Road Tests

1951 Ariel VB 598cc I don’t suppose that the few large side-valve singles still being made in the mid-1950s feature on many Christmas present lists. Such machines had abandoned their sporting pretensions while flappers were still dancing the Charleston; and being unashamedly marketed as sidecar tugs in the age of Rock’n’Roll wasn’t likely to set…

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1932 Triumph 500 CD The motorcycling world was a very different place in 1931. Competition machines back then bore a close resemblance to the sort of machine that could be seen propped up against countless factory walls in the week. And with good reason too. Most of those machines were one and the same before…

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1939 HRD Vincent Rapide “I believe you guys call it the plumber’s nightmare — round here we simply call it the nightmare”, laughs Stan Gillis, the American restorer who had the job of making the 1939 HRD Rapide on these pages roadworthy after decades of inactivity. The glittering 1000cc V-twin, which left Britain over 20…

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1960 BSA Gold Star/Catalina Scrambler Some nuggets of advice, no matter how well intentioned, are far from encouraging. Robin James is telling me how to make a quick start on his Gold Star scrambler; “You just get your weight well forward, stick it in third gear, wind the revs up and drop the clutch.” It…

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