Sam Hewitt

  • Suzuki’s little firecracker – the GT185

    Suzuki’s little firecracker – the GT185

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    MARCH 2017 PREVIEW: Following Suzuki’s sometimes puzzling marketing philosophy of the 1970s, Steve Cooper traces the birth and development of the GT185 two-stroke twin. Back in the day, the way in which Suzuki divvied up new models was somewhat haphazard to say the least. Some models enjoyed long life spans and often morphed into more…

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  • Empire of the Sun

    Empire of the Sun

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    MARCH 2017 PREVIEW: Sun motorcycles were manufactured from 1911 until 1961, but their roots go back to the Victorian Birmingham brass foundry of James Parkes & Son. We delved into our archive to show some of the motorcycles, autocycles and scooters that proudly carried the Sun name. The ‘Sun’ brand name, which first appeared in 1885,…

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  • Saved from the rubbish tip for just a pound

    Saved from the rubbish tip for just a pound

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    We visit Devon to learn about John Hammond’s long, hard slog to get his 1957 BSA B33 restored and back on the road When John Hammond, who was a road racer and competitive Manx Grand Prix and TT performer for 35 years from 1964 until 1999, bought his 1957 499cc BSA B33 in May 1971, it…

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  • Café racers all my life

    Café racers all my life

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    At 74, Albert Jones from Farnborough is still enjoying riding, café racer-style. Here he tells of his experiences with a Royal Enfield 535 Continental GT. After riding café racers for many years, and having being keen on road racing ever since my parents took me to the Isle of Man in the early 1950s, I returned to…

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  • What happened to the Roamer?

    What happened to the Roamer?

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    An email from Stephen De’Ath, recalling a sensational sidecar outfit built by two of his now-deceased uncles in the 1950s, gets us delving into the Mortons Archive… Do any mature Old Bike Mart readers in North Essex remember a Rover flat-twin car engine-powered sidecar outfit called the Roamer that was built by brothers Leonard and…

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  • Project 90: Things break on old motorcycles…

    Project 90: Things break on old motorcycles…

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    …but sometimes it is the owner who has a lot to answer for, writes Tim Britton as he continues his Triumph Tiger 90 technical feature. Sometimes an unfortunate set of circumstances can lead to a disaster where engines are concerned, but on other occasions you may be left wondering how anyone could be so stupid as…

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  • New coffee stop on Exmoor Run

    New coffee stop on Exmoor Run

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    A new and interesting coffee stop at Woody Bay Station, on the preserved narrow-gauge Lynton & Barnstaple Railway – will be included in this year’s 25th Exmoor Run, organised by the Taunton Classic Motorcycle Club, on August 13. While it’s always wonderful to see the lovely old classics out and about, it is stressed that the fully-marshalled run,…

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  • Elegance out of the Bloc – the two-stroke boxer that Zschopau built

    Elegance out of the Bloc – the two-stroke boxer that Zschopau built

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    Pete Kelly travels to Wales to view Andrew Powell’s outstanding MZ collection. It was a simple new year’s greeting, emailed from Welsh OBM reader Andrew Powell and accompanied by a colour image of his gorgeous 1957 IFA (MZ) BK 350cc shaft-drive, boxer twin two-stroke, that alerted me to his superb collection of MZ motorcycles. Despite…

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  • NMM rings the changes in all five display halls

    NMM rings the changes in all five display halls

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    During the latter part of 2016, the five display halls of the National Motorcycle Museum were completely changed to improve the visitor experience and interpretation of the collection. The museum houses the biggest collection of British motorcycles in the world, with more than 1000 machines from 170 different manufacturers spanning three centuries. Around 850 of…

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  • Bar-None – not even Nortons!

    Bar-None – not even Nortons!

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    Mention of The Motor Cycle’s late Vic Willoughby in a recent ‘Prattle’ prompted Simon Warner to send us these recollections of both the Bar-None Motor Cycle Club and the Bar-One Motor Cycle and Racing Club, the latter with which Vic was involved. The North Africa Campaign (June 10, 1940 to May 13, 1943) had a great influence…

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