Back Street Heroes

Back Street Heroes is the UK’s biggest-selling and best custom bike magazine. We cover all styles of custom bikes and the custom biker lifestyle.

EDITORIAL

28 DAYS YEARS LATER • THE PROBLEM, I ALWAYS THINK, WITH WRITING UP YOUR OWN BIKE WHEN YOU’RE A JOURNALIST LIKE WOT I IS (APPARENTLY) IS THAT YOU KNOW FAR, FAR TOO MUCH OF THE STORY, AND YOU RISK BORING THE PANTS OFF YOUR AUDIENCE… AND, BELIEVE ME, THE LAST THING I WANT TO SEE IS MOST OF YOU LOT WITHOUT YOUR PANTS ON.

STONE CIRCLE BIKE SHOW • FIRSTLY, THIS IS REALLY STUART VINTER’S STORY, AND IT’S A BITTERSWEET TALE.

PINEWOOD CAFE BIKE SHOW • OVER THE YEARS THERE’VE BEEN SOME GREAT PAIRINGS: HAM AN’ CHEESE, LAUREL AND HARDY, HARLEY AND DAVIDSON, AND NOW IT SEEMS YOU CAN ADD THE THAMES VALE VULTURES AND THE PINEWOOD CAFÉ.

RAT & SURVIVAL‘22 • 2022 WAS, SLIGHTLY UNBELIEVABLY (WELL, TO ME ANYWAY), THE 25TH HOLDING OF THE RAT & SURVIVAL (BIKE & TRIKE SHOW, TO GIVE IT ITS FULL NAME), AND WAS, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A GOOD FEW YEARS, A WET ONE… I DUNNO, YOU JUST CAN’T RELY ON GLOBAL WARMING THESE DAYS, CAN YOU?

THE PRETTY ONE • A COUPLE OF ISSUES OR SO BACK, ISSUE 463 TO BE PRECISE, WE SHOWED YOU IVAN’S FABULOUSLY OILY BSA RAT, AND MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLE THAT HE HAD ANOTHER SIDE-VALVE BSA - A PRETTY ONE. THIS, LADIES N’ GENNULMEN, IS IT, AND I’LL LET HIM TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT…

DGR BRISTOL • I DON’T THINK THERE’S ANYONE THESE DAYS WHO DOESN’T KNOW WHAT THE DGR (DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN’S RIDE) IS – WE’VE COVERED IT IN BSH FOR YEARS NOW, AND NIK DID THE BIGGEST ONE IN THE BRITISH ISLES, THE LONDON ONE, LAST YEAR.

LEEDS CUSTOM & CLASSIC BIKE SHOW • AFTER PROMISING ONE OF THE MEMBERS I’D SHOW MY FACE (AS IT’D LAST BEEN 1992 WHEN I RODE UP TO A BLUE ANGELS SHOW – THE FIFTH ALBA WEST, IN BSH 114 IF YOU’RE INTERESTED), THERE WAS LITTLE CHANCE OF ME MISSING THEIR LATEST EVENT THIS TIME.

GRAND FIN’ARLEY • 2020 WAS, FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE, A REAL LIFE-CHANGER, AND NOT JUST BECAUSE, AS EVERYONE KNOWS (UNLESS, OF COURSE, YOU’RE A SERIAL TINFOIL HAT WEARER), THAT WAS THE YEAR WE, AS A SPECIES, HAD TO DEAL WITH THE MOST SERIOUS INFLUENZA OUTBREAK IN OVER 100 YEARS.

THE MONGRÖL • BACK MANY YEARS AGO, SO MANY THAT COBWEBS’D HAVE TO BE SWEPT OFF IN ORDER TO COUNT THEM, A DECISION WAS MADE TO BUILD A HARDTAIL WHICH, ON THE RUN UP TO MY HALF-CENTURY CELEBRATION, WAS PROBABLY A SLIGHTLY DAFT DECISION TO MAKE.

CiRCUS HORRORS

BACK STREET HEROES

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ROUGHLEYS BIKE SHOW • I KNOW THAT, THESE DAYS, IF A BIKE EVENT’S BEEN GOING FOR A FAIR TIME THERE’S USUALLY A VERY GOOD REASON FOR THAT – IT’S A DAMN GOOD EVENT BEING THE MAIN ONE. SOMETIMES, THOUGH, I’M STILL SURPRISED HOW GOOD…

NCC CAMBS' CUSTOM BIKE SHOW • WHEN IT COMES TO RIDING TO EVENTS, I HAVE A SYSTEM… WELL, OKAY, SO ACTUALLY ‘SYSTEM’ IS TOO STRONG A WORD REALLY AS I’M NOT THAT ORGANISED – WHAT I ACTUALLY MEAN IS I GO THE FAST WAY THERE, USUALLY, AND THE SLOW WAY BACK.

BUILD IT YERSEL' PART TWO • WE LEFT THE LATEST BSH PROJECT BUILD LAST TIME HAVING STRIPPED THE BIKES (THE ORIGINAL SECONDHAND FRAME, AND THE 600 BANDIT DONOR BIKE) DOWN, LEAVING TWO PILES OF BITS WHICH’D NEED TO BE SORTED INTO ONE PILE OF BITS WHICH WOULD, HOPEFULLY, STAY LIKE THAT WHILST THE BIKE THEY’RE BUILT FROM GOES ALONG THE ROAD.

MR BRIDGES' MOTORCYCLE DIARIES VOL. VI, PART II • IF YOU REMEMBER, LAST TIME I’D CHOPPED OUT THE ORIGINAL TOP TUBE, AND REORGANISED THINGS SO THAT THE NEW TANK’D FIT USING THE ORIGINAL FRAME RAILS, AND A NEW TOP TUBE.

BOOKFACE AND PUDDINGHEAD • “YOU’RE A SILLY BUGGER,” COLIN SAID. MARTIN WINCED SLIGHTLY. “THEY HAVE CLEVER BLOKES AT THE FACTORY,” COLIN WENT ON. “THEY KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING. THEY’VE GOT SMART...