Features

On my way to examine Adrian Coole’s unmolested-looking Bianchi Gardena 75, I once again ask myself a question that always stumps me when I go and report on a sub-125cc motorcycle from the past. What is it that’s changed so much over the decades that small capacity, lightweight motorcycles have so dropped out of favour…

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Not all Nortons are deserving of the famous phrase, but this one is. To say Norton’s designation of its various models was rather obscure is a bit like suggesting Geoff Duke was quite a good racer – true, but a gross understatement. As well as the occasional use of letters, Norton coined names for the…

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This track-day Gold Star has been built up with many goodies from specialist Phil Pearson, including a 604cc conversion. But don’t worry, owner Barry Winter’s got a stock Goldie as well! Barry Winter is a lucky man, but it’s the kind of luck that comes out of sustained effort. With a successful career as a skilled…

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Magnificent D7 BSA’s Bantam – in all its forms – has built up quite a following in recent years. Sampling a D7 Super variant shows just why. Words: Phil Turner  Photographs: Gary Chapman In the late 1950s Britain had “never had it so good.” To a degree that was true – the scars left by…

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Trevor’s bike Finishing off someone else’s project is never an easy task, but knowing the late owner and his family wanted the machine to stay local means there’s extra pressure to do a decent job. Words: Tim Britton  Photographs: Gary Chapman Looking over this smart Matchless G2M it was clear AMC made good looking motorcycles…

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Gilding the lily The Morini 3½ Sport is a fabulous machine in standard form, so more performance and better brakes just adds to a superb motorcycle. Words and photographs: James Adam Bolton What can be sweeter than thrashing what at first glance would seem to be a beautiful Moto Morini 350 Sport around tight and…

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One for the road This modest-looking late AJS 500 twin from 1959 ticks almost all the boxes for a really satisfying ride. Words: STEVE WILSON Photographs: GARY CHAPMAN This is one of the most difficult tests I have ever had to produce – because I could find so very little wrong with the motorcycle! Okay,…

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Riders in the stormDespite rain and the threat of snow, the NMM’s training day went ahead as planned. Words: Rachael Clegg Photographs: Dean Atkins ALMOST four years ago National Motorcycle Museum director James Hewing said: “We have tremendous plans over the next few years to make the National Motorcycle Museum a truly dynamic resource for…

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South Island warrior This wartime BSA WD M20 is not memorabilia but a working motorcycle, and one which its owner rides frequently, and alarmingly fast!\ Words: STEVE WILSON Photographs: JONATHON FLEETWOOD Jonny the photographer and I let out the equivalent of “Cor!” simultaneously, as ahead of the car, Ken Powell treated us to a virtuoso…

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Six-figure Triumph With four owners from new, this 1957 Thunderbird twin has a documented distance covered of over 100,000 miles. And it’s still a joy to ride. Words: ANDY WESTLAKE Photographs: GARY CHAPMAN To many enthusiasts, the name of the Triumph Thunderbird will always be associated along with that of Marlon Brando and his character…

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