Classic Bike May 2020

Welcome HATS OFF TO A HUMBLE HERO When I first travelled the British racing circuits as a fan in the 1970s and early ’80s, Tony Rutter was one of the top national riders, always in the mix of 250 and 350 races on his brace of Yamahas. While these races, along with 125s and sidecars, were deemed support classes to the 500s and/or superbikes, the majority of the 250 and 350 grid were on similar two-stroke twins, so their closely-fought races were often the highlights of the day. The fact that Tony was always in the hunt for a podium slot portrayed him as the standout talent in the two classes. Despite numerous race wins, I don’t think he ever quite earned the accolades he was due at the time,…

SPECIALS WAYWEWERE LETTERS EVENTS SCREAM OF THE BANSHEE When Joe Banks decided to build a replica of Kenny Robert’s TZ750 Yamaha dirt tracker he created his wheelie-popping, street racer using tuning parts from Yamaha America’s popular quad racing two-stroke Yokes Joe drew up his own yokes to take the R6 forks he wanted and got them made. Standard width is 205mm for the R6, but he wanted 185mm to suit the narrower front end so it looked right. He came up with the unique pinch bolt design which looks cool and works perfectly. Frame Co-Built fabricated the dirt track frame and swingarm in TIGwelded 4130 chromoly tube. It weighs 19kg. With the engine weighing 38kg, the bike came in at 115kg overall. The frame, though, has a steering head with…

TALMAG TROPHY TRIAL, HUNGRY HILL, ALDERSHOT JAN 26 New tests on trial Serious classic competition or just a good day out? Opinions were divided over the introduction of a ‘more challenging route’ at this year’s Talmag WORDS BY ANDY WITHERS PHOTOGRAPHY BY AWSPORTSPHOTO ‘A BUMPER ENTRY OF 210 RIDERS AND A LARGE BAND OF CLASSIC ENTHUSIASTS SHARED IN THE SPECTACLE’ THE TALMAG TROPHY , the premier ‘four-stroke only’ classic bike trial, draws riders from all over the UK and Europe to Hungry Hill near Aldershot in Hampshire. This year, a bumper entry of 210 riders and a large band of classic enthusiasts shared in the spectacle of some of the most priceless British and European and even American off-road machinery being ridden in anger. The event is steeped in tradition,…

OBITUARY Tony Rutter 1941-2020 CB salutes the breaker of many a lap record on the UK’s most fearsome roads circuits and much-loved multiple Formula 2 Championship winner WORDS: MICK DUCKWORTH PHOTOGRAPHY: BAUER ARCHIVE TONY RUTTER, a quiet Black Country man who was totally dedicated to his racing, has died aged 78. Anyone who followed road racing in the 1970s and ’80s will remember Tony in his red-and-white helmet, tidily tucked in behind the fairing and going at full bore. Excelling on public-roads courses, Tony won seven Isle of Man TTs, nine North West 200 races and four consecutive TT Formula 2 World Championships. He was also a hard-charging short-circuit rider, winning the 350cc British Championship in 1971 and the 250cc title in 1973. Tending towards the avoidance of media attention,…

Michael Rutter Tony’s son Michael (47) has continued the family tradition and continues to enjoy racing success on short circuits and the roads. He said... “Obviously my earliest memories of dad all revolve around racing and motorbikes. Wherever he was racing, I went with him because I just wanted to be with him. His status as a racer never really registered with me until I went to the Northwest 200 for the first time with him after I left school. The Northwest always clashed with school, and as much as I’m sure they wanted to, school wouldn’t let me go to it on top of the TT and all the British Championship races that dad took me with him to. When we got there, I couldn’t believe how many people…

THE WAY WE WERE Finding grandad There are more questions than answers about these pics sent in by Sean Fisher – anyone out there have any clues? MY COUSIN IN West Halton, Lincolnshire is doing a family tree and came across these photos – knowing that I was into bikes all my life, she thought I may be able to identify the bike in these photos. All I can tell is: possibly BSA, possibly ’20s, flat top tank, single cylinder, belt drive, manual oil pump, no front brakes, girder forks... and that’s where it gets interesting – the forks go through the mudguard. I cannot find any bike in any of my books or on the internet with a front end like that. The lady on the bike is the…