Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2020 i Real Classic

I decided to buy a motorbike. A very specific bike that had been calling to me via eBay. A 1978 BMW R100S to be precise. I had ridden one extensively 27 years previously and, well, nostalgia and stuff. It had been my dad’s old bike; the DOB. He had tried to fit it with a Honda fairing for some reason, and when that went wrong he left it in the back of the garage in disgust. I was 19 and in need of transport. My old, knackered Yamaha DT50 (circa early 1980s) which I had ridden since I was 16 just couldn’t cut it anymore. So of course a monstrous litre bike was the natural progression. Stripping off the horrible fairing (a Honda Silverwing offering, I seem to recall) the…

When you twist the grip, the Bobber’s high-torque 1200 engine rapidly yanks you towards tomorrow with a throaty bellow from the Vance and Hines pipes behind. There’s no jerky hesitation or throttle lag – none of the issues with low-rev power delivery that plagued early fuel-injection and ride-by-wire systems. The bike just takes a big bound forward, shoving you back in the solo saddle. It’s addictively exhilarating; the kind of performance which wowed Edward Turner’s customers when they first encountered his parallel twin 83 years ago. It’s ridiculous to suggest that my 1198cc cammy twin and Turner’s pushrod 5T share many similarities apart from the obvious geometry – but they both deliver eye-pleasing style and visceral thrills. Like Peter with his Speed Twin, I too wanted a modern motorcycle with…

You can buy a lot of big bikes for your bucks right now. RealClassic regular Steven has a stack of Italian classics in his garage, so we asked him to compare the merits of three popular machines – not the hyper-expensive, utterly exclusive ones typically offered at high-brow auctions, but the models which come up for sale fairly frequently at reasonable rates. A Ducati V-twin is probably at the top of most wish lists, so Steven reports on his 1974 750 GT. The Laverda equivalent, a 1973 SF1 750, arranges its twin cylinders side-by-side and feels surprisingly different. But Steven starts his selection with the most remarkable machine in this trio: a six-cylinder Benelli 750 from 1978. Once you’ve considered his comments, do let us know which one you’d choose…

Imagine that it was possible to simply wander off to a showroom and order yourself a brand new classic bike. Maybe a Trident, maybe a Bonneville, maybe … a Commando. Step back, adjust your rosy-tint spectacles and admire the bike in these photos – because someone did exactly that in 2010, and this was the result. Noted Norton specialists the Norvil Motorcycle Company, of deepest Burntwood, have built several new Commandos over the years, and although I’ve ridden a few of them before they were delivered to their proud new owners, riding someone’s P&J before they actually receive it does constrain the enthusiasm a little. With this 2010 example … not so much. Before I start to consider the bike, let’s get the riding thing out of the way. A…

Would you wear plus fours? No, because your friends would laugh at you. Similarly, you wouldn’t wear a top hat (unless you were a throw-back MP) as you would look foolish. However, you would probably wear a pair of old jeans, simply because they are cool. And 1960s Triumph Bonnevilles have this cool factor. To this I could attest when a couple of young hipsters both rolled up on such machines at a Haynes ride-in. One had a 1967 and the other a 68 Triumph Bonneville, and they were rightly proud of their steeds. But why would they choose a 60s Triumph over a modern machine? Style, of course. However, not everyone wants the unreliability of a classic bike, especially if you have one or two already. Factor in the…

More years ago than I like to remember, I was an apprentice at the English Electric Company in Preston. I commuted to work using a G2 Matchless. There was only one other motorcyclist in the machine shop where I worked, a senior apprentice who rode a Velocette. Velocette! The name is legendary. It conjures up images of super-fast cammy singles racing to victory in the Isle of Man and world championships; of a Venom breaking a world record by exceeding 100mph for 24 hours and, of course, the highly desirable and expensive Thruxton. To me, in those days, if you owned a Velocette then you were a cut above the owners of other makes. If you owned a Velo then you were an ‘enthusiast’. Hard-riding clubmen rode Velocettes. I was…

ABSA A10 came into my life in 1980, so this year we’ll celebrate 40 years together. For the first half of our relationship, the Beezer was a standard Golden Flash, finished handsomely in black. For the second half, it has pulled a sleek sidecar, and has been dressed in gold, or, rather, Golden Flash Beige. Readers will hopefully be interested in two things: first, what work has been done on this Beezer over the years, and second, why turn a serviceable solo into an outfit? Like many owners, I modify my bikes to address shortcomings or to repair damage or breakdowns. Often, the fixes introduce new parts that perform better than the originals. In this spirit, the solo BSA acquired a 12V conversion in 1985, using a JG unit from…

Cycle magazine tested a new MSS when the model was re-launched in 1954, and this is what they thought of it… ‘The model name and the displacement are the only resemblances to the old MSS 500. A square bore and stroke is employed, in contrast to the long stroke / small bore featured in the 1948 MSS. The greatest advantage of squaring the dimensions is, of course, a slower piston speed and resulting longer wear of the piston, rings and bore, not to mention a greater reliability factor when the revs are kept high. ‘It was a matter of a few days before I could start a cold MSS in three kicks. It would be a decided improvement if the kickstart lever was about two inches longer. The MSS has…

If your memory is unusually acute, you might recall that last month’s offering ended in a vaguely triumphant haze. In fact, it ended in a great big cloud, rather than a haze. A cloud of smoke from the decently patinated silly fat silencer of the Matchless CSR twin which has been perched on the bench for at least a decade, maybe more. Maybe a lot more. It certainly feels that way. So, engine running, sounding surprisingly robust for a unit which has endured decades of neglect and indeed abuse and which is almost certainly terminally worn out, it is time to hit the highway. Of course it is. Possibly. There are always tiny fleas in the poultice, however, and I am that old dog with no new tricks, so I…