Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 46 Spring 2018 i Classic Dirt Bike

Since the Japanese became serious about MX and started throwing money at it in order to win it wasn’t uncommon to hear tales of six-figure sums for works machines. But by the beginning of the Eighties such extravagance was beginning to tell and Yamaha for one was feeling the pinch. So, for 1984 it shocked the world by fielding production models for the works team. Okay, these bikes would be well looked after by factory mechanics and there would be no shortage of parts but they were production based… This particular bike is owned by Westcountry Windings’ man Michael Simmons and is an American import, hence the colouring, or perhaps that should be ‘coloring’? Possibly because Yamaha wasn’t expected to do any good with a basic model up against the…

In the 16 years or so I’ve been writing about motorcycles, a recurring theme for restorations has been “…took it apart years ago then moved house and it got forgotten…” Well, flip that around, as during a recent relocation, when I had to shift all the bits I’ve accumulated over 45 years of motorcycling, it was suggested that some of the bits might be easier to move if they were in one bit. I can’t fault the sentiment, as there have been several attempts to build these bits – all originating from various 350/500cc Triumphs – into a motorcycle and, each time, life has intervened. The first attempt came during my editorship of Classic Bike Guide but a major incident with the 650 Triumph in regular use diverted the funds…

This legendary circuit in Shropshire, with its fearsome hill, has been the benchmark for MXers to step up to for nearly 70 years. Although there were events held at Hawkstone prior to the Second World War, the momentum didn’t really start until the 1940s. The conditions at Hawkstone are particularly tough with the surface being described as a loamy sand and circuit newcomers who shut off when landing from jumps soon find themselves stalling as they sink in. On the other hand the surface breaks away at the top of the hill and exposes a shelf of rock which soon becomes slick and can cause even the expert riders trouble.…

Interviews are all well and good – a list of questions to ask and information to gain based on what the interviewer knows about the interviewee and so forth, but sometimes it’s better just to sit and chat, go with the flow and see what comes up… which is what we did with Alf Hagon. Let’s be honest about this from the outset, there’s no way afew pages in a magazine could ever deliver the full flavour of a life lived by someone like Alf Hagon, it would take a full mag to even come close. So, in a light and airy room upstairs at Hagon Shocks, which houses a selection of the motorcycles and accessories his fertile and often unconventional mind has conceived, Alfred Joseph Hagon chatted about his…

It would take quite a talented chef to cook up something tasty from ingredients from such diverse worlds as those of food, enduro and SWM. Luckily, there is such a chef and anyone who spends moments – seconds actually – with him soon cotton on to the fact Philippe Vanderwalle is a man packed full of passion for many subjects. The three subjects just mentioned have certainly been a large part of the Frenchman’s life since he took his first tentative steps in both cuisine and enduro when he was a motorcycle-mad teenager in his home city of Bordeaux. Philippe’s working world of catering involved long hours and low pay, which is something anyone who has served any kind of apprenticeship will be familiar with and it is the passion…

If you’ve followed up on every bike we’ve suggested, then your shed will be pretty packed with a variety of off-road motorcycles by now. The good thing about dirt bikes is that generally they’re quite light and it isn’t difficult to construct a shelf which will hold a bike or three… Here’s our second suggestion for an addition to your shed… Kawasaki’s 1984 KX125. Why a 125? Well, in the world of dirt bikes, bigger isn’t always better, in the same way smaller isn’t always easier to ride – at least that was the case once the Japanese started taking an interest. The world of GP racing included a variety of classes, with the 250cc and 500cc classes being the premier ones. However, there had been growing interest in the…

1. Tooled up What’s your on-bike toolkit like? Is it pristine with everything you need for those unplanned outdoor maintenance sessions – which can happen even to the best of us – or is it more like a selection of old tools, possibly rusty, maybe worn out and often just in that scabby bag because ‘…well, I always carry these…’? None of us likes to break down but here in the dirt bike world where we take to the rougher path, a slight incident can cause major heartache, but if you know your toolkit includes not only the special 3/16ths metric gizmo for the waffle sprocket then the panic level goes way down. At the recent Motulbacked Dirt Bike Show at Stoneleigh, CDB spotted the latest tailored toolkit from Venhill…

Never the easiest circuit to get to, the narrow roads allied tohuge crowds attracted toHawkstone Park MX events in the 1950s often made for a frustrating journey tothe Shropshire circuit. But once there... oh was it worth the trek! Even these days it can be a long haul to the beautiful grounds near Market Drayton, which is why many tend to camp at the circuit. The British MX GP had been based at the easily accessible Brands Hatch circuit inKent, with its proximity to London and potentially bigger crowds. Eyebrows were raised when governing body the Auto-Cycle Union settled on Hawkstone as the venue for 1954’s GP. The doomsayers claimed hardly anyone would go, adding that if anyone did they’d have a nightmare journey and so they predicted a return…

‘Can someone explain what style is?’ This was a question posed recently on a social media page following a post I had made of Don Rickman majestically leaping his Matchless Métisse at Farleigh Castle, in October 1963. I suggested that Don was widely considered to be the ‘most stylish’ rider back in the Sixties and in that context it’s a good question. One member sought an answer inadictionary: a particular procedure by which something is done; a manner or way. Another defined it inrelation to motocross: “Style is the ability to ride fast while giving the impression there is still 5% in reserve!” and legendary photographer and commentator Jack Burnicle, commented: “Going quick and making it look easy = smooth! Top exponents over the years, besides (Sten) Lundin, Don Rickman…

It is a typically British thing to form an orderly queue, even at an ISDT time check. This particular one was in the Isle of Man in 1975 and John Hollander – on his Rokon – is about to leave and make way for British team man John May on a 360 Jawa. A few of the British team riders admitted things were not always so orderly in other countries, when a gaggle of riders would descend on a time control. Hollander’s Rokon is a technically interesting machine, it being more of an agricultural thing than a comp bike. However, the machines, with their pull cord starting and automatic transmission, were tough enough to finish the ISDT, where other supposedly superior machines didn’t. No problems with the Jawas used by…

The motorcycle now referred to as ‘Goldie’ by enthusiasts the world over didn’t spring fully formed from the fertile minds of the BSA comp shop... though the guys in there had more than a hand in creating the legend. For this feature we’re concentrating on the swinging arm version of the Gold Star introduced for 1953 with all the pomp and circumstance one would expect for such a machine in coronation year. Yes there were ‘Goldies’ with swinging arm suspension before that date, and yes they were well known, but this is the production date and neatly puts Gold Star scrambles bikes into a 10 year bracket as by 1963 the 500cc model was discontinued and the world wanted the unit machines on which Jeff Smith was busily creating another…

If you’re going to have a 325 Bultaco restored then it is possible the workshops of the man responsible for its inception could well be the place to go. Alongside the Sally Miller Museum is a well-equipped workshop where all sorts of magic happens and machines from the dawn of motorcycling time are resurrected for display in the halls. The team… Bob Stanley and Sammy himself… are hands-on restorers and occasionally dabble in customers’ machines, as well as museum stuff. It is to Bob to whom we turned for information on this particular restoration, which was completed at quite a rate of knots. It did help the bike was all in one piece and didn’t seem to have been abused in its life. Said Bob: “Sometimes a bike does escape…

There are a number of competition machines which have taken on a life of their own and become equally as well known as the rider who used them to good effect. It’s arguable without the rider doing what they did these machines wouldn’t be so well known but the fact remains they were equal partners in creating a legendary pairing. While any number ofmachines could fill this spot we’re concentrating on two trials bikes which pretty much rounded off the big bike era in the Sixties and the reason for this is they’re both going to be on display at the Classic Dirt Bike Show at Telford. These two machines are as close to the ultimate expression of what could have been, had their factories produced them for public sale…

The whole hoary subject of replacement gaskets, sealers and the like is one close to the heart of any reader of this magazine. After all, most of the motorcycles we use are at least 30 years old and the cases have been apart loads of times. Gasket cement is aproduct designed to hold a gasket inplace before being fitted. Like many people, I’ve been guilty inthe past of misusing the products we glibly describe as gasket goo, thankfully though I’ve not been as bad as the owner of an engine I was once asked to have a look at because ‘…it stopped working…’ One glance showed why – ribbons of orange silicone exuded from every joint face on the engine and the situation didn’t improve the deeper I went in.…

With green shoots thinking about appearing and temperatures almost starting to rise, thoughts again turn to that ‘Mecca of motocross’ Hawkstone Park... so what better time to look at last year’s going’s-on and think about 2018’s action to come. For the event over the August bank holiday weekend riders and spectators alike were greeted by glorious sunshine as they descended on one of the world’s most famous, exciting and truly demanding motocross circuits. They had all come to this iconic venue to celebrate motocross... or scrambling as it was once known. Ably promoted by Cumbria Twinshock Club and sponsored by Toughsheet and KAIS Suspension, the Festival of Legends comprised of races for the Frank Mercer Memorial Trophy and Round 6 of The National Twinshock Championship as well as The West…

Some people, probably the vast majority, go through their motorcycling life without even trying the sport with a third wheel attached. They seem quite happy, they will be less bruised... but will they have that true sense of achievement? For these pages of CDB we decided to get some training in the gentle art of sidecars... and to find out how easy (!) it really was with that extra wheel... I first touched on this side of the sport some 36 years ago when another unwilling volunteer and I were duped into trying sidecars. It wasn’t successful because while we were – and still are – mates, we didn’t gel as a team. That’s the main thing, as in a sport like sidecarring you must work as a team and…