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Guy in Scotland
TV and TT star Guy Martin took to the hills, rocks and mud of Scotland, to take part in the Scottish Pre-65 Trial, aboard an Ariel. He gamely battled on to the finish, classified as the final (157th) finisher in the results.
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Sixth Ixion Cavalcade
On Sunday May 1, 2016, the Sunbeam MCC held the Sixth Ixion Cavalcade, to commemorate Canon Basil Davies, who wrote for The Motor Cycle under the pseudonym of ‘Ixion’ for many years from the earliest days of motorcycling.
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Foggy at the Goodwood Festival of Speed
Carl Fogarty will return to the Goodwood Festival of Speed on June 23-26 for the first time in eight years as he prepares to celebrate Triumph’s heritage.
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Sunbeam and Steve star at Stafford
The Classic MotorCycle backed show at Stafford saw a Best in Show award for a fabulous Sunbeam, with guest of honour Steve Parrish a popular appointment.
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Bonhams breaks records
Bonhams Stafford Sale set a new world-record price for a Brough Superior and for any British motorcycle sold at auction, as the gavel fell at an astounding £331,900 for the 1938 Brough Superior 750cc BS4.
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A Shakespeare appreciation
Vincent Day at Shakespeare County Raceway took place on April 17, 2016, with Stevenage’s finest celebrated in noisy style.
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Gone but not forgotten
Time and time again proof arises that the British industry wasn’t short on ideas or talent. Finance on the other hand… Colin Sparrow looks over the Greeves 500.
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Martin Lampkin: 1951-2016
Having achieved so much in motorcycling, Harold Martin Lampkin – ‘Mart’, ‘Big Mart’ or ‘H’ depending on who you talk to – is the subject of many images in our archive. We hope this small selection of pictures goes some way to show the impact that this true legend – who died earlier this spring…
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Manx Classic Trial
One of the most popular events on the trials calendar is the Manx International Classic Trial. A two-day affair, held latterly on September 5-6, it took riders all round the Isle of Man and provided a variety of terrain to test the skills of all entrants.
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Carole Nash Classic Mechanics Show: October 15-16, 2016
One of the funny things about quarterly publications such as Classic Dirt Bike is that while writing the news about this coming October’s Stafford, April’s event has only just happened…
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International Dirt Bike Show: October 27/30, 2016
Though not a ‘classic’ show as such, the International Dirt Bike Show at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire will still have a lot for the classic, evo and twinshock enthusiast to enjoy.
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Burgundy classic two-day
There are a number of trials and MX ‘weekends’ in the calendar but not so many enduro or trail ones.
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Mallory Bike Bonanza
We would like to apologise for the incorrect advert for the Mallory Bike Bonanza appearing in the June issue of Old Bike Mart. CORRECT DATES: 30-31 JULY 2016.
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Trend setter
If Edward Turner hadn’t built this bike, would we all be riding sports singles?
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Back To Life
Loads of ancient Brits have returned from overseas, ripe for a rebuild. This T160 Trident was an easy job
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SMOOTH OPERATOR
IF YOUR HEAD was turned by the new Norton Dominator featured in this issue there’s a good chance that you’ll be a fan of the original Norton twins too.
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Carole Nash Classic Motorcycle show
STAFFORD always comes up trumps as the top classic event of the season, and this year was no exception.
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Hello world!
Welcome to Mortons Sites. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
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Far Horizons by Andrew Earnshaw
f you’re going to ride around the world in instalments, then America would seem like a fairly safe place to
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The ‘lightweights’ that time forgot
Time was slowly running out for Associated Motor Cycles when it launched its new-style 250cc overhead-valve singles in 1958 – but were the sturdy and neat-looking AJS and Matchless models the best they could have offered? asks Pete Kelly.
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Music to the ears! Suzuki’s GT550 triple
Steve Cooper fondly remembers Suzuki’s largest air-cooled two-stroke triple – the excellent but often overlooked GT550
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Agricultural it wasn’t – farmer Jack’s Zundapp-Arrow special
When OBM reader and Adler to Zundapp Club member Bernie alerted us to a long-forgotten Zundapp-Arrow special, it was a simple matter to visit the Mortons Archive and turn up the original report.
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Here’s a car showroom – turn it into a bike shop!
Concluding the story about motorcycles in his life, Tony Proctor tells how he set up a brand new Yamaha Centre 38 years ago.
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A question of sport
When thinking of a sport to combine with football (or soccer to our American friends) the petrol-fuelled revelry of motorcycling hardly seems conducive, but motorcycle football really was all the rage in the 1920s, 30s and even beyond, with crowds flocking to watch the beautiful game played on motorcycles.
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Pretty special
This attractive 500cc replica of a Production TT winner started life as a 350cc Viper.
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Trying times
Have you ever been to a museum and wanted to ‘have a go’ on the exhibits? Now, the National Motorcycle Museum has decided to allow that to happen.
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Motorcycles dominate at the Land’s End Trial
Previously an event favoured equally by those of the two-, three- and four-wheeled persuasion, the 1953 Land’s End Trial was one in which the motorcycles took centre stage.
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Vitesse with finesse
An exhaustive search led to the resurrection of an incredibly rare, but quite fabulous, model.
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The story of the Ormonde
Modern literature often relates the decline of the British and continental motorcycle industry in the 1950s and 1960s. Arguably the rot set in before the First World War.
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Another record-breaking weekend at Stafford
Visitors flocked to the 36th Carole Nash International Classic MotorCycle Show at Stafford on April 23-24 to make it one of the best yet, with exhibits of the highest quality, another record-breaking Bonhams’ motorcycle sale, hundreds of club and trade stands inside and outside the halls, star guests, special displays and so much more.
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Ravaged by time, but Bodmin BS4 still makes world record £331,900!
A new world record price was set for a Brough Superior – and for any British motorcycle sold at auction for that matter – when a German bidder in the room paid a staggering £331,900 for a 1938 750cc BS4 that came up as part of the ‘Broughs of Bodmin Moor’ collection during the Bonhams’…
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Cubes without vibes – Triumph’s 1200cc Bonneville Black
One of the reasons we sometimes run road tests on British-built retro machines is to compare the old with the new, but is Triumph’s new and extensively-researched 1200cc T120 Bonneville Black muscle bike the best way to go? Frank Melling brings his impressions first-hand.
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Peter Williams Motorcycles plans replica Arter-Matchless, a road-going JPN, Commando parts and an exclusive club!
Lots of things are happening at Peter Williams Motorcycles, including the formation of a PWM club with the many benefits that go with it, a project to build an Arter-Matchless replica, a road bike evolution of the John Player Norton and even hand-painted Bell helmets with Peter’s distinctive ‘Big W’ blue and white motif!
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Herefordshire VMCC invites older machines to new long-distance ride
Starting and finishing at Ross-on-Wye Cattle Market, the first running of a new long-distance ride entitled ‘Herefordshire on the Edge’ takes place on Sunday, June 26.
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Make a date for the Golden Era Run
Organised by the North East section of the Vintage Motor Cycle Club, the highly-regarded Golden Era Run for motorcycles and three-wheelers built before 1931 will take place at the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington, near York, on Sunday, July 24.
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Sunbeam Club’s Pioneer Run hits 77 not out
In mid-February 1930, a crowd gathered at Croydon Aerodrome to witness the very first Sunbeam Motor Cycle Club’s Pioneer Run to Brighton for pre-1914 motorcycles – which, it has to be said, were not all that old at the time!
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Spring in the air at Ardingly
Spectators riding in, taking advantage of fine spring weather, soon filled the regular bike parks at the Ardingly Showground for the first of this year’s ELK Promotions shows, on April 3.
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Pioneering spirit
This year marked the Sunbeam MCC’s 77th Pioneer Run, with an eclectic range of machines and riders attempting the famous journey from London to Brighton.
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Chance to join charity end-to-end run for classic BMWs
IF you’re the owner of a classic air-cooled beauty then you could help make a big difference for charity… and enjoy the best of British scenery too.
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American idol
BSA built some of their best bikes for the USA, including this fast, fiery and flamboyant 650
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Second attempt
MV’s first road-going four was an unmitigated failure. If at first you don’t succeed…
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Gentleman’s relish
Tired of clip-ons and rearsets? We recommend something altogether more refined
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Standing tall
As the new Bonnevilles go on sale, so the old Scrambler will be discontinued. No problem: just build your own
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Make it so
It takes some audacity to dismantle an original old bike to create your first classic custom – but the results of a good build can be simply brilliant. Go on. Be brave…
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Henry’s Cat
It’s a Triumph of course, but Henry Pinney’s 500 twin is more than it appears to be
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70 AND GOING STRONG
THE VINTAGE MOTOR CYCLE CLUB celebrates its 70th birthday this year, and the anniversary events kicked off at the club’s AGM in April.
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Top honour for Manx maestro
THE OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS of Isle Of Man TT legend John McGuinness (who just happens to be the current lap record holder, too) were lauded last month when McGuinness was presented with the prestigious Segrave Trophy.
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ENDLESS SUMMER: A Month of Racing in the Isle of Man – 1966
The Isle of Man is reliant on the services of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company to transport the vast majority of the Island’s needs, not least the tourists that flock to Mona’s Isle, especially for the TT and Manx Grand Prix.
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Thierry Rapicault TZ250: That’s a works bike!
Every racing motorcycle has a story to tell, but a chance encounter with Carlos Lavado revealed that this TZ may have a more interesting history than most. At that moment we could not have guessed how interesting it was. John Parnham charts a journey of painstaking research.
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HIGH OCTANE THRILLS AT SANTA POD IN MAY
THERE’S less than a month to go until Race, Rock ‘n’ Ride – the brand-new biking extravaganza from Santa Pod Raceway, Fast Bikes and Backstreet Heroes.
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OBITUARY: STEVE MURRAY
Cheshire has, over the years, produced many exciting and gifted racing motorcyclists of distinction, but one of the most loved and charismatic of all, Steve Murray, passed away in his sleep at home on February 22, 2016, aged 83.
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Take five – whichever suits your style
Before Royal Enfield’s sensationally-styled Continental GT made its debut, the 250cc Crusader line had already evolved into two variations on a very agreeable five-speed theme – the leading link front fork Super 5 and the sporty-looking Continental. This is how the road testers of the day saw them.
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Laverda 500 – the twin that came oh, so close
’Ullo, ’ullo! What’s an Italian motorcycle doing on Steve Cooper’s Japanese pages? It’s all about comparisons and giving praise where it’s due, that’s what – and something the more extreme ‘Jap knockers’ might consider reciprocating once in a while?
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How I bought a BSA A7 – at the ripe old age of 14!
Stirred by Old Bike Mart’s request for bike shop memories, Tony Proctor recalls his own early motorcycling days, which grew from mimicking his scrambling heroes.
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Getting into line – with the experts
When you’re setting up a sidecar, the smallest of adjustments can make all the difference to handling. Mick Payne trawls around to get the opinions of today’s specialists in the field.
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Calendar girl Rachael hosts NMM workshop training day
Hosted by journalist and Milestones TT calendar girl Rachael Clegg, a workshop training day was enjoyed by 50 Friends of the National Motorcycle Museum in that establishment’s Premier Suite on Saturday, February 27.
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Better displays planned for Sidcup Club’s big bike night
This year’s Sidcup Bike Night, organised by the welcoming Sidcup & District Motor Cycle Club at its spectacular Canada Heights venue at Swanley, Kent, will take place on Friday, June 17.
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Spring has sprung – and all wheels point to Stafford
Spring is here at last, and with it Britain’s best classic motorcycling gathering by far – the 36th Carole Nash International Classic MotorCycle Show at the Staffordshire County Showground (ST18 0BD) over the weekend of April 23-24.
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Vincents burning rubber again at Long Marston
The Coventry section of the Vincent Owners’ Club is organising a quarter-mile sprint day at Long Marston Airfield’s Shakespeare County Raceway on Sunday, April 17.
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Show call for Triumph Terriers and Tiger Cubs
Scottish Old Bike Mart contributor and Triumph Tiger Cub enthusiast Gorgeous Biker Chick is appealing for more Cubs and Terriers to come forward to be displayed at the Cub Fest stand at the 36th Carole Nash International Classic MotorCycle Show at the Staffordshire County Showground on April 23-24.
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The remarkable feats of Harry Lorraine
Always the showman, film star (and stuntman) Harry Lorraine sought to thrill audiences across Great Britain in the 1920s with his many acts of daring astride his Douglas flat-twin motorcycle.
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Flying machine
There are few motorcycles which are in an elevated class, separated from the vast majority of their peers. This, though, is one of them.
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Replicas, specials, fakes and forgeries
The seamy world of fakes, replicas and specials is one which can be navigated when armed with an understanding of what constitutes those terms, as well as a bit of nous to ensure you’re not being taken for a ride.
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Spiritual homage
With lots of late 1960s and 1970s BMWs ending up as café racers this more authentic take, paying tribute to the beautiful Rennsport, makes a refreshing change.
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The need to diversify
Though his primary interest was producing high-quality performance machines, Philip Vincent was keen to look at other opportunities too.
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Stafford’s here again
Anticipation builds as we head, rapidly, towards the 36th Carole Nash International Classic MotorCycle Show at Stafford over the weekend of April 23-24.
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Pitchford takes the prize
Ralph Pitchford, a veteran of the Dakar Rally both as a motorcycle mechanic and a co-driver in a number of cars, was a popular winner of the 2016 DJ Rally for pre-1936 motorcycles, held in March.
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The world’s fastest single
Stuart Hooper’s ‘Big Velo’ has come through another Bonneville speed week with flying colours.
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Speedway celebration
Once again, the annual ‘Celebration of Speedway’ took place at the National Speedway Museum within Paradise Wildlife Park, in Hertfordshire.
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Terrific Telford
The Classic Dirt Bike Show, sponsored by Hagon Shocks, again proved its value to the classic community as thousands gathered at Telford’s International Centre to peruse the event’s enthralling assortment of attractions.
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Bracebridge Street bonanza
There was a definite Birmingham accent in the motorcycling halls at this year’s Race Retro event at Stoneleigh.
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In full flight
Some bikes are icons from the outset. Not so this idiosyncratic 350. But it’s strangely successful as a classic steed…
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Farther, faster
For some high mileage sports riders of the 1970s, the standard R90S wasn’t quite sufficient
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The new Noir
Triumph’s new Bonnie looks best in black, so we’re told. We’re also told that the new T120 is close in spirit to the original T120. Hmmm…
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Scrambled egg
Take a tall frame, add a torquey twin engine, high bars and high pipes, and head for the countryside!
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Striking Gold!
A conversation between Robert Davies from CBG and restorer Peter Collins provides much food for thought for potential rebuilders….
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Bristol classic motorcycle show
ARK BUILDERS WERE in short supply in the West Country as floods of biblical proportions and hurricane-force winds tried to scupper this early-season favourite in February.
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STAFFORD SHOW
THE CAROLE NASH International Classic MotorCycle Show has grown so huge that it’s easy to be overwhelmed by its sheer enormity.
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Easter fun at the National Motorcycle Museum
VISITORS can enjoy free guided tours of the National Motorcycle Museum’ collection on Easter Sunday (March 27).
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The bronze racers
Abandoned since 1939, these tarnished bronze racers sit patiently waiting for their chance to shine once more.
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Extra special
If ecomonic constraints had not been such a dominant factor at Hall Green, this very special KSS could have been released under the Velocette name in the 1950s. This one-of-a-kind example was built in period, making it all the more remarkable.
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When two men go to work
The enthusiasm, passion and hard graft of a father and son duo has resulted in a museum dedicated to charting the history of one France’s ‘big four’ motorcycle makers.
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The first twin
Valentine Page designed a 650cc Triumph four years before Edward Turner’s 500cc Speed Twin. In many ways, the earlier machine was the more advanced.
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A social history of motorcycling- Part 4: The One Percenters (1947-1950)
In this series of extracts from his forthcoming book, Mike Lewis looks at the evolution of social motorcycling in Britain and the USA.
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The BSA Bantam: something worth crowing about
Hands up all those who’ve never owned or ridden a BSA Bantam! Even if your arm’s in the air, you probably know someone who did or still does! With the help of the BSA Bantam Club and photos from the Mortons Archive, Pete Kelly recounts the history of one of the most popular lightweights of…
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Sand, rails and motorcycles
Neil Cairns outlines the historical links between motorcycles and an old narrow gauge industrial line in Bedfordshire as he tells of the growing success of the ‘Sand and Motorcycles’ event at the Leighton Buzzard Railway, now in its seventh year.
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Goffy’s light fantastic!
Mick Payne discovers many ways of improving the lighting performance of classic motorcycles as he talks to Paul Goff.
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The 36th Carole Nash International Classic Motorcycle Show 2016
The premier event in every classic motorcycle enthusiast’s calendar, the Carole Nash International Classic MotorCycle Show, is again set to make a big entrance with this year’s spectacle – the 36th of its kind since its inception – which will feature the usual glittering array of classic bikes as well as club stands, autojumble stalls…
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V-twins set for Stafford sale
This year’s Bonhams’ auction at the Carole Nash International Classic MotorCycle Show will feature a treasure trove of V-twins, when the auction takes place on Sunday, April 24 at the Staffordshire County Showground.
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Seventy years of vintage motorcycling
This year the Vintage Motor Cycle Club (VMCC) celebrates its 70th anniversary and a series of unique events has been put into place to commemorate this inspiring achievement.
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The show must go on
Torrential rain and gale force winds couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm at the Bristol classic show.
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E-magazine The Airhead plans charity End-to-End for older air-cooled BMWs
In the week beginning July 4, the non-profit-making on-line magazine The Airhead, for the riders of pre-1996 air-cooled BMWs, will be arranging a Land’s End to John O’Groats run to raise money for the Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance, for which the magazine is an authorised fundraiser.
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Farewell to Wirral ace Steve Murray
Old Bike Mart is sorry to report the passing of popular Wirral road racing ace Steve Murray, who died on Monday, February 22 after being ill for some time.
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