The Classic MotorCycle

Started in 1903, The Classic MotorCycle has more to offer the true vintage motorcycle enthusiast than any other publication, backed by Europe's largest motorcycle image archive.

The Classic MotorCycle2 min read
Welcome
Patina has been occupying my thoughts of late, the trend being now much more to preserve rather than restore, if at all possible. Obviously, that’s not always viable, if something is too far ‘gone’. Jerry Thurston’s column (page 96) deals with that d
The Classic MotorCycle3 min read
On The Sand
Southport has been much in the UK news of late, owing to a terrible atrocity, claiming the lives of three young children and injuring many more. This is a much more positive focus on the North West coastal town, with the picture capturing a wonderful
The Classic MotorCycle4 min read
News & Events
This incredible time-warp 1913 Flying Merkel 996cc Twin Seventy-one 471 was acquired by Vic Norman in 1998 from Bud Ekins. Vic’s work routinely took him to California for the air show season, and his friend Alain De Cadenet and he would often ride ov
The Classic MotorCycle2 min read
Book Review
“Raring to Go!” Star-studded stories from high-flying reporter and sports journalist Ted Macauley. Author: Ted Macauley Published by: Veloce Publishing Ltd., 2 Poundbury Business Centre, Middle Farm Way, Poundbury, Dorchester DT1 3W Tel. 01305 26006
The Classic MotorCycle3 min read
With A Douglas In Spain
“First-hand impressions of a country which is seldom visited,” so read the subheading to the same title we’ve used for our piece. It’s hard to believe now, that in 1949, Spain was a mystical land that not many had ever been to – within a generation,
The Classic MotorCycle2 min read
The Way We Were In october
Over the past few weeks, several makers had announced 1925 season programmes, and many of the featured models were to be displayed at the autumn shows. Major makers, including BSA, offered a large range of models, with the Small Heath maker catalogin
The Classic MotorCycle1 min read
The Classic MotorCycle
EDITOR James [email protected] REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Tim Britton, Alan Cathcart, Jonathan Hill, Roy Poynting, Richard Rosenthal, Martin Squires, Jerry Thurston, Alan Turner, Phil Turner CONTRIBUTORS IN THIS ISSUE Mike Davis, Steve W
The Classic MotorCycle3 min read
Jump To It
In a feature titled ‘I join the police’, published on April 13, 1967, Motor Cycle’s Midlands editor Bob Currie reported on a new departure, the formation of a West Midlands Police Motorcycle Display Team. The West Midlands Constabulary had just been
The Classic MotorCycle5 min read
Readers’ Letters
As a subscriber of a certain age, and avid reader of your magazine, I was pleased to see an article spread across pages eight and nine of the September issue, entitled Champions Chat. I was a spectator on the day at Mallory and enjoyed watching SMBH,
The Classic MotorCycle11 min read
Rare Rocket
Well, Peter Hall has done it again. Regular readers may recall retired mechanic Peter’s painstakingly mechanically restored and beautifully finished takes on other BSAs, including his 1940 M20 (TCM, October 2020). But his preference runs to the 1971/
The Classic MotorCycle5 min read
Bracebridge Street at Brooklands
The theme for this year’s Motorcycle Day, on July 7, was ‘Norton.’ A bigger canvas it is hard to imagine as the manufacturer is surely the most storied name in British road racing. The marque really cemented its place in history between the wars, par
The Classic MotorCycle6 min read
It’s All About The Chat
In the old days (pre-Covid) when I lived in Lincolnshire, the journey to Founders’ Day, at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire, was worth doing by motorcycle, as it was quite a nice ride, or could be. Often, there’d be a few others going too, thus making
The Classic MotorCycle11 min read
First Of The Few
There are a few motorcycle makes which, to me, have always held a special interest – and the ‘Davies’ HRD is one of those. The scarcity of the actual machines and their success in such a short period – if ever a star shined bright and burned out fast
The Classic MotorCycle10 min read
A Nod To The Past
If you were asked to name the machine most likely to ignite a passion for classic British motorcycles, you’d probably go with an iconic winner like the Manx Norton or Gold Star, or something rare and exotic like a Black Shadow or SS100. You probably
The Classic MotorCycle6 min read
From Strength To Strength
Both when the original races were staged in the early 1950s and the commemorative event was inaugurated in 2006, the closed street circuit in central Bressuire, in Western France, played host only to four-wheeled machines. Then, in 2018, the organise
The Classic MotorCycle14 min read
Ancestral Ariel
The Ariel Motor Company, Birmingham displayed its Minerva-engined Motor Bicycle at London’s National Cycle Show in November 1901. Ariel was one of the pioneer brand names in two-wheeled history, dating to 1847, and after other applications was duly a
The Classic MotorCycle7 min read
Right To Buy
Now, those of you who are regular readers will have grasped that I can basically resist nothing when it comes to motorcycles, always able to justify another purchase in an often elaborate manner. So when details of Bonhams’ first online-only auction
The Classic MotorCycle14 min read
Side By Side With The Americans
A full six decades have passed since a new motorsport discipline landed on UK shores, announcing its arrival with an all-out assault on the senses. The occasion was the 1964 International Festival of Drag Racing. This pioneering event, soon known as
The Classic MotorCycle5 min read
Morini 3½– The First Decade
The Morini 3½ is a machine for enthusiasts, and this is reflected in the energetic Morini Riders’ Club. Membership offers all the usual club benefits as well as track days, factory visits, dealer discounts and products. Subscription is a reasonable £
The Classic MotorCycle3 min read
Sketchbook Travels
‘Brooklands’ is possibly my top museum in the UK, perhaps tied with the Shuttleworth Collection, due to the fact that both are working museums whose tireless volunteers keep historical machinery running in order to provide a full motoring experience
The Classic MotorCycle3 min read
The Popularity Paradox
In an ideal world, a bike could be pulled apart and bits laid out while work went ahead, but few of us can realise this idyll, and work on motorcycles in my workshop has to dovetail in with other things. This means a bike has to be mobile as the hydr
The Classic MotorCycle4 min read
Diary
The Classic MotorCycle is anxious to learn all about your motorcycle-related events. Contact us at The Classic MotorCycle, Mortons Media Ltd, Diary Listings, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ or email [email protected] 1 Stratford Autoj
The Classic MotorCycle4 min read
Restoration Processes
While I appreciate a full restoration, and have done them in the past, I love original motorcycles. There is something about seeing the factory-applied paint, nickel or chrome which connects me to the machine in a way that a fully restored bike’s fin
The Classic MotorCycle3 min read
Tanks (sic) For The Memory
Looking at photographs of my latest acquisition, a friend commented that he could see why I bought it, ‘despite its boxy-looking petrol tank’. I was more puzzled than offended by his half-hearted approval, because – to me – factors like the bike’s pr
The Classic MotorCycle3 min read
Timed Flyers – When You’re Having Fun…
Those riding most of the motorcycles featured in the pages of this magazine inevitably defer to the age and rarity of the machine, and leave full-out performance to estimates or makers’ claims. So it is interesting to see venerable bikes being – in m
The Classic MotorCycle2 min read
Welcome
Patina has been occupying my thoughts of late, the trend being now much more to preserve rather than restore, if at all possible. Obviously, that’s not always viable, if something is too far ‘gone’. Jerry Thurston’s column (page 96) deals with that d
The Classic MotorCycle1 min read
The Classic MotorCycle
EDITOR James [email protected] REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Tim Britton, Alan Cathcart, Jonathan Hill, Roy Poynting, Richard Rosenthal, Martin Squires, Jerry Thurston, Alan Turner, Phil Turner CONTRIBUTORS IN THIS ISSUE Mike Davis, Steve Wils
The Classic MotorCycle3 min read
News & Events
This incredible time-warp 1913 Flying Merkel 996cc Twin Seventy-one 471 was acquired by Vic Norman in 1998 from Bud Ekins. Vic’s work routinely took him to California for the air show season, and his friend Alain De Cadenet and he would often ride ov
The Classic MotorCycle3 min read
On The Sand
Southport has been much in the UK news of late, owing to a terrible atrocity, claiming the lives of three young children and injuring many more. This is a much more positive focus on the North West coastal town, with the picture capturing a wonderful
The Classic MotorCycle2 min read
Timed Flyers – When You’re Having Fun…
Those riding most of the motorcycles featured in the pages of this magazine inevitably defer to the age and rarity of the machine, and leave full-out performance to estimates or makers’ claims. So it is interesting to see venerable bikes being – in m
The Classic MotorCycle2 min read
The Way We Were In october
Over the past few weeks, several makers had announced 1925 season programmes, and many of the featured models were to be displayed at the autumn shows. Major makers, including BSA, offered a large range of models, with the Small Heath maker catalogin
The Classic MotorCycle2 min read
Book Review
“Raring to Go!” Star-studded stories from high-flying reporter and sports journalist Ted Macauley. Author: Ted Macauley Published by: Veloce Publishing Ltd., 2 Poundbury Business Centre, Middle Farm Way, Poundbury, Dorchester DT1 3W Tel. 01305 260068
The Classic MotorCycle3 min read
With A Douglas In Spain
“First-hand impressions of a country which is seldom visited,” so read the subheading to the same title we’ve used for our piece. It’s hard to believe now, that in 1949, Spain was a mystical land that not many had ever been to – within a generation,
The Classic MotorCycle3 min read
Jump To It
In a feature titled ‘I join the police’, published on April 13, 1967, Motor Cycle’s Midlands editor Bob Currie reported on a new departure, the formation of a West Midlands Police Motorcycle Display Team. The West Midlands Constabulary had just been
The Classic MotorCycle5 min read
Readers’ Letters
As a subscriber of a certain age, and avid reader of your magazine, I was pleased to see an article spread across pages eight and nine of the September issue, entitled Champions Chat. I was a spectator on the day at Mallory and enjoyed watching SMBH,
The Classic MotorCycle10 min read
Rare Rocket
Well, Peter Hall has done it again. Regular readers may recall retired mechanic Peter’s painstakingly mechanically restored and beautifully finished takes on other BSAs, including his 1940 M20 (TCM, October 2020). But his preference runs to the 1971/
The Classic MotorCycle5 min read
Bracebridge Street at Brooklands
The theme for this year’s Motorcycle Day, on July 7, was ‘Norton.’ A bigger canvas it is hard to imagine as the manufacturer is surely the most storied name in British road racing. The marque really cemented its place in history between the wars, par
The Classic MotorCycle10 min read
First Of The Few
There are a few motorcycle makes which, to me, have always held a special interest – and the ‘Davies’ HRD is one of those. The scarcity of the actual machines and their success in such a short period – if ever a star shined bright and burned out fast
The Classic MotorCycle5 min read
It’s All About The Chat
In the old days (pre-Covid) when I lived in Lincolnshire, the journey to Founders’ Day, at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire, was worth doing by motorcycle, as it was quite a nice ride, or could be. Often, there’d be a few others going too, thus making
The Classic MotorCycle9 min read
A Nod To The Past
If you were asked to name the machine most likely to ignite a passion for classic British motorcycles, you’d probably go with an iconic winner like the Manx Norton or Gold Star, or something rare and exotic like a Black Shadow or SS100. You probably
The Classic MotorCycle13 min read
Ancestral Ariel
The Ariel Motor Company, Birmingham displayed its Minerva-engined Motor Bicycle at London’s National Cycle Show in November 1901. Ariel was one of the pioneer brand names in two-wheeled history, dating to 1847, and after other applications was duly a
The Classic MotorCycle5 min read
From Strength To Strength
Both when the original races were staged in the early 1950s and the commemorative event was inaugurated in 2006, the closed street circuit in central Bressuire, in Western France, played host only to four-wheeled machines. Then, in 2018, the organise
The Classic MotorCycle6 min read
Right To Buy
Now, those of you who are regular readers will have grasped that I can basically resist nothing when it comes to motorcycles, always able to justify another purchase in an often elaborate manner. So when details of Bonhams’ first online-only auction
The Classic MotorCycle13 min read
Side By Side With The Americans
A full six decades have passed since a new motorsport discipline landed on UK shores, announcing its arrival with an all-out assault on the senses. The occasion was the 1964 International Festival of Drag Racing. This pioneering event, soon known as
The Classic MotorCycle5 min read
Morini 3½– The First Decade
The Morini 3½ is a machine for enthusiasts, and this is reflected in the energetic Morini Riders’ Club. Membership offers all the usual club benefits as well as track days, factory visits, dealer discounts and products. Subscription is a reasonable £
The Classic MotorCycle3 min read
The Popularity Paradox
In an ideal world, a bike could be pulled apart and bits laid out while work went ahead, but few of us can realise this idyll, and work on motorcycles in my workshop has to dovetail in with other things. This means a bike has to be mobile as the hydr
The Classic MotorCycle4 min read
Diary
The Classic MotorCycle is anxious to learn all about your motorcycle-related events. Contact us at The Classic MotorCycle, Mortons Media Ltd, Diary Listings, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ or email [email protected] 1 Stratford Autoj
The Classic MotorCycle3 min read
Sketchbook Travels
‘Brooklands’ is possibly my top museum in the UK, perhaps tied with the Shuttleworth Collection, due to the fact that both are working museums whose tireless volunteers keep historical machinery running in order to provide a full motoring experience
The Classic MotorCycle4 min read
Restoration Processes
While I appreciate a full restoration, and have done them in the past, I love original motorcycles. There is something about seeing the factory-applied paint, nickel or chrome which connects me to the machine in a way that a fully restored bike’s fin
The Classic MotorCycle3 min read
Tanks (sic) For The Memory
Looking at photographs of my latest acquisition, a friend commented that he could see why I bought it, ‘despite its boxy-looking petrol tank’. I was more puzzled than offended by his half-hearted approval, because – to me – factors like the bike’s pr

The Classic MotorCycle

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