Bikes are for riding, apparently, as well as for providing endless ways of passing the time agreeably in sheds throughout the lands, especially when winter arrives. It was a wet, windy and very dull day, perfect for an afternoon's jovial spannering,

A century ago in the fledgling days of the motorcycle industry, American-made motorcycles led the world in sophistication of design, with several companies producing four-cylinder models for their customers. These sat firmly at odds with the often ri

PART TWO If you recall, last month we ended on a bit of a low. It wasn't just this project but a whole combination of factors; other stuff was going on in my life, and I had the MaBSA build on the go as well. I'd broken my golden rule of only ever do

Fats Waller, Elvis Presley, Tony Orlando and Dawn, Taylor Swift and Britney Spears all have something in common – the BSA Gold Star. How so? Well… Back in ‘38, Wal Handley may well have listened to Fats as he rode the newest sports machine from BSA.

Our story starts several years ago with a family friend, Alan, who knew that I rode motorcycles. On one visit, he opened his rather damp and dilapidated garden shed, moved some of the detritus of years and revealed a sorry-looking and very rusty moto

None of us had any say in when we were born, nor when we might subsequently enter the classic motorcycle scene. A number of us enthusiasts not only started young, say in our early teens, but are still taking an active part in motorcycling in our latt

PO BOX 66 BUDE EX23 9ZX I first met David Minton at the east London BSAOC in 1962. I was introduced to him with two other friends, Eric and Dai, and I was given the name Dusty – too many Daves in the club! I had an Avon Streamliner on a Golden Flash:

I had a test ride, was suitably impressed and… I took the plunge and bought a new bike! This would be my first new bike for 17 years, although it wasn't entirely brand new; a three months old, pre-registered machine with a mere 40 miles on the clock.

Although beaten to the honour of creating America's first fourcylinder motorcycle by the Pierce Four introduced in 1909, when Scottish-born brothers William G. and Thomas W. Henderson founded the Henderson Motorcycle Co. in Detroit, Michigan in 1911,

You might expect to be reading about my own ZZR600 right about now but – patience please folks – I feel a bit of background and history may help first. By the early 1980s the motorcycle market had, in many people's opinion, become more then a bit sta

Once upon a time this would have been the time for the Pioneer Run (as this is being written, not when The Reader is reading it). However, that run has been transposed to October these days, although for this year only the Sunbeam Club are holding th

The Kawasaki H2 750 was a motorcycle as notoriously twitchy and unstable as a skinhead with a pocket full of Dexedrine and a bag full of glue. This notorious / legendary (delete as applicable) motorcycle is a machine about which the manufacturer's pu

I have always had a soft spot for Norton pushrod singles. Many, many years ago, in 1974 actually, my slightly dodgy, on and off friend Mike the Boat promised me that if I could get his old red Norton ES2 going I could have it. Slightly surprisingly,

I am very grateful for the replies to my query on the Rudge. Please pass on my thanks to Nigel Stennett-Cox, Tony Pearson and Martyn Hillier. The machine registrar at Rudge Club says ‘You are correct that Glamorgan County Council issued the registrat

I've just read Frank's article on the A10 in RC240 and it brought back many memories, mostly good, of my 1952 plunger Flash. I sold it about 10 years ago and, as usual, wish I hadn't. Lovely bikes. Chris Alvey, member Frank's excellent article brough

Even after a truly depressingly number of years spent messing about with old bikes, I am still unsure why it is that I get along so well with iron-head engines. Why should a cylinder head cast in iron make for a more pleasant engine than an otherwise

We recently enjoyed a day out at the Norfolk Motorcycle Museum. A very atypical museum, operated by enthusiasts who seem to be happily tinkering with old iron irrespective of the presence or absence of visitors. It's a cross between Ogri's shed and a

This machine was an eBay purchase more than ten years ago; it was a fairly complete machine in rather rough condition. I remember placing a rather cheeky bid early in the auction and then more or less forgetting about it. When I saw the email saying

Although I am a Laverda guy, I also admire Ducati twins. Magazines sang their praises and nodded lovingly at their quirks. Paul Smart rode them to victories and Ducati advertisements were enticing. By the mid-1970s I was riding a Laverda 3C and my bu