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If you’ve revelled in the power and performance of a 750 triple, can you really be happy trading down to something smaller? Andy C shares his early impressions of a 1970’s 500 twin…

Bike builder, demon scribbler and so much more, Odgie celebrates one of those ‘special’ birthdays this year. And to commemorate the moment, he’s written an autobiography…

Every so often, small scale publishing turns out an absolute gem. We’re delighted to recommend this excellent book about the motorcycle sport scene in Cornwall…

Kel Boyce looks back upon owning and riding his GT, and compares its engineering to Italian and Japanese machines of the era. Then he decides he quite liked after all…

Kel Boyce tells us what happened once he’d completed his rebuild, and how he learned to live with an ‘oilfield’…

Kel Boyce lusted after a little Enfield back in the 1970s. Then he bought one. Then he took it apart. And then… it had to be put back together again!

Kel Boyce paid £40 for his non-running Continental back in 1979 and, bearing in mind how much work it needed ,that might have been over the top…

Which bike lived in your teenage dreams when you first started riding? Kel Boyce aspired to Enfield’s sporting 250, and he didn’t manage to grow out of it…

We have new books about old bikes and old books about old bikes coming out of our ears. Oh, and the chance to grab a signed copy of the original Daisy’s Diaries…

After running-in this traditional-but-modern motorcycle, Fiery Fred finds that his 750 boxer twin behaves almost exactly like a proper classic bike. The ‘Beemer with beansprouts’ has needed some fettling…

Fiery Fred bought a new old-style bike in the shape of a Chang Jiang 750. The first thing it did was to break down. Could he solve the problem?

Fiery Fred bought a modern classic – a brand new Chang Jiang 750 built into a 1950’s frame. And behold! On its maiden journey it behaved almost exactly as a 50 year old bike would…

BikerBabe has spent quite a while getting her Bultaco trailbike fettled and ready for some winter mud-plugging. So, naturally, it refused to play fair at the first sight of snow…

After taking a test ride on a new Bullet Andy C just had to own one. So did the reality live up to the dream?

Andy C wanted a traditional British single, and found himself leaning towards Enfield’s Clubman GT. Or did he really want a Sixty-5?

Do you know the difference between a B31, a B32 and a B33? With the aid of this book, you could become a BSA boffin…

Steve Wilson rides an ex-AA patrol Beesa, and finds terror and delight — at less than 40 miles an hour!

Some experts consider the Gold Star to be the best bike ever built by BSA. Make up your own mind, after examining our quick fire classic bike guide to the breed…

Jonathan Hoare meets three BSA twins (and a Bantam) and revels in that old Miller magic at the Manor

Phil has spent months and months building his ideal 500cc single off-roader into Gold Star guise. Now NVNL takes it for a spin around the block…

After months of work, Philip Rashleigh’s scrambler-special is coming home and it just needs an MoT and registration to hit the road…

When Geoff Reid bought a cheap restoration project, he wasn’t expecting to unravel the working history of a 250cc police machine. Classic bikes tend to bring you more than you bargained for…

The end of Philip Rashleigh’s scrambler-special project is in sight. But no matter how close you think you might be to actually finishing a rebuild, there’s always more to do than you might imagine…

At last! Philip Rashleigh can get his scrambler special engine assembled…

Philip Rashleigh has worked for months to turn a big pile of bits into a replica Gold Star scrambler. Getting the engine sorted out hasn’t been entirely straightforward…

He’s nearly ready to put his bitsa Beeza back together again, but Phillip Rashleigh’s project bike has turned out to be just a little bit different to his original intentions. Gold Star scrambler, anyone?…

Getting into the engine: the time has come for Phillip Rashleigh to take apart the crankcases and discover what horrors lurk within…

Working hard on his project Beesa, Phillip Rashleigh makes a wiring harness from scratch and discovers an excellent engineering firm who can fabricate the right kind of brackets…

Phillip Rashleigh’s off-road project bike suddenly needs suspension. Forks, shocks, tyres, swinging arm – oh, and something to stop the plot might be an idea, too…

Phillip Rashleigh has been sourcing parts for his scrambler special. Now he knows what he’s got, he just has to figure out how to fit it to the B31 chassis…

When you’re trying to rebuild something which is a little different to the norm, finding exactly the right part can stop you dead in your tracks. As Phillip Rashleigh has discovered…

What was that about ‘once bitten’? it didn’t apply to Phillip Rashleigh. After a bad Britbike experience in the 1980s he’s come back for a re-match…

In the first episode, Stephen Dunne left the UK on his D14/4 to tackle a three-month tour of Europe. In Yugoslavia, the Bantam turns out to be good for business…

20 years ago, Stephen Dunne threw caution to the wind and set off around mainland Europe on an 8500 mile journey which would turn out to be the best time of his life…

We’ve heard Shaun’s story about his Beesa’s rebuild, but now Mike The (Geordie) Mechanic tells the tale of the engine’s internals……

Fancy a challenge? RealClassic Clubman Graham (Man Of Many Doughnuts) certainly did. He bought a single cylinder Beesa as a bit of a restoration project. Actually, it turned out to be quite a lot of a restoration project…

We left Shaun Gibbons with his A10 stripped-down, and awaiting a complete engine rebuild at the hands of a kindly Geordie named Mike. Enter the engineer…

Shaun Gibbons (AKA the Kent Correspondent) covered over 40,000 miles on his Beesa, and knew its engine needed some serious attention. With the help of other BSAOC members, that was just what it got…

Not all restorations are accomplished in one fell swoop. Dean Southall’s Beezer has been steadily reconditioned over the years – until it got to be so good that it won its class at the 2003 Stinkwheel Show…

If the pace of modern life is getting too much for you, then a 50 year old Gold Flash might just come to your rescue. Alex Woodard has indeed been rescued, and in so many interesting ways…

Richard Green’s money was meant to be spent on a Gold Star. But he ended up with twice as much motor as he originally expected, and now rides a show-winning Beezer twin…

An Edwardian motor bicycle with ‘modern’ features, one that doesn’t frighten the horses? The ideal, well-sorted winter classic bike? Must be Steve Wilson’s old BSA M21. He’s saying goodbye, so it could be your M21 if you felt so inclined…

Sidecars are a natural attachment to traditional classic bikes. But riding them does require a little skill. Paul Friday tells a victim’s tale from his first (last) sidecar encounter…

The bikes which were once viewed as king of the heap can all too often be disappointingly tame when revisited. But, says Frank Westworth, BSA’s 1960s flying machine still turns the heads and does the business…

Adrian Hughes always wanted a café racer so he built one from scratch, hoping for a cheap, fast-finish project. Well, at least part of the plan worked

BSA’s smaller twins are often overlooked, while the 650s grab all the attention. Steve Bergman cast a modern bike rider’s eye over the A7 and its emulators…

Back in 1998, Dave Minton met a very special 750 flat-tracker. The triple was rebuilt from a wreck that had been abandoned in the Mojave desert. It certainly gave Dave the ride of a lifetime, although he still complains about the — lack of — saddle to this day!

Restoring a family heirloom is a daunting task, especially if the heirloom is a B33 which spent a decade wrapped up in a plastic paddling pool. Read how Andrew J Davies rose to the challenge as his restoration tale unfolds…

Ever been given something you just can’t get rid of? If we’re talking about a pottery pig or another set of wind-chimes then that’s something of a tricky situation. But as there’s no such thing as ‘too many motorcycles’ then being given a C15 is hardly a trauma, now is it?

Owners of old British bikes are not biased about their machines. Most certainly not. They know all about the bikes’ good points — but no one is ever particularly shy about coming forwards with the bad news, too. It just happens that in the case of Ted Richardson’s 1969 Starfire there is very little bad…

They used to say that the ultimate cure for a B25 was a quick trip to a canal — how cruel! Arthur Langman proved them wrong. He bought his 1971 B25SS from a breaker, after it had been retrieved from such a waterway — and dried out, of course. Well, mostly…

Just about every classic bike fan knows a little about the Brough Superior SS100. But what of its forerunner, the SS80? Dave Minton introduces us to George Brough’s stylish sidevalve V-twin…

There wasn’t meant to be a part two, but there’s a new problem for Bros-Rider’s diminutive Honda Vee-twin. Or Vee-single, it seems…

Part one of a modern classic tale from Bros-Rider. He starts with a confession and ends with burnt fingers. When will he, will he be famous?..

After enjoying a hall of classic scooters at the Newark Show, Roy Workman discovers more information on the subject of British-built scooters…

Granville Bradshaw started his career in 1910 designing aircraft, and by 1955 he’d dreamed up the Omega engine with its innovative rotary layout. In between, he tried his hand at oil-cooling…

There are over 50 vintage motorcycle marques detailed in this book, and the book itself was very nearly lost too…

If you ever wanted to know who won an ISDT Gold Medal on a clutchless Tiger Cub, or what Steve McQueen’s toughest two-wheeled challenge was, then this is the book for you…

Over the last year, Paul Grace (aka Anarchy) kept a diary of his motorcycling life aboard Royal Enfield motorcycles. His travels included country fairs, bike nights, the Himalayas and more, and all these adventures appear in his new book…

If you’d like to develop your spannering skills somewhat, then Graham Blighe has written the ideal book to help you get the best from your old bike…

This book offers a different look at classic motorcycling, one with an international flavour. Steve Wilson has read it, and reports…

Are you a TT enthusiast? Geof Staples reviews the story behind the Clubman’s TT races and reckons this book will fascinate you…

An American rider recalls his life with motorcycles. Jim Algar reviews a mixture of biography, travelogue, military memoir and personal motorcycle journey…

Phil Speakman reviews a book which wanders from the subject of classic bikes, but which reflects the journey of one particularly distraught motorcycle rider…

Dave Blendell doesn’t like bike books. Great! We’ll get him to review this book by a RealClassic writer then…

Fans of 1960s and 70s TT racing will be delighted by this second edition of photos from the camera of Ken Sprayson. Costa Zarifi has read it…

Just in time to celebrate Brooklands’ centenary, Jonathan Hill has found a splendid hardback book packed with rare images of racing from the 1920s…

A spoof on the Highway Code? Sounds great. But Jim Peace didn’t get too many laughs out of reading it…

Two travellers take a Panther 120 and a Norton Model 19 on a 10,000 mile trek along the old silk road. Did we find the book more enjoyable than the DVD?…

If you have a big pile of bits which could possibly be built into an Enfield off-roader, and no experience of riding in classic scrambles whatsoever, then it seems only natural to take on a classic motocross challenge. Anarchy did just that, and then he wrote a book about it…

If you’re a fan of Triumph motorcycles, then you’ll enjoy this authorised biography of the man behind the brand, written by motorcycle historian Jeff Clew…

Looking for an introduction to Norton twins? Marc Reibman has just the book for you (although he may be just a teeny bit biased on the subject – decide for yourself!)

Replacing a Triumph Bonneville clutch shouldn’t be too ghastly an enterprise. Yet, as NVNL discovered, there are always some questions to which the answers are not immediately apparent…

Our Cornish correspondent, NVNL, turns his attention to a minor mechanical matter on his Triumph Bonneville. Well, it started out as being ‘minor’. Honest…

In the August06 issue of the magazine, Ozboy introduced us to a little baby Beemer, an ohv 250cc single. Now David Bullivant expounds on the subject and makes some suggestions about how to get the best from a little BeeEmm…

Okay, it leaks a bit of oil, and the front brake isn’t up to modern traffic, and there’s a bit of a stumble off idle, and that screen has got to go, and, and… Martin Gelder, his new BMW R80/7, and true happiness…

In part I, Martin Gelder wrote off a BMW R60, then bought an R100S and rode round for a bit before writing that off as well. The story of Common Problems continues…

Common fault No.37: Martin Gelder never throws anything away, ever. From the dusty shelves of obscurity comes this tale of a written off and rebuilt Boxer, and a list of funky foibles…

A restoration project is a funny thing: it can offer immense personal satisfaction, and immense frustration and self-doubt, sometimes simultaneously. PaulG80 experienced all three while rebuilding Beatrice…

This high quality, limited edition book about the Ariel motorcycles of the late 1920s will only be available for a short while. Grab it while you can…

If you’re looking for a lightweight classic, you don’t have to be restricted to a two-stroke. Bill Wood has brought a little Italian back to life…

Imagine a wormhole which sucked a 1930s classic bike forward to 2003 (and upgraded its electrics in the process). Steve The Toast investigates a tear in the fabric of time…

Inspired by the world’s fastest Indian, Woodie explains that you don’t need a big bike to go fast. In fact, he knows of some really fast Bantams…

Do you fancy something like a Brough Superior for the new millennium? Darren Vickers knows a man who’ll build you one, at a price, of course…

If you like your British bikes to be a little bit different to the usual pushrod parallel twin, then John Walton’s 250 two-stroke might just turn your head…

When is a Harley-Davidson not really a Harley-Davidson? When it’s an Armstrong, of course! The military motorcycle plot thickens on both sides of the Atlantic: Allan Johnson stirs the soup…

Sarah bought her Dad a One Hundred Pound Wonder, and we tried to figure out exactly what kind of classic bike it might be…

Ariel’s Arrow was certainly an oddity, and it is most definitely an old British bike. But is it a genuine classic motorcycle? Paul Friday doesn’t really care, because his Arrow was certainly the worst bike he’s ever owned…