Features

While the herds went one way, with formulaic designs, Douglas went in another direction completely, with a quirky flat-twin. It worked well, too. Words: ANDY WESTLAKE Photographs: GARY CHAPMAN The famous motorcycle scribe, the late Jeff Clew, once said: “There’s something special about just sitting on a mark Douglas. I swear that if I was led…

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Small is beautiful. And nowhere is this more evident than the Isle of Man Post Office website. Here, alongside gushy stamp sets of Meghan and Harry’s wedding, are six philatelic examples celebrating stars of a different, less emetic kind: great British motorcycles. These exquisite graphic objects were created by graphic designer David Bloomfield and painter Graham…

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Throughout the history of British motorcycle manufacture, entrepreneurs from Brough to Wooler (and many lesser-known ones) have marketed their products under their family names. Not many would have thought of using their forenames though, and I’m pretty certain nobody except Oscar and Cedric Hanwell ever decided to combine both of their first names. The result…

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Let’s get it out there straightaway – there’s nothing wrong with restoring a motorcycle until it dazzles passers-by and a close inspection has to be done while wearing darkened glasses. Nope, nothing wrong with that approach at all, and to be honest I’m in awe of those who have the single mindedness to achieve such…

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The Flywheel Festival, held this year over the weekend of June 23/24, is an event which combines cars, aeroplanes and motorcycles, and although it has tagged itself as a ‘show’ it’s by no means a static event; cars and motorcycles are demonstrated on the figure-of-eight circuit, while aeroplanes fill the skies overhead. Plus there’s also…

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Engines with more or less vertical cylinders have always been so much the norm that only a few motorcycle manufacturers have consistently adopted a different layout. Harley-Davidson has stuck with its V-twins, which look and sound so good, BMW has persisted with its logical flat twins and sensible shaft drive, and for the last half…

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Don Hitchcock’s last motorcycle journey was clocked from the pillion of the hearse by grandson Matt at 65mph on Wednesday, September 14, 2016. One last blast; a fitting memorial to a life centred around family, motorcycles and speed. Originally, it was my intention to write a tribute solely to Don, but this was not possible…

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It’s not often one is allowed to get too close to a prototype. They’re usually tantalisingly out of reach behind ropes or on an elevated and rotating platform in the middle of a show hall; to stand over one, touch it or sit on it is a rare privilege, to start one up and ride…

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This little James has never left the area in which it was bought when new, serving several owners, just a few miles apart, well. In 1958 the hula-hoop was invented, rock star Elvis Presley topped the charts with ‘Jailhouse Rock,’ Wolves won English football’s first division and in the UK the price of an average…

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With this cleverly modified Meriden-made Bonneville twin, what you see is not what you are really seeing… The illusionists’ art has been in the news recently, when well-known magician David Copperfield was taken to court after one of the punters at his show chosen from the audience to participate in a disappearing/reappearing trick, fell and…

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