Classic Bike February 2022

FEBRUARY 2022 • ISSUE #505 1932|2022 ANNIVERSARY SPECIALS Classic Bike 25-PAGE SPECIAL Prefect planning prevents... well, you probably know the rest of that saying – and it’s something magazine publishers like to remind editors of occasionally. But far from perfect planning, this issue took on a life of its own when Miles McCallum’s 1932 International, Alan Cathcart’s 1952 Daytona-winning Manx of Dick Klamfoth and the 50-year anniversary of the 1972 JP Norton team launch all arrived in the CB inbox at roughly the same time – accompanied by enquiries such as: ‘Would you be interested in this...’ and ‘How about this anniversary?’ So, with a Norton celebration emerging, we started to fill the gaps, with the 1962 Atlas and Dommie SS, then the 1972 Norton Commando road test, and suddenly we had a themed issue in…

Welcome IT’S ALL IN THE PLANNING FEBRUARY 2022 • ISSUE #505 1932|2022 ANNIVERSARY SPECIALS Classic Bike 25-PAGE SPECIAL Prefect planning prevents... well, you probably know the rest of that saying – and it’s something magazine publishers like to remind editors of occasionally. But far from perfect planning, this issue took on a life of its own when Miles McCallum’s 1932 International, Alan Cathcart’s 1952 Daytona-winning Manx of Dick Klamfoth and the 50-year anniversary of the 1972 JP Norton team launch all arrived in the CB inbox at roughly the same time – accompanied by enquiries such as: ‘Would you be interested in this...’ and ‘How about this anniversary?’ So, with a Norton celebration emerging, we started to fill the gaps, with the 1962 Atlas and Dommie SS, then the 1972…

BSA GOLD STAR Like the new GOLD STAR? Retro 650cc single is the first fruit from the resurrection of BSA. Is it worthy of the name? WORDS BY DAN SUTHERLAND & RICH NEWLAND, MOTORCYCLE NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY: MAHINDRA NEW GOLDIE OBITUARY YOUR CLASSICS WAY WE WERE EVENTS Yes, it’s a Goldie – but not as we know it. This is a brand new model, the first to be produced by the revived brand since it was bought in 2016 by the Mahindra Group, one of the largest automotive and engineering conglomerates in Asia. Developed in the UK, with production set to begin in India in January, the model should start arriving in dealers from March 2022. ‘The new BSA Gold Star inherits the soul of its forebears’ says the promotional blurb,…

NEW GOLDIE OBITUARY YOUR CLASSICS WAY WE WERE EVENTS Yes, it’s a Goldie – but not as we know it. This is a brand new model, the first to be produced by the revived brand since it was bought in 2016 by the Mahindra Group, one of the largest automotive and engineering conglomerates in Asia. Developed in the UK, with production set to begin in India in January, the model should start arriving in dealers from March 2022. ‘The new BSA Gold Star inherits the soul of its forebears’ says the promotional blurb, and it’s fair to say that the new bike has echoes of the classic original – the evocative emblem on the fuel tank and beefy-looking singlecylinder engine standing out in particular. But while the heart of the original Gold Star was…

Arthur Browning (AJS scrambles star and an emerging speedway talent) and Andy Hunt (22-year-old son of famous Cradley Heathens speedway captain Alan) wrote their names into the motorcycle history books when they won the first-ever indoor short track (née speedway) motorcycle meeting to be held in the UK in mid-December 1971. The event, a speedway-style best-pairs competition with seven pairs in the line-up, took place on a 100-yard wooden-floored oval course at Wolverhampton Whispering Wheels Roller Skating Rink in front of 300 spectators – 100 less than the official capacity limit at the insistence of the local fire brigade! It was organised by speedway promoter Harry Bastable (a former Cradley Heath and Wolverhampton rider) and ice-rink promoter Alan Eagles. The promoters were forced to dub their indoor event ‘speedtrack racing’ after being…

BANTAM SPEEDWAY 1972 2022 50 YEARS Keeping Bantams Indoors In the winter of 1971-72, a couple of enterprising promoters in the Midlands trialled a new form of indoor motorcycle racing... PHOTOGRAPHY: BAUER ARCHIVE Arthur Browning (AJS scrambles star and an emerging speedway talent) and Andy Hunt (22-year-old son of famous Cradley Heathens speedway captain Alan) wrote their names into the motorcycle history books when they won the first-ever indoor short track (née speedway) motorcycle meeting to be held in the UK in mid-December 1971. The event, a speedway-style best-pairs competition with seven pairs in the line-up, took place on a 100-yard wooden-floored oval course at Wolverhampton Whispering Wheels Roller Skating Rink in front of 300 spectators – 100 less than the official capacity limit at the insistence of the local…