Features

1955 Ariel Model KH Chaps who were in the trade in the 50s have told me with authority that different batches of new bikes – and even different parts of the same bike – might well be finished in slightly different colours. This was understandable with the incoming metallic finishes, but it also happened with…

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 12.1 megapixel camera from Comley Cameras Mortons Media has launched a competition to find Britain’s best motorcycling photographers – just send in your finest photos (maximum two entries) and show us what you can do. These could be great pictures of your bike, racing shots or something else that sums up life…

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1962 Norton Dominator 650SS This Norton Dominator 650SS was restored in quick time by retired Stoke based engineer Bob Francis, who bought it at the Stafford October Classic Motorcycle Mechanics show in 2007. The Dommie was up, running and stunning in time for the April Stafford show. Bob, a long time Norton man, started his…

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BSA B25S Starfire To put it kindly, BSA’s unit-construction singles didn’t exactly enjoy the best of reputations; and that was despite seeming initially to have everything in their favour. First in the range was the 1958 C15, and compared with its C12 predecessor – recognisably based on the pre-war C11 – it was significantly lighter,…

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1923 Triumph SD Restoration guru Robin James was at pains to point out to me that this Triumph hasn’t been the subject of a full restoration. “We’ve only worked on the engine, gearbox and forks,” he tells me, as I look over the overall smart but not immaculate vintage Triumph. The 1923 SD has had…

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Norton Dominator 99SS “I didn’t realise what a rare model it was until after I’d bought it,” admits Richard Miller, “but it’s the Super Sports version of the 99 Dominator, and Norton only made it for a year or so.” He’s quite right on both counts, and the reason was probably tied up with the…

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1930 Morgan Aero Super Sports and 1935 James Samson Handyvan If you want to see a motorcyclist's eyes glaze over, just mention the phrase, 'three wheeler'. His mind will fill with images of turgid plastic bodied vehicles which only exist because a quirk of British law exempts their owners from pass­ing a motor car driving…

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1956 MV Agusta Modello CS Sport After WWII, a world championship was established for motorcycle racing, with the first season coming in 1949. Almost from the off – 1950 in fact – the name MV Agusta was represented, which was to remain the case for the next 25-plus years. During that quarter of a century,…

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Brough Superior SS80 Special George Bernard Shaw contentiously wrote: “Titles distinguish the mediocre, embarrass the superior and are disgraced by the inferior.” Yet, the title of ‘The Rolls-Royce of motorcycles’, suggested by HD Teague, writing in The Motor Cycle of 12 April, 1923 during a road test of the first production Brough Superior SS80, caused…

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Vincent Comet and LE sidecar Every Vincent Comet/Meteor owner will be fed up with the old chestnut ‘It’s only half a twin.’ Reintroduced for the 1948 season, the stock 499cc Comet pushed out a healthy 28bhp/5800rpm measured at the crankshaft, which compares favourably with 23bhp delivered by the AJS Model 18/Matchless G80, 24.6bhp from an…

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