Old Bike Mart

Memories in the Hawkstone sand

by

Sam Hewitt

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25th November 2017

I smiled as I watched my two-year-old granddaughter Elsie playing in the sand. With the help of her mum, she was trying to make sandcastles, patiently filling her little red plastic bucket before tipping it upside down and hoping to make perfectly shaped castle turrets just like those she’d made by the seaside a couple…
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At your service: Polished fasteners – and a ‘Tigger’ for the road!

by

Sam Hewitt

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25th November 2017

After investing in a CNC capstan lathe, Meriden Off Road of Brierley Hill, West Midlands, is now making a wide range of its own high-quality stainless steel fastenings for Triumph Tiger Cubs – and proprietor Chris Davies now plans to produce a ‘look-alike’ road-going version of his ‘world’s fastest Tigger’ sprint machine, writes Pete Kelly.…
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Readers’ tales: More nightmare bike journeys

by

Sam Hewitt

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25th November 2017

Dim and dimmer – a freezing night ride to remember Bruce Preston recalls the night when the lights went out on a prewar 125cc Villiers-engined Triumph that cost him and a mate £10. I was rather looking forward to becoming a national serviceman, and the RAF decided that I would be trained to be a…
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Nightmare journeys with a BIG bit on the side

by

Sam Hewitt

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25th November 2017

Towards the end of the 1950s I decided that I was fed up of riding my bike to meetings, stripping it down for racing and then (hopefully) riding it back home, so I acquired a BSA M21 with a large box sidecar. It was brought around in a van, so all I had to do…
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Taverners present £1000 to Loughborough hospice

by

Sam Hewitt

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18th November 2017

One of the best motorcycle shows in the country is the Founder’s Day Rally organised by the Taverners section of the Vintage Motor Cycle Club at Stanford Hall, Lutterworth – and each exhibitor is asked to donate a stall item or make a donation to the section’s chosen charity. This year the section is supporting…
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Winners all at 90 years of grass track racing reunion

by

Sam Hewitt

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18th November 2017

More than 150 supporters and former riders celebrated 90 years of grass track racing at a reunion in a conference suite at the National Motorcycle Museum on Saturday, October 14, writes Rob Lidgate. They included grass stars who competed from the 1950s and those who raced in this year’s Masters Championship, and the evening proved…
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Remembering TT rider Keith Draper

by

Sam Hewitt

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18th November 2017

Before he passed away on August 27, my father Keith Draper asked me to send a little bit about him to OBM. He was born in Dartford, Kent, on May 5, 1929, and his first motorcycle was a BSA Gold Star, which he raced around Brands Hatch and other circuits. However he always wanted to…
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Happy days remembered

by

Sam Hewitt

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18th November 2017

After unearthing these photos of his father Roy, taken in the very early 1950s, Mr M Pitson from Guildford, Surrey, has sent them to OBM for our readers to enjoy. Back then, with petrol rationing still an issue, those who owned motorcycles or sidecar outfits rode them day in, day out, and spent every leisure…
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Lightweights with attitude

by

Sam Hewitt

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18th November 2017

Pete Kelly takes a look at some of the smaller machines produced by a galaxy of Italian manufacturers during the golden era of the 1950s and 60s. We’ll return to those not mentioned this time, including Mondial, MV Agusta and Morini, in a later issue. What was your first-ever impression of a motorcycle? Mine came…
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Who’s to blame for ‘insane’ classic bike prices?

by

Sam Hewitt

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11th November 2017

With wages now falling below living costs, and interest rates at a ridiculous low, those fortunate enough to have savings are looking for ways to safeguard them – and many see classic bikes as the ‘inflation-proof’ answer. Unfortunately this is making the dream of many a dedicated enthusiast wanting to own a fondly remembered motorcycle…
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