Classic Dirt Bike

I have a character flaw, well several really, and the actual number depends on who you talk to at any particular time – in this case though it is to do with motorcycles. I’m sure there will be enthusiasts reading this who also have their character fl

Taking on the benefit of this well sorted Aprilia is forklift truck field service engineer Garry Salmon, a relatively recent convert to trials riding. “I’ve been involved for 10 years I think,” he tells me as I’m taking pics of the bike. “Before that

There will be few trials riders in the North East of England who didn’t know of Quinns Motorcycles in Gateshead. How many of us purchased our bikes and spares there in the glory days eh? Chatting to Glen Quinn about our feature bike I got a bit more

To the uninitiated, there is a bewildering numbering system when Villiers engines are being described. This small box-out isn’t the place for describing the ins and outs of the numbers and letters but very briefly we will say they all relate to speci

Two carburettors aren’t just shoved on and left to it, they have to work in a certain way and one slide lifts before the other to provide maximum gas flow speed. Discussing it afterwards, Sammy related a tale of being at Mallory Park and John Surtees

In the picturesque New Forest area of Hampshire, Belfast man Sammy Miller has made his home, and it is also the home of his collection of classic motorcycles. Naturally the trials world features highly, but not exclusively, in the halls, as there’s a

Always a sucker for something left field, I couldn't help but smile when, in the last issue of this fine publication, editor Tim featured the RTX twinshock trials weapon of Cumbrian character Paul 'Wobbler' Norman. A reminder of the 'real world' away

John Dickinson has been in, on and around the off-road scene for years. Trained as a mechanic, he spent some time in the motorcycle industry before finding his way into journalism. Thanks to his editorship of a certain weekly paper, he’s well known i

If you’re a Yorkshireman and a motorcycle manufacturer maybe Dalesman is the ideal name for your bike, especially if it’s for off-road, and Pete Edmondson is definitely from Yorkshire. These days Pete is a familiar figure at trials and scrambles with

With a lifetime of off-road motorcycling behind him, former serviceman Mick Mosley shows no sign of easing up yet. Had he always been in the off-road world I wondered? “Yes, I’ve done all sorts of trials and scrambles as well as enduros,” he tells me

There are a considerable number of British-produced machines which used a variation of an Austrian Puch engine, Dalesman of course as they’re the subject of our feature, but they weren’t the only ones. What this means is there are bikes out there whi

In the Sixties, when riders began to be dissatisfied with front forks resembling badly fitting drain pipes, with all the sealing qualities of such a set-up, eyes were on the works bikes rumoured to have hard chrome plating on stanchions. When Bultaco

A friend has restored a 1973 BSA B50 MX. He reimported the bike from America and has continued to do a full nut and bolt restoration. It has a great history and matching frame and engine numbers. It’s got great provenance which is all documented, fro

Editor: Tim Britton cdbeditor@mortons.co.uk 07739 615605 Columnists: Ian Berry, John Dickinson Contributors: Photographers: Fiona Watson, Gary Chapman, Nick Nicholls Collection at Mortons Archive Production editor: Sarah Wilkinson Art Editor: Kel

Cumbrian born and bred Ian Stainton enjoyed his first classic scramble in 1993 on a CZ. “My second race was on a CCM though,” he laughs and carries on with “I was hooked on them for ever more.” The 55-year-old wagon driver had competed in a few trial

The complete CCM history was documented by Peter Henshaw – who now owes me a beer – in his book Rolling Thunder. Compiled with the blessing of the Clews family and CCM, this has to be the definitive tale. It was published in 2008, there’s still copie

To go from a new manufacturer to serious GP contender in four years is a remarkable achievement and when MotorCycle visited CCM for a feature in January of 1976, this was the dream of CCM founder Alan Clews. This was to be a determined campaign to ta

I have a character flaw, well several really, and the actual number depends on who you talk to at any particular time – in this case though it is to do with motorcycles. I’m sure there will be enthusiasts reading this who also have their character fl

Taking on the benefit of this well sorted Aprilia is forklift truck field service engineer Garry Salmon, a relatively recent convert to trials riding. “I’ve been involved for 10 years I think,” he tells me as I’m taking pics of the bike. “Before that

There will be few trials riders in the North East of England who didn’t know of Quinns Motorcycles in Gateshead. How many of us purchased our bikes and spares there in the glory days eh? Chatting to Glen Quinn about our feature bike I got a bit more

To the uninitiated, there is a bewildering numbering system when Villiers engines are being described. This small box-out isn’t the place for describing the ins and outs of the numbers and letters but very briefly we will say they all relate to speci

Two carburettors aren’t just shoved on and left to it, they have to work in a certain way and one slide lifts before the other to provide maximum gas flow speed. Discussing it afterwards, Sammy related a tale of being at Mallory Park and John Surtees

In the picturesque New Forest area of Hampshire, Belfast man Sammy Miller has made his home, and it is also the home of his collection of classic motorcycles. Naturally the trials world features highly, but not exclusively, in the halls, as there’s a

Always a sucker for something left field, I couldn't help but smile when, in the last issue of this fine publication, editor Tim featured the RTX twinshock trials weapon of Cumbrian character Paul 'Wobbler' Norman. A reminder of the 'real world' away

John Dickinson has been in, on and around the off-road scene for years. Trained as a mechanic, he spent some time in the motorcycle industry before finding his way into journalism. Thanks to his editorship of a certain weekly paper, he’s well known i

If you’re a Yorkshireman and a motorcycle manufacturer maybe Dalesman is the ideal name for your bike, especially if it’s for off-road, and Pete Edmondson is definitely from Yorkshire. These days Pete is a familiar figure at trials and scrambles with

With a lifetime of off-road motorcycling behind him, former serviceman Mick Mosley shows no sign of easing up yet. Had he always been in the off-road world I wondered? “Yes, I’ve done all sorts of trials and scrambles as well as enduros,” he tells me

There are a considerable number of British-produced machines which used a variation of an Austrian Puch engine, Dalesman of course as they’re the subject of our feature, but they weren’t the only ones. What this means is there are bikes out there whi

In the Sixties, when riders began to be dissatisfied with front forks resembling badly fitting drain pipes, with all the sealing qualities of such a set-up, eyes were on the works bikes rumoured to have hard chrome plating on stanchions. When Bultaco

A friend has restored a 1973 BSA B50 MX. He reimported the bike from America and has continued to do a full nut and bolt restoration. It has a great history and matching frame and engine numbers. It’s got great provenance which is all documented, fro

Editor: Tim Britton cdbeditor@mortons.co.uk 07739 615605 Columnists: Ian Berry, John Dickinson Contributors: Photographers: Fiona Watson, Gary Chapman, Nick Nicholls Collection at Mortons Archive Production editor: Sarah Wilkinson Art Editor: Kelvin

Cumbrian born and bred Ian Stainton enjoyed his first classic scramble in 1993 on a CZ. “My second race was on a CCM though,” he laughs and carries on with “I was hooked on them for ever more.” The 55-year-old wagon driver had competed in a few trial

The complete CCM history was documented by Peter Henshaw – who now owes me a beer – in his book Rolling Thunder. Compiled with the blessing of the Clews family and CCM, this has to be the definitive tale. It was published in 2008, there’s still copie

To go from a new manufacturer to serious GP contender in four years is a remarkable achievement and when MotorCycle visited CCM for a feature in January of 1976, this was the dream of CCM founder Alan Clews. This was to be a determined campaign to ta