Cars & Motorcycles
RealClassic
June 2020RealClassic magazine features the very best British motorcycles from all eras, plus charismatic Continental machines (and the odd Japanese classics crops up occasionally, too). Long term classic riders will recognise many of the members of the RC team, which includes authors, historians and journalists like Steve Wilson, Dave Minton, Matt Vale, Odgie, Jacqueline 'PUB' Bickerstaff, Rowena Hoseason and editor Frank Westworth -- but the magazine's key feature is that it is firmly grounded in the real world. Our articles are written by real life riders and reflect far more than a simple road test ever can. We're never scared of getting grubby in The Shed (and we even admit it when things go horribly wrong!)
in this issue
from the front
As you know, I have been pursuing my strange occupation for a very long time - since 1988, in fact. And that's only the full-time portion - I worked on a club magazine for several years before that, slowly understanding how magazines work. This does help if you intend to pursue that particular strange occupation In the same way, a working knowledge of most things motorcycle is a tremendous boon, and although I genuinely have forgotten more about old bikes than most folk would ever want to know, I am rarely surprised much when I ride a bike with a view to writing about it. OK, I am often surprised by how good a particular machine is to ride - less often, there's the opposite surprise too, but you'll never read…
in coming!
THE PERFECT PANTHER? I'd always wanted a Panther, so I bought a 1929 500. The restoration/ resurrection took ten years and included such horrors as a rear axle made of hand-filed rebar, rusted through spokes and a monumental crack in one crankcase. All the bits that weren't worn out were wrong. It was a nightmare. However I did finish it and, although challenging to ride, I do enjoy it. It is tiring to ride and needs constant attention, but you do get a sense of achievement when you get where you are going. Is it my favourite bike? No, it's not. The bike I really wanted was a Panther Model 100, the rigid one with the Dowty forks. A few years ago I was able to buy one and finish off a stalled…
transformer!
After completing three rebuilds in the last seven years I was looking for a new project. Have you noticed how a complete rebuild can start with something very minor? A Triumph T160 oil pressure light not going out when the engine starts; obviously a sensor fault. Or a minor oil leak on a Laverda 1200 from the cylinder head area; obviously a rocker box gasket needs replacing. Both required full strip downs and ended up being nut and bolt rebuilds. As a regular visitor to both the Bristol and Stafford Shows, I had admired the conversions of early Hinckley Triumphs to cafe racers on the Cafe Racer Kits stand. I considered one of these as my next project but, not being as flexible as I once was, decided that a bike…
thinking of buying: bargain buys
Then there's the bread-and-butter bikes which make perfect donor machines for a cafe racer conversion. The motors were built to last and easily shrug off high mileages - 100,000 miles isn't at all unusual. So look for one with less than 40k on the clock and it should have plenty of life left in it ... ► TROPHY 900: the touring model was originally practical and comfortable, but it's struggled to find a niche as a 'modern classic~ This means it's an ideal candidate for the CRK treatment. A 1992, 33,000 mile advertised as 'ride or restore' will cost £1800 or less ► TRIDENT-SPRINT 900: the half-faired model soon lost the 'Trident' part of its name and became known solely as the Sprint. Cheap, robust and ready to ride with less than…
thinking of buying: rare beef
Triumphs started leaving the Hinckley factory almost 30 years ago, and there were some remarkable machines among the original 'modular' models. These rarities are rising in value, especially if they've retained their original specification. You wouldn't want to dismember one and convert it into a cafe racer - but they offer a vividly raw riding experience that is hard to match for the money ... ► DAYTONA 1000: a 120bhp four-cylinder superbike, a truly beefy beast. A low miles example like this one - just 5000 from new - will fetch around £6000 ► DAYTONA 1000: if, however, you find a Hinckley four which has been personalised and then (shock!) actually ridden, its price falls quite radically. This 1992 example has - been trimmed out like a JPS racer and has travelled…
an unlikely legend
Perusing RC 191 I alighted on a fine article from Rowena about the Velocette MAC, in which she referred in passing to the company's GTP model as being 'utility'. What! I nearly spat my Castrol R30 out in disgust. Of course, the GTP is nothing of the sort, but it's an obvious and simple mistake to make. The GTP is a two-stroke motorcycle and everyone knows smaller capacity British strokers are basic machines designed for chimney sweeps and district nurses; not 'proper' motorcyclists who invariably ride heroic four-bangers with their fancy yet unnecessary valve trains. It wasn't until the 1960s when the pesky Japanese started winning races with their howling buzzbombs that the two-stroke became universally accepted as a credible alternative to the more usual machines; lightweight, simple and cheap Oriental…
