Features

Fifty years ago, Yamaha took one final roll of the dice with an engine design that had been part and parcel of their line-up since their very first twin had appeared back in 1959. Steve Cooper takes a closer look. Although part of the long line of YDS 250cc two-stroke twins, Yamaha took the slightly…

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Fifty years ago, Yamaha took one final roll of the dice with an engine design that had been part and parcel of their line-up since their very first twin had appeared back in 1959. Steve Cooper takes a closer look. Although part of the long line of YDS 250cc two-stroke twins, Yamaha took the slightly…

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With this year seeing the second running of this unique event at Lincolnshire’s Cadwell Park, the weekend of June 22-23 also marks the 70th anniversary of the FIM World Sidecar Championship, which is the longest surviving road racing championship that actually remains in the same format as it was in its year of introduction, 1949,…

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Just like buses, you wait for ages then two turn up together.

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With production covering no less than seven years, Phil Hannam takes a closer look at how the Norton Model 7 changed in that period, and why.

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While the Hinckley Triumph twin cylinder engine has now been developed into a 1200cc water-cooled behemoth, the smaller capacity version is still being used to expand the range, as Dave Manning discovers. Although it isn’t as radical as Hinckley’s big bore retro off-roader, the Scrambler 1200, the Street Scrambler 900 is actually far more accurate…

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For many of us, this time of year only means one thing, and it’s the same for Graham Baldwin, as thoughts turn to travelling over the Irish Sea to the road racing capital of the world. Every year when May comes around my mind drifts back to May/June 1957 when Charlie, that’s Charlie Freeman, said…

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Pete Kelly forages through the Mortons Motorcycle Archive for comparison tests between two amazingly close-matched 500cc British pushrod sporting singles – the BSA Gold Star and Velocette Venom Thruxton. When comparing two of Britain’s best-loved 500cc overhead-valve sports singles – the BSA Gold Star and the Velocette Venom Thruxton – I’m hesitant to use the…

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Yamaha have long been known for their two-stroke, twin-cylinder machines. Steve Cooper takes a look at a machine that kickstarted the trend In 1966, Yamaha produced an apparently inconsequential small-capacity machine called the AT90. With just 90cc, but two cylinders, this tiddler would go on to spawn a raft of similarly constructed motorcycles that would…

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