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While prices of Triumph and Norton twins have risen steadily, BSA’s pre-unit 650 is still eminently affordable. It’s also (don’t tell anyone) a better bike in many respects… 

There are several racing Vincents. The Australian way of racing Vincents is fairly extraordinary 

Scotland has only had two road racing world champions, Fergus Kenrick Anderson and John Robert Taylor, better known as Jock Taylor. Both were later killed taking part in the sport they loved. Chris Carter takes up the story. 

After Freddie Spencer won his first 500cc title in 1983 at 21, making him the youngest person to do so, Honda created the radical NSR500 V4 for the following year. Teething problems and a broken collarbone relegated him to fourth in the championship, despite three race wins. Fast Freddie tells Alan Cathcart about the road…

Held on March 22, on this year’s Pioneer Run every machine was at least 100 years old.  

In early-1970s Germany, popularity of 250cc and 350cc machines increased. At Munich-based Zündapp it was decided to fight the growing army of Japanese strokers, though, sadly, the resulting machine never made it to production.  

This event, which started at the BSA works in Small Heath, marked the midway point in a steady process of standardisation across all the big reliability trials in the Midlands. 

The Beeton family name was well-known in sidecar racing. Many a racer fruitlessly pursued Lincolnshire three-wheeled ace Jackie Beeton and, in another era, his son Pete. Now Pete Beeton is once more a leader, only this time, it’s Ariel Leaders he’s interested in. 

Faster than a speeding Bullet. Quite a lot faster, in fact. The Over Enfield reveals how much performance can be extracted from a decently ancient engine design 

On their 350cc Jawa/Velorex sidecar outfit, Mick Payne and Katy have set off on the journey of a lifetime. Having reached the Lake District, Mick brings his first impressions of the humble outfit with a big task ahead.  

John Wallis’s report on this year’s Dragon Rally a few issues back reminded Eddie Steptoe of the bitterly cold morning he set off from Ilford with his late wife, Kit, on their Triumph sidecar outfit to attend the very first ‘Dragon’ at Bryn Bras Castle in February 1962. 

The National Children’s Day of 1924 was a truly special event for underprivileged children all over the country, and particularly those who were cultivating (or had already cultivated) an affinity for motorcycles and motorcars…

Feared by some, girder front forks were a light, reasonably strong early solution to steering and front suspension. Today, most are at least 50 years old, so need regular checks and maintenance to make sure they remain safe to use…

“I don’t suppose you’d be interested in looking at my rebuilding of a Kawasaki W1’s motor would you?” asked owner Dave Jupp. Of course we would; we’d leap at the chance. Steve Cooper reports…

These Douglas motorcycles look rather dejected as they await a much-needed consignment of imported magnetos…

Whether the Americans truly desired the specification of machinery that we sent them, or whether it was merely the interpretation of the factory stylists in their smoky offices of the 50s remains arguable. However, one thing is for sure, these days in particular, that era of Trans Atlantic styling is eye-catchingly different…

It was a time of punk rock, Barry Sheene, Star Wars, page three stunners, big hair and even bigger flares. Welcome to the year that was 1977…

Even in the second millenium a 250 ‘stroker is a potent missile and the TZR250 is quite possibly the considered weapon of choice…

In December 1954, the first specially-staged TV scramble took place at Beenham. Little did anyone know just how popular the winter series would become…

The story broke, in March 1980, that Barry Sheene would be missing from the British team for the Anglo American Match Races, after he had failed to agree start money terms with Motor Circuit Developments boss Chris Lowe…

When Featherbed based specials are mentioned, several variations of power unit come to mind but hardly ever would P&M’s slogging old sloper feature in the list. Jim Reynolds meets one such man for whom such ‘prejudices’ do not exist and finds that even the most bizarre concoction can produce remarkable results…