Sam Hewitt

Remembering TT rider Keith Draper

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Sam Hewitt

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18th November 2017

Before he passed away on August 27, my father Keith Draper asked me to send a little bit about him to OBM. He was born in Dartford, Kent, on May 5, 1929, and his first motorcycle was a BSA Gold Star, which he raced around Brands Hatch and other circuits. However he always wanted to…
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Happy days remembered

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Sam Hewitt

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18th November 2017

After unearthing these photos of his father Roy, taken in the very early 1950s, Mr M Pitson from Guildford, Surrey, has sent them to OBM for our readers to enjoy. Back then, with petrol rationing still an issue, those who owned motorcycles or sidecar outfits rode them day in, day out, and spent every leisure…
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Lightweights with attitude

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Sam Hewitt

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18th November 2017

Pete Kelly takes a look at some of the smaller machines produced by a galaxy of Italian manufacturers during the golden era of the 1950s and 60s. We’ll return to those not mentioned this time, including Mondial, MV Agusta and Morini, in a later issue. What was your first-ever impression of a motorcycle? Mine came…
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Who’s to blame for ‘insane’ classic bike prices?

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Sam Hewitt

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11th November 2017

With wages now falling below living costs, and interest rates at a ridiculous low, those fortunate enough to have savings are looking for ways to safeguard them – and many see classic bikes as the ‘inflation-proof’ answer. Unfortunately this is making the dream of many a dedicated enthusiast wanting to own a fondly remembered motorcycle…
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Outfits to the fore in Beamish Trophy Trial

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Sam Hewitt

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11th November 2017

Local sidecar crew Ian Reavley and Colin Goode from Blyth, Northumberland, didn’t even have to leave the county to compete in the 45th Beamish Trophy Trial on September 17 – and on their 1935 Norton combination they beat their fellow sidecar competitors and all the solo riders as well to take home the Richard Hoare…
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1960s’ trials ace Mick Dismore will be guest of honour at 2018 Moidart Run

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Sam Hewitt

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11th November 2017

Open to motorcycles manufactured until 1979, the ninth Moidart Peninsula Classic Motorcycle Road Run will take place on Thursday, May 3, 2018. Organisers Andrew Johnstone and John McCrink have also announced that the guest of honour will be 1960s’ trials ace Mick Dismore, a Scottish Six Days’ Trial veteran who was a fully supported works…
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Norton collection £100k sell-out at Netley Marsh

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Sam Hewitt

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11th November 2017

A collection of classic Norton motorcycles and spares from a deceased estate in Reading was a £100,000-plus sell-out at the Charterhouse auction at the Carole Nash Netley Marsh Eurojumble in September. Amassed over many years and stored in several garages, the collection took days to collect and move to the auction, yet it was only…
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Moddey Dhoo Club raises £1860 for Southern 100

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Sam Hewitt

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11th November 2017

The Isle of Man-based Moddey Dhoo Motorcycle Club, named after the fabled black dog that some would have you believe still haunts Peel Castle, has presented the Southern 100 Supporters’ Club with a cheque for £1860 to go towards safety equipment for the races held over the Billown circuit each July. The cheque was handed…
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Amberley Historic Transport Gathering is 40 years young

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Sam Hewitt

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11th November 2017

With almost 300 exhibitors showing vintage vehicles including motorcycles, and an attendance in excess of 700, the Amberley Museum’s 40th Autumn Historic Transport Gathering on Sunday, October 8 proved a great success. Once visitors had feasted their eyes on the old bikes, cars and commercial vehicles, there were still the museum’s own historic bus garage…
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Could one of those Pembrokeshire Police Ariel Leaders be our own?

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Sam Hewitt

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11th November 2017

A ‘mystery’ 1961 Mortons Archive photo that we published recently, showing police Ariel Leaders escorting a column of German tanks at a location that several readers later identified as Pembroke, brought this interesting reply:- During our research tracing our own Ariel Leader police bike, we’ve come across the same picture taken from a different angle.…
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Sam Hewitt

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