Contents   issue 31

ON THE COVER
Jeff Smith battling his 500 Goldie
round Shropshire’s Hawkstone Park
in the 1959 British MX GP
displaying the style and
determination that would lead him
to a world championship in 1964.
Unfortunately for the public, a
printing dispute meant the
MotorCycle missed eight issues and
no one could read about the race.

REGULARS
The editor’s view of the scene as
he sees it… usually from
underneath a bike in the mud
somewhere, or sprawled over the
‘bars gasping for breath.

06 News
All the latest gossip, news, views,
bits, bobs and what-have-you in
the classic off-road world. You tell
us, we tell the world, as we can’t
keep a secret.

16 Subscribe! Subscribe!
GET YOUR CDB ‘ERE! All you need
to know about ensuring the best
off-road mag in the world drops on
your doormat as soon as possible.
18 Original and Unrestored
Have we run out of unsullied
motorcycles to feature in this
section? No! This month a Bultaco
Alpina turns up in the editor’s
home town.

22 Something Special
There’s a common theme in this
part of the mag, all the bikes have
something about them that makes
them special. A rigid converted to
swingarm for instance.

34 You Need
This is where we tell you what you
ought to have in your shed, if
you’ve listened to everything
we’ve said, it will be a packed
shed by now.

48 Dirt Products
Need something to keep you or
your bike in prime condition? Look
here. Made something to keep
bikes or riders in prime condition?
Let us know, we’ll put it here.

61 Smith Tales
The life and times of an apprentice
at BSA, as told by Jeff Smith. You
didn’t think all that engineering
skill was learned in a shed by gas
light did you?

72 Dirt Talk
Lots to talk about in the off-road
world this time, it’s all in here.

82 Moto Memories
Into the archive, dig out some pics
and hey presto
days have gone
by… but it’s
worth it for
fabulous
images.

EVENTS

54 This Sporting Life
Our look at what’s what in sport.
From the Dave Thorpe Evo series,
to the Talmag and out to Jersey for
the two-day trial and the first
round of our sponsored trials
series, it’s all in here.

62 The Wright Stuff
Probably the biggest show totally
devoted to classic off-road, Alan
Wright’s Putoline Off-Road and
Racing Show at Telford attracts all
sorts of things.

HOW TO

37 Iconic Engines
Third in our short series of iconic
engines, this issue it’s the
ultimate MX engine – BSA’s mighty
Gold Star.

44 Rebuilt to Ride
Almost finished, Jerry’s Montesa
runs into an ethanol problem as
the petrol tank starts to
delaminate… still, the bike
is together.

50 Tech Talk
There are a lot of ways in which
‘sound’ is useful... but for us in the
old bike world, it’s cleaning
properties are of interest.

FEATURES

10 Education
PE used stand for Physical
Education, Suzuki’s PE stands for
Perfect Endurance, though it
is physical and definitely
an education.

26 Anniversary Time
The Pre 65 Scottish hits 30 this
year. We take a look back at some
winners and some action from the
past three decades.

76 The Land of MX
Sweden could arguably be called
the land of MX given its place in
the scene, Birger Tommos pops
along to a new MX museum for us
in, yes, Sweden.