Features

Brooklands, November 29, 2017: De Dion Bouton Tricycles are lined up on the start-finish straight opposite the clubhouse to celebrate an event that took place 120 years ago to the day, and 10 years before the famous banked concrete oval was built. Twenty riders are here to commemorate the first motor race on British soil.…

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What’s the ideal old motorcycle? Of course, everyone has their opinion – but Triumph’s TR6 makes a strong case for the crown. Words: James Robinson Photographs: Gary Chapman Famous name – check. Good looks – check. All-round capability – check. Reasonably priced – check. The Triumph TR6 has a lot going for it, as exampled…

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This 1954 Gold Star rigid-frame competition offering takes us back to a period when trials was a very different sport. It’s now found a home on the road. Words: Andy Westlake Photographs: Gary Chapman Weighing in at over 300lb and with no rear suspension, it’s difficult to comprehend that in the early 1950s this Gold…

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There are certain models that define an era. From the 1920s the ‘Bullnose’ Sunbeam Model 90 is one. Words: James Robinson Photographs: Gary Chapman/James Robinson The Sunbeam Model 90 has always been, so far as I’m concerned, one of the vintage motorcycles in a select band of the crème de la crème of pre-1931 offerings.…

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Ariel’s 1000cc Square Four was famous for its instant acceleration. Would this rare and meticulously rebuilt 1948 iron-engine 4G justify the reputation? Words: STEVE WILSON Photographs: GARY CHAPMAN “The 1000cc with the astronomical acceleration – the Monarch of the Multis.” That was how Ariel’s own publicity in 1947 described the 4G Square Four. Equipped from…

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‘G’ for Griselda! This highly original ‘cooking’ Royal Enfield 350cc single carried its first owner to and from work for 20 years and nearly 80,000 miles. Words: Steve Wilson Photographs: Gary Chapman This magnificently patinated 1949 350cc Royal Enfield Model G was the latest project for retired garage owner Alex Taylor. “And the original owner never…

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Riding high Win on Sunday, sell on Monday… or… ‘success breeds sales’, which is just as well because BSA was doing some winning in the 1960s. Words: Tim Britton Photographs: Fiona Watson Remember the television in the 1960s? The actual device, rather than what it was showing? Yes, it was a masterpiece of the cabinet…

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Multi choice By the early 1920s, when this example was made, the Rudge Multi was something of an anachronism, rather than the trendsetter it had been. Words: Roy Poynting Photographs: Terry Joslin Every era has its iconic, defining, motorcycle – its Fireblade, Bonneville, Brough Superior or whatever – and for a few years around the…

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The rebuild is only half the job in a restoration; fettling and getting it right is the next stage, as the experience with this Slimline Dominator proved. Words: Tim Britton Photographs: Gary Chapman It is reasonable to assume the supply of unrestored British motorcycles must be running down. After all, restoration has been going on…

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Rob Taylor’s magnificently distressed 1948 BSA M33 is his winter bike. Retired garage owner Rob, a cheerful guy and a skilled mechanic, has several interesting classics, including a smart Silk 700 and a near-unique Silk 500cc racer. But the ohv 500cc M33 with its irreproachable patina is a standout. He acquired the BSA, complete with…

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