Classic Bike (UK)

21-PAGE TINKERING AND FIXING SECTION

Yamaha XT500

I have to admit I’m more impressed by this XT500 than I anticipated. All trail bikes are inevitably a compromise – the trick is to get the balance right, so that they perform reasonably well both on road and off, and I think Yamaha made a pretty good...

THE ORIGINAL

PROJECT DUNSTALL CB750 + SUSPENSION WISDOM + HOW TO FIT A TACHO + YAM RD400 BUYING GUIDE + TRIUMPH 650 REBUILD

20 PAGES OF PROJECTS AND TINKERING

The very best of british

20 pages of fettles & fixes

Yamaha RD200DX project + Get wheels perfectly in line + make your own piston rings (yes, really!)

‘I didn’t pay Read, Rutter or Herron’

Mocheck’s Ian Tay relives 1970s racing on a budget

‘I crashed while leading the British GP’

Steve Parrish on why he couldn’t beat his mate Barry Sheene

We Want It

Restored and utterly resplendent in trad red and white, it’s hard to imagine a better KB1 exists. The Rimini manufacturer made 827 of these Kawasaki Z1-engined beauties – a comparative glut for Bimota – and this is the coveted A-model with Brembo...

Project Matchless

Gearbox stripped – but how does this mechanical jigsaw go back together?

Summer EVENTS Special

» Ex-dakar Yamaha TT600 goes back to the desert » Road testing a rorty Triumph 650 hot rod » An Egli Vincent special that’s built to be ridden » Going back to Bologna on a Ducati 750GT & 900SS » PLUS Scarborough, the Bol d’or, Great Yarmouth, Aberdare,...

NEW WORKSHOP SECTION

Inside Wasp Motorcycles’ hardcore workshop + The ins & outs of alternators + Building a vintage bike wheel + Project Harris very nearly ready + Power probes: your troubleshooting pals

Tommy Robb

Tommy Robb started as a trials rider in Northern Ireland while in his teens and graduated, via grass track and scrambles, to road racing. Sponsorship from Terry Hill got him rides on an MV Agusta 175 and an NSU Sportmax 250 on which, in 1957, he...

1975

Roberts, Sheene, Johnny Cecotto, Dave Aldana’s skeleton leathers, Avon Roadrunners & Martin Lampkin

NEW WORKSHOP SECTION

Inside Norman White’s Norton Commando hospital + Making an exhaust system + Amal carburettor advice + Drive chains explained + Oil tank leak repair+ Rear suspension overhaul

Legends on their lunch break

Freddie Spencer + Roberts, Mamola, Hickman at Goodwood

BUYING +RIDING + FETTLING

Shock report: Project Magnum Suzuki not a disaster! + Moto Guzzi V50 Buyer’s Guide + Latest auction sales prices

Who needs a Manx?

Kiwi’s Norton ohv single is a giant-killer on the Island

Welcome

Classic Bike magazine is made from home these days. Or homes, I should say – our core team live in five different counties and communicate via computer screens. Gathering together is a rarity, so our works outing to Kent, to ride old bikes and receive...

Welcome Hugo Wilson, Editor

When I was a kid, I owned a book called The Guinness Guide to Motorcycling. It was bought with a book token that a wellmeaning relation had given me, probably hoping that I’d spend it on something to improve my mind. So I did. That book was my...