Features

Fergus Anderson and AJS Anderson didn’t make his TT debut until 1939, aged 30, then of course war intervened, during which he served in the navy as skipper of an Admiralty ferry crew and was mentioned in dispatches. By the time of our photograph, Fergus Anderson was already 40 years old, an age when many…

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Cleaning barrel threads with a tap will remove build up of corrosion from base of studs In common with most things in life, we want the best of both worlds – studs that won’t budge in situ but are removed with a mere twist on demand. For secure stud fastening, makers tightened studs dry into…

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Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show weekend is February 16-17. Don’t miss it! The Bristol Classic Motorcycle Show is almost as old as the International though and, despite the name, is held near Shepton Mallet rather than in the Bristol Dockland Warehouse where it originated. Attendance grows each year, with plenty of room to expand, with close…

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Velocette Model K The Mk.I (distinguished by the exposed valve gear) was to continue until 1935, when it gave way to the more sophisticated (enclosed valve gear, so cleaner) Mk.II, for road-going use anyway. By then, the racers were differently ‘coded’ though the lineage was clear. Mk.Is continued to give good service to sporting riders…

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Basically, Ghersi used a different make of spark plug than specified on his entry form. It was decided, some hours after the race had finished, to exclude him and the Guzzi from the final results but bizarrely not strip him of his fastest lap accolade, the official explanation being he was excluded from the final…

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1951 Vincent Rapide Bill Bewley, a well-known face on the classic scene, is a dedicated Vincent man, though his tastes are not restricted purely to the Stevenage-built machines, as other steeds in his stable include a pair of vintage Sunbeams, a featherbed cammy Norton and a Douglas 90 Plus, to name a few. Obviously, then,…

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1947 Royal Enfield Nowadays, Royal Enfield is known for its solid, dependable, four-stroke Bullet singles. But it is easy to forget the company made other machines too – while the parallel twins are still widely recognised and enthused over, there were others as well… Royal Enfield offerings are just about the most affordable 1920s/30s V-twins…

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1938 Rudge Special I’d better clarify something about the Rudge Special, right from the start. Although it was an exceptional motorcycle by most standards, it was actually the standard 500cc model in Rudge’s range, where it was eclipsed by the Sports Special and the fabled Ulster racer. The point needs to be made because the…

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Raymond Drinkall on his Quadrant Drinkall did it too, though he was behind collaborator W B Little, on a 3½hp Premier. The Motor Cycle’s credited correspondent George D Abraham (author of Motor Ways in Lakeland, The Complete Mountaineer, Mountain Adventures at Home and Abroad) said: "In the North motor mountaineering has become a craze.” The…

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Tibet-bound Lambrettas and riders The four – Guy Camba, Yves Ponzi, Pierre Palmieri and Michel Le Clerc – rode through France, called in to visit the Pope in the Vatican, and then boarded a boat to Greece. From there, they went to Turkey, before leaving Istanbul bound for Syria. From Syria, it was to Lebanon…

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