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

Spectacular style on the sand • Organised by the Middlesbrough and District MC club, the Saltburn Championship brought high-speed action to the sun-soaked north-eastern beach.

News & Events

An exciting trip • Touring in India in the 1950s brought up a host of challenges for an intrepid quintet on parallel twins.

Dressing up day • Bedecked in silk roses and sporting their finery, riders on a quartet of twin-cylinder models pose for a picture during a charitable event.

Readers’ Letters • YOUR VOICE & YOUR OPINIONS

An Elk year ends • The South of England Classic Motorcycle Show was held at Ardingly, Sussex, on October 26, 2025.

Rapide realisation • After two decades of motorcycle journalism, our tester finally gets his hands on a Vincent twin to see what all the fuss is about — and whether it’s justified. It is, he concludes.

Big is beautiful • As far as powered two-wheelers go, the four-cylinder, car-engined offering from Friedel Münch was a celebration of excess.

From the vault

Premier class • This well-made veteran-era motorcycle is a reminder of a company which built quality products, but which is now all but forgotten.

Never allowed to shine • The BSA B30 (itself spawned from the likewise thwarted B29) could have been a military motorcycling legend, though it was its civilian successors that went on to earn those accolades.

Rear view

The changing world • Online auctioneering has well and truly arrived for motorcycles, with Bonhams at the forefront, as demonstrated by its December 2025 sale.

Three’s a (bad) crowd • This handsome middle-period Bantam, a late 175cc D7, revealed its Achilles heel – and hurt the tester’s toes – on the road.

Ignition off • Christmas clutter, workshop gridlock and an electronic ignition kit that refuses to play ball.

Sketchbook Travels: STOCK Motorcycles • 1949 AJS Model 20 & Matchless G9

Diary

Carry on smoking • Though they’ve disappeared from the ranges of the major motorcycle manufacturers, there’s evidence to suggest that, away from the mainstream, two-stroke remains alive and well.

Over and out • All (good?) things must come to an end, as our long-term columnist signs off – at least temporarily – with what will be his last regular column.

Cams upstairs • For Victorian designers, poppet valve operation was just a system to draw fuel vapour into the engine and exhale exhaust gases. Overhead camshaft design was developed to improve the breed – and the idea surfaced earlier than you’d expect.