From The Archive

Pair of Zenith Zerettes with Fred Barnes Zanella 1957- Argentina The Zanella brothers left war torn Italy and emigrated to Argentina in the late 1950s where they set up an engineering and associated metal business. By the mid-Fifties they'd begun manufacturing car components and then began looking at the assembly and manufacture of motorcycles. Zanella…

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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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1955 Norton Dominator 88 NB: Continued from Norton's pre-war history Norton kicked off civilian production after WWII with two models, the 16H and Model 18. By September 1946 the range had grown: Big 4, 16H, Model 18, ES2, two Internationals plus 350/500 racing models and a trials machine. Things looked good, but weren’t quite so…

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The Williamson flat twin was offered with the options of air or water cooling Williamson 1912-20 UK Family links tied in early Williamson production with the Douglas family who ran the famous Bristol maker of flat twin motorcycles, Douglas. Built in Coventry, the Williamson used either air-cooled or water-cooled fore and aft 962cc flat twin…

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Vindec V-twin three wheeler Vindec 1902 -29 UK Parts and cycle suppliers to the trade and later motor and motorcycle parts and accessories factors, Brown Brothers Ltd of Great Eastern Street, London, entered the motorcycle world with the Vindec brand in 1902. Brown Bros also marketed machines under the Brown label during 1902-19. As Brown…

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French firm Ultima made motorcycles for 50 years. This is a 1923 model Ultima 1908-58 France Maker from rue Commandant Faurax, Lyon headed for many years by ME Billion. Early production centred round side-valve single and V-twin motorcycles using JAP and Zurcher engines. Later used Aubier-Dunne engines too. Through the Thirties, Ultima concentrated on 250/350cc…

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