Café Racer Festival

RC regular Ian Woolley found himself short of reading matter, and this minor crisis somehow led him to Montlhéry in June, surrounded by all manner of customised classic bikes. Old skool café racers and trad Tritons took to the track alongside new wave brats, bobbers and street-trackers. Here, then, are the highlights… One of my regrets, one of many for…

Norton Model 18

The price of pre-war British bikes frequently puts them beyond most budgets, but the first bikes built after WW2 offer an affordable alternative. This 500 single was manufactured by Norton in 1946 and it retains many vintage virtues, as its owner explains… ‘It just oozes character,’ grins owner Brian. ‘I’ve owned other girder-fork machines over the years but never a…

Classic Bikes at Cassington

What happens when you take a rural village to the west of Oxford, usual population less than a thousand people, close the through road and then add something between 5000 and 10,000 motorcycles, their riders and other visitors? You get Cassington Bike Night of course, now one of the great summer events in this part of the world, held at…

Classic Motorcycle Meet

There were a multitude of classic motorcycles at Stony Straford near Milton Keynes recently. It must take a great deal of effort, enthusiasm and planning to arrange a single classic event each year but to arrange two must require dedication above and beyond the call of duty. However this is exactly what the organisers of Classic Stony manage with shows…

Royal Enfield Bullet

There are so many Indian- built Royal Enfields around these days that they tend to overshadow the original British bikes. But there are still plenty of Redditch-made motorcycles thriving on the classic scene. We featured a 1956 green-laner 350 in the June issue – and here’s some of the background to the model… The Bullet was first fired all the…

Sidecar Outfits Everywhere!

You wait for ages for a classic bike combination to come along, and then three turn up at once… The first will be going under the hammer at the Cheffins vintage auction on Saturday 15th July 2017, at the Machinery Saleground, Sutton, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB6 2QT. Looks like a perfect candidate for a wipe over with an oily rag, fresh…