Features

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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Winner of the previous two Amateur TTs, Len Randles, talks to Tory MP, Ralph Hall Caine Hot favourite was Len Randles, winner in both 1923 and 1924. Riding the same overhead valve Sunbeam he’d used in June’s Senior TT; as yet riders were not barred from the September races for competing in a TT ‘proper’,…

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1955 NSU-Vincent Fox Chuck Jackson has owned this 98cc rarity for 46 years – and was given it in the first place. “The bloke I was an apprentice with gave it to me… when the tax ran out in 1967 I then took it all apart and put it in the loft,” explains Chuck. That…

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Attacking Beggars Roost is R W Praill, on his Harley-Davidson outfit; not the obvious choice of machine! As was usual with the trial, there was a strong, large contingent of Army riders, whose riding ability… “compared most favourably with that of the civilian entry” according to The Motor Cycle. Those taking part started on the…

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Ray Milland and Mary Martin Ray – born Alfred Reginald Jones in Neath in 1905, though some say 1907 – was a former Household Cavalryman who found his way to Hollywood. At the time of the photo shown, he had just finished filming Billy Wilder’s The Major and the Minor, with Ginger Rogers. It was…

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Testing at Metropolitan Motorcyclists of the Year competition… Initiated by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), the joint organising committee was made up of RoSPA, the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU) and the Royal Automobile Club (RAC). Location was Hendon Aerodrome. The Metropolitan police was throwing its full weight behind the competition too, the…

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