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

Encircling a continent • An account of an epic, pioneering 12,000 mile trip around the coast of Australia, undertaken by a Londoner on an AJS.

News & Events

THE WAY WE WERE IN AUGUST

Book Review

End of an era • Mounted on a Rudge motorcycle, a rider looks towards the Yorkshire hills, at a time when it was feared the enemy could appear any time.

Riding in the (mini) TT races • Three likely lads line up for the start of the Liverpool Motor Club’s small scale TT race, in the Delph Tea Gardens, Parbold.

Readers’ Letters • YOUR VOICE & YOUR OPINIONS

Still a diamond • The 75th running of the VMCC’s blue riband event brought together a fabulous selection of pre-1931 machinery.

Building a better Bonnie • The Triumph Bonneville was perhaps ‘the’ motorcycling sportster of the 1960s – so what does that make the rare ‘Thruxton’ production racing

Funny front end • Ever since motorcycling has been in existence, different ideas for ideal front end configuration have been tried.

Come all ye faithful • The Ixion Cavalcade was held on May 11, 2025, a fitting tribute to a man who contributed so much to early motorcycling.

D1 delight • Small, simple, and easily dismissed – until you ride one. Why BSA’s unassuming D1 Bantam deserves more respect than it gets.

Passion project • A racer’s personal collection, housed and displayed in what was once the family business, has become a magnet for Northern bike enthusiasts.

Eastern promise • An invitation to ride in the Brough Superior Club’s Far East Rally, wasn’t an excuse to jet off to exotic climes – but it did afford an opportunity to ride a superb motorcycle and enjoy good company.

On the road again • In the final instalment, the BSA twin is all back together and, so far, fulfilling expectations admirably.

BMW R80 G/S

The inevitable truth

Sketchbook Travels • MOTORCYCLES, SEEN THROUGH THE SKETCHBOOKS OF MARTIN SQUIRES

Shakedown test • After it’s been worked on, the best – and, really, only failsafe – way to settle a motorcycle in is to ride it.

Diary

A way with words • Though claims in some adverts today are perhaps somewhat ‘dubious’, in the heyday of motorcycling they were, perhaps, in some cases, outright lies.

Bucket list biking • An attempt to convert ‘could have, would have, should have’ into ‘been there, done that all’ with a vintage or classic motorcycling flavour.

Engine control • After Georges Bouton’s landmark introduction of accurately timed ignition, the next major landmark was the accurate timing and control of the inlet poppet valve of four-stroke engines.