Old Bike Mart

The rise and fall of the Ariel Leader

by

Sam Hewitt

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31st January 2019

One of the most sensational British motorcycles of the 1950s was the ground-breaking Ariel Leader designed by the legendary Val Page from a clean sheet – but sadly, times were changing too quickly for the good times to roll for long, writes Pete Kelly Last month Old Bike Mart raided Mortons’ vast motorcycling archive to…
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1969 Honda CB750/4

by

Sam Hewitt

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31st January 2019

Four cylinder motorcycles were nothing new in 1969, but Steve Cooper shines a light on the one that made the biggest impact. If you have never sampled an early Honda CB750/4 I’d urge you to do so before they are all consigned to sterile museums or dark anonymous warehouses. No, we’re not talking about the…
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1938 Triumph Speed Twin

by

Sam Hewitt

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29th January 2019

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of Edward Turner’s transformative ‘Speed Twin’, Triumph has re-introduced an updated version of its iconic motorcycle, but in a look back at the original, ground-breaking machine, David Curry takes a trip into the Mortons archive. When originally introduced in 1937, the Speed Twin received rave reviews from test riders, who…
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Stranger who became a pal

by

Sam Hewitt

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29th January 2019

It was with great sadness that we learnt of the death of Les Hampton who passed away on October 5, 2018. A single man, he was a lifelong fan of Moto Guzzi motorcycles, and a former president of the Moto Guzzi Club GB. David Crawford relates how he got to know Les… From the mid-1970s, I’d…
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Metisse launch

by

Sam Hewitt

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26th January 2019

Sending Ian Kerr OBE out to a golf club on a grey autumnal morn probably wasn’t fair, but he found a good reason for the trip A prestigious golf club in Oxfordshire on a wet, wintery morning is not somewhere where you would expect to see two classic scrambler machines being ridden by a pair…
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Evocative images

by

Sam Hewitt

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26th January 2019

I was given a number of card-mounted photographs by the nephew of the photographer, who was Colin Clark, of Wragby. When he died, apparently there were many of these pictures, so I do not know how many survived. To my mind, these are brilliant photos and really evocative of the time. I do not know…
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It’s electric!

by

Sam Hewitt

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26th January 2019

In order to give himself more opportunity to ride his classic, Graham Mudway tells us how he fitted an electric starter on his Norton ES2. It was part designed and completely installed by my friend, Fred Smith, who is a past chairman of the Cotswold Vintage Motor Cycle club. I purchased the starter online from…
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UPDATE: MOT EXEMPTION OF HISTORIC VEHICLES

by

Darren Hendley

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25th January 2019

The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) has argued that changes to requirements for MOT testing of historic vehicles can leave drivers “at risk from ill-briefed policeman.” The FBHVC has argued that the DVLA process for enabling declaration of a vehicle as not being significantly changed at the time of re-licensing only, was one…
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Viva Las Vegas: Roll the dice and grab a rarity!

by

Sam Hewitt

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19th January 2019

Last issue we told you about the comprehensive number of bikes that have been shipped across the Atlantic, from Sweden to America, to be rolled into the auction halls of Mecum’s 28th annual Las Vegas Vintage and Antique Motorcycle Auction, taking place from January 22 through to January 27. The bikes in question – no…
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South of England Classic: A ‘Dominating’ event in West Sussex

by

Sam Hewitt

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19th January 2019

The first Ardingly show of 2019 is set to celebrate 70 years of the Norton Dominator, with the help of Surrey Norton OC. Sunday, March 31 is the day, the South of England Showground is the venue, and Norton’s first twin cylinder engine, as designed by Bert Hopwood, is the focus. The 500cc Dominator Model…
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