Road Tests

Museums are often criticised for having lots of static exhibits. Luckily the Beaulieu collection is more enlightened and actually allows historic machines to run. Jim Reynolds gets on with a legendary Norton…

Kawasaki’s GPz1100 cracked the 150mph barrier in 1983, and that alone gives the bike a place in the history books. But was the last and most potent of the big air-cooled Kawasaki fours the best of the bunch? John Nutting reports…

Though there may be more glamorous, exotic 1930s Velocettes, few are as capable all-round as the 250cc MOV, an excellent commuter – and surprisingly sprightly sportster, with handling and performance to put many younger bikes to shame…

Just about every classic bike fan knows a little about the Brough Superior SS100. But what of its forerunner, the SS80? Dave Minton introduces us to George Brough’s stylish sidevalve V-twin…

This mid-30s BMW, despite being 80 years old, has earned an enviable reputation for its capabilities as a touring machine and is still more than capable of covering vast mileages, just as its maker intended when it was originally produced…

There are those among us who prefer practicality over aesthetics and are skilled enough to be able to make something from ‘a mishmash of unrelated parts.’ What’s more, said parts don’t necessarily have to have originated from another motorcycle… but a rotavator?

‘World’s finest standard sports 500’, so boasted BSA. But to some, Gold Stars are overpriced and unnecessary, though to many others – including our scribe – BSA was quite right, and they are simply the best ohv singles ever made…

They say that old Indians never die, and a thorough makeover does seem to have given this old warhorse a new lease of life…

Though this Vincent-Norton hybrid machine may be described by some as a ‘special’ it was intended as the forerunner of series production…

Never likely to set the pulses racing and often dismissed as ‘grey porridge’ and heaved onto the scrap man’s wagon, this BSA C10L – so representative of an era – is now a rarity. And that’s a real shame, because it has a charm which was overlooked when originally on sale. James Robinson explains…