Retrobike

WORDS GEOFF SEDDON PHOTOGRAPHY MOTOR RAUSCH “THE LESS SUITED YOUR BIKE IS TO THE TASK, THE BETTER SUITED IT IS TO DIRT QUAKE” GOT a motorbike and don’t mind getting it dirty? Latent competitive streak busting to break out? What about a sense of humou

WORDS & PHOTOS RUSS MURRAY “WITH THE RUNNING GEAR AND ENGINE UNTOUCHED, IT STILL GOES, STOPS AND HANDLES LIKE A BRAND NEW PANIGALE” DESIGN houses will often customise a new bike to promote their work; think Roland Sands’ Indian Scout and Deus ex Mach

WORDS ALAN CATHCART PHOTOS KEVIN WING & RICH COX “THIS IS NOT A COMFORTABLE BIKE AND GOOD LUCK PUTTING BOTH FEET DOWN AT A STOP LIGHT” IF YOU have to ask who Mert Lawwill is, then you’ve never seen the best bike movie of all time, Bruce Brown’s On An

WORDS GEOFF SEDDON PHOTOS CON HARRIMAN “THE URBAN HIPSTER TAG WAS NEVER REALLY ACCURATE” RETROBIKE is a big fan of the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, which is why we’ve covered the last two Sydney events and one in Perth. Conceived by Mark Hawwa and

WORDS ALAN CATHCART PHOTOS PHIL MASTERS “THE RESULT IS THAT TRADEMARK BMW FLAT-TWIN IMITATION OF A LOW-FLYING AIRCRAFT AT FULL THROTTLE” HELMUT Dähne joined BMW as an apprentice mechanic, aged 15, in 1959. In a 15-year career, he rose to development

TOP read on the GSX750. What a sweet bike, I love it! I've always wanted to modernise an old bike, to me it’s best of both worlds. Can I have a go before you sell it, Peter? Glen Hibbard PUKKA last issue. Loved how the Quake City Rumblers made the be

WORDS GEOFF SEDDON PHOTOGRAPHY JOHN DOWNS “I WANTED TO SHOW THAT A BACKYARD FELLA COULD STILL BUILD SOMETHING THAT LOOKS ALL RIGHT” ENTHUSIASTS who know their early Kawasakis will pick this Z1 for a highly-modified hot rod in an instant, but it’s tho

WORDS JEFF LAMB PHOTOGRAPHY AJ MOLLER “I FOUND MYSELF THE PROUD OWNER OF A MOTORCYCLING CURIOSITY AND A GROWING NUMBER OF RANDOM PARTS” I GOT thinking about custom bikes after talking to Leo Yip on the Ellaspede stand at the Troy Bayliss Moto Expo in

WORDS GEOFF SEDDON PHOTOGRAPHY SINUHE XAVIER “THE ENGINE IS MADE FROM TWO ROYAL ENFIELD 500 SINGLES JOINED ON A COMMON CRANKCASE” MAX Hazan is as much interested in art as motorcycles, yet his builds display levels of engineering innovation rarely se

WORDS GEOFF SEDDON PHOTOGRAPHY SIMON BUCK “IF THE MOTORCYCLES ARE TO BE RIDDEN, THEN WE HAVE TO MAKE THEM AS USEABLE AS WE CAN” YAMAHA made no secret that the original SR500, released in 1978, was their version of a traditional British sporting singl

WITH JAMIE McILWRAITH “There are bits that I like, and bits that I don’t like” LIKE many of you, I love motorcycle videos taken from the rider’s point of view, especially the ones roaring around the Isle of Man’s 37 miles of roads through countryside

WORDS GEOFF SEDDON PHOTOGRAPHY VANGUARD “STANCE IS ALWAYS THE FIRST THING YOU HAVE TO GET RIGHT” THIS build is as unlikely as it is possible to imagine. Commissioned by a Dutch clothing brand, designed by an ex-pat German in Switzerland and built in

WORDS & PHOTOS BEN HEWLETT “THIS IS WHEN SEVERAL OF US FOUND OUT EXACTLY HOW MUCH OIL WE DIDN’T HAVE LEFT IN THE STRUTS” I ENJOY writing. There is nobody to argue with and blame can be shifted wherever I like. In that spirit, this trip was all Kade's

WITH PAUL BAILEY “It’s great when we turn up in great numbers to show solidarity for a cause” THE last few issues I’ve talked about the motorcycle family and how we all have a shared passion for bikes and we are all linked because of our love of the

WITH JIMMI WALKER “Our mums feared the worst. Our dads were just glad to get rid of us for the weekend” SIZE doesn’t matter, or does it? When I was a wee boy, I used to think that having a big bike was the only way to have fun. The bigger, the better

WORDS & PHOTOS GEOFF SEDDON ROAD testing motorcycles is a funny old game. I’ve been doing it for 30 years and never rode one I didn’t like; well, apart from the Triumph Rocket III. But only rarely does one come along that makes me want to buy it. The

WORDS & PHOTOS STUART ‘TANGLES’ GARRARD SEDDO’S budget Norton Commando unexpectedly went onto one cylinder. It had fuel so he suspected a plug or coil, but swapping in new ones didn’t help. Then it wouldn’t start at all. The bike also had other issue

WORDS & PHOTO RUSS MURRAY STEVE McQueen was a Hollywood icon starring in movies such as The Great Escape, Bullitt, Le Mans and On Any Sunday. He was also a genuine petrolhead and amassed an impressive collection of 130 bikes and cars, many of which h