Sam Hewitt

  • Summat to be proud of – the Yorkshire legacy of Phelon & Moore

    Summat to be proud of – the Yorkshire legacy of Phelon & Moore

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    FROM OUR ARCHIVES For more than 60 years P&M, whose well-designed motorcycles became known as Panthers in the early 1920s, provided sensible down-to-earth transport along with a surprising amount of innovation, particularly during the inter-war years. This is their story, with research and photographic material from the Mortons Archive. Renowned for decades for their tireless…

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  • IN THE MAY 2017 ISSUE – on sale now!

    IN THE MAY 2017 ISSUE – on sale now!

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    Charlie and Zach preparing for 1000-mile charity ride on brace of Rudge Ulsters Multi-TT winner Charlie Williams entertained an enthusiastic audience at the Grappenhall Ex-Servicemen’s Club near Warrington with tales from his illustrious road racing career on April 20. He took along a Maxton Yamaha and a prewar racing Rudge, the latter to emphasise a…

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  • Watsonian tradesman’s box is back

    Watsonian tradesman’s box is back

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    Returning to the range of sidecar manufacturer Watsonian, the Mule tradesman’s box is aimed at riders who need to carry serious amounts of equipment for camping, fishing or commercial activities. Costing £2995 including VAT, with a factory fitting service available, the substantial trunk provides around 300 litres of carrying capacity. Built from galvanised steel, and…

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  • Over and out Webb’s Farm – those were the days!

    Over and out Webb’s Farm – those were the days!

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    As I was sorting through some old trials riding photos the one below, showing a BSA C15 being manhandled out of a bog, brought a smile and an enjoyable memory of the sport in the late 1950s and early 60s. It happened after the clerk of the course marked out a reasonable section in good…

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  • Reaching for the sky at Draganfly

    Reaching for the sky at Draganfly

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    After hearing about Triumph specialist Supreme Motorcycles’ sell out to Draganfly Motorcycles in Suffolk, Mick Payne visits the owners of the now vastly-expanded British bikes business to learn about their plans, and is encouraged by what he finds. ‘Le roi est mort, vive le roi’ is said to have originated in 1422 upon the death,…

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  • John Surtees: memories are made of this

    John Surtees: memories are made of this

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    Instead of printing a long missive about the life of John Surtees CBE, who sadly passed away on March 10, Old Bike Mart has decided to remember his motorcycle racing career in several outstanding photographs from the Mortons Archive. We suggest instead that readers wishing to pay tribute to one of the true heroes of…

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  • AJS Cadwell and the  Chinese connection

    AJS Cadwell and the Chinese connection

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    How did a well-made, nippy, economical and – yes, oiltight – motorcycle made in China come to carry the hallowed AJS name? Pete Kelly asks the questions, and Nick Brown provides the answers. Could you tell OBM readers something about your background in business and motorcycling, and your father, Fluff? Fluff was employed at Cotton…

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  • Honda CB450 ‘Black Bomber’ – what went wrong?

    Honda CB450 ‘Black Bomber’ – what went wrong?

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    Steve Cooper pulls no punches as he looks back on the 1965 UK debut of Honda’s first technically brilliant ‘big twin’, the CB450, and the enlarged 500T that followed.

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  • Curly always had time for a chat

    Curly always had time for a chat

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    I have just finished reading the article in OBM (March) about Classic Bike Shop in Redditch, the town where I was born in 1946. I lived just around the corner from what would eventually become M J Rogers Motorcycles in Clive Road. I first met Curly Rogers in 1965, when I went into his shop…

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  • Wat box was that, did you say?

    Wat box was that, did you say?

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    From a 200cc Durkopp Diana/Royal scooter combo to a potent Ducati 860GT/Watsonian Palma, Mike Searle has tried just about everything on three wheels. It all began after he broke his neck on a Norton Dominator, and here he regales us with some of his memories… I suppose most Old Bike Mart readers over the age…

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