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Still drop dead gorgeous and probably the best looking 250 of the 70s, the Kawasaki S1 inspires many a middle aged man to relive his teens… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert

Forget Barry Sheene’s RG500, forget Eddie Lawson’s YZRs, forget even Valentino Rossi’s Yamaha or Foggy’s Ducati. This almost standard-looking Honda XL250 cost just £100 and is the most successful race bike in the history of motorcycling. By miles… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our…

The first of the 80’s was a hot-bed of motorcycle development where two-strokes took on four. Suzuki built both. The GSX-R750 and RG500 were about as hot as it got. 25 years on CMM stages a re-match… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading…

Kawasaki’s GPz600R was the first liquid-cooled 600cc four, a breed that has defined sports machines in the 21st century. But was it launched too early with flawed technology? Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert

When ‘Father of the Z1’ Ben Inamura designed the Z650 in 1976 he could never have realised that derivatives would still be in production 30 years later. John Nutting tested a number of the original versions at MIRA Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our…

It may have been the antithesis of the staid pipe-smoking Brit machine but the Triumph Bonneville succeeded far beyond the dreams of its creators. It bestrode the world of motorcycling like a titan for more than a decade and just when its glory days seemed dead and gone it was born again for the modern…

One of the first companies to use water cooling in its motorcycles, Scott gained rapid success taking several TT wins and numerous lap records… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert

Royal Enfield’s Interceptor was arguably their best twin. Overcoming most of the flaws of the earlier twins, the Interceptor was powerful, fast – and largely oil-tight. It’s an unsung hero of the parallel twin genre… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article…

Norton’s Commando twin was only ever intended as a stop-gap model to put the Norton name back in the public eye, but the ‘stop-gap’ ran for 10 years and is regarded by many as the finest incarnation of the traditional British parallel twin… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to…

Triumph and BSA triples offer a unique riding experience to the British bike fan. They represent the British industry’s last roll of the dice against the rising tide of Japanese superbikes – and they can still deliver impressive and exhilarating performance more than 40 years after the first bikes rolled off the production lines… Article…

It’s a conundrum many marque enthusiasts have found themselves in and one, which causes a rumpus around equally as many owners’ club committees – when does your marque cease to become your marque, or is it always your marque irrespective? James Robinson sampled one such conundrum… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading,…

Velocette’s LE had a long production life, which indicated success, but it also absorbed a colossal post-war investment from the company, which in hindsight arguably did irreparable damage to the manufacturer… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert

Royal Enfield’s heavyweight twins never enjoyed the success or the popularity of their contemporaries but Jim Reynolds reckons they were equally as good, if not better. Here he gets all star-struck about a Constellation… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues…

Yamaha’s original RD350LC was furious if not as fast as we’d expected. But the two-stroke twin had huge potential which has been explored with a huge range of modifications. John Nutting tested it at MIRA in the early 1980s… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of…

Tighten up your chin strap, slip on some cool shades and politely advise your cardio-vascular system that it’s about to get a good sized dollop of adrenaline; it’s Kawasaki 350cc street scrambler time… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below……

In the early 70s the world of twins was simple; Ducati produced Vee twins, BMWs were horizontally opposed and the British persevered with pushrod parallels… then Yamaha mixed it all up, with the OHC XS1… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article…

When Kawasaki launched the GPz900R 25 years ago it turned the world of motorcycling on its head, shook it up and spun it around so many times that when everything settled back down the scene was almost unrecognisable… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our…

Honda’s 400cc and 500cc V-four sport bikes that appeared in 1983 were exotic high-revvers with a luxury feel – but they concealed a nasty secret. John Nutting delves into his MIRA files to find out what they were like… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of…

Jim Reynolds learns that a relaxed attitude to all motorcycles can result in pleasurable experiences. Oh, he got wet as well… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert

Retired teacher John Crispin gives full marks to his 1938 Rudge Ulster as an object lesson in good engineering practice… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert

The Norton Dominator 99SS is a rarity anyway, so an original and unrestored one is quite possibly unique, if there’s such a thing. Roy Poynting explains… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert

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… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines.…

Teenagers understand just one style of motorcycle riding – throttle to the stop. The Jawa 90 was designed with such discerning youthful riders in mind. Luckily a few survived this full-on abuse including this plucky example, now semi-retired in the Isle of Man… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to…

It’s fifty-five years since the first practical Wankel rotary engine was built by NSU in Germany. John Nutting was one of the first journalists to ride a rotary-engined motorcycle when Norton-Villiers-Triumph revealed its ultra-smooth prototype in the 70s… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our…

Mike Dixon’s rare, tuned example of the BSA B30-4, denoted by a small star red star stamped onto the crankcase, was described to him as being similar to the machine campaigned in competitive trials by Marjorie Cottle during 1930… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of…

This Velocette special takes the engine from the LE and slots it into the rolling chassis of the Valiant, creating a tidy little lightweight… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert

The Goodman family – manufacturers of Velocette – stopped making motorcycles circa 1970, right? Well, not quite. In 1998, Simon Goodman, the great grandson of the firm’s founder, made one last machine, and thanks to Neil Redley – marque enthusiast extraordinaire – we’ve scooped a test on this unique machine… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy…

By the early 60s, Norton was beginning to make engines which were capable of exploiting the performance of its world-renowned frames, and the 650cc Dominator was one such bike… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert

British Bike enthusiasts were willing Lord Hesketh to fulfill his dream of building a competitive all-British superbike, but it was not to be. The bikes were badly received and suffered from noisy transmissions and production faults, forcing the company into receivership during the summer of 1982… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading,…

The Hesketh V1000 was conceived from an aristocrat’s ambition to produce ‘the finest motorcycles in the world’, yet the glamorous debutant lacked sufficient pedigree to impress motorcycling society… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert…

The components for this Rickman Metisse were all bought in the classic period, but never assembled into a complete machine until 2003. It shows that though Don and Derek Rickman were off-road specialists, the twosome also made high quality road kit too… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe…

We’ve all spent idle hours dreaming up our ideal motorcycle but only a tiny percentage convert their imaginings into metal. One of the few is Irishman Tom Healion who spent six years conceiving and building his 250cc NSU ‘Sportymax’ racer Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one…

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 quite remarkable results Article continues below……

With the Triumph Bonneville celebrating its silver jubilee, the VMCC chose to offer up one such machine for their Christmas raffle prize. Always keen on a bargain, Jim Reynolds went to sample his quid’s worth… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article…

In a world of ever increasing technology, there is still much to be said for mechanical simplicity, if only for ease of maintenance. Andrew Wilson reckons that’s why he found this BSA B31 so endearing… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article…

There’s much can be said about Yorkshire folk, but one thing in their favour is their thrift. So it was with Phelon & Moore, motorcycle manufacturers of Cleckheaton. Why make a new engine when the old one is perfectly adequate? Phil Mather finds a Panther Model 100 which proves the point… Article continues below… Advert…

A gap in the chilly rains of late January made a test of this lovely 1950 Triumph Trophy trials bike practical. Never mind the cold, the Trophy sat there looking gorgeous, slim and minimalist in the way of machines born of competition use… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to…

Justifiably playing up the retro image, Royal Enfield has gone the whole hog with the new Bullet Classic. Nigel Clark spent a day with one and reckons it just might be the best Bullet yet… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines.

Taking a crack at the military market, Norton developed this handsome sv twin. Sadly it was not to be. Signalman Reynolds, JE, does a brief tour of duty Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert

Vincent and NSU entered into a little known partnership, to sell lightweight commuter motorcycles on the British market. This is a rare survivor… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert

Looking good! Our project Honda CB750K2 takes a big step towards completion, as Classic Mechanics editor Rod Gibson finishes the engine and re-fits the wheels and suspension… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert Article…

Last month I stripped the engine down on our Honda CB750 project bike and found signs that it had been well cared for in its 34 years of service. I’ll be replacing the main and big end bearings, primary and camchains. There’s also a little wear on the cylinder bores, so I’ll get those checked…

Rod Gibson carries out the final tweaks and adjustments to our project Honda CB750K2 restoration, and it looks like it’s just left the factory. But what does it ride like? Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues…

The engine from our restoration bike has given 33 years’ solid service and warranted a good looking-at before being pressed back into service. Now, I have to admit it’s some time since I last plunged into the innards of an sohc 750 Honda so I was relishing this opportunity to become reacquainted with the beast……

The Honda had given 33,000 miles of solid service but an overhaul was due, so it was time to think about getting the engine out of the frame for a closer inspection of its internals. Rod Gibson dons his overalls… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one…

Panther claimed ‘the Perfect Motorcycle’ in its catalogue of 1911, but the company had many more years of life after that. Phil Mather takes a look at 1948’s version of the breed… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert…

If Kawasaki’s original Z1 900 four was a body blow to the opposition, the Z650 was a follow up punch which kicked off a middleweight battle in the showrooms. We examine the bike which launched a thousand dreams, and not a few clones… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to…

Our project Suzuki ‘Kettle’ GT750 is back together and running sweetly. Rod Gibson heaves a sigh of relief, and takes it out on test… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert

The Suzuki GT750 engine is back in the frame at last, but there’s still some assembly work to do to reach the finishing straight with our restoration. Rod Gibson rolls up his shirt sleeves again… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article…

In part one Rod Gibson started the reassembly of our project ‘Kettle’, Suzuki’s three-cylinder two stroke GT750. Now the wheels can go on to the chassis, and the engine begins to take shape… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below……

Rod Gibson had already dismantled the Suzuki GT750 down in his workshop and we start the online feature at the first stage of reassembly. With the engine to one side, Rod concentrated on the cycle parts, having already arranged for the metalwork to be powder coated Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading,…

Starter motors on Japanese motorcycles can have a pretty hard life, and we do take them for granted. Rod Gibson brings one up to scratch… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert

This 1954 Francis Barnett has been owned by a father and then his son from new. It was off the road for some years, though has now been restored to its former glory Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below……

Triumph’s SD was based upon the despatch rider’s favourite, the Model H, but used Triumph’s own three-speed gearbox rather than the H’s Sturmey Archer and had chain replacing the belt final drive… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert

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… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues…

Though the Norton Model 50 is often derided for its lack of pace, it’s more a case of an exceptional frame, rather than a disappointing engine that has led to this largely unjustified criticism. Roy Poynting tells the story… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of…

This Moto Guzzi S3 has been superbly restored and uprated by its owner, and is now capable of what the Italian factory originally claimed for it… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert

Ridden by Arthur Lampkin in the 1966 ISDT, its one and only event, this slightly uneasy alliance between industry giants Triumph and BSA resulted in an ISDT Gold medal winner Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues…

By the mid-1960s the once-great independent Matchless and Norton concerns had been amalgamated, and the two firms – once great rivals – were now producing identical-bar-the-badge machines Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert Article…

A tribute collection of images and magazine covers from 1952, the year Queen Elizabeth came to the throne. She celebrated her Silver Jubilee (25 years) in 1977 and her Golden Jubilee (50 years) in 2002 Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article…

It was a simple premise – build a upmarket commuter motorcycle for Everyman, one that would appeal to everyone and be capable of doing all things for all men. And it succeeded when others fell by the roadside. So why was Velocette’s flawed LE so special? Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading,…

Two rotary-engined bikes but they’re as different as chalk and cheese. Bob Berry is surprised to discover that it was the troubled Norton factory that got it right while Suzuki went high tech and high cost and must have lost a packet… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe…

Stories of 750 owners being traumatised by a well-ridden Yamaha 350 are not the stuff of legend, rather, a very well documented fact. It’s realistically now very difficult to convey just what a complete package the Yamaha 350 was. Ostensibly a 350 in a 250 frame, the model was a performance ground breaker… Article continues…

Rod Gibson completes the Yamaha’s engine and gearbox rebuild but it’s not back in the frame – the owner is so pleased with the motor that he’s now going for a full restoration Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below……

Close inspection of the Yamaha twin’s engine internals reveals a relatively happy state of affairs for spannerman Rod Gibson Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert

Rod Ker is reminded of breezing along through a blue haze of burnt two stroke oil when he rides the smallest of Suzuki’s three-cylinder trio Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines.

From early sporting leanings in the roaring 20s, Norton’s immortal 490cc pushrod engine developed into a delightful lusty slogger, fondly remembered by many. The ‘Easy’ 2 was a mainstay of the Norton range for over three decades, and it’s not difficult to see why it had such a devoted following Article continues below… Advert Enjoy…

Maurice Keen’s love affair with his Honda Gold Wing spans 30 years and two countries. We tracked him down at his home in Eire Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert

Was Suzuki’s 500cc two-stroke twin doomed to become extinct before its time? John Nutting recalls the bike that started the Hamamatsu factory’s big-bike era and the last of the line. Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert

Honda’s CB750 took and shook the motorcycle market but Kawsaki’s 900 raised the bar by a similar amount. More power, technology and performance than anything else. And affordable too. Rod Gibson tells the story… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues…

In the hands of its first owner, this Ariel VB covered over quarter of a million miles, usage which obviously took its toll on the machine, but an exacting restoration has given it a new lease of life Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our…

Billed as the ‘aristocrat of lightweights’, the Ambassador Supreme brought a touch of class to popular motorcycling on several continents Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert

The keys to a successful marriage may be hanging in the garage, judging by the longevity of this Velocette-inspired union between two kindred spirits Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert

Abingdon King Dick, or the company’s safer internet search name AKD, were early pioneers of the tricycle, motorcycle and took an active lead in the development of its own range of engines, which was unusual and gained the company a lot of respect Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to…

The Yamaha FS1-E has become the iconic symbol of 70s teenage rebellion. But was it ever really that good? We ride a mint example, and speculate… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert

Suzuki was influential in moulding the tralbike concept and this TS125, launched in 1971 and following on from the Trail Cat, continued the theme Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert

Eighty years ago, The Motor Cycle took BSA’s Model G on a world tour. This well-used example still clocks up big miles in all weathers Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert Article continues below……

But unlike the prehistoric monster, the Z1300 in still with us. Winner in the power stakes when it was introduced at 120 bhp, fuel injection boosted that to 130 bhp. Bob Berry rides one of the last made Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our…

Examination of a university academic’s Brough Superior proves it to be in a class of its own Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert

The 1968 Bonneville was the culmination of Triumph’s quest to marry ‘precision, power and performance’ and is arguably its best ever twin Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert

Bling might be what the market requires now, but when this Enfield left the factory it was a different kettle of fish. Jim Reynolds tastes the solid dependability of the simple single Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert

Museums are often criticised for having lots of static exhibits. Luckily the Beaulieu collection is more enlightened and actually allows historic machines to run. Jim Reynolds gets on with a legendary Norton… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert…

After the pre 65 Scottish CDB caught up with Davy Morewood and Pete Yeadon who are respectively the rider and builder of this fabulous Ariel. It carries on with our series of testing the winning bike each year and it�s good to see that a big bike can still win… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy…