Issue 70 Spring 2024

Classic Dirt Bike

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

Classic Dirt Bike4 min read
“Remember When…”
It’s not long into any conversation before phrases such as “remember when” crop up. This is a truism not restricted to motorcycling circles but as this is a motorcycle magazine it’s where the gist of a conversation I was involved in went. Soon, lines
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Dirt News
Remember the BSA Victor GP we had in CDB 68? Well, it’s just come up for sale and is a genuine BSA Victor GP. There’s not many around in original(ish) condition and not a lot were produced in the day – estimates vary between 468 and 500 – and all wer
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Victor GP Website Changes
Fans of BSA’s Victor GP will know of the GP Victor website dedicated to this fabulous MX machine. The site was started by Mike Wadsworth and has been keeping the GP legend going for a lot of years. If you’ve visited the site recently then you’ll also
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
DVLA Correction
A slight inaccuracy crept into CDB’s In Balance editorial column in the last issue where there was mention of a roadside survey by the DVLA – the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. The press office of the DVLA communications team would like to make
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Silencer Is Golden
WES Silencers celebrates 50 years in business this year and to celebrate this golden anniversary new silencers will be marked with an original logo used in the Seventies when the company was formed. Though now based in Spain and part of José Franquei
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Charterhouse Dates
Charterhouse Auctioneers have three classic motorcycle auctions planned this year on March 7, June 6 and October 3. For more details go to Charterhouse’s dedicated motorcycle section at www.charterhouse-bikes.com where there are details of the March
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Changing Of The Guard
Geoff Shuttleworth has been busy again and produced a follow-up to his book The New Dawn which chronicled the rise of MX over scrambling in the Seventies. The lad’s new book is called Changing of the Guard and it is likely to be a right royal read. I
Classic Dirt Bike1 min readInternet & Web
Pre65 Scottish delays
Message from the Pre65 Scottish Trial is ‘don’t panic’ as there’s been a delay in receiving the cost for the supplementary road traffic insurance from the insurance company. The knock-on effect is the club hasn’t been able to send out the confirmatio
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Northern Classic and Twinshock Championship
The Westmorland, Yorkshire and Galloway Clubs are putting the final touches to the newly formed Northern Classic and Twinshock Championship, which will have seven rounds at six venues. Any rider can compete at these events but to be part of the champ
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Carved In Stone
Traditionally the 90th anniversary of anything is represented by stone, perhaps for longevity and suggests a certain slowing down – though not in Sammy Miller’s case. Having just turned 90 the lad shows no signs of changing his hectic life… “90? Just
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Galloway MCC’s Off-Road Festival
Galloway MCC’s Off-Road Festival heads to the club’s track at Cumstone Farm, Lockerbie near Dumfries on May 17-19. This flagship event will incorporate two full days of classic/twinshock motocross and trials as well as the traditional Friday evening
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Moidart Peninsula Classic Motorcycle Road Run 2024
Guest of honour for the Moidart Run on May 2 is announced as Jonathan Tye. The younger of two motorcycling brothers from Derbyshire, Jon will tell you he was always envious of elder brother David’s motorcycling success, yet David was known to be equa
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Twinshock Sidecar Charity Series
Back for 2024 is the Twinshock Sidecar Charity Series which was launched to great success in 2023. Organised by three enthusiastic passengers, two of whom suffer with colitis, they were keen to provide a new style series for the pre84 twinshock sidec
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
G2F Media Strengthens Belstaff Ties
This year will see G2F Media strengthen its relationship with Belstaff, having recently been appointed as the brand’s Moto consultancy agency. Famed for its wax cotton jackets manufactured in Stoke-on-Trent back in the early days, Belstaff’s products
Classic Dirt Bike12 min read
Releasing Potential
When Honda’s announcement in January 1973 told the world Sammy Miller had been contracted to begin development of its trials model older enthusiasts in the feet-up world rejoiced at the thought of a four-stroke back on the scene. Just what format thi
Classic Dirt Bike4 min read
Talking Italian
The MX scene was changing rapidly as the Eighties dawned. Suspension travel was increasing, suspension style was changing and instead of twin units at the rear of the bike many factories were looking at monoshock as a way to increase rear suspension
Classic Dirt Bike12 min read
In The Frame
Let’s go back in time nearly 70 years to the late 1950s. Imagine you’re in the boardroom of BSA, the biggest motorcycle manufacturer in the world, a manufacturer who can proudly boast one in four motorcycles sold in the world are made in its factory…
Classic Dirt Bike7 min read
The Right Kit
There’d been lots of restructuring happening in the British motorcycle industry as companies contracted or existed in name only. Amid the rescue packages some names seem determined to survive against the odds and AJS was one. It had become part of De
Classic Dirt Bike8 min read
Workshop Time
Assembling a bike from bits and pieces isn’t always straightforward; bad enough when all the bits are from the same manufacturer, like the front end of this Triumph as an example. Even if bog-standard Triumph bits had been used there would still be s
Classic Dirt Bike6 min read
Dirt Products
Seventies trail bikes are really popular these days; light, uncomplicated and easy to ride as they don’t need a stepladder to get on them. Problem is, they mostly came with 6v lights which just don’t cut it in the current climate. Westcountry Winding
Classic Dirt Bike5 min read
Heat Of The Moment
It will come as no great surprise to hear an internal combustion engine has an optimum working temperature where everything is right and the power produced is what the designer intended and delivered where it’s needed. In an ideal world the engine wo
Classic Dirt Bike4 min read
On The Mark
No doubt you have all heard that the FIM, in its infinite wisdom (other views are available), after 10 years of pretending to implement no-stop rules in world championship trials – or TrialGP as it prefers – has switched to what appears to be an ‘any
Classic Dirt Bike4 min read
Lights! Camera! Action!
In the old days, when we all rode our motorcycles to events, the weather played much less of a part in an organiser’s life. There are notable exceptions, such as the big storm of ’63 and the similar one in ’47 when not just motorcycle sport but the w
Classic Dirt Bike4 min read
Rotary Club
Choice is a wonderful thing and when looked at overall there are lots of things to choose from should the world of old motorcycle trials float your boat. For some it is choosing between rigid rear ends or swinging arm suspension or perhaps the choice
Classic Dirt Bike1 min read
Classic Dirt Bike
Editor: Tim Brittoncdbeditor@mortons.co.uk07739 615605 Columnist: John Dickinson Contributors: Tim Britton Media Ltd, Keith Wells Photographers: Fiona Watson, DW MotorSport Photography, Nick Nicholls Collection at Mortons Archive. Production editor:
Classic Dirt Bike2 min read
Harry Everts
The road to a world championship has many ups and downs. One minute a rider is flying high, the next it’s all gone wrong and the letters DNF are against the result. It is worse too when the ‘down’ is in a rider’s home GP. As the 1975 250 MX World Cha

Classic Dirt Bike

More Issues From Classic Dirt Bike