Old Bike magazine is a must for those who ride as well as the dedicated enthusiast and rebuilder, covering everything from Vintage to early 1980s bikes - marvel at the restoration of machines that could still sit proudly on the showroom floor. Each issue brings you the latest news and results from recent events, race reports and Rally Roundup, along with new and old bike news and reviews, readers letters, Club Directory, What’s On and much, much more.
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Under the Chequered Flag
Southern star • In the long list of great South Australian riders, few are as legendary as Dave Basham, a man who could, and did ride anything in a long and highly successful career. Someone who could never be described as a shrinking violet, Dave speaks his mind, and on the track was as forceful as they come.
TWIN CAM WITH A TWIST • Those Kiwis are an enterprising lot. A modern take on the legendary KTT Velocette is the latest to emerge from Phil Price’s fabulous stable.
A day on the green • Whenever I am in Adelaide it’s a great opportunity to visit the team of classic bike enthusiasts at McLaren Vale, the rolling vineyard country south of the city.
BUILT LIKE A GUN? • Several motorcycle companies around the world started out as manufacturers of guns and other armaments before going on to arguably better and certainly safer things. Alongside BSA, Royal Enfield, CZ, Husqvarna and Benelli, the one which started it all was FN, the Belgian national ordnance factory established in 1889 at Herstal, just outside Liège, to make arms and ammunition, which from 1901 to 1967 also built motorcycles.
A pair of lefties • We saw an example of Tony Fitzpatrick’s enthusiasm and ingenuity in OBA72 – his grafting of an ex-dirt track Weslake vertical twin into a BSA swinging arm chassis to produce a handsome and functional classic special.
The quest in the quarry Sleeps Hill Adelaide, SA • Post-war, Adelaide was bursting with motorcycle sport, and one area had two tracks within a stone’s throw of each other: Springbank and Sleeps Hill. Both are now swallowed up by housing, with wide roads where there were once narrow dead-end streets.
Time for a change • By the late ‘seventies, Honda’s venerable across-the-frame four was looking a bit tired, at least in marketing terms. Inside the world’s biggest producer of motorcycles, it was time for a change. A V change.
THE PRINCE OF SCOOTERS • Mention Heinkel and most people immediately think of aircraft – specifically, the type that dropped bombs. But the company founded by Ernst Heinkel also produced motor scooters from 1953 to 1965 – 156,610 of them to be precise.
Old BIKE Out‘n’about • Welcome to Old Bike Australasia Out’n’about – a forum of people, places, history and happenings.
One day to remember • Further to my letter published in OBA 76, here is how I secured Ken Blake’s autograph at the Australia TT at Laverton.
The Roaring Twenties return • The Roaring Twenties Run for pre 1931 Veteran and Vintage machines is the premier event in Western Australia for machines of this period.
Entering the TRW tomb • Michael “Squizzy” Taylor from Brisbane is understandably excited about what he describes as the “Find of a lifetime” – a pair of 1957 Triumph TRW side-valve twins brand new, still in their original crates.
NZ Festival turns 40 • • 1-3 February 2019 – Pukekohe Park Raceway, NZ
Australia withstands US attack • • 25-27 January, 2019 – Phillip Island GP Circuit, Vic.
A day at the Museum • • 26 January, 2019 – Samford Museum, Qld.
Viva Bultaco • • 16-18 November, 2018 – Bathurst, NSW
Tiddler party • • 10 & 11 November 2018 – Shoalhaven,...