Real Classic - April 2016
RC144 out now
The April issue of RealClassic is on sale now, and features roadtests, reviews and rebuilds of classic Italian motorcycles and great British bikes…
BSA B31
After his recent encounter with the glitz and glam of a genuine Gold Star, Ace Tester Miles accepts a challenge to try a more basic Beesa instead. It started out as a 350, then someone converted this single to 500cc B33 spec. How does it compare to its iconic clubmans counterpart?
DUCATI PANTAH
David Dickie hoped to pass his motorcycle collection on to his son, Stuart. Sadly, that won’t happen. Instead, Stuart’s dream machine represents an important connection between them
MATCHLESS 350 SINGLE
When Brit bikes were new bikes and not old bikes, many a dealer built their own special editions of standard models. Dave Blanchard encounters a really rare Plumstead plugger, created seven decades ago by Joe Francis. It’s a G3, well, mostly
MOTO GUZZI ELDORADO
A technical tale of electrickery. Nick Adams started out with a relatively simple task, fitting a set of spotlights to his Moto Guzzi V-twin. But one thing led to another and in no time at all he found himself re-wiring the entire electrical system…
NORTON UNIFIED TWIN
This was a model which never got beyond the prototype stage, but various major components are still kicking around. Which inspired Anthony Curzon to ask Richard Negus to reconstruct the engine a while back. Now he assembles the rest of the bike around it
ROYAL ENFIELD CRUSADER
Oily Boot Bob continues his 20 year roadtest of Enfield’s 250. The Crusader develops a suspicious sparkle in its oil (oh dear), while a Continental takes centre-stage for a while
RUDGE TT REPLICA
The pace of motorcycle development was so fierce in pre-war years that a single successful innovation could sweep the field. That’s exactly what happened in 1930 when Rudge took an experimental engine to the TT. Rowena Hoseason investigates
TRIBSA 650
Take a BSA A10 frame, fit a Triumph pre-unit 6T engine, style it like a desert sled, add endless expertise and enthusiasm, bring it to the boil and let Odgie loose on it
TRIUMPH TSX 750
Did Meriden Triumph save their very best until last? Frank Westworth finally gets to grips with a rarity, the low-rider styled T140 built for a single year in the early 1980s
PLUS! Frank Melling remembers his early days test-riding Britbikes in off-road competition; RC riders take on the Compass Challenge; Jacqueline Bickerstaff slays her 50th dragon at the Welsh rally, and Frank’s finger is fixed enough for him to return to twirling tools in The Shed…
· RealClassic isn’t generally on sale in UK newsagents – but if you’d like to read these articles then you can order a mail order copy here
· The least expensive way to read the magazine regularly is to take out a subscription – that way each magazine typically costs around half the price of a single mail-order issue
· RealClassic is also available in various digital formats