Tag: classic british bike

Kawasaki or Commando?

Features
They may both be 750 twins but there aren’t that many other similarities between the Kawasaki Z750 and Norton’s Commando. However, it turns out that many RC readers have experience of both, as Colin Leighfield reveals… It was great to see John Hunter’s letter in RC195 about his Kawasaki Z750B twin. With the short rear mudguard it looks like an…
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AJS & Matchless 500 Singles: out of the archive

Buying Guide
If you’re looking for a traditional British single-cylinder classic motorcycle, then the AJS Model 18 and the Matchless G80 are charming old chuffers which cost considerably less than their Norton or Velocette equivalents… Honest, dependable and free of phoney pretensions, the big singles built by Associated Motor Cycles after WW2 neatly balance price and performance. The 497cc AJS Model 18…
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Velocette MSS: out of the archive

Features
If you like the idea of a Velo MAC but need a little more performance than a 350 provides, then Veloce built your ideal bike in the shape of the MSS 500… Velocette is often seen as one of the ‘high class’ marques of classic bike, something of a cut above the ubiquitous parallel twin and far more refined than…
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Matchless G11: out of the archive!

Features
It’s not the most fashionable of British twins, but the 600cc Matchless has a lot going for it, said Neil Thomas… Christmas came early that year and Santa delivered a rather fine 600cc parallel twin in the shape of a 1957 Matchless G11. Sarah and Neil ran a tour business in Provence at the time. They thought it was about…
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Royal Enfield Meteor Minor

Features
Some of you may remember the story of a Royal Enfield Meteor Minor which appeared many years ago on the RC site, written by one ‘Gerry Attric’. As a young boy I always remember seeing my father’s motorbike in the garage under a cover, gathering dust. Some days, if the weather was nice and he was having a clear out…
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Frank’s Famous Last Words #45

Features
Is today a BSA day? Frank Westworth remembers 1971 or so, when the threat of precipitation in biblical proportions affected which old Britbike was likely to be pressed into service… ‘It’s a BSA day!’ That was my friend Geoffrey, back somewhere in the mists of time, coming out with what became something of a favoured phrase among the small group…
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