Features

Mark Gooding tells the story of his late father-in-law’s 1952 350cc AJS, OMA 859, now thought to be fitted with a 500cc engine, and wonders if any Old Bike Mart reader can help him trace its whereabouts. Sadly my father-in-law Graham died last year. I knew him for 30 years, and in that time he…

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Pete Kelly rifles through Mortons’ Archives and turns up the following road test reports, from 1958 and 1960 respectively, which show how the motorcycle press of the day rated Royal Enfield’s 496cc Meteor Minor de Luxe parallel twin and 499cc Bullet single. Right, you’ve got the deposit together (or at least have an old bike…

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Inspiring, viceless and utterly reliable – Honda’s CB500 four made so much more sense than its larger-capacity brethren that those same virtues still hold true today, writes Steve Cooper. No review of classic 1970s middleweights would be complete without due coverage of the Honda CB500. Today the bike is overlooked and, amazingly, regularly ignored and…

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We’ve delved into the illustrious Mortons Archive to give you a glimpse into the use of Triumph and Norton motorcycles in the Second World War.

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This year marks the diamond jubilee of Honda’s first appearance at the Isle of Man TT in 1959, and there hasn’t been a single year since without the successful participation of racing machines built by the Japanese factory. Pete Kelly continues his look back over the first nine eventful years, from Honda’s first 125cc foray…

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As we mentioned in the news pages a few months ago, ‘Gypsy’ John Newson, of Oxney Motorcycles in Kent, was due to take a trip around the UK – hitting the most easterly, northerly, westerly and southerly points on the mainland, all on his Vincent Rapide – the focus being to raise money for the…

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