As the electric bicycle/motorcycle concept increases in popularity, will it go the way of pioneer motorcycling... or autocycles?

Right, so you’ve passed your CBT, bought some kit and found a bike you like – what’s left to do before you can ride on the road legally? That’s right. You’ve still got to sort some insurance.

Try to consider your own bike - the bike you're selling - through the eyes of the buyer.

Needle jets from Amal What are they? They’re Monobloc ‘T’ needle jets as fitted to certain models of Monobloc carburettors. These needle jets, originally made for trials bikes, don’t have the cross drilling that standard

Pat French died this summer. Nigel Green says goodbye to the man behind the MRD-Métisse… On 30th July 2007 Pat

What’s new in the world of classic motorcycling? A new sidecar especially for BSAs, classic racing at Donington, the Douglas

Triumph motorcycles launch a special model to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Bonneville, and reveal steadily rising sales… Triumph

The Vincent Spares Co has found a new home, we’ve got details of an auction in America, the AJS and

The classic motorcycling world bids farewell to one of its stalwarts with the sad news that Titch Allen has died,

Every year, we invent a ridiculous reason to go for rides on our old bikes. This time, the lure of

What’s the best way to stop oil draining into the sump of your old British bike? Phone up Frank Westworth

Want a high gloss shine? Contact ACM Finishing The staff at the Lowestoft business had been polishing metal parts for years using conventional polishing methods which involve surface preparation and then buffing and finishing, and

Harley-Davidson tour The Ride Home, which begins on August 18, is a 10 day ride across the United States from Los Angeles, California to Milwaukee, Wisconsin birthplace and home of Harley-Davidson Motorcycles. The tour arrives

New look calendar It unfolds, so that the unfortunate machines depicted each fill an entire A4 sheet, thus rendering oil leaks, dents, rust patches and mismatched parts clearly visible. The lower part has individual days

Matt and Mike Collier with Sammy Miller at the handing over of the Collier To mark the inspiration of this great innovator the trust is contemplating a ‘Bob Collier Area.’ The machines are circa 1940s

Eccles Racing Cruiser boots It’s all well and good wearing modern riding gear on an old motorcycle but it doesn’t look right does it? All that bling and boots with sliders with spangly bits on

Guest of honour Guy Martin Racer Guy Martin will meet fans on the Live Motorbike Stage where he will be interviewed about his career and bikes. Also interviewed will be racer and TT rider Mick

Riders leave the Kinlochleven car park where the Moidart Run starts each The date will be Thursday, May 2, and it will start and finish at Kinlochleven, take riders on to the Corran ferry and

Bike breathalyser fines put back until next March The fines were due to be enforced from November 1 this year, with all drivers in France, including motorcyclists, now required to carry a breathalyser kit. The

‘Old Bill’ commanded a huge price Old Bill was certainly one such model with an extra dollop of speciality. Built in 1923 for George Brough himself, the company founder used the bike to win an

Universal two stroke trials silencer from Alan Wright The coming bike in pre 65 seems to be the humble BSA Bantam, once classed as merely a beginner’s bike to learn on before moving on to

Cheeky charity calendar The images have been used to create a cheeky calendar which will be sold to raise funds for the Spinal Injuries Association. One picture shows East Northants Classic Motorcycle Club members sitting

The Ride 4 the Wounded crew and BSA outfit at the National Motorcycle Museum The riders were ex-Territorials Sergeant Colin Hamilton and John Sandford-Hart, who have both lost legs. Their passengers were Lance Bombardier Ben

George Shorter’s funeral cortege leaves church A date has been set for Bonhams’ latest sale of rare and collectible motorcycles over the pond in sunny California. The auction will be held at the Petersen Automotive

The research by MoneySupermarket found that a third of riders don’t realize some EU countries such as France and Italy reduce the speed limit when it’s raining. Nearly half didn’t know that your licence is

Hats off to this large crowd for the Exeter Run The event, organised by the Motor Cycling Club, takes place on January 4-5 next year but the closing date for entries is October 16. It

Popular Dirt Bike Show opens doors in November Though a modern show, Classic Dirt Bike always does well there because the youngsters off looking at the modern stuff seem to deposit their older relatives near

Triumph sprint bike at Ramsey With anxious eyes on the Manx weather, which had been a concern, organisers must have breathed a sigh of relief as the sky was blue and the sun shone brightly

Bikes will gather at the Ace Cafe for the run to Brighton The event, starting on September 7, is a weekend of free entertainment for anyone interested in bikes and rock ‘n’ roll. Before proceedings

Retro rear end conversion for Royal Enfield There’s a certain irony in a rigid rear end conversion for the Bullet as Royal Enfield bucked the trend for solid rears in the 1940s by fitting a

Listen to Steve Parrish at Motorcycle Live The event takes place at Birmingham’s NEC from November 24 to December 2. Motorsport presenter and commentator Steve Parrish said at last year’s show: “The beauty of Motorcycle

Entrance to show always have an excellent mix of superbly restored classics Regular attendees will know that the October extravaganza is all about later stuff but they will also know that we don’t ignore the

Folding kickstart for classics Naturally if you’ve got standard footrests then standard set-up works exceedingly well but if you change anything then often several other points have to change too. For instance the footrests on

Weather didn’t put too many people off Thanks to the weather, which at times resembled a monsoon, a slightly reduced number of participants left Hayes Garden World in Ambleside, Cumbria on Friday August 17 to

Treat your classic to alloy mudguards Given what they do on a motorcycle, mudguards are one of the first components to suffer damage and rusting as a bike gets used. In the winter they get

Can Classic Bikers Club users help solve the identity crisis? John believes it originated with a York-based Triumph dealer but from then on it’s variously described as possibly a Norton or even a Honda. Its

Martin Squires hard at work with his sketchpad Now we can reveal that his name is Martin Squires and his work is very good indeed. He wrote in after seeing himself in print and said:

August Old Bike Mart out now! In this issue: • News Latest news from the classic motorcycle industry • Out and about What's on where – past events and forthcoming • Attention to detail Thanks

1939 Ariel, one of many uncovered treasures More than 40 rare, unusual and collectable vehicles were hoarded by John Linegar of Grimsby who left them largely untouched for decades before his death aged 83. Highlights

Classic cars and motorcycles will be at Bletchley Park Last year’s picnic in the grounds of the 19th century mansion attracted more than 250 vehicles and 1500 visitors. Similar numbers are expected this year. The

Roads Minister Mike Penning The reforms involve centralising the DVLA’s services, making more transactions available online and closing 39 regional offices. It is believed that this will result in around £26 million year on year

Graeme Clark won the Bonneville T140 Silver Jubilee Just 1000 of these rare machines were produced to UK specification to commemorate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, with a further 1000 going to the US and 400

Spring puller saves diy frustration If you’ve ever tried to pull an exhaust spring into place using pliers then try this tool instead. It amazed even the jaded old ‘oi seen it all before’ editor

Some very special ‘specials’ will be at show Show manager Andy Rouse said: “Every year we have an incredible array of motorcycles at the show. “All of them have a unique and often hidden tale

Latest in classic eye protection from Davida Like all Davida stuff, these goggles have a number of neat touches such as three reasonably fast lens changes and an integral cover that forms part of the

Last year’s event was a lot of fun With classic sprints, parades, club stands, displays, autojumbles and trade stands there really are attractions for the whole family and this is before we mention the bouncy

Hesketh bike and club now both 30 A ‘baton run’ has been organized to celebrate both milestones and the club wants to involve as many of its members and their bikes as possible. It started

Free studio time – and sandwiches… We’re looking for some of the UK’s best classics to photograph and feature in our sister title The Classic MotorCycle, a magazine which specialises in British and European machinery

Final year fashion studdents at RGU launch their motoring fashion display The exhibition showed the evolving relationship between the motor and fashion industries, with a display of vintage vehicles and fashion trends through the years.

This fabulous place, which opened in May 2011, in an old wood mill in a stunning setting on a lakeside, hosted an event with Finnish motorcycle stars and a special theme. For 2012 the theme

As usual, it’s also open to all veteran, vintage and post-vintage machines as well as three-wheelers of any make. But now there will be a class dedicated to machines dating from 1932 to 1940. Post-vintage

Dave Jeremiah in action on a CZ Speaking to OBM, organiser Adrian Moss said: “We’ve got Dave Jeremiah as special guest this year and Mick Andrews is going to do the trial and the scramble

Show is a celebration of everything that goes on two wheels Last year’s show attracted 10,000 visitors plus the 5000 people who live on site and organisers expect this year to be even bigger. Show-goers

British made five speeder now available for Royal Enfields Designed to look like the old four-speed box, it has an entirely revised set of gears and selector assembly proven and developed in competition and on

Giacomo Agostini and John Cooper inspect a vintage Triumph Part of the charm of the 32nd Carole Nash International Classic MotorCycle Show the diversity of the machines. It is true that if 20 enthusiasts were

Triumph Tiger Cub high lift brake cam This high lift Cub brake cam has been developed for trials bikes initially, but it will make a good difference to road bikes too. In the quest for

Replacement con rods for Royal Enfield twins They are brand new con rods for Royal Enfield twins and are part number 41719. These con rods have been remanufactured for a number of Royal Enfield twins.

Gordon Butterfield kicks his Ariel into life as Paul Lowther looks on. Pic Fiona Watson This twisting rock strewn climb out on Moidart could change the outcome of the trial as riders balanced, crawled and

1938 Triumph Speed twin prototype Club ‘recruiting sergeant’ George Plumb said: “Anyone who was demobilised after the war will tell you it was a very happy period, a great time to be alive, home and

Donnie McLeod will be a popular guest at the Scottish Bike Show The Carole Nash Great Scottish Motorcycle Show, taking place at the Lanark Agricultural Centre on May 12-13, is being run in conjunction with

In the world of motorcycle auctions and dealing there are several facts potential bidders/collectors need to know. First of all, the most desirable British motorcycles are pre-war V-twins with the most sought-after and collectable examples

Honda CX500 Cafe Racer The kit includes a single seat conversion, headlamp brackets, instrument casings, rear hugger, exhaust downpipes, front mudguard blade, radiator shield and tank graphics. It costs £795 complete, or it can be

BSA A65 primary chain tensioners Lightning Spares has recently had made a batch of A65 primary chain tensioners under part numbers 68-0244 and 70-8310. These have been unavailable for some time, so they have had

The Taverners Section has previously put on vintage trials in the Leicestershire area for many years. The festival includes many other attractions, including 1993 500cc GP World Champion ‘Revvin’ Kevin Schwantz who will be riding

EasyCap ‘condenser’ This is a new business set up last year to offer a completely new concept and product for magneto owners: an easily fitted condenser option for all the ‘hard’ (i.e. rotating coil) mags

Slippery Sam at work There will be a special commemorative plaque for each bike, as well as the usual rally awards. The guest of honour will be Les Williams. This event, which is free to

Free tyre wall poster The attractive vintage tyres poster is printed on thick high gloss paper, and would adorn any garage or office. It is available free of charge to anyone interested in classic motorcycling.

H&H Classics website The firm plans to offer 0% vendor’s commission on specific sales, settlement time down from eight working days to three, dedicated account managers for each entry and three different types of sale

Norman Hyde’s Hinckley Bonneville fork brace Fitting a fork brace not only beefs up the Bonneville’s 41mm diameter front forks, but also gives the front end of the British twin a more purposeful appearance. CNC-machined

Lincs Aviation Wolds Run Now in its fifth year, the event at the Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby, Lincolnshire PE23 4DE, will also feature a couple of taxi runs by Lancaster bomber Just Jane. There

Velocette Venom It is feared that new ‘anti-tampering’ rules may even result in a ban on machines over seven years old being used in urban areas. An e-petition opposing the draft legislation has been set

Actor Martin Clunes with Churchill The 60 second spot shows the lovable chums roaring into a quintessentially British village aboard a quintessentially British Triumph Thunderbird outfit, stopping to rescue lost kittens and salvage DIY disasters

DKW RT200 Bernie Stevens, who has been involved with the marque for the last 25 years, would like to hear from anyone who owns one of these machines. He said: “The model DKW RT200VS was

There were lots of small machines for restoration It was based in two halls with stands outside too. The larger motorcycles were displayed in one hall, together with stalls featuring spares, tools and literature. Most

Motorcycles to join tractors at festival The Festival of Motorcycles and Classic Vehicle Rally, organised by the Cornwall Classic Motorcycle Club, will take place at Higher Keason Farm, St Ive Keason, Cornwall, on April 14-15,

Father Bill Shergold hands over the 1966 petition against the Sixteener Law The day saw nearly 50 riders and businesses attending a lobby meeting in Westminster and this was followed by an Associate Parliamentary Motorcycle

Ron Langston, takes his former passenger, Dougie Cooper, for a last ride… Ron took Dougie on his final ride in their British Championship winning 500 Ariel outfit to St Eadburgha’s Church in Ebrington, Gloucs. At

Top of the Thundersprint’s rare tree, and every other event’s too, has to be Sammy Miller’s Moto Guzzi V8. Sam described the eight cylinder 500cc GP racer as his 2011 Christmas present to himself. Clearly,

Amal carburettor spares The floats are designed to fit the AMAL Mk1, Mk2 concentric and monobloc instruments and each kit comes with everything needed to convert a carb and stop that sinking feeling. The AMAL

Classics galore at Show Guest of honour at this year’s event will be Mick Boddice, nine times sidecar TT winner, and after opening the show at 10.30am he will be mixing with the crowds for

Huge military vehicle spectacular in Kent Probably the biggest military vehicle spectacular on two, four, six, eight and many more wheels plus aircraft, tracked vehicles, will take place on July 18-22, 2012 when the War

You too could have aluminium artistry for your Aluminium artisan Glyn Poole (builder of the CR465 Banshee special featured in the Old Bike Mart August 2011 issue) is now offering a bespoke fabrication service for

A 1903 Triumph awaits the start of the 1951 Pioneer run… Riders start from Epsom racecourse, ending up on Madeira Drive in Brighton, where they form a magnificent display. It’s well worth a look –

Magnetic tool tray Internet parts specialist Wemoto searches the world for new parts, accessories and tools to add to its ever-expanding catalogue and a simple, but brilliantly useful new product line is this magnetic parts

Giacomo Agostini The event is due to be held at the Stafford County Showground over the weekend of April 28-29 and is expected to once again pull in big crowds thanks to its superb mix

Founders Day is the most eclectic collection of classic motorcycling The theme for this year’s event will be military motorcycles. You can display your machine individually or if a member of a military club, why

Jamie Knight, the man in the driving seat of Bonhams first auction Buying a bike at auction is not a difficult thing to do. All the auction houses will help you if you’re unsure of

Race Retro 2012 Honda is the motorcycle marque which will be celebrated. Visitors to hall three will be able to delight in the variety of Honda displays and the fact that they can rub shoulders

DVLA changes are ahead Proposals published for consultation by Roads Minister Mike Penning claim to mean millions of vehicle users will benefit.  The Government is planning to centralise the DVLA’s services, and under the new

Chris Walker on Norton at Thundersprint Norton CEO, Stuart Garner, said: "We had a fantastic time at the Thundersprint and only the pressure of delivering Commandos worldwide kept us away from this year’s event. The

You too could ride on the Prescott Hill… The date this year has been changed to April 22 in order to avoid clashes with other events and the organisers hope to improve on the 5500

Actress Jill Halfpenny with her Moto Guzzi Halfpenny took up the challenge issued by the Get On campaign to learn to ride a motorbike and spend a week in the mountainous kingdom of Lesotho in

The festival last year was a huge success The 2011 Festival of 1000 Bikes was a monster and huge interest is already being expressed in next year’s event. The VMCC is delighted to announce that

Italian Georgio with pal… they travelled from Trieste and won best T150 From tiny beginnings this incredible track based event – devoted to, but not exclusively for, three-cylinder motorcycles produced by the BSA/Triumph concern in

Chosen theme for the stand is ‘The featherbed frame’ and a selection of the said framed models will be on show, 650SS – ex-Paul Dunstall, Manxman, 500 Manx racer, International, Model 50, ES2 and a

Davida strap-held motorcycle helmet visor What is it? It’s a universal 75 JPV1 visor from D4Vi9A that transforms the open face riding experience. With a preformed ‘Fighter Pilot’ shaped lens, that’s riveted to a sprung

John Renwick’s Vincent streamliner This is a photo of John Renwick’s latest Vincent powered sidecar streamliner. At its first outing at the BUB meeting at Bonneville Salt Flats at the end of August 2011, driven

New Zealand Classic Festivale approaches The New Zealand Classic Register is once again very generously paying 50% of the shipping costs of the bikes, plus offering all UK competitors free entries. Riders are assured of

Sanmmy Miller receives another award Sammy Miller received another honour recently – one to add to his MBE and hundreds of trials and race wins – when the AJS and Matchless OC made him an

Steve McQueen book The movie industry was a 20th century phenomenon, it didn’t exist before 1900 and by 2000 the concept had changed to video and DVD. In the golden period of the talkies –

Bumpstop’s ground anchor What is it? It’s a ground anchor. No it’s not to stop the ground rolling away but more to stop someone rolling your motorcycle away along the ground. Like most great ideas,

Luke Notton at the Bonhams British Historic Grand Prix Championship The series, for original specification Period 1 (up to 1964), Group 1 GP machines, will be run on Avon control 19in tyres and the Lansdowne

A new study on greenhouse gas emissions from oil palm plantations has calculated a more than 50% increase in levels of CO2 emissions than previously thought – and warned that the demand for ‘green’ biofuels

Learner practises The Get On motorbike and scooter campaign says students can save thousands of pounds and hundreds of hours every year by riding motorcycles rather than driving cars. Many students leaving home to go

New York night watchman designed the Icycle Readers of The MotorCycle in February 1932 were invited to meet the Icycle designed by a night watchman in a New York skyscraper. The designer was not named

Racing legend Giamoco Agostini A special event is being held in conjuntion with the 32nd Carole Nash International Classic Motorcycle Show at Stafford County Showground on April 28-29. An Audience with Agostini will be on