The Classic MotorCycle

Started in 1903, The Classic MotorCycle has more to offer the true vintage motorcycle enthusiast than any other publication, backed by Europe's largest motorcycle image archive.

Welcome

The Classic MotorCycle

A Rudge win in Austria • There were tough road conditions for over 180 miles for the 1932 Austrian TT, with a 500cc Rudge running out as overall winner, albeit with a 250cc Puch a little close for comfort.

News & Events

Sunshine at Kop Hill • This year’s annual hill climb, near Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, saw, once more, record crowds and huge amounts raised for charity.

THE WAY WE WERE IN DECEMBER

Book Review

Out on the fell • With riders pausing for a breather, the Yorkshire Dales provides a spectacular backdrop to this photograph.

Cable ties • When it was just 10 years old, the motorcycle pictured was regarded as ‘old hat’ – though it bears a name and product still familiar and in use today.

Readers’ Letters • YOUR VOICE & YOUR OPINIONS

Grand day out • If you like Nortons, then the only place to have been on September 28, 2024, was the National Motorcycle Museum.

Sporting single • The competition-bred MSS Scrambler wasn’t the most capable offroader truth be told, but it spawned some important Velocette models.

Bring me sunshine • The 2024 Sunbeam MCC’s Summer Pioneer Run took place at Bolney, Sussex, on August 25, and incorporated a pre-1940 run too.

A lesson in less • In a world obsessed with bigger, faster, and more powerful, the MV Agusta Ottantatrè stands as a refreshing reminder that sometimes, just enough is enough.

Changing lanes • The International West Kent Run was held at The Friars, Aylesford, Kent, over August 1-5, 2024.

First and last • This collection of 10 motorcycles represents as closely as possible the first and last products of the original incarnations of some famous British motorcycling names.

Sense of achievement • The organisers of the annual Arbuthnot Trial, first held in 1924, promise a hard day’s riding, with, this year, heavy rain making it tougher still. So, for the 70 finishers there was particular satisfaction.

Ticktock • Most of the mechanical devices associated with the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy meeting of 1910 have long gone, but nearly 115 years on there is one that is still running as sweetly as the day it was made. However, this lone TT-related survivor is not a motorcycle, but a clock.

Initial promise • The Norton CS1 – for ‘Cam Shaft One’ – had a glorious, winning start to its life, though a redesign led to Norton’s later success. This glistening first generation example illustrates what a beauty the early version was.

Second to none • While there have been many articles over the years detailing what’s in the world-leading Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, near Birmingham, Alabama, the man behind the whole thing has seemingly never spoken publicly. Until now…

World’s finest? • The Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum boasts not just a spectacular museum, but all sorts of other attractions too.

ROYAL ENFIELD WD CO

Pioneer Run • Sketchbook Travels at the 84th Annual

A little light work • In any restoration or rebuild there are big tasks and small tasks, and the time to complete them is often an inverse proportion of the job size.

Diary

That’s the joy… • With old motorcycles, any old vehicles really, things rarely seem to go as smoothly as they could, while ‘10 minute’ jobs always take hours.

Going, going, gone • What’s it like to sell a motorcycle at auction? Actually, it takes away a lot of the strains and stresses from the general sale process.

Stop the rot • Electro-plated rust prevention...