News

Though competition was stiff, there was a unique occurrence at this year’s Stafford show when Best in Show was awarded jointly to two identical motorcycles. Wiltshire-based Alan Smith and Australian resident Peter Robinson were both involved in the restorations, with Alan bringing both bikes to Stafford. Read more in our Stafford report in the magazine.

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Westonzoyland is always a popular venue for competitors and spectators at any of the National Sprint Association’s events, held over a straight quarter-mile course at the former Second World War airfield. This, on May 6-7, was the first event on this season’s sprint calendar to take place at the location and attracted a rich mixture…

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When The Classic MotorCycle ran a Restoration Guide on the BSA Bantam D1 (March 2012), it stated BSA never made a plunger-sprung competition version. This error was picked up by reader John Excell, who had bought a brand-new, plunger Competition Bantam in 1951 from Gray’s, a long-defunct dealer in the Medway Towns. He sent a…

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The South of England Show, on April 2, was the first ELK Promotions event of the year. Seemingly more popular than ever, to cope with the fast lengthening queues before the official start time, the gates were opened early. The display hall is never disappointing, with rows of bikes from veterans to classics, often having…

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This machine is the product of one remarkable man, the legendary Fred Marsh, a dedicated enthusiast best remembered for his home-built, Moto Guzzi-inspired V8. A fitter and turner at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Southampton, Marsh had witnessed the MV Agusta and Gilera fours’ rise to dominance in the late 1940s and early 1950s…

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The third annual Flywheel Festival at Bicester Heritage brings together more than 100 competition cars for an action-packed timetable hosted on its demonstration track. Taking place on the Saturday and Sunday, June 24/25, 2017, the festival will welcome Edwardian chain-driven monsters, vintage Bentleys and iconic Le Mans Jaguars, with a programme expected to be substantially…

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Once again in 2017, The Classic MotorCycle will be supporting the Lansdowne Classic Series, which features a six-round calendar. The first event was held over Easter weekend – report to follow – while from there it’s Donington on May 6/7; Cadwell Park, June 3/4; Castle Combe, July 8/9; Donington, August 4/6 (for the classic motorcycle…

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Surtees celebration The next edition of The Classic MotorCycle, the June 2017 number, has an additional FREE 32-page supplement celebrating the life and time of John Surtees. The only man to win the blue riband race series on two and four wheels, Surtees’s name is synonymous with red racing machinery; first the MV Agusta grand…

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The story of Gordon May’s overland journey from the UK to Vietnam on a 1941 Matchless is told in a new book. Overland to Vietnam is May’s account of his 2015 solo ride of 11,500 miles on a Second World War ex-British Army 350cc Matchless motorcycle only recently repatriated from Myanmar (formerly Burma). Overland to…

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