Features

MV Agusta four cylinder engine If there's one thing that's difficult to dis­cover about the MV Four, it's hard facts. One might imagine that such things as bore and stroke measurements were fairly easy to ascertain, yet look in any two books on the subject and you are likely to find two different sets of…

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Calthorpe Ivory (pdf) When Calthorpe launched the Ivory in 1928 it gained immediate acclaim from press and public alike. "The two-port super model is entirely new and is certainly one of the most attractive machines in its class" declared Motor Cycling on September 12th, 1928. "At 147 this machine, with its original finish should attract…

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1958 Royal Enfield Bullet The Royal Enfield Bullet must hold the record for the longest continued production run for any motorcycle in the world. Though there have been changes and alterations over the years – including of course the relocation of the main manufacturing site to India. Malmesbury man Alan Jones’s 1958 Bullet is an…

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Norton Commando 1968 Reading-based Peter Weait is no stranger to these pages, his S-type Commando having been featured previously, plus we’ve a rare R-type that will be appearing some time in the future. But in this issue, we’ve decided to focus on – literally – his immaculate early Fastback Commando. It was at the London…

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Norton Commando S Type Former sidecar motocross racer Peter Weait has owned this S Type for six years, having bought it after it returned from America  and comprehensively restored it. Though the Commando was complete when he acquired it, there was plenty for the Reading-based man to do. But he’s not one to hang around…

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Norton Jubilee This fine pair of Norton Jubilees are owned by Malmesbury Classic Club duo Terry Brock and Malcolm Wright. Terry (owner of the green and white one) is a long-time devotee of the Norton lightweight twins and has been featured several times in The Classic MotorCycle in the past (and became camera shy on…

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Sunbeam Supreme TT classic motorcycle road Then imagine how you would have felt when somebody asked you for a ride, on a busy morning, in the traffic. Re­hearse your reply. David Nairne Clark coped like a man, though a source close to the family leaked the information that, in the sub­sequent 15 minutes, he wore…

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Harley-Davidson 45 sidevalve (pdf) Tough, dependable, and not very fast, the 45 cubic inch Harley-Davidson side-valve was what American motor cycling was all about from 1930 to the early 1950s. A product of the terrible depression and then the war years that discouraged creativity and innovation of design, the 750cc Harley catered to a market…

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Ariel 4G and Watsonian sidecar test (pdf) From the point of view of the family man who may be in a position, finan­cially, to buy the cheapest of current new cars simply as passenger-carrying transport, yet who seeks, nevertheless, to stay a motor­cyclist, the combination represented by the 997cc Ariel 4G model and Watsonian 'Warwick'…

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1938 Earls Court Motorcycle Show (pdf) What the show reveals: Widespread adoption of rear-wheel springing. No fewer than nine different makes of motorised bicycle – cycle-type machines which any cyclist can learn to ride in a matter of minutes and which afford handy, inexpensive personal transport. More lavish use of colour and chro­mium on both…

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