”), a ZRX1100, a modern Z900RS, a Z1000 A2… and, of course, the gleaming firecracker-red bike we’ve come to see. He’s ploughed a considerable amount of time and money into this first-generation GPz750.…

Bodywork As with many ’70s bikes, original tinware and other parts are getting scarce. Check the rear of the tank – they can crack around the mounting. Good pattern mudguards are available, but seats can be hard to source – and pricey if you manage to find them. Good foams and covers are available, but check the seat base for corrosion and damage. Oil pump If a bike has been rebuilt or built from parts sourced from different donor bikes, it’s worth checking the oil pump. The 400 models have a different (higher output) pump to the 250s. The 400 pumps were marked at the factory with a dab of blue paint on one of the pump body mounting screws. Exhausts Genuine NOS exhaust systems are exceedingly rare now –…

Every man for himself Amaroo Park Raceway was the home of the Castrol 6-Hour from its inception in 1970 to 1983. The spectator-friendly 1.199-mile circuit was set in the undulating terrain of a natural amphitheatre 25 miles north-east of Sydney. This startline shot from 1975 conveys the atmosphere of the place, with the freeform fan viewpoints contrasting with the strictly regulated racing on track. The smoke from Warren Willing’s Kawasaki 750 H2 (#3) isn’t the best advert for Castrol’s clean burning two-stroke oil, but the two-stroke triples figured strongly in the early years. Willing and John Boote had finished second on a H2 in 1973, and Mike Steele and Dave Burgess had won the race in 1972. The 1975 race was won by a Kawasaki Z1 ridden by Greg Hansford…

Workshops + Knowledge + British bike basics + Project bikes + Technique Centre of Planet Vincent Steve Higgins (left) and Ben Read in the Conway Motors workshop in Kent. The company started in 1927 and by 1930 were buying HRD’s secondhand bikes that had been taken in part exchange (back then, the factory dealt directly with the public). In 1934 Conway became an official HRD agent and soon specialised in Vincents and HRDs, often displaying 100 new bikes in the 1950s. These days the company holds less stock, but is still one of the world’s foremost for Vincent expertise. Here, Steve and Ben are standing with two of their current projects: a Black Shadow and a Series B Rapide. “I’ve worked here for 12 years,” says Ben. “Before that, I…

Better than a girlfriend At the age of 78, I’m wondering where my Manx Triton is now. It seems the DVLA don’t currently have any record of STD 108D – I wonder if any CB readers can shed any light on whether it still exists? I built it as a young apprentice mechanic, after a visit to Allen and Copson in Ashtonunder-Lyne. Bill Copson suggested I could build a Manx Triton out of parts he had – he raced sidecars and offered me the engine out of his outfit as he was upgrading. It was an all-alloy 500cc Triumph engine, highly modified with central spark plug and the head made into a Bonneville-style splayed unit to accept twin carbs. The gearbox was close-ratio and he found a Manx frame, central…

We want it + Temptation + Winning bids + News + Events + Your classics The mid-1990s were an odd time for dear old Moto Guzzi. They had two eminently fit-for-purpose machines at both ends of the market: the Sport 1100s in many guises, and the California tourers for those who cared not for sport. With Suzuki Bandits and Kawasaki ZRXs selling by the boatload, they needed some form of naked stomper. Enter the Centauro in 1996. It had to have enough go to compete with four-cylinder rivals, so it employed the 992cc Daytona RS engine with belt-driven dohc operating four valves per cylinder. Daytona cams (not RS items) gave it a good 90bhp with a rumbustious 72 lb ft of torque. Forged pistons and Carillo conrods from the Daytona…

It looks like a Yamaha XS750 because that’s what it is. But closer inspection reveals unusual features. It has drilled front brake discs and a fork brace. And, perhaps most telling, it says ‘Norton Yamaha’ on the engine covers. The bike was found by CB reader Rob Wild, who acquired it without realising what it was. “I bought a restored Yamaha XS400 that seized within about 30 miles, and in looking for parts I stumbled across three XS750s on eBay,” he says. “I bid without looking at them and won the auction – then noticed this was a Norton Yamaha. It was a new one on me.” Introduced in 1969, the Norton Interpol had proved popular with police forces. Based on the Commando and fitted with fairing, panniers, top box,…

Yes, it’s in a crate and looks immaculate. Yes, the XT500 is a fantastic motorcycle and a bona fide classic. But £73,700 for a mass-produced Japanese trail bike? It isn’t even one of the first made – the model was launched 1976 and this one is thought to have been built in 1986 before being registered for the road in France in September 1988. It sold for €84,000 at the latest Sotheby’s auction in Germany.…

RIDDEN Well-roamed R90 I bought my 1976 BMW R90S in the ’70s and I’ve owned it ever since. Numerous modifications over the years include twinplugging, gas-flowed heads and increased wheel rim sizes for greater tyre selection. She has now covered 134,000 miles, with several sets of pistons, valves/guides, rings, etc fitted along the way – more as a treat for never refusing to start or run perfectly. She’s just had her 80th oil and filter change and fourth frame powdercoat. Every nut, bolt, washer and screw is stainless steel, as are the wheel axles, spokes and exhaust. She has been to most of the Isle of Man TTs from 1979 to the early 2000s, along with numerous European trips. There is no discernible wear on the cylinder barrels – and…

Blasting cabinet “I’ve had this five years and use it for all my restorations. It was a £200 internet buy and it’s paid for itself many times over. It’s not the best quality – I’ve had to reseal it, as the rubber edge seals that come with it are crap, plus I’ve fitted an internal LED light so I can better see what I’m doing.” Vevor ultrasonic cleaner “My wife bought me this for Christmas three years ago. It’s brilliant. I use it for brake calipers, carbs (four at a time), suspension bushes, the lot. I used a Dremel to clean stuff before; this is infinitely better and more effective. Wouldn’t be without it.” Fork dismantling tool “I made this out of two old box spanners and a length of…

From George Brough’s ledgers we know that PM 3970 was despatched as a 1927-model sidecar combination to GE Tunbridge, a dealer in Tunbridge Wells on November 29, 1926. The buyer was one Ernest Eustace Baltinglass Parsons of Argos Hill, East Sussex, a gentleman descended from Irish nobility. Ernest ran the bike with a sidecar, but found it difficult to start and sold it to Percy Crittall of Crittall’s garage in nearby Crowborough in around 1933. The latter kept it taxed up until 1941. After that, Percy kept it dismantled until 1961 when he sold it to another local enthusiast, Eric Peathers, who was looking for fresh projects. Eric also bought a crashed SS100 (RK 8700) for £5 for spares from an advert in Exchange and Mart, plus a 1929 SS80…

Getting into RDs comes down to the thickness of your wallet. If money is no object, who wouldn’t want the front wheel-lifting urge of the 400 and the lift in street cred from having the ‘big one’? After all, when Bike magazine tested the RD400 back in 1976, they described it as ‘the optimal air-cooled two-stroke’. And it surely still is nigh-on 50 years later. Thing is, the extra zip and swagger of the 400 comes at a cost. Just three or four years ago, prices of 400s had reached alarming highs (alarming, at least, if you fancied owning one). Top quality examples were changing hands at well over £10,000. You can still find plenty of RD400s being offered with similarly lofty price tags today, although a trawl through sold…

One minute you’re extracting every last ounce of power from a cutting-edge 1000cc Superstock racer. Next thing you know, you’re fiddling with a classic air-cooled Harley-Davidson pushrod twin with an eighth of the power. The starkness of the contrast is not lost on Steve Smith. His motorcycling odyssey has been long and varied, mingling different mechanical and racing disciplines. By 1990, Steve had established something of a reputation for himself on self-tuned long track, grasstrack and speedway machines. His were the bikes to catch. “I’d been preparing my own engines for competition, then other people kept asking me to do work for them. Gradually it took over,” says the now 64-year-old Steve. This led to him founding HM Racing (not to be confused with the HM Plant-sponsored superbike teams of…

Tecnomoto 50 We’ve had one of these in our family since before I could ride – it was passed on to us from our cousins and my brother and I both learnt to ride on it. It’s called a Paciughino and is powered by a Motori Minarelli 50cc single. I still have it, so it’s been in the family for 40-plus years. I’ll never sell it. Vincent Comet My dad bought one in about 1962. From the late ’60s until 1982, it lived in the shed. When that finally fell down, we dragged it out and restored it, visiting Conways when it was in Tankerton, Whitstable to buy bits. I was about 10 years old when we started the restoration. I still own the bike now. BSA Gold Star scrambler…

Rick Parkington 1970 Triumph TR6C ‘More haste, less speed – it’s definitely true when rebuilding an engine. Taking it apart again to correct a mistake or to sort something you’ve overlooked is never fun…’ The crankcases for our 1970 Triumph 650 twin came back from welding right on time, with just a few machining jobs for me to do. Excellent. But I admit that I’m a bit jittery about this rebuild. When owner Tony Cull got the bike, its engine was in boxes and I’m starting to realise what a tricky dimension that adds – and not only because there’s a possibility parts may be missing. Dismantling an engine is like being first on a crime scene – clues are everywhere. But when it’s delivered in bits, evidence of what went…

Alex Innocent 1978 Yamaha RD200DX Having squared up his stroker’s engine and chassis, relentless tinkerer Alex has found new areas to focus his attention… I’ve had some great rides on the RD now and it hasn’t broken down for ages. But there’s always a charging issue. Despite a new battery that’s fully charged before setting off, riding with the headlight on eventually makes the bike lose the spark on one cylinder. It doesn’t do it with the headlight off, so must be a voltage issue. The Yam has a DC starter/dynamo-type charging system using a regulator. My 72-year-old tractor has the same kind of system, with coils and mechanical points which control charging voltages. It’s simple and works… to a point. It’s not as accurate or consistent as alternator systems,…

Rick Parkington “Modern bikes have every conceivable bit of data on their ‘dash’… but on a classic Brit, you just get what you need – there’s minimal distraction from enjoying the ride.” Old British bikes tend not to bristle with instrumentation. Speedometers were only made compulsory in 1937 and anything else seemed on a ‘need to know’ basis, with the implication that a true enthusiast knew what was going on without need for warnings. Hence the term ‘idiot lights’. But some information was available. Hand gearchange gates were often stamped ‘High’, ‘Middle’ and ‘Low’, which later carried over to gear (or at least ‘Neutral’) indicator pointers on some gearboxes. The Triumph Tiger Cub even had a dial on the headlamp with a cable-driven needle. Onboard clocks may seem an unlikely…

This was the result of a drunken afternoon in the ’80s. It was a case of: ‘Let’s see what we can do and photograph it’. We used to go down to some garages in Plumstead every Saturday morning. There were always bikers down there, including my mate Stuart Dodd and his mate Ian. They had an early Honda CB750 which I jumped on for a ride to Brighton one day. It was my first go on a proper big bike and it terrified me – they all stopped and waited on a flyover for me, because I was riding so slow. The garages are also the place where I was first properly introduced to the big Kawasaki Zeds – Stuart’s Z1000 is what inspired me to get my own Z900…