Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2025 i The Classic MotorCycle

This rather ingenious contraption was featured in the July 5, 1951 issue of The Motor Cycle, with the accompanying caption: “Noel Ellis, Bendigo (Victoria, Australia) representative for Ariel motorcycles, takes his own ‘lodgings’ with him when on his rounds. He has done over 30,000 miles on his 1949 VG Ariel.” Sadly, nothing more is written about the rig, at all, so we can’t really learn any more about its construction. We’ve all surely seen motorcycle trailers and caravans before – indeed, Rudge even listed a caravan in the 1920s – but these were envisaged to be towed behind a sidecar outfit. Until 1984 it was in fact illegal to tow a trailer behind a solo motorcycle in the UK. Mr Ellis’s device would probably still be outlawed in Britain today,…

If money were no object and you wanted the finest example of a British 650cc twin, what would you go for: Bonneville, Rocket Goldie, Norton Dommie? On what criteria would you base your decision: performance and racing pedigree, aesthetics, sound and feel? They’re all equally blessed in all those departments. Perhaps you’d be tipped one way or another by a past experience with, or preference towards, one particular marque? It’s an exercise of pure fantasy for most of us of course, but for the gentleman who was about to become the owner of this particular 650SS, that hypothetical scenario is a reality. Though he shall remain nameless, the gentleman in question resides not on these shores but in Japan. In recent decades a growing number of Japanese motorcycle enthusiasts have…

Horex was Germany’s leading manufacturer for almost 50 years either side of the Second World War and was in many ways comparable to Britain’s even older Matchless marque in terms of product and its place in the market, and in its road racing involvement, too. But, curiously, it’s little known outside Germany – despite its products being exported to as many as 65 different countries during the 1950s, though not including the UK. That’s despite its wide range of models having an undeniably British air about them in terms of design, and even styling. Located in Bad Homburg, north of Frankfurt, Horex was founded in 1923 by Fritz Kleeman, 22, whose father Friedrich owned the Rex glassware company, a manufacturer of preservative jars based there, and was also the main…

Like many Italian engineering concerns, Aermacchi had to think fast after the hostilities in Europe ceased. Societa Anonima Nieuport-Macchi – as it was originally titled on its foundation in 1912 – had built their business around aircraft production: initially Nieuport monoplanes under licence, then seaplanes, but perhaps most notably the formidable Macchi C202 Folgore and C205 Veltro fighters during the Second World War. The 1947 Treaty of Peace with Italy (one of the Paris Peace Treaties) restricted the number of aircraft the Italian Air Force were permitted to operate, which for Aermacchi spelled disaster – even the company name ‘aer-macchi’ translated as ‘air-machine.’ Opportunity presented itself in the pressing need for low-cost machines to help mobilise the eager but still cash-strapped European workforce. Although not a million miles away from…

Two wheels is all we need... While visiting the 2024 Pioneer Run, I came across this intriguing special. Whereas the majority of my Motorcycle Specials articles feature competition machines, this one is a special, but built for practical, day-to-day use. My immediate observation was the motorcycle’s ample seat along with the long wheelbase, this was clearly built for comfort, not speed. So who built this machine? And why? In the early 1920s, Farnborough-based engineer Victor Sidney George Walker was looking for a method of transport not just for himself, but also his wife and, on occasion, their dog. Not wanting to surrender to three or four wheels and with inspiration to engineer something that ticked all the boxes for the family, Walker decided to build his own touring motorcycle, that…

This superb action picture by Nick Nicholls, of Swedish star Per-Olaf Persson, was taken at the 1965 British Motocross Grand Prix, held at Hawkstone Park, Shropshire, in front of 30,000 spectators. Riding a Hedlund, Persson wasn’t among the front runners, bagging a pair of 12th places, but he did well enough that season to finish sixth in the 500cc world title chase, riding the unusual pre-unit big single he’s pictured on here. By 1965, the Hedlund was something of an anachronism and was struggling to match the front runners in world level motocross – which were by that time, the four-stroke 441cc unit BSA singles and the two-stroke 360cc CZs, and though the Beesa was good enough for Jeff Smith to retain his 1964 world title crown in 1965, the…

John Dutch freely admits to really being a Vincent man, being a previous owner, along with having an eclectic selection of other motorcycles through the years, including Nortons, Triumphs, Excelsiors and many more. However, after restoring his 1937 Rudge Special, his view is, if he were younger, he could ‘become addicted to the marque’ – quite a statement, considering the amount of work that went into the example pictured here. Talking at length to John, a time-served engineer by trade, it is abundantly clear he appreciates the engineering side of the Rudge and the quality of its components, rather than those lesser products commonly found on mass-produced models. I’m not sure you can realistically or easily compare the products of the Stevenage and Coventry brands, other than they were usually…

The Sunbeam Motor Cycle Club, now a centenarian in its own right, does its best to promote events around the country encouraging the use of pre-1930s motor cycles. The significance of the 1930 date is that it’s also the year when the club held the first Pioneer Run. On that occasion the start was at Croydon Airport and the finish was on Madeira Drive, the seafront road at Brighton. Soon after, the start became established at Tattenham Corner at Epsom, and in more recent years another historical aeronautical venue now plays host to the finish, Brighton City Airport at Shoreham. With a few breaks dictated by external matters, this year’s was the 84th Pioneer. For all that impressive number of events, one constant is the eligibility of machines taking part.…

It is a common story that Eddie Dow was the first to take a Super Rocket engine and fit it into a Gold Star chassis. Some say this was the first Rocket Gold Star, others reckon BSA sent him some engines to fit in Gold Star chassis. Another school says that BSA copied what Eddie Dow did and called the result the Rocket Gold Star. Of course, none of these can be proven. Moreover, there are no bikes existing which can be traced back to Dow; also, there is no substance that BSA supplied him engines. It is a fact that there are no entries in the dispatch books showing this. Nobody can show any evidence that BSA copied the supposed Eddie Dow machines. But the story continues, as it…

However, this is the clubman world, and costs have to be watched. A slightly different tack to the rebuild thing this issue, and there are a few minor things away being welded by trusted welders whose schedules I’ve had to fit in with. Things such as a rear brake lever which needed to be created from the bent and twisted remains of a miscellaneous unknown lever, and a kick-start lever which needs to have a folding lever welded on to the original Triumph one, so it will swing out and miss the footrest and whatever silencer I end up fitting when kicking the engine over. Such things don’t take long to do, and you wouldn’t want me welding anything, so I just have to wait for the people who are…

From The Motor Cycle of June 1, 1911, comes this wonderful picture of J S (John Spear or ‘Jack’) Holroyd setting off on his attempt, during the Herts County Open Speed trials, held at Brookmans Park estate, having been given permission to do so by owner of said property, Mr HL Gaussen – though Gaussen was spelled incorrectly as ‘Ganssen’ in the original report. Holroyd is framed by the Bell Bar gates, or the Folly Arch, the southern entrance to the grounds. It’s possible to make out the starting line, having just been crossed by the front wheel of the little Motosacoche. The Motor Cycle described the course thus: “The actual point of departure was just inside the gates. The road descended a gradient of about one-in-16 and then entered…

Over the many years, now more than two decades, that I’ve been associated with this publication, and in the course of that association attending shows, I struggle to think of an event that was colder in temperature than the Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic, held over January 11/12. It was, quite literally, freezing. Though that didn’t seem to hamper showgoers, as they flocked through the gates on the bright and oh-so-cold Saturday morning, soon meaning that the car park was full and the overspill pushed into use. Considering the cold weather – though it was mercifully bright and not really windy – the dedication and enthusiasm was highly commendable, both from visitors and exhibitors alike, as well as the hardy traders and show staff. The show was also a weekend…

The Story So Far: Ageing rider Steve, a BSA man, had become obsessed with sampling Triumph twin vroom as a last go-round. His new pal Tim Ainslie had rebuilt the 650cc engine of Steve’s unfashionable, but economically priced, 1972 T120R Bonneville to a high standard in under three months. After local BSA guru Len Page had got the lights and ignition working, it was time for a first ride. For the full backstory, see TCM, March 2024. It was a beautiful day, not even too hot, when we arrived at Len’s to collect the newly electrified Bonnie, now fitted with Pazon electronic ignition. Tim was following me home in his car, just in case. I felt a bit nervous, but mainly excited that the non-runner I’d taken delivery of in…

A reliable old motorcycle that is a pleasure to ride is not generally a matter of good luck or accident. It is the result of diligent attention to detail and doing things properly. Anything missed or not done properly is likely to cause trouble and expense later. There are some simple rules that I have found it wise to bear in mind if a bike is to be safe and reliable in use. The most difficult problems in a rebuild are usually related to damage rather than simple wear. Mixing Whitworth, A/F and Metric hexagons is a crime that deserves severe punishment. Learn to identify threads, thread gauges are cheap and indispensable. The search for correct parts can consume a lot of time, energy and cash. There is no guarantee…

As is probably the case with most of you reading this, when the sun is shining, I’d much rather be a) riding my motorcycle or b) sitting with a cold beer in hand, preferably the latter following the former, but both far more pleasurable than fighting with seized bolts and 30-year-old grease in a hot workshop. So, as the thermometer nailed to the door once again indicated it would be somewhat uncivilised inside – and with the previous weekend’s very hot and sweaty strip down still fresh in my memory – I was less than enthusiastic about getting stuck into the MZ again. As uncomfortable as it was, said strip down was instigated to give me some momentum with the project, and I was determined not to lose it. I…

What is mineral oil? A mineral oil is only a mineral oil when it is processed from a mineral source – commonly, it is a distillate of the crude oil. Any oil derived from a plant source cannot be a mineral oil. Although the term ‘mineral oil’ has been employed for the past 250 or so years, its use hasn’t always been correctly applied, thus some plant-based oils have been classified as mineral oils, which is historically confusing. Also confusingly, what is sold today in some countries as mineral oil isn’t the same brew as marketed under this name in the UK. And while we as motorcyclists – as well those in the automotive and associated fields and many in industry – call the distillate from crude oil ‘mineral oil,’…