Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 68 Autumn 2023 i Classic Dirt Bike

Entries opened on Wednesday, June 7 for the FIM Trial Des Nations and FIM Trial Vintage Trophy events which will this year be staged over the weekend of September 8-10 at Auron in France. A total of 48 sections for each day all laid out in the beautiful Alpes-Maritimes around 100km north of Nice, making it an ideal location for anyone planning a visit to the French Riviera. There will be two main trophies – the FIM Trial Vintage Trophy for best overall performance on a vintage motorcycle and the FIM Trial Vintage Motorcycle Trophy for best performance on an authentic vintage motorcycle – both won last year by France’s Philippe Berlatier on his immaculate 1981 Bultaco Sherpa 340. Once again there will be a less demanding green support class…

It appears Triumph is re-entering the serious off-road world and has in development a 250 MX and enduro machine. Those of us in CDB world will be well aware of Triumph’s fabulous past in all areas of the dirt bike world. The company has any number of ISDT gold medals to its name, or more accurately riders who used Triumph power to win themselves gold medals. Nor were its supported riders far from the top in scrambling which gives us an excuse to use a pic of John Giles’ 500cc unit construction scrambler to illustrate the piece and trumpet about the glory days. While details are sketchy at the moment, we doubt the new Triumph will bear much resemblance to John’s machines from the Sixties but with a name like…

How many of us have actually sat down and designed the space where we work on our motorcycles? I doubt there’s many of us who had the time to do such a thing and if you’re anything like the editor then stuff gets shoved in the space then moved around as it gets in the way. Sealey – the popular tools and equipment supplier – has a design system to allow anyone to create their ideal workshop from the wide range of storage systems available from the company’s products catalogue. Each range allows you to purchase a simple base unit or create a complete storage system. Simple to use, the designer tool enables you to specify your room dimensions, drag and drop your chosen units into place then review your…

Honda RTL We all stop and look at a motorcycle which has been well fettled; it could be in the paddock, at the start of a trial or at a show like the Classic Dirt Bike one at Telford. We can appreciate the work which has gone into this fettling process and to a point we all try to do what we can to make our bikes just a little bit better than standard. Unlike other words in the English language ‘fettle’ has stayed pretty much to its original meaning – it emerged in old English a few hundred years ago and meant to prepare something for a task, usually a battle – in our world it means either the cleaning up of castings or ensuring the mating surfaces of…

1. Tanks very much Latest products in regular CDB advertiser VMX Racing’s range are brand new petrol tanks… or should it be ‘gas tanks’ as VMX Racing is based in the USA? Anyway, these high-quality tanks are for the Honda 1980 CR250 and 1981 CR450 models and come in the correct VMX colours in red or white. They’re to the original OEM shape, form and fuel capacity so VMX Racing says you can use your OEM cap, fuel petcock and mounting brackets. These tanks were the only missing part from Honda’s 1980 CR250 range and restorers of these models can now make their 1980 CR250 look completely new with all plastics, seat covers and seat foam as well as decals available. No more sending off your old tank for buffing,…

MOTO MEMORIES The UK weather is nothing if not variable and often while one end of the country is basking in sunshine the other end can be experiencing different conditions. Our main pic shows Mick Wilkinson tackling Edramucky Gulley in the 1973 SSDT and the weather is not exactly ambient. In fact for 1973’s Scottish it was a cold old week with Scotland experiencing snow and sleet which must have been fun for riders heading up to Fort William from the start in Edinburgh. Malcolm Rathmell, who would win the 1973 trial – incidentally the last pre-crash helmet event – recalls arriving at the Forth Road Bridge and seeing snow-covered wagons heading towards him. Edramucky Gulley was tackled on the ride up to Fort William in those days and made…

It might seem a bit early to talk about next February while we’re still eagerly anticipating the August heatwave… there are rumours of double figures on the thermometer… here in the UK. Equally eagerly anticipated is the annual Classic Dirt Bike Show at the Telford International Centre at Telford in Shropshire which is on February 10-12 next year and just kick-starts the season for a lot of riders and enthusiasts. Though a lot of details are yet to be confirmed such as guests of honour and final exhibits, if it all works out that those approached can be there then it will be something special. What we can say is Hagon Shocks is once again putting its name where its enthusiasm is and there will be something to touch on…

The 5th Annual Rickman Metisse Day was held at the Sammy Miller Museum on Sunday, June 25 and attracted the biggest crowd ever with entrants from all over the UK and abroad. Special guests included Don Rickman and his family, Graham Noyce, Joe Johnson, Alan Cathcart, Ron Langston and many old Rickman employees who were there to enjoy the day and catch up. A great number of international visitors took advantage of this special event with a visit to the museum during the day. As well as Rickman motorcycles there were Rickman cars on display as brothers Don and Derek took their company into the kit car industry with the Rickman Ranger and provided kits for other manufacturers. At 11am there was a minute’s silence held in memory of Derek…

Bonhams Cars will be handling the sale of the ARE Classic Motorcycle Collection at the Classic Mechanics Show on October 14/15 following the death of ARE’s Tony East. Located within the beautiful grounds of The Old Vicarage at Kirk Michael on the TT course, this stunning collection at times comprised more than 100 machines lovingly assembled by the late Tony East (pictured below), who moved to the Island when he retired in 2002. Tony was a regular presence at Stafford Classic Bike Shows, selling components and hydraulic lifts for motorcycles. An active member of both the Vintage Motor Cycle Club and Friends of the TT Riders’ Association, he was president of the IoM section of the VMCC, organising and hosting many of their events at his Kirk Michael Museum.…

Rotax Some time ago in CDB we did a thing on Rotax engines and in the feature we tried to list all those makes that used the Austrian power unit to build motorcycles. Once we got to around 20 we gave up… Suffice to say the Rotax engine became the go-to unit of choice for lots of makers and it appeared in trials, MX, enduro and even road-racing motorcycles. It could be argued the engine took over the mantle once worn by Villiers as a major engine supplier. Even if you weren’t aware of the position Rotax occupies in our scene then a walk around the 2023 Classic Dirt Bike Show would bring it to your notice. This particular Rotax-engined motorcycle displayed on Keith Ree’s Holab Concepts stand caught my…

At one time the sidecar was a common sight on Britain’s roads and thanks to the popularity of road-going outfits there was a burgeoning competition scene too. This road-going scene tended to ensure a regular supply of drivers and crew for competition outfits. While the advent of the small car didn’t kill off sidecars, it didn’t do them any favours – to the point where these days many longtime motorcyclists have never experienced sidecars. Naturally there are those who have always competed on three wheels and their enthusiasm can be infectious, to the extent where the sidecar MX scene is quite healthy and the MX world is all the better for it. In this MX scene one name stands out above all the others for sidecar excellence. It’s not a…

Drumlanrig The castle at Drumlanrig is an imposing presence. Close to the town of Thornhill in Dumfries and Galloway, its vista overlooks the surrounding area and there’s a long drive up to the parking area for castle visits. Like many such places, earning their keep these days means a measure of diversity; so many do as Drumlanrig and host all sorts of events, from country fairs to sporting events involving horses, cycling and running, to name a few. Once a year this most stately of stately homes hosts an event which celebrates a faster, more frenetic world… the Drumlanrig Offroad Motorsport Festival. For three days – May 19-21 for 2023 – the grounds directly in front of the castle have a scrambles course laid out and attract the best in…

The Inverness and District club staged its ever-popular Highland Classic Two Day Trial – Suzuki Edition – at Alvie Estate near Aviemore in sweltering heat on the weekend of June 10/11 with guest of honour being former Suzuki factory rider Nigel Birkett. Nigel had dug out his special Suzuki which had not seen the light of day since he competed in the Costa Brava Two Day back in 2018. Amazingly, it fired up second kick and ran perfectly all weekend – apart from snapping a clutch cable with seven sections to go on Saturday. Birks rode them clutchless anyway... The machine isn’t actually his factory Suzuki. It features a tweaked Beamish chassis but houses the full factory magnesium engine. Nigel does own the complete machine, complete with all its handmade…

On Saturday May 20, 2023 more than 300 off-road and adventure bikers attended one of the themed days at the Sammy Miller Museum at Bashley Manor near New Milton in Hampshire. The sun shone on the day and riders and visitors alike enjoyed looking at the numerous bikes and trade stands, including several motorcycle companies such as Destination Triumph, Bournemouth Ducati and Crescent Motorcycles. Members of the Trail Riders’ Federation were in the courtyard explaining the benefits of membership. Trials clubs, Waterside and XHG Trials Club had a big display and all the trade stands were busy. Demonstration rides were arranged for a rideout on the Zero electric motorbikes. All of those who had a go were amazed by the performance of the bikes – it was unusual to see…

TECH FEATURE When someone trusts you enough to loan their motorcycle to you and knows it will be used in what is a tough environment then there is a duty of care – well at least for me there is – in force. Incidents do happen, things can break but the expectation of fixing the damage is there. Thankfully from my point of view the only damage which needed fixing was fairly minor and involved having the chain guard bracket welded back on, one of the folding footrest springs replaced and a new bolt in the rear brake lever. The chain guard bracket broke off early in my use of this Velocette and I left it off until the bike was being fettled up for going back to its owner…

Readers’ Rides While there are plenty of Maicos out on the track I wanted mine to be a little different from the rest and set about putting my thoughts into metal. The result here is my 1981 Maico 500 hybrid with all sorts of parts, upgrades and modifications which have only added half a kilo to the all-up weight and it now tips the scales at a gram or two under 102.5kg. I wanted this bike to look right for the era with the benefits of better components and more usable power combined with suspension which would cope with the upgrades. So, starting at the front end with the bouncy bits which originated on a 1998 TM250, they are Marzocchi 45mm diameter forks clamped in the TM yokes too. These…

GasGas Aire 1988 Sometimes a major setback turns out to be one of those silver-lined clouds which becomes a successful venture. Take the case of Josep Pibernat and Narcis Casas. The pair were following the ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ ethos as they competed in the Spanish and world enduro scene on Bultaco models during the Seventies. Their shop in Barcelona not only stocked Bultaco models and the full range of off-road accessories needed by the off-road competitor in all disciplines but eventually imported Italian SWM motorcycles. Then Bultaco hit trouble as the Seventies came to an end and a couple of years later the same fate befell SWM. The supply of bikes dried up and the lads were left with a shop but nothing to sell. Instead of…