Sam Hewitt

  • £30,000-plus for John Lennon Monkey bike?

    £30,000-plus for John Lennon Monkey bike?

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    A Honda Z50A Monkey-Trail bike that once belonged to John Lennon will coming up for auction at the H&H Classics’ sale at the National Motorcycle Museum on March 4, and is estimated to sell for £30,000-plus. Lennon used the bike as an enjoyable way of getting around his Tittenhurst Park estate in Surrey, where he…

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  • Farewell to Ken Davis

    Farewell to Ken Davis

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    Ken Davis, an enthusiastic all-round motorcyclist and Barking and East Ham Motorcycle Club stalwart for many years, died in January at the age of 85. He lived in London’s East Ham all his life, and notched up many thousands of miles on various road bikes as well as enjoying a long trials and scrambling career.…

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  • When the summers never seemed to end

    When the summers never seemed to end

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    I enclose two photos which I took in 1966 and which, I hope, will help me find a great friend from that time. His name is Geoff Davis, and when I last saw him during the early 1980s he was a ship’s engineer, and I think he lived in Portsmouth or Plymouth. In the photo…

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  • Lean and mean – an SOS sprinter called Lena

    Lean and mean – an SOS sprinter called Lena

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    PETER March, who spent much of last year researching the history of the SOS marque, has sent us this picture, taken on January 6, of a beautifully prepared SOS sprinter called Lena. Note the immaculate workmanship, the sweep of the handlebar and that impressive exhaust. Last year Peter reinstated a 1937 250cc water-cooled SOS to…

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  • A gathering of flat-tankers

    A gathering of flat-tankers

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    A reader who prefers to remain anonymous has sent Old Bike Mart this intriguing photo of a meeting of ‘flat-tankers’ outside a pub (Hunter’s Lodge Inn?) which he thinks might be in Somerset. The riding gear and car in the background might give a clue as to the date. Any answers to [email protected] please. Read…

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  • TR3OC quartet receives National Rally awards

    TR3OC quartet receives National Rally awards

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    Members of the Trident & Rocket 3 Owners’ Club took major honours in the National Road Rally class at the Auto-Cycle Union’s recent National Awards. The team award was won by the ‘Triple Trio’ of John Young, Martyn Worlock and Peter Churchill, who all gained platinum awards in a faultless special test before the ‘Triple…

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  • Diamond jubilee tribute to Alf Hagon, superstar of a truly golden era

    Diamond jubilee tribute to Alf Hagon, superstar of a truly golden era

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    The two-day Classic Dirt Bike Show at the Telford International Centre on February 17-18 will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of its sponsor, Hagon Shocks, by featuring the biggest gathering of Hagon competition machinery ever seen. It’s an opportune moment to look back over the long and successful motorcycling career of Alf Hagon himself, now…

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  • Zundapp ‘Grun Elephant’ mystery is solved

    Zundapp ‘Grun Elephant’ mystery is solved

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    After reading John T Walker’s enquiry last month about the Zundapp 601 twin that he brought back from Germany in 1964 after serving there in the Army, I bought that very machine from a man who lived in Shoreham, West Sussex, in 2004, and owned it until 2006. While going through my old photos a…

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  • Golden year ahead for Trident & Rocket 3 Owners’ Club

    Golden year ahead for Trident & Rocket 3 Owners’ Club

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    As the TR3OC celebrates the 50th anniversary of the legendary Triumph and BSA triples, Roy Maddox outlines the club’s history and tells of its plans for this very special year. Formed in 1979, The Trident and Rocket 3 Owners’ Club covers the three-cylinder road and racing machines produced both by Triumph and BSA between 1968…

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  • Pete’s Prattle

    Pete’s Prattle

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    We’ve had some interesting themes in Old Bike Mart during the past couple of years, from old-fashioned bike shops and favourite motorcycling cafes to sidecar outfit antics and rides from hell, and your response has always made brilliant reading – but one we haven’t touched on so far is the plethora of cheap aftermarket accessories…

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