NORTON 750 COMMANDO
Some consider the Norton Commando to be the best-ever British twin. Others suggest that they can be a little rugged. FrankWestworth spent a day with a slightly civilised specimen…

FLAT TRACK TRIUMPH
Neal had a dream and Nige builds bikes. Between them they’ve created a cracking flat-tracker, and Odgie explains how it happened…

MOTO GUZZI AMBASSADOR
After three years of watching an aged Italian deteriorate by the roadside, Mick Webb couldn't stop himself rescuing the grand old girl, giving a 'Loop' Guzzi a new lease of life...

AJS ENGINE OVERHAUL
Half the fun of old bikes, says Neil Cairns, is keeping them running well - as he takes apart the engine of an AMC 500 single for routine maintenance...

TRIUMPH T120 BONNEVILLE
If there's one classic bike which everyone can recognise then it's the iconic Bonneville. But surely a late-1960s T120 is a cliche too far for Ace Tester Miles, a man famed for his idiosyncratic classic choices?

TECH TANK LINING
If your petrol tank is scruffy and rusty on the outside, then it's a fair bet that the inside is equally contaminated with corrosion. Not what you want clogging up your classic's carb! Rob Roy offers some observations on why lining your tank might not work quite right...

HONDA CD250U
Andy Hart needed a back-up old bike, a VMCCeligible machine which would start instantly if his BSA wasn’t available. Enter the Honda CD: the perfect machine for getting you there…

ELECTRICAL UPDATES
No need to blow a fuse, says Peter Hatfield, with old bike electrics. Try these modern modifications on your 12V British bike…

NORTON MODEL 18
Everybody knows the famous ES2, Norton’s handsome ohv single. Fewer folk are aware of the Model 18, its workaday stablemate. Frank Westworth encounters an old friend…

BMW R80 G/S
When BMW built their first Gelände / Straße boxer, no one knew they were inventing an entire class of modern motorcycle. Yet the original adventuresport machines are still going strong. Mick Webb’s airhead has taken him to the top of the world…

ROYAL ENFIELDWALLABY
Small, springy and built for life in the bush: the Wallaby is an indigenous marsupial native to Australia…and a really rather rare Royal Enfield. Rowena Hoseason reports.

TRIUMPHTERRIERTWO
Last time, Terrier and Tiger Cub expert Mike Estall had resolved various teething troubles with his 1956 T15. So it was now ready to ride off into the sunset, yes? Well, we all know how that turns out…

THE CONTENTS PAGE
Never ever in the entire history of motorcycle magazines have there been two stories about entirely mysterious V4 Suzukis. Strange but (almost certainly) true.

READERS’ FREE ADS
Variety is still plainly the spice of life. Two bikes here which found FW reaching for his chequebook. Luckily, help was at hand..

AJSMODEL 20
It’s sometimes a surprise when a bike gets dragged out into the light for the first time in years. And sometimes it’s no surprise at all. Frank Westworth unearths an old friend…

THE FINISHINGFLOURISH
Once themechanical rebuild has bankrupted your children’s college fund, you’re almost over the finishing line, surely? Not with that scabby petrol tank andmismatched sidepanels, you’re not. Morgan Rue sprays away..

TRIUMPH TlS
Once derided as mere hacks, winter's worst can bring out the best in an unglamorous bike. Frank Westworth tries to convince himself...

TOURING TRAUMA!
If at first you don 't succeed... Marion Thirsk tries and tries again, by BSA. And then by Enfield. And then by BSA again. And then the Enfield again. And then...

Racing on the Cheap: Back in the day, going fast on Britbikes could be achieved on a very tight budget David Kidd recalls his racing days...

NORTON P92 PROTOTYPE
As the old British industry floundered they produced some unusual ideas, like an lsolastic 500 single. Alan Cathcart rode it...

BSA ROYAL STAR
BSA's unit twins are always a popular choice for folks seeking a practical classic. Dave Narey opted for the smaller sibling to take him Continental touring...

TRIUMPH LEGEND TT
Revived Triumph's early triples are developing a new audience. Frank Westworth shared the new enthusiasm with this sparkling roadster ...

MOTOBECANE 175
Vintage motorcycles don't come cheap - especially not chic machines which are old enough to take part in the hobby's most prestigious events. Yet Odgie has found a classic bike old enough to take part in the Banbury Run, rebuilt to a very tight budget. This takes make do and mend to a whole new level...

ROYAL EN FIELD'S BIG TWIN
Roger Slater reveals how Enfield's big twin was so smooth and powerful, and shares his experience on how to make the most of this mighty motor...

TRIUMPH SPEED TWIN
Flick through Triumph’s current modern classics catalogue and the first motorcycle they boast about is the class-leading Speed Twin. Peter Hatfield tries Hinckley’s ‘performance icon’ for size…

PROJECT WORLD BEATER
Odgie is building a Can-Am flat-tracker and so far it’s all been happy chassis stuff. But nowhemust confront his nemesis: the Rotaxmotor in all its fiendish complexity...

THE CONTENTSPAGE
Variety in all things is the RealClassic way. So, we start the issue with a Harley-Davidson, just because they are a bit remarkable and considerably different to the Rudge Ulster which follows. And we doubt that a Rudgewould follow either a Panther or a Jawa for very long, but…

PROJECTWORLDBEATER
Whilewaiting for some engine components, Odgie gets on with a stack of odd jobs on his Can-Am flat-tracker. It certainly needs footrests and a seat and tailpiece. Time for some metal manipulation, then…

TRIUMPH CAFE RACER
How do you convert an out of date and overweight Hinckley triple into a brash and brawny roadster? With a cafe racer kit, of course! Keith Brotherhood tells us how..

RE CRUSADER REBUILD
Alistair Matheson's rebuild hasn't exactly gone to plan. The engine's back together but it certainly doesn't sound right. Time to take it all apart ... again!

VINCENTRAPIDE 
There’s no such thing as a standard Vincent according to HRD lore. Ken Schmidt’s Rapide has indeed been creatively reincarnated over the decades, first with a speedway sidecar and now a cool café racer.

AMBASSADORENVOY
In the late 1950s Ambassador aspired to build a quality! Quality!! Quality!!! two-stroke with simply outstanding performance. Reg Eyre was almost overcomewith all the excitement..

VINTAGE TINKLER
In a moment of strange synchronicity, Alan Freke discovered not one but two mentions of an innovative vintage machine, the ohc Tinkler. He donned his detective hat to investigate.

BSA A10 GOLDEN FLASH
Who in their right mind would pay a fourfigure sum for a set of crash bars for a BSA? Robin Smith reckons a rare pair of crash bars cost him more than £4000 - once he rebuilt the A10 which came with them ...

VELOCETTEMAC
Have we tempted you to try a pre-war British bike yet? If you’re still resisting, Rowena Hoseason strings together a strong argument for Velocette’smarvellous MAC…

FAMILY ALBUM
Your pics, ancient and a little less so, of your families a-wheel.

PROJECTWORLD-BEATER
Odgie adored his old Can-Am scrambler, which someone else admired somuch they stole it. Aiming to improve his performance on the flat track circuit – and maybe beat bikes and riders half his age – he begins a newproject to create his ultimate Can-Amflat tracker…

DUCATI DARMAH SSD 
The reliability of a roadster matched with the style of a supersport star - it could've been a winner. Instead the SSD is one of the least-seen bevel-drive beasts. Nolan Woodbury investigates.

BSAA7
BSA definitely built their pre-unit bikes to last. This rigid 500 twin was old long before its time, but 'the old A7' has lasted nearly sixty years with its current owner. Odgie tells its tale ...

TRIUMPH TRIDENT T160
The electric-start Triumph triple should have been the British industry’s superbike for the Seventies. But Paul Miles reckons it’s far too flawed to claim that title.

VELOCETTE VALIANT
Everyone agreed that Velocette needed a small capacity sportster. No one expected this. FrankWestworth is gently entertained...

Indian Scout: The American bike industry went through turblent times after the First World War. The Indian Motorcycle Company desperately needed a fresh new model to spearhead their 1920 range, and Charles B Franklin gave them the Scout...

ARIELRED HUNTER - Ariel’s VH500 can’t claim to be ‘the modern motorcycle’ anymore, but it’s certainly still a sophisticated single. Dave Barkshire does his best to find fault with one (and fails!).

AJS500 SINGLE - Traditional British big singles. Straightforward and simple to fettle; rewarding to ride. At least, they should be. But Simon Lock’s summer rides were afflicted bymysterious mechanical mishap...

HARLEY-DAVIDSONMT350: Take an ex-military 350 single with good
tyres, great suspension and an electric leg,
and make tracks for some of the most scenic
green-lanes in England. Martin Peacock
enjoys a delightful day in the Dales...

DUCATI REGOLARITÀ - ADucati stroker? Excuse me? Are you serious? Alan Cathcart explains a little-known endure Ducati.

MZ250 - Odgie finds anMZ (and an owner) with a difference. But aren’t all MZ owners just a little bit out of the ordinary?.

BMWR75/5 - When BMW introduced their /5 range at the end of the 1960s they laid the groundwork for all the big twins which followed. Nolan Woodbury celebrates a classic airhead which never gets old..

WE’VEGOTMAIL! - Some great letters here. It’s impossible to receive too many letters.We want more letters. Be kind to us.

NORTONATLAS - When it was new, Norton’s 750 twin was a credible challenger for the super-heavyweight title. This tired old example had gone to seed…so Paul Henshawbecame its personal trainer and put it through its paces..

NORTON COMMANDO - If you really want to go fast…take the advice of a privateer who built his own production racers for top-flight competition. Stuart Urquhart gleans some top tuning tips for Norton’s big twin.

TTRACER - Last month Richard Jones revealed the early adventures of clubman rider Robin Jac Edwards, whose chance to ride a works racer vanished when war broke out. But Robin’s competition career was far from over...

MATCHLESSG11 - An affinity for old motorcycles can definitely be inherited. Stuart Urquhart meets a man whose choiceof classicwas entirely inspired by his childhood experiences.

MOTO GUZZI LEMANS - Last month, Nolan Woodbury revealed a limited edition LeMans V-twin, built for the German market at the endof the 1970s. This timehe traces the evolutionof the animal into the 1980s and lets it loose on an autobahn...

TRIUMPH / LEVIS SPECIAL - In its 80-odd years of existence, this
motorcycle has had many incarnations. It’s been reborn as a grass tracker, a speedway racer and a hill climber; a 500 and now a 650. Odgie investigates.

ROYAL ENFIELD CLIPPER - Last year, Enfield enthusiast James French
found a 350 lightweight single, much like one he owned in the 1970s. Initial impressions suggested that it might benefit from some mechanical attention over winter.

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RealClassic magazine features the very best British motorcycles from all eras, plus charismatic Continental machines (and the odd Japanese classics crops up occasionally, too). Long term classic riders will recognise many of the members of the RC team, which includes authors, historians and journalists like Steve Wilson, Dave Minton, Matt Vale, Odgie, Jacqueline 'PUB' Bickerstaff, Rowena Hoseason and editor Frank Westworth -- but the magazine's key feature is that it is firmly grounded in the real world. Our articles are written by real life riders and reflect far more than a simple road test ever can. We're never scared of getting grubby in The Shed (and we even admit it when things go horribly wrong!)

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RealClassic - October 2021

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