Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 47 Summer 2018 i Classic Dirt Bike

Surveys are not a new thing, though with the advent of the internet they became easier to present to us and equally as easy for us to ignore. It seems no matter what we do, or where we do it, somebody, somewhere, wants to know our opinion on whatever it is we’ve purchased or used or are interested in. Sometimes such requests come up at the end of a process online; for instance I’ve just taxed my van and the DVLA wanted to know if Iwas happy with the service and if it could be improved. My answers of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ were honest and the same as several previous answers. Other surveys may appear a few days after purchases online, along the lines of ‘was Ihappy with the process?’,…

It is a situation that few of us are ever likely to face at our level of racing. What am I on about? The choices facing a professional MX racer. For instance, picture the scene, a young lad, doing well is on the up. He’s chosen to try and make a living in one of the most precarious occupations there is… that of a professional motocross racer. These days there is lots of outside sponsors that often shovel money into the scene and expect a spectacle in return from those favoured with sponsorship. Arguably, while the race wins and championship titles are nice, these are often secondary to providing entertainment to a crowd that will see the sponsor’s name front and centre. For instance, take a rider like Dougie Lampkin…

In the immediate post-Second World War years AMC had arguably the ideal start to their competition range with the WDG3L military model. In common with all other manufacturers in those far off days when raw materials were scarce, AMC produced a competition model that the keen club rider could purchase and use in all sorts of events such as trials, scrambles, hill climbs, grasstracks and whatever else his local club might run. Though rigid at the rear, the ex-WD machine this competition model was based on was equipped with the company’s excellent Teledraulic front forks. Okay, so the engines might still have been all iron from the crankcases up, but some attempts had been made to ensure they were more suitable for the job they were intending to do. At…

We’re a nosey lot in the dirt bike world – a lad does something like winning a championship and we want to know the far end of a tailpipe about his bike and how he did it. Luckily, Kris Winder was happy to talk to us and, for good measure, he brought along Chris Lewis, who built the bike for him. To keep us all in order, Kris’s wife Kim came along too. Kim is also secretary of Westmorland MCC, which will be running the Kendal Classic Revival scramble on the Westmorland County Showground and arranged for our photoshoot to be on the showground too. So, despite March’s mixed bag of weather, we actually got warm sunshine for our day with three Honda Elsinores. The tale of Kris’s involvement with…

Having enjoyed the first couple of 2018 Kia National Twinshock Trials rounds in North Wales and County Durham respectively, both excellent events that rightly drew impressive three-figure entries, it occurred to me what a phenomenon the Britshock thing is. Of course, by Britshock I mean the class that has, almost by osmosis, emerged from what started out as Pre-65, but which has subsequently been stretched to Pre-72 or thereabouts. Britshocks, to the uninitiated, are new-build Twinshocks loosely based on something that started out as a British-built machine, or at least bits of one. In reality, in most cases the genuine bits are restricted to the bare engine crankcases. Everything else is brand new to 2018 specifications. Yes, you can indeed purchase everything else brand spanking new almost from stock. A…

BOOK REVIEW Sideways on The frenetic world of speedway, seen through the life of Bert Harkins, is the subject of the latest book from London League Publications Ltd. Bert’s autobiography, My Crazy Speedway World, was launched in February during the celebrations for speedway’s 90th anniversary inthe UK, held at Paradise Wildlife Park, Herts. The 252-page softback book, costing £14.50, post free in the UK from London League Publications Ltd, covers Bert’s complete career, from his early years at Edinburgh and Coatbridge, his time at Wembley, Sheffield and Wimbledon, his season racing in America with the Bakersfield Bandits, his return to Edinburgh and finale with Milton Keynes. It also includes his international outings with the British Lions, Scotland and the Rest of the World, as well as his time racing in…

In starting our chat with the statement that Bernie pretty much heralded in a new way to ride, he burst out laughing and said: “That makes me sound as if I set out to change the sport.” He paused and then went on: “I was accused of trick riding, maybe ‘accused’ isn’t the right word, but the rub is I never wanted to change things – what I was focussed on was finding out ways to ride within the rules that existed at the time.” Just briefly and this is my comment and not Bernie’s, in those days the merest suggestion a rider might hesitate gained a ‘five’ and maintaining forward motion was paramount. Bernie continued: “If by flicking or jumping I could change direction in a section while keeping…

For Canadian Al Keith the world changed at the Canadian National MX events he competed in during the early Eighties. How so? It was at these events that he first set actual eyes on Yamaha’s OW factory racers and life would never be the same again. Al wanted one, the MX world wanted one, the world – Al included – couldn’t get one and at the end of each season such machines were sent to the crusher. That was a cruel fate for such a thoroughbred with its handcrafted parts that were designed to win races and nothing else. It is true with the amount of technology available these days replicas can be built, but they’re not the same as the real thing, as who knows what went inside those…

We want your opinion… yes we do and there’s some choice kit to be won in a free prize draw. Here at Classic Dirt Bike we can get a bit focussed on what we’re doing as we strive to produce the best features about the best in the dirt bike world, but are we doing it right? This is your chance to tell us, officially on a form which will be read and which complements what readers tell us at trials, scrambles and enduros. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been a subscriber from issue one or have just picked up the mag for the first time – your opinion matters. What are we doing right? What are we doing wrong? What aren’t we doing that we should? If you don’t…

After chatting with Bernie, I had a look in the archive at CDB to see what the reports of the 1979 championship year had to say and they are quite informative. First of all it wasn’t an easy year, as there were a number of the then top riders who could have taken the title and Bernie wasn’t among the favourites. Of the 12 rounds that year, MotorCycle managed to carry reports of nine and the two biggest reports were, not unnaturally enough for a British paper, the Hurst Cup in Northern Ireland and the following week’s British round at Rhayader. Round 1 – Hurst Cups, Clandeboye Estate near Belfast, a renowned tough trial. It was a baptism of fire for Bernie in 1979 and a…

1. Got you covered! The latest bang up to date 2018 range from 250LONDON is out and looking good. You know you need to cut the right style when on your Evo or Twinshock and 250LONDON have got you covered. Their Moto Jersey has been improved by using a super lightweight fabric to make them from and some of the range are vented to allow the body to breathe so the rider looks as cool on the rack as they do in the pits. Also new for 2018 is the round neck style replacing the V-neck on a couple of the styles and what styles there are. There are loads from the cowboy shirt to the feline and much more – shown is the yellow ‘Poster’ style, which we think…

For my second visit to the Classic Dirt Bike Show at Telford, I was privileged enough to be present for the launch of my latest book, Jeff Smith – Trials Master, Motocross Maestro (Motorsport Publications LLC) and spent many hours signing books in company with the great man himself. The show itself was a bit of a blur, which I guess is generally the case for those working at such events, and I didn’t get the chance to walk around, just chat and soak up the atmosphere of the show. Mental note to self: ‘Next time do just that.’ Over the weekend we were visited by many of Jeff’s old friends and adversaries, including Johnny and Pat Britain, Sammy Miller, Alan Clough, Bryan Goss, Alan Lampkin, Reynolds 531 supremo Ken…