The Classic MotorCycle

Started in 1903, The Classic MotorCycle has more to offer the true vintage motorcycle enthusiast than any other publication, backed by Europe's largest motorcycle image archive.

Welcome

The Classic MotorCycle

Five ready to go • At the halfway stop of a long-distance road trial, a group of riders point their motorcycles south and prepare to tackle their second 200-mile stint.

News & Events

Charity cracker • Lots of sparkling classics and enthusiastic showgoers ensured the Yorkshire Classic Motorcycle Club’s 18th show was a success.

THE WAY WE WERE IN NOVEMBER

Book Review

Hard-worked tiddler twin • Norton’s 250cc Jubilee stands near one of the most famous sights in motor racing, at the Le Mans circuit in France.

Stunt climb • Apparently the result of a bet, this 250cc Dunelt climbed a steep Cotswolds hill 60 times without the engine being stopped.

Readers’ Letters • YOUR VOICE & YOUR OPINIONS

Tribute twin • A tragic accident meant Dave Berry never got to see through the restoration of Andy Tiernan’s Rocket Gold Star. Completed in his honour, the finished machine offers a fine tribute.

An easy rider • The new BSA Gold Star is, in terms of character, polar opposite to an ‘original’ DBD34, which is both good and bad.

Girl power rides in at Ardingly • The Summer Classic Bike Show and Bikejumble, held at Ardingly in Sussex on July 14, 2024, celebrated female motorcyclists.

Solidly-built centenarian • This big, 100-year-old 600cc JAP-engined Montgomery has a few quirks, but it still looks well-suited to hard work.

The Australian Way • It was 10 years ago that this Vincent came to the Goodwood Revival and dominated. Though the hoped-for anniversary return invite didn’t materialise, the men behind it still have plans.

Origins of the racer • Former owner gives a brief history of Vincent Rapide Series B, engine number F10AB/1/954.

More fun in the sun • The Grand Prix Rétro du Puy Notre-Dame was held on July 27/28, with two- and three-wheeler entries outnumbering the cars.

Simply the best • Albert Crocker was so sure that his bikes were the fastest money could buy that his adverts offered a full refund to any rider who was beaten by a stock Indian or Harley-Davidson. He never had to pay up.

BSA-LAND! • Janner, ‘Julie’, and friends enjoy the Limerick lanes – in the dry! – as the Irish BSA Rally makes a welcome return, after many years away.

Specialist service • An ex-British Aerospace engineer is offering a valuable service to those whose motorcycles feature early British carburettors.

Taking to the grass • A former TCM editor looks back on his days as a clubman grasstrack sidecar passenger and solo racer in the 1960s and 70s.

ROYAL ENFIELD WD CO

Sketchbook Travels presensts: MOTORCYCLE SPECIALS • Yoshimura CB72, Number 18

Hokey cokey • Put the fork leg in, take the fork leg out…but don’t shake it all about. More mix and matching with the budget Triumph twin.

Diary

Act now! • Don’t leave the little niggly-to-do jobs, as the longer they’re left, as surely as night follows day, they will become big ones.

Never the twain? • Why motorcycles and scooters have never been totally comfortable bedfellows is an age-old conundrum.

Shiny and protective • Although not truly a ‘component,’ metal finishing is an integral part of a motorcycle’s build, even though it employs materials, if not components. While finishes are first thought of as cosmetic, their primary role is often corrosion prevention and, sometimes, to build up surfaces.