Features

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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Royal Enfield three cylinder Why Royal Enfield became involved with three and four cylinder engine designs soon after the outbreak of the 1914-18 war is unknown, although it should be recalled that the manufacture of machines destined for the civilian market was not prohibited until as late as 15th February 1917. Like most major manufacturers,…

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Original A50 and A65 article (pdf) They’re ringing in the New Year at the BSA factory with a pair of brand-new big twins. Low-built and light (some 40 lb lighter than the current counterparts), the latest in the Small Heath line-up are packed with power and as compact in appear­ance as only unit-construction of engine…

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Electrical breakdwn advice (pdf) Electrical trouble? It's a possibility. But just how does one set about checking the electrics? Most modern machines, of course, feature coil ignition and an alternating-current system so, if there is life in the battery (a flick of the lighting switch can indicate that), the generator and rectifier can be ignored.…

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