Features

Late in 1978, at the Cologne Show in Germany, Kawasaki unveiled its 1300, the most powerful bike yet built and prompted a debate that led to the (short-lived) voluntary manufacturers’ agreement to limit power outputs to 125 bhp. Bob Berry rides one of the last machines off the production line…

The KE175’s designers undoubtedly put a lot of thought into the design, ergonomics and practicality. When the getting down and dirty is finished the KE becomes a supremely usable road machine that’ll commute all day long…

When it comes to restoring motorcycles, you can almost bet your hat that the seat is going to be a bit tatty around the edges and requiring a bit of tlc. This month Steve Cooper brings us a guide to re-covering them…

That the Villiers two-stroke engine has been a major part of off-road motorcycling is fairly obvious but what is it like inside? What are the points to look out for? Classic Dirtbike magazine pulls one apart…

David Dixon pushes off the Stevens Velocette at the start of the 1964 Skerries 100, held 18 miles north of Dublin. It was part of a feature called Dicing on the Cheap…

The film Derby’ had a special – unique? – place in motorcycle sporting history, as it was still, in 1925, a true race, in contrivance of the ACU’s ban on speed events on the road…

A gap in the chilly rains of late January made a test of this lovely 1950 Triumph Trophy trials bike practical. Never mind the cold, the Trophy sat there looking gorgeous, slim and minimalist in the way of machines born of competition use. I don’t mind getting cold to ride such a gem as this…

Irish road racing legend Ernie Lyons has passed away, just short of his 100th birthday. Lyons will always be remembered for his win in the 1946 Manx Grand Prix, the first ‘big’ race held after the Second World War…

Yamaha’s original XJ900 was biggest of a line of slim shaft-drive fours produced in the 80s that acquired a reputation as a wobbler. But John Nutting, who tested the bike at MIRA, thinks it’s undeserved…

The ACU Spring One Day Trial of March 12, 1914, attracted a record entry of 178 and offered a challenging day’s riding in the Peak District, which The Motor Cycle described as “tests of flexibility, restarting and weatherproofness in the Peak District”…