Sam Hewitt

Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show beats winter’s blues once again

by

Sam Hewitt

–

1st March 2018

Large crowds, a superb entry of classic bikes, some highly creative club stands and a fascinating Charterhouse auction confirmed the ‘Best in the West’ reputation of the 38th Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show at the Royal Bath & West Showground over the weekend of February 3-4. Members of the region’s motorcycle clubs have long been renowned…
Continue reading »
Bent and battered, but still going strong: every picture tells a story!

by

Sam Hewitt

–

1st March 2018

Now living in Canada, Old Bike Mart reader Ralph Ridley recalls his baptism by fire in the Motor Cycle Club’s 1964 Land’s End Trial – an experience that set him firmly on to a lifetime of motorcycling. It might seem hard to believe, but with a bit of spit and polish the bike shown in…
Continue reading »
The lessons learned from Honda’s knee-jerk SL350

by

Sam Hewitt

–

1st March 2018

Steve Cooper recalls Honda’s SL350 trail bike of 1969 – an ill-thought-out adaptation of an existing road machine that was totally unsuitable for off-road riding – and the valuable lessons the Japanese giant quickly learned When Yamaha launched the ground-breaking DT250 in 1968, it totally wrong-footed its rivals – which was probably part of the…
Continue reading »
An accident waiting to happen!

by

Sam Hewitt

–

28th February 2018

Colin Evans, who now lives in Buckingham, recalls buying a 650cc Triumph Thunderbird for £4 shortly after passing his motorcycle test at the age of 16 – and a memorable journey on it with his pal Ray Kindle on the pillion. It would have been in the early 1960s when I purchased my first 650cc…
Continue reading »
An Earls Court journey to remember – in a ‘Wendy house’ Panther outfit!

by

Sam Hewitt

–

28th February 2018

When Ady Warnes and his impoverished friends decided that the best way to get from Norwich to the 1967 Earls Court Motorcycle Show in London and back would be to cobble together a Panther sidecar outfit using a dumped chassis and a plywood body that had been a ‘Wendy house’, it had ‘farce’ written all…
Continue reading »
Star by name, star by nature

by

Sam Hewitt

–

28th February 2018

Road-tested by Motor Cycle in the October 6, 1966 issue, BSA’s 249cc C15 Star proved the perfect all-round mount. So finely tuned was the balance that it could be ridden to a standstill feet-up in heavy city traffic, yet out on the open road it was well capable of cruising at a sustained 60-65mph, with…
Continue reading »
BSA C15 Sportsman: Piling on the miles, but never the agony

by

Sam Hewitt

–

28th February 2018

When Motor Cycle’s Midland Editor Bob Currie found himself with an 85mph 250cc BSA C15 Sportsman to test in the late spring of 1966, the miles he doggedly piled on included a reporting trip to the Scottish Six Days’ Trial – and it was a pleasure all the way. “What was the name? Sportsman? A…
Continue reading »
The long quest for ‘King Dick’

by

Sam Hewitt

–

28th February 2018

Mention the words King Dick and most polite people will simply think ‘spanner’
Continue reading »
Victor Horsman – one of the greatest riders and tuners of his time

by

Sam Hewitt

–

21st February 2018

I noted with interest the Victor Horsman photo sent to OBM (December) by Bruce Preston, but was rather surprised by the apparent lack of response to the statement that Victor was a “Brooklands exponent and tuner”, and maybe the accompanying photos and information will go some way to redress the balance. I have pulled some…
Continue reading »
So much for the Royal Enfield GP5 being a failure!

by

Sam Hewitt

–

21st February 2018

From 1963 until 1968, I worked for Henstock’s of Mansfield, a large motorcycle dealership employing around 15 staff, as manager of their well-equipped workshop, and as part of the deal Don Henstock agreed to buy racing motorcycles for me to compete on in their name. In 1963 he bought me a new Greeves Silverstone on…
Continue reading »

Sam Hewitt

Latest Issue

Free Digital Issue

Search

Tags