Vintage motorcycles

Watsonian: From Folding Sidecars to World Championships – A British Motorcycle Success Story

by

Mark Lancaster

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24th October 2026

What began as one Birmingham builder’s ingenious solution to a common problem became one of Britain’s most successful sidecar manufacturers. Discover the remarkable history of Watsonian, from its pioneering folding sidecars to world championship success – and an ambitious attempt to build its own motorcycle. The idea for Watsonian sidecars came not from an engineer,…
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The Remarkable 1912 Pierce Single: A Motorcycle Kept in One Family for Over 100 Years

by

Mark Lancaster

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22nd October 2026

Though it was mainly four-cylinder machines that the Pierce Motorcycle Company built, they made some quality singles too, as exemplified by this fabulous example. Simon Robinson reports… The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was established in 1901, but the motorcycle business was born from the earlier Pierce Cycle concern in 1908 when Percy Pierce took over…
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From The Classic Motorcycle Archives: Proving a Point – The ACU Heads West in 1919

by

Mark Lancaster

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20th October 2026

In 1919, the Auto Cycle Union sought to demonstrate that it was more than a London-centric organisation by holding a major gathering in Bristol. In this historical feature from The Classic Motorcycle, Simon Robinson explores the event, the motorcycles pictured beside Clifton Suspension Bridge and the notable visitors who attended. Simon Robinson reports… In 1919…
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Pa and His Pa: The Norton Founder, a 1921 Photograph and an Extraordinary Motorcycle Adventure

by

Mark Lancaster

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17th October 2026

Though always known as ‘Pa’ Norton, this picture shows the company founder with his own pa. Plus, some famous faces look on. Simon Robinson reports… The Norton motorcycle company sprang from the Norton Manufacturing Company, which was set up in 1869 by James Lansdowne Norton to manufacture bicycle chains. It was in 1902 that Norton…
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Wearwell: The Wolverhampton Motorcycle Pioneer Brought Down by Scandal

by

Mark Lancaster

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15th October 2026

From bicycle manufacturing to early motorcycles, Wearwell looked set to become a major name in the British motorcycle industry. But financial wrongdoing brought the company’s promising future to an abrupt end. Like so many, Wearwell started out as a bicycle manufacturer. The Cogent Cycle Co was founded by Henry Clarke and the business included his…
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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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The remarkable story of Joan Crawford’s Bond Minibyke – and its surprising history

by

Mark Lancaster

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10th October 2026

From a chance discovery in a remarkable private motorcycle collection to award-winning appearances at the Isle of Man TT, Joan Crawford’s much-loved Bond Minibyke has a fascinating story. In a letter published in Old Bike Mart, Joan shares how she acquired the little 125cc machine and uncovered its connections to the Bond manufacturing business. For…
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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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