Features

Immaculate AJS Model 18S Hampshire-man John Craven is a self-confessed AJS/Matchless nut. It could hardly be otherwise when he was born into a similarly obsessed family, and actually travelled on an AJS before he was even born; his expectant mother being whisked to the maternity hospital on the back of his dad’s Silver Streak! That…

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Bud Ekins on his way to winning the 1957 Big Bear on his Triumph International scrambler, champion desert racer, ISDT gold medallist and Hollywood stunt rider – in a career which spanned five decades Californian Bud Ekins was them all. For much of both his business and racing career, Bud’s name became synonymous with that…

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Some people find it hard to comprehend the enthusiasm older Sunbeams arouse in their owners, and that’s quite understandable. They were unquestionably nicely designed motorcycles with decent performance, but so were several less prestigious machines made around the same time. And while Sunbeam’s as-new finish was legendarily well above the norm, many old bikes from…

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NSU Quick 50 Mopeds may not be your scene and, for you, conjure up images of comedian Jasper Carrot’s moped man. But when they’re as well engineered as this top of the range Quickly, they’re worth a second look. On the continent, mopeds – like all other lightweights – were taken seriously. Although clearly aimed…

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1927 SOS launch model The reason was however simple – the firm was based in Hallow, Worcester and proprietor Len Vale-Onslow didn’t have access to mains gas. So welded it had to be. It was also special in that SOS became an acronym for several things; it started off as Super Onslow Special, was Success…

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1946 Indian Chief We Americans have always seemed to believe that being big is associated with being good. Nowhere has this been more true than with our motorcycles, which over a 50 year period evolved into monstrosities that made foreigners gasp in awe. One of the largest motorcycles we ever produced was the mighty Indian…

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1962 Aermacchi-Harley-Davidson Ala Verde There nothing like an Italian motorcycle to polarize opinions, is there? Non-believers say they’re all style and no substance, with lousy electrics and a self-destruct finish, while their fans feel that their styling is really important, and that it is usually backed up by above-average performance. The archetypal Aermacchi is a…

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1965 Harley-Davidson XLCH Sportster True, Harley's XLCH was expensive compared to other large motorcycles and would hold its value, either intact or in pieces. It was also showy enough to stand out in any car park and had a reputation as a hot-rod, at a time when its performance – and especially acceleration from rest…

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Which BSA unit twin to buy Though a fair bit lighter than what had gone before, the new duo looked somewhat more bulky than the earlier machines, which led to criticism from some quarters. In their introductory state, the new engines shared a stroke (74mm) and even a compression ratio (7.5:1) with the bores (65.5mm…

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