Features

Half a litre Brit bike beater. Steve Cooper asks if you’re a fan of twins Suzuki’s largest motorcycle to date was launched in 1968, and what a class act it was. Five hundred cubic centimetres of best two-stroke allied to five gear ratios, so perhaps it’s not too surprising that it was billed in the…

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In a chance remark to our new editor, Mick Payne mentioned the remaining sidecar dealers in the UK, which prompted the reply “I thought there was only Watsonian left?”, a not unusual comment. This brought about the idea that it might be a good time to profile those companies still supporting our love of three…

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Pete Kelly searches through the Mortons Archive for road tests and photos of the many British motorcycles that had Villiers two-stroke twins at their heart in the 1950s and ‘60s. The part played by Villiers engines in the development of the British motorcycle is incalculable. Founded in Villiers Street, Wolverhampton, as a maker of bicycle…

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In the September 2018 OBM, readers were invited to submit details of “What’s your hidden pleasure?” and, prompted by this request, Arthur Pentney penned the following … A couple of years ago I decided to put two fingers up to the ridiculous prices now being paid for old machines and instead look for something less…

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With a long-term obsession with the wall of death, Alan Mercer found himself immersed neck-deep in the dangerous world of the rider! After four years researching the wall of death and meeting, with two exceptions, everyone who had ridden or was a wall rider in the UK, I started to research further afield. Having heard…

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The writer Anthony Burgess once stated that “Reading is cheap – it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind.” Mick Payne takes this statement to heart… This issue of OBM should be hitting your doormats at the beginning of November. When I was a…

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Rumours of a highly developed racing Bantam have been trickling into the OBM office, and Tony Jones gives us the full insider lowdown In reply to Andy White’s letter in last month’s issue regarding BINDY, he’s correct, it did stand for ‘Britain Is Not Dead Yet’. And on the night with George Hardwick, that he…

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Pete Kelly looks through a batch of images from the Mortons Archive illustrating the vital role that motorcycles, their riders and mechanics played during the First World War, which finally ended 100 years ago on November 11, 1918. In moments of relaxation, the banter and tomfoolery would have been much the same as that enjoyed…

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Solid, reliable and supremely efficient – Steve Cooper reflects on how the K series Honda CB250/350 twins were so important for Honda in 1968 Not every anniversary is, by default, a momentous one. Some can see little or no worth in celebrating anything less than another ‘fastest bike on the planet’ moment. If that’s your…

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As a trainee mechanic, Colin Evans was as green as any apprentice, and it was only a matter of time before he was sent for a ‘long weight’, a ‘left-handed screwdriver’ or some ‘tartan paint’… I just love reading your regular ‘Pete’s Prattle’ and often I feel the urge to put pen to paper in…

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