I’m the editor of Freewheel, the bi-monthly magazine of the Rover Sports Register, a non-profit-making club that covers all Rover products from cycles to motorcycles and cars right up to the last 2005 models. One
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Cheap, simple and very enjoyable indeed
I read the article about Andrew Powell’s MZ collection (OBM February) with great interest as I’m a fan of Eastern European two-strokes. My first motorcycle was a DKW RT200VS that I bought from Pride &
Read moreThose amazing Glasgow bike dealerships
After reading Andy Hanlon’s letter about Glasgow motorcycle dealers (OBM February), I am attaching a 1960s’ flyer issued by Ross Motors, who had a small motorcycle shop on Great Western Road and sold service parts
Read morePete’s Prattle
With its huge sprawling factories and heavy industries, Britain was once rightly known as ‘the workshop of the world’, and while many of us lament the passing of so much of our proud manufacturing history,
Read moreThe road to the summit of Great Dun Fell
The cover picture of last month’s OBM showed a motorcyclist riding to the summit of Great Dun Fell in Cumbria, where the ‘giant golf ball’ is situated. The photograph shows the Eden Valley below, with
Read morePete’s Prattle
We never appreciate how good something is until we lose it – perhaps that’s why there’s such a big interest in old motorbikes – so the recent reports of disagreements within that great organisation, The
Read moreWhat Des Heckle’s rolling chassis did next
It was interesting to read the article in August’s OBM regarding Des Heckle’s Yamaha sprinter and the reference to Des selling his rolling chassis “to someone who wanted to use it as a basis for
Read morePete’s Prattle
There are two reasons to reflect this month, as I devote this month’s ‘Prattle’ to two of my Old Bike Mart predecessors. One of them was my great friend and work colleague Malcolm Wheeler, who
Read moreClaude Mackenzie – an unsung Highland hero
I was delighted to see the photo and article from Arran Marshall about his Ariel ‘racer’. During the 1980s the bike was owned by a good friend of mine, Claude Mackenzie, who lived at Tornagrain,
Read morePete’s Prattle
From the moment I first opened a twist grip – quite illegally, on a Post Office BSA Bantam – motorcycles and those who ride them have been a pivotal part of my life. In 1961,
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