Real Classic

RealClassic magazine features the very best British motorcycles from all eras, plus charismatic Continental machines (and the odd Japanese classics crops up occasionally, too). Long term classic riders will recognise many of the members of the RC team, which includes authors, historians and journalists like Steve Wilson, Dave Minton, Matt Vale, Odgie, Jacqueline 'PUB' Bickerstaff, Rowena Hoseason and editor Frank Westworth -- but the magazine's key feature is that it is firmly grounded in the real world. Our articles are written by real life riders and reflect far more than a simple road test ever can. We're never scared of getting grubby in The Shed (and we even admit it when things go horribly wrong!)

Real Classic

FROM THE FRONT

NIMBLE THINKING • At a time when most of the two-wheeled world was considering the faint possibility of overhead valves and maybe more thanasingle cylinder (steady now), Nimbus went their own, innovative way. Richard Jones reports…

LETTERS

LETTER FROM AMERICA • Over here, it’s an Adventurer. Over there, it’s a Trophy Trail. In either market, snake skins were not a standard Triumph accessory…

OK, OKA! • AJS twins from the early 1950s may not be the most glamorous of machines, but they are cheerfully charming. Frank Westworth owned this example for over four decades, until Dave Barkshire made an unrefusable offer…

Quick QUIRKS • Why own something ordinary when you can enjoy an altogether more unusual experience? Fred Harrington peeks behind the Iron Curtain and comes up trumps…

Mystery Machine • It’s a BSA B40 Jim, but not as we know it. Odgie investigates…

The Upside Down Four • A very long time ago, Indian built some truly awesome 4-pot engines. Alan Cathcart is of the view that the current concern should do the same…

THE ROAD TO EL DORADO • After some mechanical attention, Nick Adam’s Moto Guzzi Eldorado needed a shakedown ride. How about 5000 miles to find Newfoundland?

The Best BONNIE? • Paul Henshaw has worked on heaps of Triumph T120s, but most of them have been later, unit-construction 650s. What does he think after fixing up a pre-unit twin?

Imperial IMPERFECTIONS • David Moore wasn’t at all familiar with motorcycles made much before 1970. We applaud his first foray into vintage territory with the restoration of a 1932 Unit Minor – while watching from a safe distance…

PUB • Trying out a Speed 400, and fitting an electronic ignition to a wartime G3L. PUB’s been busy…

TALES FROM THE SHED • After half a year dallying with a BSA, Frank has returned in triumph to a…Triumph. This may make sense to someone, somewhere…

Ollie's ODDJOBS • Ollie confesses to being something of a Morini fan, and encounters Ian Wagstaff, a fellow fan with an even greater need for speed