A pre-unit motorcycle is one in which the engine and gearbox are separate units, connected by a primary chain. They tend to be earlier bikes, whereas a unit construction engine is one made with the crankcase and gearbox in a single casting, yet the g

MY 1983 HONDA CX500 EUROSPORT IS A GREAT BIKE. IT’S fitted with a Predator two-into-one exhaust instead of the two-into-two standard and quite heavy system, but I’d noticed a couple of leaks recently. Instead of waiting until things got worse, I deci

THIS YEAR’S BIMBLE AROUND static new bikes in a shed with expensive food, expensive car parking and no windows felt more positive, somehow. It was Maria’s first time and my 21st, so I think watching the spectacle through a new pair of eyes helped. Re

WHAT SPRINGS TO YOUR MIND FIRST WHEN you open up a thought about Italian motorcycles? Ducati’s glittering V-twins? Moto Guzzi’s transverse V-twins? Laverda’s monster triples? How’s about a somewhat pedestrian flat single? A Moto Guzzi flat 500 with a

IN 1874, BICYCLE MANUFACTURER BAYLISS, THOMAS & CO, of Lower Ford Street, Coventry, decided its range needed a snappier moniker and chose ‘Excelsior’ as its trademark. The word, meaning onward and upward, or ‘higher,’ had only existed for about 100 y

I’M JUST BACK FROM FRANCE, AND MY CLASSIC BIKE-OWNING MATE Martin remarks (as he always does), “That sounds great! I’d love to do that. But obviously not on my BSA. It’s not like it’s a BMW R100RS.” Classic bike owners often dismiss the idea of touri

AFTER INVENTING THE V-TWIN café racer almost 70 years ago, legendary Swiss performance guru Fritz Egli is now enjoying a well-earned retirement after constructing more than 3000 hand-built performance bikes from 1968. He and his team constructed an a

Here we have a Sunbeam Model 9, with its twin-port, single-cylinder engine and rigid frame. In 1931 Sunbeam used chrome for its tanks, which had recently become saddle tanks, replacing the flat version and giving the bike a modern look. But after one

I’D LOVE TO SAY I’VE SPENT THE LAST FEW MONTHS enjoying the fruits of autumn riding, but frankly, it’s been horrid out. And at the same time, I’ve been struggling manfully through a wave of paperwork and mindless bureaucracy. First, however, I had to

BSA ownership comes with it the opportunity to access a massive resource: the BSA Owners’ Club. Formed in 1958, it is one of the largest single marque classic motorcycle clubs in the UK, with a rapidly increasing membership for reasons that should be

Special thanks to Carl at M.I.S Ltd, of Newark-on-Trent, for letting us play with these beautiful examples. For more info, see misukltd.com THE HONDA CB750 FOUR, THE MUCH-FETED ‘World’s First Superbike,’ is remarkable, not least because it encapsulat

CM MOTORCYCLES ARE MADE where the company started, in Bolton, UK. Clews Competition Motorcycles started in 1971, when Alan Clews made bikes for BSA engines to race off-road. Since then, they have garnered a hardy following off-road and, more recently

Huge thanks to Jason, at Bike Seat Pro, and Williams Interiors for sharing his knowledge and rescuing a seat we thought was past it: williamsofrunton.co.uk THIS ISN’T RIGHT. I DOUBLE-CHECK the address. Yet, as we walk into Williams Interiors on the N

NICK PIGGOTT AVAILABLE NOWSoftback £29.99 ISBN: 9781911658634■

... a Duchinni Youth Michigan Jacket. Designed for youngsters from six to 16 years old, the Michigan is a retro-style waterproof jacket made to the same high standards as adult motorcycle clothing. Rated AA for safety it comes with full CE armour, in

DO YOU HAVE FAVOURITE JOBS? Motorcycle jobs, I mean; not pruning radishes or taking the goldfish for a walk. I do, as it happens. I have a decently lengthy list of happy tasks. Jobs which although rarely crucial also avoid risks of disaster. Jobs whi

FROM ALL OF US AT CLASSIC BIKE GUIDE, may we be the – err – last to wish you a merry Christmas! May your festivities continue, the leftovers remain edible and let us hope a happy new year awaits us all. We’ve had the odd foray into the shed during De

WE’VE TRIED TO cover the British industry’s output from 1945 to the mid-1990s. It’s not definitive, and it’s not a story of the British bike industry, and it’s not a buying guide. It’s just here as a brief insight into the many models made in the UK

HE WAS THE PERSON WHO, IN creating iconic products like the Bimota SB2, Ducati 916 and MV Agusta F4, established the benchmarks by which the later designs of others were to be measured. He created models, the performance of which fully lived up to th

ACCIDENTALLY ENDING UP WITH TWO machines which are nearly the same – and which were (and indeed still are) criticised by some for being too similar for the tastes of marque enthusiasts – is proving to be something of an eye-opener. It began like this