Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2021 i Real Classic

One of the few conditions Rowena and I agreed when we started this magazine - 208 months ago! - was that as far as was possible we would focus on the bikes, rather than on the characters who ride them. This was in part an attempt to distance RC from other magazines in the same field, and because we had both become seriously bored with reading tales which described the bike's owner, house, dog, life history, lists of bikes owned and ... So bikes it was. And has pretty much remained that way since then. You'll rarely read write-ups of formerly famous racers and their famous victories, great collectors and their great collections, or even industry luminaries. However, last month's story by Martin Hughes-Games about the entirely remarkable Robert White…

In various guises, Moto Guzzi's iconic flat single 500 had for many years provided Italy with reliable, sterling service as a police and military motorcycle. However, in 1963 the Italian government recognised its aging limitations and sought a replacement. This replacement would need - among other things - a guaranteed service life of 60,000 miles and easy maintenance. Facing competition from Ducati, Laverda, Benelli and Gilera, Moto Guzzi ultimately won the contract with a machine typical of Guzzi innovation. Featuring mechanical design influences from the automotive world, the combined genius of Giulio Carcano and Umberto Todero presented a 700cc 90-degree transverse V-twin. Incorporating a four-speed gearbox and shaft final drive, it was the world's first motorcycle to rely on electric starting - with no back up kickstart. Inevitably, the engine's…

The bike and sidecar combination were too wide to fit in Chris's Transit van or any other van or bike trailer, so we had to think again. I'd driven to Buckinghamshire, viewed the 1938 Royal Enfield Model J outfit for sale and done the deal, but now had to transport it back to the west country. After only a moment of head scratching, we had a solution. 'No problem: said Chris in his usual cheery way. 'I'll ride it over to your place, if you pay for my return train ticket: Two weeks later he did just that. Chris bounced and bucked along the 120 miles of a very indirect route avoiding fast roads and congested towns at a maximum speed of 45mph to my front door. Feeling not quite…

There are two main adages applied to bike building. Firstly, work out what you think it will cost. Then double it. Most people add up the cost of fixing the frame, wheels, engine, etc, and completely fail to take account of cables, fuel and lines, controls, taps, paint, rubbers, nuts and bolts, and all the countless fiddly bits and pieces that are only a fiver here and twenty quid there, but boy do they all mount up. Secondly, when you think you're getting there, add twice as much time again as you've already spent. At least. .. Putting the main bits together is easy -the forks bolt on, the motor bolts in, the wheels might need spacers and sleeves, but mostly such things become immediately apparent. What takes the time…

In the deepest, darkest, most dank and dingy recesses of The Shed, an old motorcycle has been oozing a secret existence for a couple of decades. Occasionally I would remove its several covers, flushed with an optimistic vision of the future in which I breathe life back into those two cylinders, and ride, gentleman-like, into a bright horizon. Then I hurriedly cover the rusty hulk up again and hurl spanners at something a little less daunting. Which would be most things, mostly. Those days are gone. Today there is Only Forward. I've just enjoyed yet another birthday and am becoming concerned that the ancient gentleman will still be sitting patiently in The Shed waiting for that famous 'slight attention' when my remains have been elevated to that big fry-up in…

We'd been enjoying one of those surprisingly rare unplanned meet-ups. You know, the sort of thing where every time you chat with another enthusiast and share a good time the conversation concludes with the famous 'We'll have to get together! Next time you're nearby .. .' except that things always intrude, and that 'next time' usually fails to materialise. I've known of John Young for a very long time, and known him well enough to share a chat and a laugh for a decent number of years. And I've long respected his passion for BSA /Triumph triples and been an admirer of the utterly prodigious mileage he's put in aboard machines which have something of a varied reputation for reliability. And then, quite suddenly, there we were chattering away by…

When he passed away in December 2015 just a couple of weeks after his 90th birthday, Italian bike icon Arturo Magni could be said to have truly made his mark on motorcycle history. Even if he hadn't started building the streetbikes bearing his name more than 40 years ago, Magni would still have been a legend in his lifetime, a backroom boy made famous by the serial success of the MV Agusta Grand Prix race team. As the leader of the small band of men responsible for creating and running Count Domenico Agusta's two-wheeled Ferraris during their 26 years of GP dominance, Magni was the driving force behind the 75 World Championships won by such racing legends as John Surtees, Mike Hailwood, Carlo Ubbiali, Giacomo Agostini and Phil Read. During…

I normally adhere to the old adage that if it ain't broke then don't fix it, but had been mulling over potential improvements to my 1972 Rocket 3. The most obvious options were disc brakes, a fifth gear or a starter motor. Improving the brakes was the most practical but also the most expensive as you have to source new wheels and forks, calipers, hosing and possibly switchgear. Additionally, the original conical hubs may not be effective but they do look good. A fifth gear is also expensive, around £1150 when you factor in all the stuff that doesn't come with the kit, plus you may have to change the bearing too. The Rocket 3's inclined engine can take a starter motor, like those fitted to the Tl 60, quite…

In the midst of a long recession, fuel shortages and widespread 'stagflation' suffered by large and small business alike, motorcycling surged in the 1970s. Very plainly a survival of the fittest game, the world's bike manufacturers picked up the slack by producing ever larger, more exciting designs, all organised neatly by class. Much to the enthusiast's delight, this hotbed of competition came to a boil in 1980 - and not just in the sports-bike niche. Cultivating a rich vein of customers with cloned metric cruisers, decked-out road-sofas and off-road specialty models, Japan's rapid, well-funded expansion dominated the decade with a symphony of mechanical wizardry. Driven by a tireless work ethic, Japanese products and new technology had become synonyms. But not every motorcyclist booked passage on the techno-train. These traditionalists didn't…

During lockdown, I took the chance to attack the long list of 'Round To-lts' I have for my three AMC machines. The wring lockdown, I took the chance to attack the long list of 'Round To-lts' I have for my three AMC machines. The most complex and expensive job was to fit a new crankpin into my 1953 AJS 185. I've had the bike since 2004 to pull sidecars, and at present it's attached to a lightweight wicker single-seater with a Watsonian braked frame. When I first ran the AJS with a chair, it was not long before I coasted to a halt with a dead engine. At home, I found the crankpin had sheared off cleanly on the timing side flywheel. This was traced to an aftermarket pin that…

I'm a big fan of the entirely inappropriate vehicle, and I've long had a soft spot for the Velocette LE. It comes from the days of my youth, when I embodied a misguided patriotic desire to own a British motorcycle rather than something foreign, and you could find redundant ex-police LEs from the pages of Exchange & Mart for next to nothing. This desire lasted for many weeks until I actually got a chance to inspect one, at which point I bought a Honda CB200 instead. Even so, the soft spot remains. Why wouldn't a shaft-drive flat twin, with a host of apparently innovative features, be fascinating? But it must be said, I didn't think the LE is the most attractive motorcycle in the world. That was until I saw…