Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2025 i Real Classic

Thanks to Martin Hughes-Games for a thoughtful article on the Norton 961 in RC248. I agree with everything Martin wrote, having recently test ridden one. I came close to taking advantage of Norton's tempting finance deals, but in the end I decided not to go ahead despite various technical improvements by TVS and reportedly excellent dealer support. What tipped the balance was that the 961 as sold is not practical or versatile enough for what I want; a modern Commando. The marginal charging system, tiny battery and the absence of touring options like luggage, a taller screen, and a rack all limit its use. The exhaust silencers, reportedly the ones Donnington, Garner-era bikes had for track use, are too loud for long days in the saddle, even with ear plugs,…

Like many of your readers, I suspect, I keep meaning to write to thank you both for a cracking read each month. But the months slip by and at last I have time to write. Glasgow Museum of Transport: what a monstrosity! Who assembled the collection of bikes then displayed them in a totally haphazard way? Unfortunately, this seems to be yet another arty-farty display as has recently occurred in so many art galleries, with precious paintings languishing in storage while new, experimental pieces take pride of place. However, there is still hope although it is quite a way from Glasgow. Book two or three nights in a B&B in the New Forest and spend hours in Sammy Miller's museum. Here the bikes are within touching distance, superbly presented, and…

It's hard to believe that Royal Enfield's 650cc parallel-twin platform is already clocking up its sixth birthday. The Indian company's 2018 move into the multi-cylinder middleweight marketplace has been decisive and intelligent, with a well-priced, nicely engineered, appealingly styled array of models covering almost every possible segment of the 500-800cc sector, via the Interceptor, Continental GT, Super Meteor, Shotgun and Classic variants. While continuing to offer good value for money, these have progressively extended the reach of the range, so that collectively they've catapulted Royal Enfield into the No.1 slot in the global midsized marketplace. They've also made a big difference to RE's bottom line, too, despite its CEO Siddhartha Lal's expectations at the outset that the new 650 twins would have the most appeal to export customers. Instead, Lal…

PART THE LAST The port city of Bari was buzzing with pilgrims visiting Santa Claus, or more correctly, visiting some relics of Saint Nicolas, while in a nearby street a Royal Enfield Bullet was being repaired. A loose exhaust pipe had fretted the hole in the cylinder head out of round, which Jacqui was filling in a traditional way. Strips of metal from a discarded drinks can fill the larger gaps, having first been buttered with epoxy resin which would fully harden on the hot engine. Energy drinks have their uses. A dismissive wave from a deck hand implied that the only two motorcycles on the ferry to Greece wouldn't need tying down. I needn't have worried; the 18 hour voyage was as smooth and comfortable as a train journey.…

Well, congratulations everyone! You've survived an entire 250 issues of RealClassic, and you have barely any bruises to show for it. You've all done very well, and that's without even visiting stationery and leathergoods, wigs or haberdashery (no prizes for getting the reference). As Frank mentions in From The Front, we first unleased RC upon an unsuspecting world at the VMCC Somerset section's supersize autojumble, which back then was in Shepton Mallet. So it seems only fitting that we should celebrate our 250th anniversary at the same event this year – except it's now located at Winchester Farm, Cheddar, BS27 3RP. We've sent off our booking form to reserve an indoor stall for the jumble on Saturday 29 March, but have no idea quite where we'll be situated – because…

The most striking feature of Dave Witt's B50SS Gold Star, apart from its deep purple colour, is that it still has its original BSA engine. Dave has his own ideas on how a bike should be, and some readers may recall seeing his Jawa speedway engine-powered BSA A7 in RC120. Not that the rest of the B50 is entirely as it was when it left BSA's Small Heath works for the New World in 1971. BSA 500 singles were very much a feature of Dave's life that included racing Gold Stars, and he had fancied owning a B50SS for some time. Eventually finding one for sale by a dealer he knew, they agreed a price. The deal was done but Dave had a call back a few days later. Apparently,…

Good to read Frank's various stories relating to The Shed. Nearly all the humorous tales are about oily four-strokes and few about the less complicated two-strokes. But in RC249 we see the ultimate touring two-stroke, the Ariel Leader. In RC121 you published my account of Leader ownership. My views about the bike have not changed. I also commented on the first bike I owned, a BSA Bantam, and the Norton/Steib outfit which I bought after the Leader experience. Recently I bought a Bantam B175 and also have built a Moto Guzzi outfit. The Bantam is a 4-speed version of my D5. The Guzzi? Well, can't compare to the Dommi 99! We decided that to continue riding together, a sidecar was the way to go. The Moto Guzzi is a V7…

I was fascinated to see John Moulton's book ‘Racing off the Page’ in RC248. Standing alongside John, who was mounted on the production racing Suzuki T500, was someone I have never forgotten for helping me out at a difficult time in my life, Tom Loughridge. I started work at 16 and my second position as a trainee was with the West Midlands distributor for BMC brands Morris, Wolseley, Riley, MG and Vanden Plas. They also had a motorbike dealership. I only stayed for six months but during that time met Tom Loughridge, who was in charge of the maintenance department. I bought there my first motorbike, a 1956 Ariel Colt TOC 369, for £25 on hire purchase. I spent more time than I was meant to hanging about the motorbike…

My friend Geoff, it has to be said, does enjoy a project. It helps that he's a highly skilled engineer of course. After completing his Velocette Venom (see RC178) and takinga short breather, he decided that he would like to take part in some pioneer runs and set his eyes on finding something suitable. As we are all aware, pioneer-eligible bikes are not common and nor are they cheap. Geoff being Geoff, there was only one way forward and that was, yes, you guessed it, another project. He started his search for a pre-1915 motorcycle. This wasn't easy, but eventually he spotted one on the Bonhams stand at Banbury in 2022. It turned out to be a JAP-engined 293cc 1912 New Hudson Lightweight. It was very rough, initially seemed complete,…

The Scottish Classic Motorcycle Club runs an annual Scotia challenge, usually covering 45 checkpoints scattered throughout Scotland. You take a photo of your bike at points of interest to prove you visited. Awards depend on the age of the motorcycle and the number of points visited. In 2023 I managed to break my Honda 400/4 layshaft while visiting checkpoints (tune in next month for the full story!), then my Trident turned into a twin while visiting the final points. My other half Alan has accompanied me occasionally but he'd never entered the challenge, so in 2024 we decided to complete it together. This challenge offered a choice of checkpoints in Scotland, the islands and Northern Ireland. Having got 10 points under our belt using my Trident and Alan's Rocket Three…

PO BOX 66 BUDE EX23 9ZX REALLY ROBUST RACKS We were reading Robert Murdoch's‘Last Crusade’ article in RC248 and were curious to read his comments about the Craven racks we manufacture and supply. Our Craven racks are always a little flexible until mounted onto the bike. If using one of our fitting kits, the rack will be stable and secure enough to carry fully laden luggage. If attaching with your own fittings, it must be taken on board that you must make the rack secure enough for what you plan to carry. We pride ourselves on the fact that our racks (and indeed our luggage) are not mass-produced items. They are hand bent and welded in our workshop, and then powdercoated and tested. We have changed the original design to…

What a change to see a 1950s rank and file bike being modified to hopefully run again – not necessarily as original. Just to encourage David Moore I have a Panther M10/3 alive and kicking and as near original as possible. The only other one I know of was owned by a Panther OC committee member, was still used to attend rallies all over the country. It quite often won the Most Travelled Award – somewhat slowly. I bought my M10/3 as a non-runner, stored in a shed for around 15 years. The rebuild was spread over two years at a reasonable cost, but that's another story in itself. Persistence came good in the end. Reading the article (RC238) it seems that there may be some parts left over. If…

The Sunbeam motorcycle belongs toa bygone time, as the owner of this S7 observed while we were chatting. ‘They were advertised as a Gentleman's Motorcycle,’ said Ray, ‘with contemporary adverts showing a man in a sports jacket smoking a pipe and a woman wearing a flowing summer dress. Has biking changed that much or is it just people's attitudes?’ Well… I suspect that even in 1947 when the S7 was launched, the British weather would've encouraged genteel riders to don a well-oiled layer of water-resistant protection, and maybe Madam might've covered her coif with a suitable scarf? Certainly, fashion had changed by the time Ray bought his first S7 in 1970. He paid an entire £7.10s for it – a snip, even then. ‘It had the gearbox pulled apart because…

I really do like riding Velocettes, although my regular reader may dispute this, given my many comments to the contrary over the years. I like riding all but the earliest twins, and occasionally even dream of owning a Viceroy, Velocette's eccentric take on a two-stroke maxi-scooter. I have come perilously close to buying an MSS of my own, an example of that fine model providing an utterly delightful afternoon's rustic riding many years ago. And then there was a very early and entirely unrestored post-war MAC, which was so delicious that I really should have overcome my prejudice–but I didn't. Why? Because I have a very, very long history of being unable to start Velocette's ohv singles. This plainly is unreasonable, because I had no problems at all with the…

Perhaps best known for their large-capacity twins and triples, Laverda originated in 1873 in Breganze, Italy as an agricultural machinery manufacturer. The motorcycle part of the company was formed in October 1949 and its first real motorcycle was a 75cc single-cylinder four-stroke. The company garnered a very good reputation for these bikes in the 1950s and Laverda were very successful in the long-distance events like the Moto Giro. In the 1952 Milano-Taranto race, over a distance of 1410km, they took the first five places in their class. Laverda then developed a 200cc twin to complement the singles. The marque has a strong following in classic bike circles and a very active owners club exists to fulfil the needs of the devoted owners. Bigger twins arrived first in the form of…

Christmas was approaching. Impossible deadlines loomed, mainly because we traditionally take a family holiday in midDecember and although we do of course take the next issue of the magazine in electronic form with us so we can work on it, the arctic seas are often devoid of wifi. This is mysterious. There are whales and flashing lights in the skies, but very little etheric connectivity. It's… refreshing, really, and a great incentive to get stuff done before heading north. The three clutch adjuster nuts were completely immoveable, as you might remember from last month's faintly epic instalment. None of my small collection of proper clutch adjuster tools made any impression on them at all. They would turn maybe half way then spring back. Applying the greatest force that I could…