classic motorcycles

Ken Craven’s 1966 American Adventure: A Triumph Thunderbird, the Wild West and a Black Widow Spider

by

Mark Lancaster

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13th October 2026

In 1966, veteran motorcycle traveller Ken Craven set off alone through the American West on a borrowed Triumph Thunderbird. His adventure took him across desert landscapes, over remote roads and into a Mexican hospital following an unexpected encounter. Once in a while we come across a story from way back that we feel is worth…
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Hidden Gems: Kawasaki Z650

by

Mark Lancaster

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7th October 2026

Steve Cooper takes a look at the Kawasaki Z650, now rather overlooked but with a claim to being one of the best middleweight machines ever built. Most fans of Japanese classics will know the story of the Z1’s development, how Kawasaki was pipped at the post by Honda’s CB750 with its first four, but then…
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Remembering Rod Pallant: a drag racing original

by

Mark Lancaster

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6th October 2026

A couple of months on from the sad news of Rod Pallant’s death, we look back at Keith Lee’s tribute to one of British drag racing’s most memorable characters. First published in Old Bike Mart, the piece below is reproduced verbatim. The drag racing community has lost a memorable bike racer with the passing of…
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Everything you need to know about the Stafford Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show 2026

by

Mark Lancaster

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3rd October 2026

The Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show sponsored by Carole Nash returns to Staffordshire Showground on October 10-11, with more than 900 traders, dealers and autojumble stands, a huge club presence, famous racing machinery, special guests and the Bonhams Autumn Stafford Sale. Staffordshire Showground is preparing to welcome thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts for one of the biggest…
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Wartime DKW emerges from the River Danube

by

Mark Lancaster

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30th September 2026

Global warming across the world has resulted in water levels in rivers, lakes and reservoirs dropping, leading to the reemergence of long-submerged buildings and even villages. But in Budapest, a decrease in the level of the Danube has led to a particularly interesting discovery. People walking along the side of river in Batthyány Square opposite…
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Tonkin Tornado: Steve Tonkin’s take on the ultimate café racer

by

Mark Lancaster

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12th September 2026

Steve Tonkin took on the task of building the ultimate café racer. After John Tickle sold the rights to Unity Equipe, they would eventually be acquired by Andy Molnar in 1994. A former TT racer who won the Junior TT in 1981, Steve would partner with Andy Molnar to build the Tonkin Tornado. Built to…
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The Thorough: the short-lived motorcycle that offered unusually long test rides

by

Mark Lancaster

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8th September 2026

At the end of the 19th century George Featherstone was an ironmonger living in Bethnal Green but he had a son who was interested in the great strides that transportation was taking. It seems likely that it was John Featherstone who persuaded his father into producing a motorcycle in 1903. By then, John, now in…
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Hidden Gems: Yamaha YDS6

by

Mark Lancaster

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3rd September 2026

Steve Cooper looks at a single year model that you can still pick up for not a lot of money. That the Japanese motorcycle industry plagiarised the work of others is well documented. In the modern business world such artifice creates what’s known as a second-to-market product and often such offerings have some of the…
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Vindec Special: The German Motorcycle That Nearly Won the First TT

by

Mark Lancaster

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27th August 2026

The Vindec Special was actually built in Germany by Köln-Lindenthaler Metallwerke AG of Cologne. However, it is an interesting footnote in British motorcycling history because its distribution in this country was handled by the South British Trading Company with the assistance and advice of William Huntingdon ‘Billy’ Wells. Wells had moved to London from his…
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From shed-find moped to classic bikes: Pete Chatburn’s motorcycling story

by

Mark Lancaster

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18th August 2026

Pete Chatburn tells us about his start in motorcycling (and that’s how he titled his letter – we’re not being rude!) and wonders whether might be buried treasure on a local airfield. It all started for me in 1965 when I found my Granpa’s abandoned 1959 Raleigh RM1C moped in the shed behind his tailor’s…
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classic motorcycles

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