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.
Old Bike Australasia
Guest editorial My old man. OAM. • How do you write a tribute to your dad? It’s far from easy, especially with him being alive to read it. Critiquing will be swift.
BLOW YOUR OWN LETTERS
Draggin Jeans Best Letter
CLASSIC COB OUT IN THE SHED
Festival of Motorcycling set for take off
Jampot Rally goes ahead
Shannons On-line auction a big hit
Retro Vespa breaks cover
Heritage Foundation’s new home
Mac Park’s AHRRC closer than you think!
Thunder off
Rotary Show rescheduled
Queensland exhibition forges ahead
Zed heads for all
Pauline Hailwood
Glen Britza
Gerry Bassett
Carlo Ubbiali
Centenary back on track
Bulli goes virtual
YOU CAN’T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN • At 91 years of age, Bill Watson is probably the oldest motocross rider in the world. And he’s not finished yet!
Mix ‘n match scrambler • Take a Model 77 frame, with its single front downbar and bolted up cradle, add the sleek fuel tank usually found on the Matchless G80CS and AJS 18CS, lightweight alloy mudguards also similar to the AJS/Matchless Competition models, high wide and handsome handlebars and a few other bibs and bobs, and presto – the Norton American Scrambler.
The Oriental Eater • There must be easier ways to make your race bike go faster than designing and building your own engine. But the Greytown Racing Team in New Zealand were up for the challenge – they made the frame and most everything else, too. Long-time racer Doug Fairbrother and fellow Greytown resident Peter Thompson made plans to create a competitive Formula 3 race bike using a large capacity 500cc single cylinder motor.
40 YEARS OF THE THE BIKE THAT SAVED BMW GS • On 1st September, 1980, BMW nervously prepared to lift the covers from the motorcycle on which the company’s very future hung. Assembled in Avignon, France, members of the European motorcycle media shuffled impatiently as the pre-amble unfolded. What greeted them was unlike any previous BMW; at least any production BMW. For what was officially termed the R80 G/S (G standing for Gelände ‘terrain’ and S for Strasse ‘road’) had in fact been around for quite a while, unofficially of course.
Herbert Schek Enduro giant
McNamara Park SA • On Monday 20th July, 1936, the Mount Gambier Motor Cycle and Light Car Club came into existence. Its aims were to foster motorcycling generally, and to promote reliability trials, tours and interaction between neighbouring clubs, such as the Warrnambool MCC. Of course the impending war severely curtailed such social activities, but by 1946 the impetus was restored. The club, although technically defunct, still had a few quid in the bank, but the war had decimated the male population and many keen motorcyclists had been lost.
A lifetime of service
Born of necessity • Street Scramblers were all the rage in the swinging ‘sixties, although few saw any kind of off-road action. They looked cool though, and still do…
QUICK. SMART. • The first time I met Ron Boulden he was working at Welbank Supplies, a small motorcycle accessory shop in Willoughby, a lower north shore suburb of Sydney and coincidentally, the home, at the time of the state’s largest and most active motorcycle club, Willoughby District Motor Cycle Club (WDMCC).
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