Classic Bike helps and inspires enthusiasts to get more from their passion for classic motorcycles. The magazine shares their fascination with motorcycling’s heroic past while also helping them buy, fix and improve the bikes in their shed. Our main areas of content are: - Inspirational and entertaining reads that celebrate the glory of motorcycling, from riding stories that put the reader in the seat of history’s greatest bikes to incredible racing tales - Restoration stories and instructional features that inspire and help people get their tools out and sort out their old bike - In-depth technical features from the most expert and authoritative writers in motorcycling If you share our passion about classic motorcycles from the last century, you'll enjoy reading Classic Bike.
Classic Bike
A MAN OF MX EXCELLENCE
Izzy Whizzy... • ... this is what American youngsters used to get busy on in the 1950s. The Whizzer was a cheap-as-chips two-wheeler – a teen favourite pre-dating a certain 50cc Yamaha that captivated the UK’s youth in the ’70s
Daytona 200, March 1971 • Hail, hail, the gang’s all here – the works teams turned out in force 50 years ago
Joel Robert 1943-2021 • He lived hard and he raced hard. CB pays tribute to the legendary Belgian who was one of the all-time greats of motocross
Jan de Vries 1944-2021 • Two-time 50cc World Champion and a gifted two-stroke tuner, he was the first Dutchman to win a motorsports world title
The roots of my XT • Martin Fletcher’s restoration of this 38-year-old Yamaha XT550 was a real saga that involved all its previous owners, as he explains
Bolognese & chips • Reader Brian Russell reveals his mate’s old special – an unusual fusion of Italian and British ingredients
THE WAY WE WERE
One man’s meat… • A modified BSA stirs the passions of CB readers – in more ways than one
YOUR LETTERS
WATER COOLER MOMENT • Fifty years ago, Suzuki launched the first liquid-cooled Japanese production bike – the GT750. The two-stroke triple still radiates charm, but what’s it like to ride half a century later?
THE FLOW DIAGRAM OF GT750 MODELS
Stuart Hicken • He’s built race bikes, motorcycle businesses, TT-winning teams... and these days he’s building a fascinating collection of classics
V-SIGN • Fifty years ago, Ducati’s first-ever V-twin racer, the 500 Bicilindrica, gave the world a glimpse of the marque’s future rise – and an entire new range of 750 and 900cc machines based around the same engine configuration
COLLECTOR DEAN MASON • An American guy with a passion for that distinctive combination of British frame and German engine – the Rickman Zundapp
Super MODELS • Fancy an ex-works GP racer or a factory trials iron? If the real thing’s beyond your means, Pere Tarragó can create you a wonderfully authentic replica
NUTS about TRIUMPH • These two former Meriden men like their ’60s machines original, right down to the fasteners
SHOOTING STAR • George Patchett was a motorcycle engineer who went from bad-boy beginnings to live a life like a hero from the pages of Boys’ Own, but his most famous design wasn’t a bike – it was a machine gun
Classic Workshop • Spannering supremo Rick Parkington welcomes you to our
My Acme ace up my sleeve • Rick breaks a habit by buying a bike at auction – but only because he’s got a secret advantage
Revive chewed up screws • When you want to re-use original slot-head screws that have been damaged by screwdrivers, filing off the damage is the usual solution – but is it the best?
So Nera but so far
RICK’S TOP TIPS
Identity crisis
Sounds suspicious
Time to get ready for the road again • Pulling the bike out after winter? Covid...