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Californian Bud Ekins was that rarest of things – a jack-of-all-trades, but also a master of all of them. Desert racer, scrambler, long distance trials rider, dealer and stuntman, he was near the top of his profession whatever the motorcycling discipline…

This immaculate AJS Model 18S has been in the same ownership since the early 60s – it’s a relationship that’s passed the test of time with flying colours…

Sunbeam always had an image of being a machine for gentlemen – and this three-speed veteran single certainly fits the bill…

Quick and Quickly puns apart, the NSU Quick 50, based on a proven design, became one of the forerunners of the renowned sports 50s of the 1970s, though the diminutive NSUs are now rare…

From engineering brilliance to obso­lesence, Richard Renstrom charts the rise and fall of Indian’s mighty v-twin Chief motorcycle…

This 250cc Aermacchi Ala Verde provides plenty of smiles, with a lively engine allied to a superb chassis, making it well-suited for the motorcycling many classic riders do. It’s a small price to pay for the lack of comfort…

As the restoration movement has gathered pace and all sorts of bikes are being restored for all sorts of reasons, it can be easy to forget that the whole point of a motorcycle in the first place was transport…

One of the great charms of the Harley-Davidson V-twin is its simplicity. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to work on these bikes and day-to-day servicing should be easily within the abilities of the home mechanic…

These are the steps to take if you’re buying a motorcycle. If you’re not mechanically minded or know a great deal about bikes, take a knowledgeable friend with you. It’s best to have done your ‘pricing’ homework before seeing the bike…

Scott Russell was an old-school racer and 1993 was his best year. That season he not only won the Suzuka 8 Hours race with team-mate Aaron Slight on the Muzzy Kawasaki, but he also took the World Superbike title for the marque on the ZXR750, making him the only 750cc winner of the title on…

We all love a bargain and this month’s offering neatly fits the bill even if it subsequently needed a little bit of internal surgical therapy…

Cycle World magazine once awarded the Harley-Davidson XLCH Sportster the title of ‘Motorcycle most likely to be stolen’, which actually says more about the bike than about contemporary American society…

Ok, so most of us couldn’t even get close to what these things can do. But that’s not the point. In the late 1980s the superbike went crazy. Race tech leaped and bounded and cash-rich Japanese factories were happy to give us Suzuka 8-Hour-developed missiles to ride to work…

The opposition was definitely groggy as Swiss ace Robert Grogg, with Andreas Husser in the chair of their 920 Norton Wasp outfit, dominated the British round of the European Sidecar Cross Championship at Beenham Park, Berkshire in July 1979…

The Triumph Métisse models developed for scrambling were streets ahead of the competition on the scrambles tracks of the world. But what are they like on the street asks Tim Britton?

Norton’s International overhead cam engine has been overshadowed slightly by the post Second World War Manx unit but, in various forms, was in the Norton range for much longer…

Super Onslow Special and So Obviously Superior were two suggestions what the ‘SOS’ badge stood for. Whatever the terminology, the bike was an appeal to discriminating riders, to try something different in the lightweight utility market…

It may have looked undramatic, but Kawasaki’s shaft-drive GT550 four proved to be a solid seller for around 20 years. John Nutting rode versions at the beginning and end of the run…

Perhaps overshadowed by its more glamorous and sporty sibling, the Red Hunter, although the overall specification isn’t that different, Ariel’s NG is a practical and stylish 30s mount nonetheless. James Robinson tells the story of a special NG and even more special owner…

Velocette’s sporting single was the last bastion of the traditional thoroughbred single cylinder sports bike. Tim Britton takes a look at the Velo range, then hops aboard a Thruxton for a test…

Take an ex-125 racer with a background in the bike trade, an old Triumph engine, a load of shiny new Metisse bits – and stir…

Suzuki, like Kawasaki, adopted the two stroke triple engine in the seventies, but it offered a more rounded product than its performance rivals…

Vincent’s Black Prince rode at the vanguard of a brave campaign. It was a visionary product, offering rider protection and clean lines in 1954, but the motorcycle buying public, traditionally a reserved bunch, didn’t take to it. Mike Lewis tells the story…

I’ll never forget the look on my mother’s face when I brought my latest motorcycle back home; she didn’t look very impressed! It was over 25 years ago and the motorcycle in question was a 1937 AJS Model 26 OHV 350cc…

Mention Honda CB750 at club night and everyone raises eyebrows, whistles and starts thinking five figure sums. The machine that started it all is quite rightly iconic but it’s also expensive…

Japan’s trailblazing rider Fumio Ito in action during the 1960 Austrian GP. That year, he made his full grand prix debut, finishing sixth in the season opening French Grand Prix, round one of the 500c world championship…

John Nutting’s top 40 bikes from the Seventies, distilled from over 200 road tests. Final part, numbers 40 to 31…

Taking a crack at the military market, Norton developed this handsome sidevalve twin. Sadly it was not to be. Signalman Reynolds, JE, does a brief tour of duty…

As a reader of CMM magazine, we already know that you have firm opinions and excellent judgement – and now we’d love you to tell us what you like and don’t like about the magazine, and why…

We need to know what you think about The Classic MotorCycle. What do you like or dislike? For your trouble all entries will go into a prize draw, and you could win one of the seven cash prizes, the top prize being £250!

Ignore the Moto Morini V-twins at you peril. Great, surefooted handling, soulful engines and they look a million dollars, even when parked up…

At the dawn of the 80s the choice of 750cc sportbikes was limited to conventional in-line fours from Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki. Larger capacity bikes satisfied the power hungry, but the 750s were more agile rides and began to win back support. John Nutting rode three of the best…

Our 1979 Yamaha XS650 had struggled on the daily commute, then got packed away and forgotten in a damp cellar for almost five years, so it wasn’t a pretty sight. You join the overhaul with the engine already removed from the frame and stripped…

The August 16, 1923 issue of The Motor Cycle announced that the Grigg Motor & Engineering Company in Winchester Road, Twickenham would be marketing a range of single-cylinder and V-twin engines under the patents of Messrs Bacher and Hellow, who were responsible for B and H engines…