Old Bike Mart

In the September issue of OBM Arthur Pentney had a letter published titled ‘Intimidated by modern traffic’ in which he gave some inaccurate details about the Banbury Run. As clerk of the course, and therefore the person responsible for the Banbury Run routes, I would like to put the record straight. Arthur stated that a…

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Somebody gave me this insurance document, which was being thrown out. It is for an EMC 350cc 1948, as owned by an AW Picknell of Eastleigh. I have never heard of one, but have found out that it was a twin cylinder two-stroke with one combustion chamber. Found a picture of one but cannot find…

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Do you really need to go to the trouble of obtaining and fitting a gizmo for such a simple thing as remembering to turn on the oil flow to your engine? If so, then go ahead and spend £45 plus postage and packing plus other bits you might need, depending on your magneto. Or use…

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I first started motorcycling on the road in 1959 aged 17 with a 20 quid BSA Bantam, of 125cc capacity, in green and with a plunger frame. Before then I had two years around the local fields and footpaths etc. riding some old crocks. Since those days there have been Barnetts, Beezers, Bonnies, and all sorts…

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Your October 2018 edition shows a picture of Birmingham Club members at Rose Hill. Rose Hill is an iconic location in motoring and motorcycling history, and is part of the Lickey Hills area situated just south of Birmingham. Your former editor, who has moved on to railway circles, would recognise Lickey as in the nearby…

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Looking at the photos in OBM of riders taken before the advent of the “rocker generation” (mine) the one common denominator is TIES! All the riders of the generation before us are almost always wearing a collar and tie. Readers may be interested in the attached photo of a hill climb on the outskirts of…

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As usual, the story in the September issue of OBM of Peter Gray’s Sunbeam S8 prompted me to dig out this old photo of my S7 with a Monza sidecar. I had it around 1967, and the pic is taken in Sulby Glen parking area in the Isle of Man. The three nice girls are,…

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OBM published my account of my introduction to motorcycling in June. Now I’ve found the bike my dad went to war on, or one very like it, thanks to OBM. A military Triumph 3HW was posted for sale in the August edition. I discussed it with the seller who was clearly a genuine enthusiast with…

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