Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2025 i Real Classic

For as long as I can remember, I have always enjoyed riding big bikes. The bigger the better, basically. I did all the then usual transitions from a 200cc pop-pop Panther, via a 500 AJS single, a Matchless 650 twin… onward and indeed upward until I felt that I had finally graduated to the real world of big bikes. Yes, I had my very first Triumph 750 Bonneville. Who could ask for more than that? I wore a T-shirt revealing that only the chosen few could handle the awesome power. The awesome power? Yep, a startling 54bhp. An entire two heavy horses less than the lazy 750 Commando I replaced it with. Being entirely honest about this, that bunch of horses provided perfectly adequate performance, certainly for the rural roads…

I very much enjoyed Odgie's story in RC253 with it being so much more about the man than the machine for a change. The letters were of course interesting and entertaining as usual, and then Kevin's Letter from America. Another great story and intriguing peek at his past. So different to me and my recent history of bikes aiming to improve on those unhappy specimens of my past. Martin Peacock, member RealClassic is the best of the genre by a good margin. In particular I enjoy the variety of bikes and subjects covered; it is really well curated. My regular favourite is Ollie's OddJobs; I love the creativity. I plan to have a go at a special myself soon. I just need to find the bones of a suitable bike…

Having read the latest Ollie's OddJob, I just have to respond and defend the much maligned Honda CB500T. Ugly? That comes down to personal taste. I've often been told what a good looking machine it is and I tend to agree. When I bought it back in 1983 with 10,000 miles on the clock, I thought the bald and rather skinny 4.10 x 18 Avon Roadrunner on the rear wheel made it look a bit out of proportion. A 4.25 x 18 TT100 put that right. I've always seen a touch of Velocette Venom and Royal Enfield Interceptor (the original one) going on in the looks department, especially with the fork gaiters I added yonks ago. Gutless? Anything but. Mine is an absolute torque monster. The clutch will give in…

• CLAIMED POWER OUTPUT is 45bhp at 9000rpm. The dohc twin uses a 180-degree crankshaft which spaces the firing impulses more evenly than the conventional 360-degree crankshaft. Vibration was a big complaint against the early CB and CL450 models • FOR THE K1, piston dome and combustion chamber shapes were altered to raise the compression ratio from 8.5 to 9.0:1, and to increase squish area. A smaller diameter electric starter motor delivered higher output. The previous plunger-type self-scavenging oil pump was redesigned to insure unrestricted oil flow. Internal oil cooling fins were cast into the lower crankcase half. External fins are denser for improved cooling • THE MOST UNIQUE feature of the CB450 is the torsion bar method of closing the valves. Under torsion, the bar acts just like a…

Ariels of this era are ideal candidates for a resto project. Just ask the RC editorial team about the ease with which the mighty Toastmaster was lifted, Phoenixlike from the ashes all those years ago. On second thoughts… perhaps start with one that hasn't been on fire. Apart from that, spares are in relatively good supply and there is a lot of interchangeability between models. The online parts lists on the Draganfly website means you can identify the bit you need and how it might cost for a specific year. Yes, you will hear that sharp intake of breath at autojumbles followed by ‘no, no, no mate. Not for '56. You need this one that looks the same but is in fact totally different.' That's the joy of learning about…

PUB's decrepit 1926 HRD was requested for the VOC stand at the Stafford Classic Motorcycle Show (and how could she refuse?), to honour 100 years since Howard Davies won the SeniorTT on his own newly introduced make. But the celebration was somewhat overshadowed (pun intended) by the Brough Superior SS100 centenary… However, having a bike in the show requires delivery, preferably on the Friday, and collection again on Sunday, so it fills the weekend – especially if as happened one falls ill on the Saturday in between. Fortunately B44 Clive was also showing his 1924/9 Matchless special built around a 250cc ohv Matchless engine and a Raleigh frame, with most other subsidiary parts crafted in his shed. Since Clive has a three bike trailer (as used for transporting the Leon…

‘Have you taken it over the ton yet?’ That question was asked by one of the regulars on the RC Facebook group, to the proud purchaser of a newish Triumph Speed 400. There were plenty of other questions, of course – what are you getting to the gallon, what gearing are you running, what the heckity heck is a ‘real time active fuelling device’ when it's at home? – but it was the initial ‘wot'll it do, mister?’ enquiry which caught my eye. Back in the day – my day being roughly between 1985 and 1995 – that was the only question which really mattered. On courier duty in the capital, I was aware of fuel consumption as well but only so I could avoid running dry on the Westway…

Very unusually for a Honda, I don't recall any favourable comments ever being made about this machine. Indeed, the only positive Wikipedia recorded fact for this rather insipid, brown, 425lb 34bhp 101mph bike is that it has‘a comfy seat’! I therefore feel obliged to provide it with some credit for a rather obscure reason… In 1975, as a 24-year-old pending marriage, I was reduced to a very secondhand 150cc Francis Barnett Plover as my means of daily commuting transport. A work colleague asked if I could assist with servicing his motorbike, an L-reg 750 Combat-engined Norton Commando Interstate. This was the newest machine I had been involved with at the time. The bike's rear chain was as tight as a bowstring, and despite low mileage, its rear sprocket and brake…

In an effort to subsidise his firm's continued focus on speed and performance, Philip Vincent continually attempted to diversify its product range, seeking new gizmos which would generate income to subsidise his investment in high end engineering. So during WW2 when the Vincent-HRD Motorcycles works was turned over to production of non-motorcycle war materiel, while developing the Series B V-twin which would break cover in 1945, Vincent conceived new products for military use, especially the opposed piston two-stroke Uniflow engine. This was a 497cc two-stroke motor with three cylinders, six pistons, and two crankshafts, coupled together by chain, with the outer cylinders the power ones containing two slightly oversquare opposed pistons with uniflow piston-porting, and the central ones acting as a scavenging pump. The engine was designed to power 10-man…

This is a Carnielli MotoGraziella Cheeky Boy, a hopelessly unstable and hilarious rival for Honda's monkey bike. A little history first… In 1931 Teodoro Carnielli opened a motorcycle factory in Vittorio Veneto, a city famous for being the site of the last battle between the Italians and the Austrians in WW1, and a noted area for making Prosecco, which may explain a lot. Teodoro made bikes with small JAP engines and rather bigger Rudge Python powerplants in the 1930s. Post-WW2 he built machines with NSU and Lambretta engines, branded as Vittoria. 1968 saw the appearance of the MotoGraziella Cheeky Boy moped. Graziella is either the name of the tragic heroine of a French poem from the 1830s about a 16 year-old girl who dies of a broken heart when her…

Summat to say? Send your comments, hints, tips, tales of woe and derring-don't to RCHQ@RealClassic.net A WARM WELCOME? Reading the subscriber newsletter last month, I was sorry to read about Lloyd, an AMC lightweight owner, having his chosen mount belittled by other club members. I had a similar experience over thirty years ago with my lightweight Matchless G2. One member who owned a flashy 650cc G12 CSR used to taunt me by suggesting I get rid of my G2 and buy a motorcycle! I always found the bike a joy to ride, and I would say it was my favourite of all the bikes I've owned. I had many, many, very enjoyable rides on the G2, including riding to AJS&MOC Jampot Rallies in Devon, North Wales, Essex, and North Yorkshire.…

I always renew my magazine subscription at the Winter Classic show at Newark. This year's free gift for doing so was this little Teng tool set. It is perfect for removing the nut and pilot jet, being nice and small in an awkward tight space. So now my Triumph's pilot jet is unblocked and we've returned to nice easy starting. I also gave her a full 3 hole oil change – just to see where it decides to leak from now all the levels are high again! Tom Watson, member REMEMBER ROD? I was glad to read Rod Ker's name in last month's shed tales. I don't remember the TR65 but the ‘White Elephant’ Ariel Leader and the XS750 he cobbled together were excellent series. His writing style was superb.…

The Sammy Miller Museum in New Milton, Hampshire, UK is crammed full of interesting machines – including one of the biggest collections of exotic racing bikes in the world, and all are runners! These include the V8 Moto Guzzi, AJS Porcupine, Mondial 250 with dustbin fairing, Nortons, Ducatis, Suzukis, Hondas, Velocettes and many more! The Road Bike Hall includesa huge collection of factory prototypes and exotic designs from all over the world, and of course there are plenty of dirtbikes and trial icons, too – over 400 bikes in total. The Museum is open to visitors daily from 10am every day at New Milton, Hampshire B25 5SZ. 01425 620777 / www.sammymiller.co.uk…

Have you ever had that itchy feeling, like you want to try something new? After messing around with old British motorcycles for 30-odd years I had that feeling. I started wondering what it would be like to ride (and mess around with) an old Japanese bike. I'd been admiring the 1970s Hondas for a while, with all their glittering chrome and bright paint colours, not to mention such luxuries as electric start, indicators and even five-speed gearboxes. This was all new to me: my ‘modern’ bike is a 1958 BSA Shooting Star. The other bikes in my garage are a 1937 Ariel NH Red Hunter (to scratch the girder-rigid itch) and a 1952 Sunbeam S8 which has been in my ownership for nearly thirty years. Then I started noticing a…