Classic Bike September 2021

Welcome TIME TO CELEBRATE! CLASSIC BIKE was launched in Spring 1978. This September issue is the 500th edition. It’s grown from a one-off punt into a quarterly and is now the world’s leading monthly magazine for classic motorcycle enthusiasts the world over. So how do we celebrate such an amazing landmark? We thought we’d give the whole mag a 500 theme – especially as, for many decades, 500cc motorcycles were the pinnacle of bike sport and the number one choice for the road riding enthusiast. We’ve picked the 500cc road machines that defined each decade from the 1900s, starting with the Werner and its bolt-on engine in a bicycle frame, through Norton International, BSA’s Gold Star, the Triumph Speed Twin and on to the complexity of the modern four-cylinder Honda…

CLASSIC BIKE was launched in Spring 1978. This September issue is the 500th edition. It’s grown from a one-off punt into a quarterly and is now the world’s leading monthly magazine for classic motorcycle enthusiasts the world over. So how do we celebrate such an amazing landmark? We thought we’d give the whole mag a 500 theme – especially as, for many decades, 500cc motorcycles were the pinnacle of bike sport and the number one choice for the road riding enthusiast. We’ve picked the 500cc road machines that defined each decade from the 1900s, starting with the Werner and its bolt-on engine in a bicycle frame, through Norton International, BSA’s Gold Star, the Triumph Speed Twin and on to the complexity of the modern four-cylinder Honda CB500-4 and the super-quick Suzuki Gamma…

500 THINGS WAY WE WERE EVENTS YOUR CLASSICS LETTERS ‘The British Are Coming’ proclaimed the first page of an eight-page colour pull-out advertising section in the American magazine Cycle World of January 1971 to promote what BSA dubbed ‘The World’s First 500cc Trail Bikes’. The advertising came at a time, 50 years ago, when the press was awash with rumours of BSA’s demise. In fact, throughout the first six months of Motor Cycle News’ 1971 issues here in the UK, there was story after story of mounting debts and boardroom struggles; this was set against exciting news of BSA’s racing success at Daytona, the Match Races and John Cooper’s exploits, not to mention their formidable presence in motocross with the B50 singles. For motorcycle enthusiasts, it was an onslaught of mixed messages;…

A falling Star When BSA reworked its unit construction B50 singles, it revived a famous name – Gold Star. That wasn’t well received by enthusiasts, but at least, like it’s forebear, it was a bike with a racing pedigree PHOTOGRAPHY: BSA AND BAUER ARCHIVE 500 THINGS WAY WE WERE EVENTS YOUR CLASSICS LETTERS ‘The British Are Coming’ proclaimed the first page of an eight-page colour pull-out advertising section in the American magazine Cycle World of January 1971 to promote what BSA dubbed ‘The World’s First 500cc Trail Bikes’. The advertising came at a time, 50 years ago, when the press was awash with rumours of BSA’s demise. In fact, throughout the first six months of Motor Cycle News’ 1971 issues here in the UK, there was story after story of…

There were bigger bikes and there were faster bikes at the time, but in 1961 a Velocette Venom proved it had the combined speed and stamina to outshine them all. At the banked Montlhéry speed bowl on the outskirts of Paris, with the help of a team of eight riders the 500cc single became the first motorcycle in the world to average over 100mph (160kmh) for 24 hours. The team leader was none other than Bertie Goodman, son of the founder and managing director of Veloce Ltd, the company which produced Velocettes. He was a hard rider who had finished third in the 1947 Ulster GP on a 350cc KTT, and enjoyed testing his company’s products on road and track. With him was British journalist Bruce Main-Smith and six Frenchmen, including…

SPORT Quite a day for a 500 Sixty years ago, a single-cylinder 500cc Velocette Venom became the first motorcycle to average 100mph for 24 hours. Here’s how... WORDS: PHILLIP TOOTH PHOTOGRAPHY: ARCHIVE A HERL & PHILLIP TOOTH There were bigger bikes and there were faster bikes at the time, but in 1961 a Velocette Venom proved it had the combined speed and stamina to outshine them all. At the banked Montlhéry speed bowl on the outskirts of Paris, with the help of a team of eight riders the 500cc single became the first motorcycle in the world to average over 100mph (160kmh) for 24 hours. The team leader was none other than Bertie Goodman, son of the founder and managing director of Veloce Ltd, the company which produced Velocettes. He…