Features

2010 Norton Works 30M This is the first of the brand new Norton 30M Works racers, built under the guidance of Patrick Walker and partner Miles Robinson, but fully authorised and with the complete support of current Norton boss Stuart Garner. Patrick drew everything for the new Norton engine in six months, taking his drawings…

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Born in Battersea in 1908, Jessie first rode a motorcycle in 1919, aged 11, courtesy of her older brother, George. At 16, she had a two-speed Scott Super Squirrel, on which she enjoyed considerable competition success. Around this same time (1926) she founded the London Ladies Club, before beginning a long association with New Imperial,…

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Ariel Leader owners’ report What are the verdicts? "A flashy, tinny, underpowered, over-rated machine," groans C. S. Coop of Sale, Cheshire. But from Birmingham, J. M. Cooper cries, "I have never enjoyed motorcycling so much since I bought a Leader!" Ariel's gaffer, Ken Whistance, driving force behind the Leader project, can heave a sigh of…

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1972 BSA A65 Lightning Asked to name BSA’s best-ever motorcycles, many enthusiasts would plump for the Gold Star or the Rocket Gold Star, while those who think that rear suspension is unnecessarily effete might opt for the Sloper (whose star-marked tuned engines incidentally led to the later models’ names). Some down to earth souls might…

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1949 BSA Plunger Golden Flash Soon, the new big BSA was a favourite and, updated over the years, it continued to sell well throughout the 1950s, gaining its swinging arm frame, better brakes and such, as the decade passed. The cooking model was replaced by the A65 Star for 1962; the old model's passing was…

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Indian Four (pdf) Peter had in fact first set eyes on the 1937 four-in-line about 24 years ago, at which time it was owned by a Commander Hare who had an engineering business in Wrington. Little did he realise than that some three-odd years later he would become the next owner. However, by then the…

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Riders on the starting grid, preparing for the off. Start time was 8am In TCM’s September 2012 issue, we used a photograph from this same event, of winner Jim Whalley refuelling his Douglas, though this selection of pictures proved too irresistible to discard a revisit. To recap – the 1923 Grand Prix (then a single…

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Fiercely independent Theresa Wallach The fiercely independent motorcycle explorer was no stranger to long motorcycle trips, having, in 1935, ridden from London to Cape Town on Panther and sidecar, pulling a trailer. Accompanied by Florence Blenkiron, the journey is documented in a book, The Rugged Road. She was one of only three ladies to earn…

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1998 Velocette Street Scrambler History books will tell you that John Goodman (né Johannes Gutgemann, and temporarily trading as John Taylor) built the first Veloce motorcycle in 1905. You’ll also learn that the family business – run in turn by John’s sons Percy and Eugene, and his grandson Bertie – continued making motorcycles until the…

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Ariel Square Four-powered Norton… “I think there’s a tendency to go for something you’re familiar with,” says David Pitchford, who returned to motorcycling in 2002 after a 35-year layoff. “I learned to ride on Ariels, when I studied engineering as an aeronautical apprentice, so I know how to take them apart and put them back…

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