Editor’s intro

Pete’s Prattle

by

Sam Hewitt

–

11th October 2017

From the latest incoming mail, the tempo in the discussion about the merits or otherwise of Meriden and Hinckley Triumphs seems to have quickened, with some of the emphasis on the real meaning of the word ‘heritage’. It can be argued that any manufacturer buying the rights to a cherished brand name rather than simply…
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Pete’s Prattle

by

Sam Hewitt

–

19th September 2017

Nightmare bike journeys: we’ve all had ’em, and we all love hearing about them from fellow riders, so what are you waiting for? I’ll never forget riding my dustbin-faired 1000cc Moto Guzzi Le Mans from Alan Woods Motorcycles in Abergele back home to Peterborough one late afternoon in the early 1990s. After darkness fell, I…
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Pete’s Prattle

by

Sam Hewitt

–

22nd August 2017

When a motorcycle manufacturer comes along and acquires the right to use a long-cherished name for its products, exactly what is it buying other than the badge itself? I ask the question in response to a letter from Ian Smart, who is clearly miffed by Hinckley’s claim that its latest engines for Moto2 are part…
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Pete’s Prattle

by

Sam Hewitt

–

9th June 2017

Sometimes a letter or email arrives that’s truly humbling, such as the one I recently received from Richard Illingworth, the son of retired and well-respected journalist David (Bradford Telegraph and Argus, Westminster Press and Yorkshire Post) who I remember well. David took him to all kinds of motorsport events in the late 1960s, including those…
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Pete’s Prattle

by

Sam Hewitt

–

1st April 2017

It was only three issues ago that John Surtees CBE, who sadly passed away on March 10, sent an email to Old Bike Mart that was duly published on our readers’ letters pages. It wasn’t about his seven motorcycling world championships, his six Isle of Man TT victories, or his 1967 Formula 1 world championship,…
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Pete’s Prattle

by

Sam Hewitt

–

4th March 2017

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, particularly in the field of motorcycling, the skills that made our country the envy of the world remain alive and…
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Pete’s Prattle

by

Sam Hewitt

–

7th February 2017

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 Vintage Motor Cycle Club, have left me feeling rather sad, especially in the light of the untimely passing of Ken…
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Pete’s Prattle

by

Sam Hewitt

–

9th January 2017

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 was given a rousing send-off at his retirement do at our Horncastle offices on Wednesday, December 14. Always happy to…
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Pete’s Prattle

by

Sam Hewitt

–

7th December 2016

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, after first working in a wire factory, I settled on journalism as a career and eventually found myself in the…
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Pete’s Prattle

by

Sam Hewitt

–

9th November 2016

In a world where investing through banking institutions is rapidly becoming a waste of time – and eventually might even cost you – it’s not surprising that growing numbers of people are sinking their money into assets such as veteran, vintage and classic motorcycles. As recent auction results have demonstrated, the prices of certain makes…
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