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The Classic MotorCycle on sale now This month's contents includes: • News    • Lansdowne roundup    • Motorcycle art    • Subscribe and save    • Jake Robbins Engineering Services    • Letters    • Men who mattered (Sir Hugh Cairns)    • David Beckett interview    • Classic advert    • For various budgets (Postwar sidevalves)    • Jerry Thurston column    • Archive…

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This Series A HRD twin made an appearance at Hever The event was a relaxed affair with a camp site including a converted barn that houses a stage as well as a bar and kitchen. The stand of Vincent expert Bob Culver had a selection of jigs and fixtures on show, many of which had…

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Bernard White (Douglas) was the quickest of the vintagents at 12.87/101mph. Mark Illman (Rudge) was closest in pursuit, recording 13.39/97mph. Ian Dentith took the postwar class. A 15.30/85mph run was just in front of Richard White’s Triton (15.52/84mph). The older bikes remain a force to be reckoned with in the open racing classes. Martin Willmott’s…

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Electric starter conversion for Norton Commando It fits directly onto the engine via a specially designed inner chaincase supplied with the starter motor already mounted. It’s reckoned it only takes a couple of hours to fit, while it’s discreet enough, so that no one will notice. The kit includes starter motor, drive chain, sprag clutch,…

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Victorious Maurice Cann In the Junior race Cann broke Freddie Frith’s Junior lap record on his opening circuit and beat Bills by 45 seconds at the flag with Johnnie Locket (Norton) third. Organisers ran the 250cc Lightweight class concurrently with the Junior race. Wakefield's Dennis Parkinson (248cc Excelsior) led from start to finish and won…

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John Bottomley on the Wicksteed Triumph The meeting is an expensive undertaking and, to balance the books, Bemsee needs as much support as it can get, including full grids for its races. The lure of riding the long circuit at Brands proved to be a strong attraction and the programme showed that many were prepared…

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1987: Suzuki pulls plug on Heron Suzuki team An official press release confirmed the Heron Suzuki team, including rider Kenny Irons, would miss the Portuguese, Brazilian and Argentinian GPs. The team hadn’t enjoyed a great season with Irons the best rider, scoring 12 points. Following a slump in motorcycle sales for the first six months…

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Affordable trials jacket with armour This German trials jacket is made from British waxed cotton and has all the specification expected, though its trump card is it comes with Forcefield’s CE approved armour in the shoulders and elbows. The ‘International Trials Jacket’ also comes with a zip-out quilted thermal liner. Perhaps the most amazing thing…

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Standing on a beach at sunrise; the intrepid octet They arrived on the Welsh coast at about 7pm – though sadly the weather was overcast and they couldn’t see the sunset. Isle of Wight based Jeff Read, the main instigator, reported they rode 410 miles ‘point to point’, while Jeff’s total mileage on his rigid-framed,…

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New motorcycle speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats Riding a 17ft 650cc Triumph, Californian Bill Johnson set the new world record at 224.57mph. The record speed of 224.60mph was the average of Bill’s required two runs, one in either direction, of 227.17mph and 222.63mph. Earlier in practice the rocket shaped motorcycle had hit 236mph.…

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