Real Classic March 2020

Warning! Anorak stuff alert! You have been cautioned! OK, that’s quite enough exclamation marks. But I felt that you needed to be warned that I’m going to talk about a tiny subject of interest only to a tiny number of folk. Rear chains. You are officially permitted to sigh deeply at this point and move immediately to the first story, which is all about a Velocette. Why chains? Because it’s midwinter, and the only time I think about chains, pretty much, is in winter, because in summer they just do their jobs, tirelessly transmitting the engine’s vast power to the rear tyre, day in, day out. I may have adjusted and even maintained drive chains in the less wet months, but if so those rare events have faded from my memory. In…

Just lately we’ve been talking about vintage vehicles and the joy of riding pre-war motorcycles. In RC188, Ace Tester Miles gave us a crash course (not literally) in the fine art of living with a vintage bike, of getting to grips with hand-change gearboxes, flat tanks, manual lubrication and all that jazz. Then last month Reg Eyre talked us though his stable of pioneer lightweights – which, if I’m being totally honest, look rather more like bicycles than motorbikes to me! Meanwhile Jacqueline PUB Bickerstaff has got her veteran Invicta ready to ride, so look out for an attractive miasma of two-stroke blue smoke tagging along behind her this summer. All of the above come with a few disadvantages as Mr Miles outlined, not least that the exclusivity attached to a ‘proper’…

Warning! Anorak stuff alert! You have been cautioned! OK, that’s quite enough exclamation marks. But I felt that you needed to be warned that I’m going to talk about a tiny subject of interest only to a tiny number of folk. Rear chains. You are officially permitted to sigh deeply at this point and move immediately to the first story, which is all about a Velocette. Why chains? Because it’s midwinter, and the only time I think about chains, pretty much, is in winter, because in summer they just do their jobs, tirelessly transmitting the engine’s vast power to the rear tyre, day in, day out. I may have adjusted and even maintained drive chains in the less wet months, but if so those rare events have faded from my…

Just lately we’ve been talking about vintage vehicles and the joy of riding pre-war motorcycles. In RC188, Ace Tester Miles gave us a crash course (not literally) in the fine art of living with a vintage bike, of getting to grips with hand-change gearboxes, flat tanks, manual lubrication and all that jazz. Then last month Reg Eyre talked us though his stable of pioneer lightweights – which, if I’m being totally honest, look rather more like bicycles than motorbikes to me! Meanwhile Jacqueline PUB Bickerstaff has got her veteran Invicta ready to ride, so look out for an attractive miasma of two-stroke blue smoke tagging along behind her this summer. All of the above come with a few disadvantages as Mr Miles outlined, not least that the exclusivity attached to…

If you like the idea of a machine similar to the MAC, but maybe one that’s a bit less expensive and more mechanically straightforward, then keep your eyes peeled for one of Val Page’s excellent pre-war BSA singles. It was one of Page’s 500s which swept Wal Handley to Here’s another alternative to consider… Before he moved to BSA and designed their singles, Val Page was busy at Triumph in the early 1930s, updating their range of ohv and sidevalve singles. Then Edward Turner arrived in 1936 and created the Tiger sports-roadsters. The improvements weren’t just cosmetic – the Tigers were given significant Gold Star success at Brooklands, but the 350s tend to be more affordable and available. This 1938 B26 Star is up for grabs at Andy Tiernan’s for…

If you like the idea of a machine similar to the MAC, but maybe one that’s a bit less expensive and more mechanically straightforward, then keep your eyes peeled for one of Val Page’s excellent pre-war BSA singles. It was one of Page’s 500s which swept Wal Handley to Here’s another alternative to consider… Before he moved to BSA and designed their singles, Val Page was busy at Triumph in the early 1930s, updating their range of ohv and sidevalve singles. Then Edward Turner arrived in 1936 and created the Tiger sports-roadsters. The improvements weren’t just cosmetic – the Tigers were given significant  Gold Star success at Brooklands, but the 350s tend to be more affordable and available. This 1938 B26 Star is up for grabs at Andy Tiernan’s for…