Road Tests
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Road Test: Velocette LE/Valiant Special
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This Velocette Special takes the engine from the LE and slots it into the rolling chassis of the Valiant, creating a tidy little lightweight…
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Road Test: BSA A7
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Some motorcycles are the ruffians of the two-wheeled world. The BSA 500 twin is instead one of motorcycling’s gentlefolk…
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Road Test: Yamaha RD twins
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Motorcyclists who grew up in the Seventies and had more than hint of fire in their veins would have had to try a Yamaha two stroke twin. In whatever size they came – 125cc, 200cc, 250cc, 350cc or 400cc – they were fast and furious and could punch much more than their weight…
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Road Test: Suzuki GT500
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When Suzuki’s 492cc two stroke twin was revealed in 1967 for the domestic Japanese motorcycle market it looked like a 250cc T20 Super Six on steroids. But it was doomed to become extinct before its time, John Nutting recalls the bike that started the Hamamatsu factory’s big-bike era and the last of the line…
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Road Test: Hesketh V1000
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The Hesketh V1000 was conceived from an aristocrat’s ambition to produce ‘the finest motorcycles in the world’, yet the glamorous debutant lacked sufficient pedigree to impress motorcycling society…
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Road Test: NSU Sportymax
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We’ve all spent idle hours dreaming up our ideal motorcycle but only a tiny percentage convert their imaginings into metal. One of the few is Irishman Tom Healion who spent six years conceiving and building his 250cc NSU ‘Sportymax’ racer…
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Road Test: Harley-Davidson SS350
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We all know Harley-Davidsons, right? Made in Milwaukee, thundering great V-twin engines, pistons the size of dustbins, low-revving, weigh about the same as a Cadillac? Not necessarily…
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Road Test: Royal Enfield Bullet Classic
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Justifiably playing up the retro image, Royal Enfield has gone the whole hog with the new Bullet Classic. Nigel Clark spent a day with one and reckons it just might be the best Bullet yet…
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Road Test: Francis-Barnett Falcon
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This charming 1954 Francis-Barnett has been owned by a father and then his son from new. It was off the road for some years, though has now been restored to its former glory. Roy Poynting tells the tale…
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Road Test: Norton Model 50
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Though the Norton Model 50 is often derided for its lack of pace, it’s more a case of an exceptional frame, rather than a disappointing engine that has led to this largely unjustified criticism. Roy Poynting tells the story…