Classic Bike Guide

Classic Bike Guide is a down to earth, practical - and sometimes irreverent - magazine that gets right to the heart of the classic bike world. With a mixture of features, tests, reviews and event reports it is the title that has become a must for the active rider and restorer. Classic Bike Guide magazine - with the biggest and best readers adverts - FREE! Enjoy the digital edition - and save over 50% on the print susbcription price.

Welcome Great intentions...

From our archive

Johnny’s Triumph • This Triumph 500 lowboy is the result of a marriage between a cheeky auction bid, superb mechanical skills, and a large amount of inspiration...

Stay tuned!

Classic Bike Guide

Products

Bike Shed honoured

Festival of 1000 bikes is back

The silver Honda collection reopens

‘It handles like a wheelbarrow’

Anything to say?

Norton Lightweights • Colin Leighfield’s letter was so informative, we've printed it fully in case his findings may help others, as well as a better understanding of some common issues with the smaller Norton twins

Fancy a day out? • The year didn’t start off the way we wanted, sadly. As I type this, I should have been throwing a camera, notepad, and clean socks into a bag and heading to Newark for the Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic, but to quote Robert Burns: “The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go agley” – and that’s just the way of things. It wasn’t the only event to get called off, either. The Scottish Classic Racing Motorcycle Club’s Haggis Gathering scheduled for early February won’t be happening this year, either. We are sure that organisers are doing their level best to make sure that the events on this list will go ahead, restrictions willing. Smaller events, especially those held largely outside, should be okay, and smaller events are just as much fun – and more convivial anyway. We’ll be at Bristol at the end of the month, checking out the bikes you’ve spent the winter preparing, with luck, and searching out last-minute supplies for the spring. See you there!

Tackling the Monkey A winter’s tale • Uli Cloesen had always wanted to experience the Brass Monkey winter rally in New Zealand, and this year was the last chance...

BMW’s Forgotten Gem R80ST • The R80ST has lived in the shadow of its sibling, the G/S, for more than 40 years. Is it any good?

Suzuki Katana 1100 • In 1980, Suzuki called its new superbike the Katana, building an aesthetically stunning, cut-back motorcycle designed for individual close-quarter action

1980s Japanese muscle • The Katana had rivals for the big-bore title. Here’s a few to choose from...

Norton Mercury restoration Messenger of the lods... • Norton’s Mercury may be cursed as the best way to use up loads of stock before the new Commando arrived, but with the renowned featherbed frame, a modified version of the trusted 650SS engine and 12-volt electrics, it may actually be the best of the pre-Commando Nortons. Follow Phil Chester as he recalls restoring a well-used example

MISSING the big Japanese four-stroke twins • Early in their history, the Japanese bike manufacturers followed their own initiative as well as ‘looking’ at existing designs. Many came to conclude that twin-cylinders were the answer, but few remain. Steve Cooper looks at why...

BSA Victor • It may be a small single-cylinder, but the Victor evolved to be possibly one of the best British bikes...

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY

UNIT SINGLE DEVELOPMENT

VICTOR AND SHOOTING STAR DEVELOPMENT

THE OTHER BSA UNIT SINGLES

Buying a classic bike • There is a lot of information out there about buying a classic bike, so we’ve sorted through the chaff to bring you a simple guide if buying your first classic bike...

Getting the right grain •...