RealClassic September 2021

One of the few conditions Rowena and I agreed when we started this magazine - 208 months ago! - was that as far as was possible we would focus on the bikes, rather than on the characters who ride them. This was in part an attempt to distance RC from other magazines in the same field, and because we had both become seriously bored with reading tales which described the bike's owner, house, dog, life history, lists of bikes owned and ... So bikes it was. And has pretty much remained that way since then. You'll rarely read write-ups of formerly famous racers and their famous victories, great collectors and their great collections, or even industry luminaries. However, last month's story by Martin Hughes-Games about the entirely remarkable Robert White and…

We'd been enjoying one of those surprisingly rare unplanned meet-ups. You know, the sort of thing where every time you chat with another enthusiast and share a good time the conversation concludes with the famous 'We'll have to get together! Next time you're nearby .. .' except that things always intrude, and that 'next time' usually fails to materialise. I've known of John Young for a very long time, and known him well enough to share a chat and a laugh for a decent number of years. And I've long respected his passion for BSA /Triumph triples and been an admirer of the utterly prodigious mileage he's put in aboard machines which have something of a varied reputation for reliability. And then, quite suddenly, there we were chattering away by the…

HOT STUFF Modern exhaust paint often flakes off with heat. An alternative which appears to work is Hotspot Coal Paint from Hydrachem, an aerosol resistant to over 1250°F which leaves a matt finish. I have used this on barrels and exhausts, so far with very good results. There's no gloss option as shiny coal is out of fashion! Can be found at good hardware stores. Andrew Rae, member 611 ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT Looking for even more RealClassic reading? You'll find brand-new and previously unpublished features at Real-Classic.co.uk ; the articles we couldn't quite fit into print. This month we've been catching up with Paul Henshaw's formative experiences aboard Triumph Tiger Cubs, and rounding up reader recommendations for star-quality service from old bike specialists ... GUZZI GUIDE I've just read Alan Cathcart's road test of the Guzzi's V7…

In various guises, Moto Guzzi's iconic flat single 500 had for many years provided Italy with reliable, sterling service as a police and military motorcycle. However, in 1963 the Italian government recognised its aging limitations and sought a replacement. This replacement would need - among other things - a guaranteed service life of 60,000 miles and easy maintenance. Facing competition from Ducati, Laverda, Benelli and Gilera, Moto Guzzi ultimately won the contract with a machine typical of Guzzi innovation. Featuring mechanical design influences from the automotive world, the combined genius of Giulio Carcano and Umberto Todero presented a 700cc 90-degree transverse V-twin. Incorporating a four-speed gearbox and shaft final drive, it was the world's first motorcycle to rely on electric starting - with no back up kickstart. Inevitably, the engine's V-twin…

When he passed away in December 2015 just a couple of weeks after his 90th birthday, Italian bike icon Arturo Magni could be said to have truly made his mark on motorcycle history. Even if he hadn't started building the streetbikes bearing his name more than 40 years ago, Magni would still have been a legend in his lifetime, a backroom boy made famous by the serial success of the MV Agusta Grand Prix race team. As the leader of the small band of men responsible for creating and running Count Domenico Agusta's two-wheeled Ferraris during their 26 years of GP dominance, Magni was the driving force behind the 75 World Championships won by such racing legends as John Surtees, Mike Hailwood, Carlo Ubbiali, Giacomo Agostini and Phil Read. During Magni's…

In the midst of a long recession, fuel shortages and widespread 'stagflation' suffered by large and small business alike, motorcycling surged in the 1970s. Very plainly a survival of the fittest game, the world's bike manufacturers picked up the slack by producing ever larger, more exciting designs, all organised neatly by class. Much to the enthusiast's delight, this hotbed of competition came to a boil in 1980 - and not just in the sports-bike niche. Cultivating a rich vein of customers with cloned metric cruisers, decked-out road-sofas and off-road specialty models, Japan's rapid, well-funded expansion dominated the decade with a symphony of mechanical wizardry. Driven by a tireless work ethic, Japanese products and new technology had become synonyms. But not every motorcyclist booked passage on the techno-train. These traditionalists didn't appreciate life's…