Road Tests

Norton Dominator Model 88 I wonder if Edgar Lawrenson of Lancaster is still with us, or if any of his relatives read The Classic MotorCycle. If so, they’ll be fascinated to learn that the Norton he bought in October 1953 is still going strong. Of course, all man/machine relationships evoke some curiosity, but several factors…

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1931 AJS Model S3 classic motorcycle The mention of transverse V-twins automatically brings Moto Guzzis to mind, as the layout has been synonymous with the Italian firm since the 1960s. But AJS made a motorcycle in this format more than a third of a century earlier, and – judging by the latest restoration to emerge…

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1931 AJS Model S3 classic motorcycle The mention of transverse V-twins automatically brings Moto Guzzis to mind, as the layout has been synonymous with the Italian firm since the 1960s. But AJS made a motorcycle in this format more than a third of a century earlier, and – judging by the latest restoration to emerge…

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Matchless G3 Mercury and Norton ES2 Matchless and Norton are two of the great names of the British motorcycle industry. Indeed, it was a Matchless and a Norton which won the two classes (single and twin-cylinder) of the first TT race in 1907. Through the teens and 1920s both firms were on sound footings, with…

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1929 Neander V-twin I pride myself on knowing at least something about a wide range of motorcycles, but I freely admit that until recently my knowledge of Neanders amounted to almost zilch. To be precise it amounted to being aware that in the 2008 Bonham’s auction of the late Professor Ehn’s collection, a slightly bizarre…

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BSA G13/33 The early years of the 1980s were a good time to hear about unmolested ‘barn find’ motorcycles, before prices went through the roof. The launch of The Classic MotorCycle during the summer of 1981 certainly did a lot to divert many important machines from the scrapheap into the hands of appreciative new owners.…

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Jawa 90 Roadster For those of us of a certain age this nutty 90 would have been the motorcycle of our dreams as we sent off for our first provisional licence. Instant acceleration would have equated to instant fun and with its Jikov carburettor set at 90 degrees down draught and porting directly into the…

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1938 Rudge Ulster You’d expect a design and technology teacher to appreciate the finer points of engineering, and John Crispin traces his interest in things mechanical back to a specific machine that fired his youthful imagination, in 1967. “I remember well, I was in my teens looking at my first Rudge Ulster, with its brazed…

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Triumph Tiger T110 The Goodwood Revival meeting, held annually in September has become nothing less than a phenomenon. Scores of historic cars from the 1920s (and earlier) through to the 1970s do battle on the racetrack, which is contained within the estate owned by the Earl of March. Participating drivers and mechanics are encouraged to…

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Norton ES2 490cc pushrod single cylinder classic motorcycle By the time Tony East’s ES2 rolled out of Bracebridge Street in 1955, the model had been around for over a quarter of a century or, to put it another way, for half the average British man’s working life. And just like a sound, time-served employee, the…

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