Features

Mrs M C Cooke poses with a twin-cylinder Douglas By 1911, Mrs Cooke was being employed by The Motor Cycle to give her impressions on various new ‘ladies’ models – as well as the Douglas, she sampled the new single-cylinder Royal Enfield and the lightweight Humber, among several others. But Mrs Cooke’s primary love was…

Continue reading »

View original article (pdf) Introduced in 1954, the Amal Monobloc carburettor has been steadily developed into the ultra-reliable instrument today fitted to the majority of British motor cycles. Variations on the well-known larger Monobloc are designed for smaller machines, but whatever the external appearance the working principle is the same. Apart from cleaning, your Monobloc…

Continue reading »

Honda CB400F (pdf) When it comes to discussing Honda’s CB400F, the iconic four cylinder sports bike made from 1975 to 1977, the world is divided into two opposed groups. There are those who dismiss the machine as an overrated and gutless aberration that was markedly inferior to its larger siblings. Others admire it as a…

Continue reading »

Harley-Davidson SS350 The popular image of Harley-Davidson as being a manufacturer solely of large-capacity 45 degree V-twins with ‘potato-potato’(TM) exhaust notes is wide of the mark. Although aficionados are keen to celebrate the firm’s 2003 centenary, some might prefer to develop selective amnesia about the past. The company’s previous offerings include such utilitarian delights as…

Continue reading »

998cc Watsonian-JAP Visitors to the National Motorcycle Museum may well stare in disbelief at the name on the tank (and, for that matter, engraved on the valve covers) of a beauti­ful, pale-green vee-twin. "Watsonian?", they may echo; "But they're sidecar makers, not bike builders!" True enough so far as it goes — yet Watsonian did indeed…

Continue reading »

Royal Enfield Continental GT It’s a funny thing about Royal Enfields; to the great majority of motor cyclisis this was a range of worthy if not particularly exciting models, pro­duced by solid citizens inhabiting farming territory somewhere near Ambridge. Totally unfair, of course, because the firm had a praiseworthy record in events such as the…

Continue reading »

Lawrie Watts’ Isle of Man sketchbook (pdf) We've all marvelled at Lawrence Watts's drawings and, probably, taken them for granted – the detail, the shading, the 'port-holes' which you could peer through to view hidden mechanical detail. All painstakingly drawn by hand – days of work. But look closer at any Watts pen and ink…

Continue reading »

Lawrie Watts profile part two (pdf) Such was the adrenalin generated by the TT atmosphere, everybody was on parade for morning practice at 5am, sometimes going from a party straight to the circuit before returning to the hotel for breakfast. Machinery seen in the cold light of dawn on the Glencrutchery Road was an excellent…

Continue reading »

1934 Ariel Red Hunter VH In the 1930s 250 (LH), 350 (NH) and 500cc (VH) versions followed, then after the cessation of the Second World War, the models returned, minus the 250. Actually, even the early postwar twins were called ‘Red Hunter twins’ such was the popularity of the name among those with a sporting…

Continue reading »

1922 Martinsyde Model B classic British motorcycle "When I bought this motor cycle two or three years ago it was an absolute wreck", says Ken Blake. "The previous owner had had it for 17 years, but I don't know what he did with it." Whatever he did do with it, Ken faced an enormous task…

Continue reading »