Held on the weekend of September 16/17, 2023, there’s cause for celebration for the organisers of the annual Kop Hill Climb, as the amount raised for charity now well exceeds £1,000,000. Entrants arriving early in the paddock on Saturday were delight

Necessity is the mother of invention, and that explains the plethora of frequently ingenious, sometimes crude but always unique road racing specials concocted in Britain in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. For despite the ensuing hard

This year, 2023, is an auspicious year for Velocette owners as it marks the 75th anniversary of the launch of the Velocette LE and, as the new publicity officer of the LE Velo Club, I didn’t feel I could let it go unrecognised. The LE was announced t

This bizarre but strangely handsome – or at least weirdly appealing – device is a rather fascinating creation. Reported in The Motor Cycle of November 14, 1963, though without a picture (that followed on a later page) it is explained thus: “Here come

Another year has rolled round and October is now the month for the institutional Pioneer Run, of which 2023’s was its 83rd running. The finish is now at Shoreham Airport, which allows a safer route for veteran riders, avoiding the plethora of traffic

There are two loosely connected influences for this project, one is the for-1961-only TR5AC – as stunning a 500cc Triumph as you could ever wish to see – the other is the similar year 500cc scrambler built for, or by, John Giles as part of the Triump

Motorcycle legend, Graham Walker (1896-1962) was a TT winner, multiple ISDT gold medal winner, team manager, broadcaster and journalist. Walker’s love affair with motorcycles began aged 13 and his legacy continues with the Graham Walker Memorial Run,

Now, if one was heading off to the ‘Land of Sun and Sand’ – as the feature with which this accompanying picture was published, on June 25, 1936, was entitled – how many would choose an Ariel Square Four for the journey? With the feature last month (N

Riding along the Suffolk back roads on Andy Tiernan’s circa 1958 swinging arm BSA B33, my mind started to ponder the question: “Is this the best old British motorcycle of them all?” My case for the possible affirmative answer to that question, comes

We’ll be doing more on the autumn Stafford Show next month, though suffice to say it was a great weekend, with star guest Henry Cole, Allen Millyard and Skid Willison proving a big hit with showgoers, as exampled by our image below. Elsewhere, Ray Ro

Although the vast majority of motorcycles built from the pioneer days to the Second World War had rigid frames, there were exceptions from makers as diverse as OEC, ABC, PV and Indian. Arguably, the first true sprung motorcycle frames were made circa

Long-time marque enthusiast Gary Warr established ‘Ossa Stuff’ with the aim of establishing a one-stop UK business to ease supply problems and eliminate expensive shipping costs. Looking after his own bikes had necessitated buying parts from a range

Suck, squeeze, bang, blow. At the turn of the last century, if there was one man in America who really understood the workings of the internal combustion engine, it was Oscar Hedstrom. The inventor and designer of Indian motorcycles built his prototy

You would be reading a more coherent account of the Royal Enfielders Ireland 2023 Powers the Pot rally – if it wasn’t for Niall Carroll. On the Sunday after the rally had dispersed, I had stayed on at the site to try to write up the skirling, excelle

Pioneer motorcycle builders were off to a running start developing their models, as experience of cycle design helped them with steering head angles, length between axles and needed rigidity. But adding the weight of an engine, filled fuel tank, the

The West Kent Run has become well established at The Friars, the Aylesford Priory just a few miles from the county town of Maidstone. As this year was the 37th such occasion, it is a test of memory to recall the other locations around the county that

After withdrawing from Grand Prix racing in 1957, Gilera turned their attention towards off-road competition, particularly the ISDT, to keep the brand in the public eye. Chasing competition success had been a strategy that had served Gilera well. Bet

The reproduced image shows the Triumph sidecar outfit driven by H C Marston, who is behind his mount one assumes, stopped alongside grinning J S Watson’s Sunbeam; somewhat of a coincidence that they should be parked next to each other, as the name of

Norton today is widely recognised as Britain’s most historic living motorcycle marque, and certainly the most illustrious in sporting terms, boasting an even more prestigious competition heritage than its Triumph and BSA rivals. This dates back 121 y

‘The biggest outdoor sale of motoring items this side of the Atlantic’ is the proud claim of the Beaulieu autojumble, and, having never been, this year was a good opportunity as it dovetailed so neatly with Netley the day before. Way back when, in th

Since the last instalment of this epic saga, time to devote to motorcycle rebuilding has been limited… not only have several bikes in regular use needed some TLC, but the Velocette trials bike I’ve had on loan for a few months needed fettling before