Features

Ingenious projected layout for a horizontally opposed two-stroke As there is increasing interest in two-stroke engines, it may be apposite to describe a design which I hope to make when conditions permit. It is similar to Mr. Reid's engine (described in The Motor Cycle for 29 November, 1951), but it is simpler and incorporates a…

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1954 Francis-Barnett Falcon I was still hauling this charming little Franny Bee onto its stand, in readiness for the static photographs, when a bystander came bounding over. “I haven’t seen one of those since 1964,” he said excitedly, “our vicar used to have one just like that!” I’ve always distrusted personal reminiscences since a chap…

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500cc Velocette Thruxton (pdf) Where's Thruxton, you ask? It's an aero­drome circuit, not far from Andover, and there the Southampton Club ran (in the fifties and sixties) a series of long-distance produc­tion machine marathons, known at first as the Thruxton Nine-Hour, and later as the 500-Miler. Competing in the 500cc class, Velocette singles were usually…

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1959 Norton Model 50 Years ago, I was about to buy a Featherbed-framed Norton Model 50 just like this one, until the vendor reneged on the deal. “You probably wouldn’t have liked it anyway, because it’s not very fast,” he said, using the common criticism of this model to soften the blow, before revealing that…

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1977 Moto Guzzi S3 ‘Like a Lear jet parked alongside a Boeing 747’ was the way journalist Mike Nicks described Guzzi’s newly introduced 750cc S3 on its launch in 1975. The low, lithe S3 was the then latest Guzzi sports twin sculptured by Mandello Del Lario’s ace designer Lino Tonti, while the 747 in question…

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Record-breaking at Bonneville (pdf) Although there is no class for unlimited capacity machines in the S.C.T.A., Bobbie Kelton riding the Harley-Davidson prepared by Bus Hood, established a fastest-ever speed of 168.77 m.p.h. before the Harley seized up. Tommy Smith, of Turlock, California, came off a Triumph Thunderbird while travelling at nearly 140 m.p.h. When the…

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Specialist diagnostics (pdf) Can everyday motor cyclists benefit from the methods used by professional mechanics? To find out I recently visited a dealer's repair shop, checking on the type of job that. cropped up, seeing how it was tackled and looking for tips that could be valuable to you and me. When I arrived, work…

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MZ 124cc racing engine (pdf) There is nothing more fascinating than progress. In the world of racing engines its yardstick for measurement is b.h.p.-per-litre. Power is thus related to capacity so that engines of various sizes can be compared. When, back in 1938, Joe Craig wrung 50 b.h.p. from a twin-overhead-camshaft, five-hundred T.T. Norton single,…

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Norton Dominator and Dolomite test (pdf) The sporting sidecar outfit – is any road vehicle other than a fast solo more exhilarating to drive? The fundamental requirements are these: engine capacity should be large and high torque spread over the r.p.m. range. The sidecar should be light, small, smoothly curved and rigidly attached to the…

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