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Oxford celebrates 50 years

Bertie Simmonds
February 16, 2023

Oxford Products is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023 and has a full calendar of celebrations to mark this special year.

Imagine all the stuff we bikers have thanks to the motorcycle and push-bike firm, which is (unsurprisingly) based in Oxford… They’ve not only backed racing for almost the entirety of their existence but they’ve made and manufactured a wide-range of bike kit that has helped us over the decades – such as heated grips and cheap, throw-over luggage. In recent years they’ve also added some premium brands to their portfolio so they have everything covered.

The company kicked off their 50th year in style with a black-tie gala evening at the Doubletree Hilton in Swindon on Saturday 7th January. All 160 staff and their partners were invited to a lavish all-inclusive do with accommodation, food, drinks and entertainment laid on.

Pre-dinner speeches by founder and chairman Alec Hammond and Managing Director Andrew Hammond outlined the extraordinary rise of ‘Oxford’ from very humble beginnings before saluting the many talented and dedicated people in the room who have made it happen.

Oxford is also big on rider training – allowing their car park to be used by the local training establishment Oxfordshire Motorcycle Training. For more, see: www.oxfordshiremotorcycletraining.com

About the Author

Bertie Simmonds

As a child Bertie (well, Robert back then… blame his sister for the nickname) was exposed to motorcycles thanks to his uncles. They would show up at his house with a lovely lady as pillion throughout the 1970s and 1980s. After a naughty time on field bikes (it’s what we did back then) Bertie passed his test in the early 1990s and became a reporter for MCN in 1995, moving to the sports desk and covering World Superbikes in 1996. With a change to Bike Magazine in 1997, he stayed until 2000 as news, features and road test editor. Moving into PR with Cosworth, Bert was bored with cars and returned to bikes in 2001 with Two Wheels Only, becoming editor in 2002 and leaving to be freelance at the end of 2004. With almost a decade freelancing, Bertie joined Mortons in 2013 and became editor of Classic Motorcycle Mechanics, a post he’s desperately clung to, to this day. And no, he’s never had a pretty girl on the back of his bike. BSimmonds@mortons.co.uk

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