Issue 68 Autumn 2023

Classic Dirt Bike

The magazine for fans of classic and twinshock trials, motocross & enduros

Classic Dirt Bike3 min read
Something Special
I had an invitation recently to photograph some of Malcolm Rathmell’s genuine works development trials bikes, see our From the Archive feature this issue… oh, you already have… Well, anyway, these are the real deal and there will be a few trials ridi
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Hagon Shocks To Again Sponsor CDB Show 2024
It might seem a bit early to talk about next February while we’re still eagerly anticipating the August heatwave… there are rumours of double figures on the thermometer… here in the UK. Equally eagerly anticipated is the annual Classic Dirt Bike Show
Classic Dirt Bike2 min read
Birks In The Highlands
The Inverness and District club staged its ever-popular Highland Classic Two Day Trial – Suzuki Edition – at Alvie Estate near Aviemore in sweltering heat on the weekend of June 10/11 with guest of honour being former Suzuki factory rider Nigel Birke
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Enter Now For The Trial Des Nations
Entries opened on Wednesday, June 7 for the FIM Trial Des Nations and FIM Trial Vintage Trophy events which will this year be staged over the weekend of September 8-10 at Auron in France. A total of 48 sections for each day all laid out in the beauti
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Vertex Pistons catalogue
Vertex Pistons has expanded its offering of off-road motorcycle products by introducing the Vintage catalogue for models built up to the year 2000 dedicated to riders, enthusiasts and mechanics. Inside you will find the complete range of Vertex pisto
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Rathmell’s Sale
It isn’t often genuine works development motorcycles come on the market so when Malcolm Rathmell decided to downsize a little then interest was high in the four machines associated with him. The three Montesa models and one Bultaco he’s parting with
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Triumph To Develop Brand-new Motocrosser
It appears Triumph is re-entering the serious off-road world and has in development a 250 MX and enduro machine. Those of us in CDB world will be well aware of Triumph’s fabulous past in all areas of the dirt bike world. The company has any number of
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Norman Sprint Invitation
Fancy sprinting in Normandy? Well, the Norman Off Road Classic Club is organising a free private invitation event with a 200m classic sprint for classic four-stroke off-road motorcycles of all types from speedway and grass trackers to classic MXers,
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Rickman Metisse Enthusiast Day
The 5th Annual Rickman Metisse Day was held at the Sammy Miller Museum on Sunday, June 25 and attracted the biggest crowd ever with entrants from all over the UK and abroad. Special guests included Don Rickman and his family, Graham Noyce, Joe Johnso
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Tony East Bike Sale
Bonhams Cars will be handling the sale of the ARE Classic Motorcycle Collection at the Classic Mechanics Show on October 14/15 following the death of ARE’s Tony East. Located within the beautiful grounds of The Old Vicarage at Kirk Michael on the TT
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Off Road and Adventure Bike Day at Sammy Miller Museum
On Saturday May 20, 2023 more than 300 off-road and adventure bikers attended one of the themed days at the Sammy Miller Museum at Bashley Manor near New Milton in Hampshire. The sun shone on the day and riders and visitors alike enjoyed looking at t
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Sealey Workshop Designer
How many of us have actually sat down and designed the space where we work on our motorcycles? I doubt there’s many of us who had the time to do such a thing and if you’re anything like the editor then stuff gets shoved in the space then moved around
Classic Dirt Bike9 min read
Rapid Development
The need to be ahead of the opposition creates some incredible works team machines. There is something about a true works development motorcycle. It doesn’t matter what the discipline is that it was built for, or even if it is widely different from w
Classic Dirt Bike11 min read
Something To Celebrate
BSA’s production Victor GP MXer’s history is inextricably bound up in the story of how Jeff Smith’s championship-winning machine emerged from an experiment by competition boss Brian Martin. In these pages we have covered this development of a C15 250
Classic Dirt Bike8 min read
Finely Fettled
We all stop and look at a motorcycle which has been well fettled; it could be in the paddock, at the start of a trial or at a show like the Classic Dirt Bike one at Telford. We can appreciate the work which has gone into this fettling process and to
Classic Dirt Bike6 min read
Proto-perfection
Some time ago in CDB we did a thing on Rotax engines and in the feature we tried to list all those makes that used the Austrian power unit to build motorcycles. Once we got to around 20 we gave up… Suffice to say the Rotax engine became the go-to uni
Classic Dirt Bike5 min read
Velo Fellow
When someone trusts you enough to loan their motorcycle to you and knows it will be used in what is a tough environment then there is a duty of care – well at least for me there is – in force. Incidents do happen, things can break but the expectation
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Wasp Sidecar Celebration
At one time the sidecar was a common sight on Britain’s roads and thanks to the popularity of road-going outfits there was a burgeoning competition scene too. This road-going scene tended to ensure a regular supply of drivers and crew for competition
Classic Dirt Bike2 min read
The Baa Classic
Kicking off at 11am on Saturday, July 8, this year’s event saw more than 70 riders set off to tackle two laps of the fells and moors of north-west Durham in the Baa Classic two-day trial. The course consisted of traditional North East Centre trials t
Classic Dirt Bike5 min read
Dirt Products
Latest products in regular CDB advertiser VMX Racing’s range are brand new petrol tanks… or should it be ‘gas tanks’ as VMX Racing is based in the USA? Anyway, these high-quality tanks are for the Honda 1980 CR250 and 1981 CR450 models and come in th
Classic Dirt Bike4 min read
Backwards Are We, Said You...!
Just had a flashback from a long-ago episode of The Bash Street Kids in the Beano comic (yes, that really is my literary level!) in which an exasperated Teacher yells at the unruly kids: “You lot are backwards!” Next morning, the kids all smartly rev
Classic Dirt Bike5 min read
Stately Attraction
The castle at Drumlanrig is an imposing presence. Close to the town of Thornhill in Dumfries and Galloway, its vista overlooks the surrounding area and there’s a long drive up to the parking area for castle visits. Like many such places, earning thei
Classic Dirt Bike4 min read
Reader’s Ride – Maico MX
While there are plenty of Maicos out on the track I wanted mine to be a little different from the rest and set about putting my thoughts into metal. The result here is my 1981 Maico 500 hybrid with all sorts of parts, upgrades and modifications which
Classic Dirt Bike5 min read
Dirt Talk
Write to us at: ClassicDIRTbike, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ. CDBeditor@mortons.co.uk I was interested in the photo of the Whitehawk Cheney Bantam as the lead pic in the Bantam Archive feature in issue 63, especially the swinging arm.
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Classic Dirt Bike
Editor: Tim Britton cdbeditor@mortons.co.uk 07739 615605 Columnist: John Dickinson Contributor: Tim Britton Media Ltd Photographers: Fiona Watson, AW Sports Photo, Nick Nicholls Collection at Mortons Archive. Production editor: Pauline Hawkins Art ed
Classic Dirt Bike11 min read
Born Of Necessity
Sometimes a major setback turns out to be one of those silver-lined clouds which becomes a successful venture. Take the case of Josep Pibernat and Narcis Casas. The pair were following the ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ ethos as they competed in the
Classic Dirt Bike2 min read
Mick Wilkinson
The UK weather is nothing if not variable and often while one end of the country is basking in sunshine the other end can be experiencing different conditions. Our main pic shows Mick Wilkinson tackling Edramucky Gulley in the 1973 SSDT and the weath
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Towering Achievement
If you want to gain a bit of publicity in the wider world for your motorcycle make, then doing something outrageous and so in-your-face it can’t be ignored is a way forward. What to do though? Winning major races, vast tours with production machines

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