Sam Hewitt

Television and radio star shows off her small-wheeled transport. Photograph: MORTONS ARCHIVE From July 1948, actress, comedian, singer and radio star Lind Joyce explains the workings of her Brockhouse Corgi scooter to a youngster riding a tricycle. Joyce was a cast member of Liverpool comic Tommy Handley’s It’s That Man Again (ITMA), a wildly popular…

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Visit any autojumble and you’ll find many motorcycle frames on offer and you’ll see enthusiasts happily buying the most unpromising structures. Are they mad, or do they know something we don’t? Words and photographs: RICHARD ROSENTHAL Classic motorcycle frame construction using ferrous metals falls into one of a range of types: Cast lugs Frame tubes…

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In the quest to assemble the big bits as quickly as possible, the details often have to wait. Words and photographs: Tim Britton I doubt anyone who has assembled a motorcycle of any sort will be surprised to hear it’s not the big bits which take the time, but the smaller details. What I’m talking…

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He bought a scooter, and was satisfied with that, until a go on a friend’s motorcycle proved revelatory. There are people who’ve written a lot of books – and then there’s Mick Walker. The author of over 130 motorcycle-related tomes, his prodigious output was even more astounding when it’s taken into account he didn’t start…

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Club life is a good way to be involved. Words: TIM BRITTON Photographs: BRIAN SLARK It’s a slightly different take on our brief chat for this month as we’re talking to a club rather than one person, so we asked the Association of Pioneer Motor Cyclists chairman Ken Brady to provide the answers. In the…

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This fabulous Royal Ruby V-twin has a rather regal bearing, which issomewhat ironic, as it was the overthrow of the Russian royal familythat most likely led to its non-delivery. Words: Rachael Clegg Photographs: Gary Chapman/Mortons Archive/Colin Wall The Royal Ruby 976cc V-twin stands majestic in Hall One of the National Motorcycle Museum. Its tank –…

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Designed to mobilise the postwar northern Italian workforce, Moto Guzzi’s Galletto offered function in quite a strange form, but it’s not without its charms. Words: Phil Turner Photographs: Gary Chapman Few countries enjoyed a post-Second World War boom quite like Italy. A generous pot of aid courtesy of the Marshall Plan, the demand for raw…

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This fascinating, charming and ultra-rare motorcycle comes from the early days of Vincent-HRD manufacture. Words: James Robinson Photographs: Gary Chapman When I was a child, I was obsessed with a book called ‘The Vincent HRD Gallery’ by Roy Harper. I loved that book, mainly as it had pictures of every Vincent and HRD made, and…

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For a first ride on a rigid frame, girder-forked machine, what better place to do it than at Mallory Park, during The Festival of 1000 Bikes. Words: Chelsea Borchert Photographs: Matt Hull The rejuvenated Vintage Motor Cycle Club (VMCC) event, The Festival of 1000 Bikes, takes place annually at Mallory Park (this year over July…

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