The Classic MotorCycle

Started in 1903, The Classic MotorCycle has more to offer the true vintage motorcycle enthusiast than any other publication, backed by Europe's largest motorcycle image archive.

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The Classic MOTORCYCLE

Phil Read • The often controversial seven-time motorcycle Grand Prix world champion and highest premier level podium finisher has died.

CBG winter classic

See our pictures in colour

NEWS IN BRIEF

H&H December sale

Prince of Speed tribute and book

Book Review

Harry’s Sunbeam ride

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Motorcycle Live

THE WAY WE WERE IN DECEMBER

Guthrie takes his first win • In the 1930 Lightweight 250cc TT, Scotsman Jimmie Guthrie, on a special AJS, claimed his first Isle of Man win. He was to win five more.

North American tourists • Rather than the more usual stories in the British motorcycle press of an account by a home rider abroad, this tale featured an American and a Canadian giving their impressions of Blighty.

Readers’ Letters • YOUR VOICE & YOUR OPINIONS

Sussex summer summary • Hellingly, near Eastbourne, is the home of the long-established Festival of Transport, and Laughton Autumn Show, spread over 80 acres, is another superb, much-loved event.

Enduring love • Though it’s 50 years since our tester bought his own Gold Star, this wonderful example helped him remember the good times.

Back on form • There’s no shying away from it, the post-pandemic Staffords have been a little way behind what went before. This October’s event signalled a welcome return to form.

Good business • The bumper Bonhams sale offered a huge, eclectic mix of machinery, as well as lots of automobilia. It was enthusiastically bid for.

Time travelling • The Arbuthnot Trial is billed ‘a trial from between the wars, run today’, and attracts a loyal and devoted following.

Harley’s first flat-twin • This Model WJ was sold by the Harley-Davidson agent in Torino, Italy in 1921 and remained in the same family for 84 years.

Kop remains on top • The Kop Hill Climb Festival was held over September 24/25, 2022, where it underlined just why it’s become a hugely enjoyed part of the calendar.

Triumphs of engineering • At this year’s Motorcycle Live show, held at the NEC, Birmingham, from November 19-27, this special display celebrates 120 years of Triumph.

Where tiddlers are kings • The Giro South West transfers the ethos and formula of the famous Italian endurance events for small capacity machines, to the south west corner of England.

Electric envoy • Kaye Don was a man of many achievements, from powerboat and car record breaker and racer, to sporting motorcyclist and manufacturer. He was also the first to put an electric start British motorcycle into production.

Ill-timed sophistication • During recessions, shrinking marketplaces or business hiccups, manufacturers in every field either pull their horns in or design themselves out of trouble. London motorcycle makers Matchless chose design as part of their survival plan after the world suffered the worst financial depression ever seen.

Here it is. Whatever it is. Ariel 3

Electric boots • Launched for the 1914 season, the Hendee Special Electric Start Model, built by Indian at its Springfield works, was the first production motorcycle offered with electric start. It wasn’t the runaway success Oliver Hendee hoped for, but it gave motorcycle designers another ‘luxury’ option to conjure with.

Sketchbook Travels • MOTORCYCLES, SEEN THROUGH THE SKETCHBOOKS OF MARTIN SQUIRES

You were asking • Your queries resolved with Richard Rosenthal

Diary

One true love • Searching for the single, ideal...