SOS DW SOS surely has the most pleasing symmetry of all the motorcycle makers who ever traded under a set of initials. The letters changed their meaning during the commercial life of the trademark, although
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Category: Road Tests
Road Test: Ariel NG De Luxe
1938 Ariel NG De Luxe The owner and restorer of this Ariel, Mike Lymn, is a man who gets things done. Whether it be house building, gun remanufacturing, artwork restoration or bringing old motorcycles back
Read moreRoad Test: Vincent Black Prince
1955 Vincent Black Prince Effective armour and high speed rarely combine in nature, save in those instances where man has defied evolution. Such combinations are usually memorable, as when Edward of Woodstock carried a weight
Read moreRoad Test: Norton International Model 30
1939 Norton International Model 30 Years ago, I happened to see the famous actress Marlene Dietrich getting into a taxi in London, and to be absolutely frank, she looked to me like a rather plain
Read moreRoad Test: Brough Superior combination
Brough Superior 11.50 outfit George Brough was no shrinking violet when it came to the publicity game and regularly reminded the world his motorcycles were built from parts made exclusively to his design and special
Read moreRoad Test: Velocette 250 MOV
Velocette 250 MOV At 2007’s Festival of 1000 Bikes, I had a session-long dice with a chap mounted on a rigid framed bike with a distinctive fishtail exhaust. The machine’s features indicated that it was
Read moreRoad Test: BMW R12
BMW R12 A casual glance at David Kemp’s booking form for my group trip to Coupes Moto Légende 2005 revealed he was making the trip on a BMW twin. Not that there was anything unusual
Read moreRoad Test: BSA M24 Gold Star
BSA M24 Gold Star What has a new girlfriend, the Fire Service, marriage, WWII, Uncle Frank, the Civil Defence Corps, economies, a collapsed shed, the tome Speed From Your Motorcycle, The Blitz, Maurice Cann… and…
Read moreRoad Test: Indian Model 741
Indian Model 741 The question of originality has proved to be a thorny subject over the years, attracting almost as many letters to The Classic Motorcycle as the ‘What constitutes a classic?’ debate. To my
Read moreRoad Test: Vincent-Norton Viscount
Norton-Vincent special I bet quite a few Norton and Vincent fans have glanced at the photographs accompanying this article, and felt it was a desecration to amalgamate their favourite marques, no matter how desirable the
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