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In the last part of the rebuild our Z1 engine was ready for reassembly. Rod Gibson rolls up his sleeves to inject new life into the king of motorcycles

In part one Rod Gibson stripped the engine on our 1972 Kawasaki Z1, despite a struggle to separate the barrels from the crankcase. Now all the components can be examined

The Kawasaki Z1 is the definitive Japanese four-cylinder motorcycle – the bike that launched a thousand clones. Rod Gibson strips an original 1972 model to see what makes it tick

Rod Gibson moves on to the final stage of the Honda’s 125 engine rebuild

In part one I stripped Angie’s Honda CB125TDC engine down to sort out an oil burning problem. Now with the bike in bits I can take some time to examine the engine internals and sort out what work needs to be done to put the bike back on the road

Angie’s Honda CB125TDC has been languishing in a rather unloved state in the back of my shed for over a year, waiting for me to sort it out.

Honda seem to have two ways of doing things – create an ‘everyman’ machine or an out and out world beater. CDB tries an example of the latter

Almost any picture of a scramble in the 50s will show the majority of the entry mounted on Gold Stars. Vic Allan has a look at how this domination came about

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and for this ‘beholder’ the classic red and chrome tanked Husqvarnas are beautiful, CDB goes enduro

“What goes in to making a winner?” is the eternal question of all competition riders. Closely followed by “would we win on it?” CDB tries to find the answers

The Norton Jubilee was launched in 1958, Norton’s Diamond Jubilee year, and though it perhaps wasn’t universally loved, it still has its devotees to this day

Imagine finding a rare TT-pattern motorcycle in a shed and in a dreadful state. Imagine a difficult and painstaking rebuild over eight years. Imagine a result so perfect that, first time out, your Sunbeam wins the trophy of trophies…

The method used to open a Vincent’s valves is quite unusual. The valve stem is made with two guide location diameters and the cylinder head holds the lower guide whilst the upper one fits into a machined location and is held in place. We explain…

The thumping sound at the 1978 Cologne Motorcycle Show came from visitors as their collective jaws hit the floor. Kawasaki chose the occasion to launch its mighty six-cylinder Z1300. We explain how it was conceived…

Often overlooked by those who revel in more technically ad­vanced machines, the venerable old side-valve Harley-Davidson vee-twins are now coming into their own. Classics with a design so typically American

Neil Murray shatters the Surrey peace when he gets aboard an extremely rare, fire-breathing, road-going replica of their all-conquering Harley-Davidson US dirt track racers of the Seventies…

The Moto Guzzi Lodola pictured here has an enviable competition history. Used by Italian Gianfranco Saini, it participated in two of the prestigious International Six Days Trials during the 60s. Cristiano Morello relates the tale…

If you’d to define the word ‘classic’ in motorcycle terms then Norton’s Manx racing models would be at the top of the list. But, what are they like to ride? OBM popped along to a Master Class at Cadwell Park to find out

Flat track racing opened up when the rules were relaxed to allow aftermarket developed parts. OBM checks out a typical racer from the 1970s

Motorcycles aimed at lady riders were common once. Tim Holmes recounts the story of one such model.

Machines ranging from motorised bicycles at £17 17s to a gold-finished luxury four-cylinder motorcycle at £185

Double adult Watsonian ‘Warwick’ sidecar partnered to Ariel’s Sqaure Four. What a combination!

Polly Palmer, proprietor of Bri-Tie Motorcycles and President of the BSA Owners Club, overhauls the A50/65

Laverda’s spectacular 1000cc Jota triple was the first standard road bike to break the 140mph barrier at MIRA’s proving ground. John Nutting recalls how the bike was developed

Brian Woolley admires Gnome et Rhone’s translation of the British ABC

Indian’s Warrior was brilliantly conceived but poorly executed; a requiem for Indian by Richard Renstrom

The biggest machine in the extensive Small Heath range shows its paces to Motor Cycling

Brian Woolley tells the story of a 500cc BSA sporting single made in 1927

Film stuntman Jim Dowdall bought a rare XA Harley-Davidson and it led him down the road to Wildcat Ridge… Article: Feb 1984

Proprietor of Bri-Tie Motorcycles and President of the BSA OC ‘Polly’ Palmer runs through a simple strip down of the BSA A10 and A65 front suspension

We come to terms with Kawasaki’s latest rip-snorting triple-pot machine from Japan

Yamaha’s YR5 350 ws not as fearsome as we had anticipated but it’s still a good all-round performer