The Roundabout Rickman
Sometimes a person gets what they want by sheer determination and force of will. So it was in the summer of 1974 when Wisconsin motorcyclist Mike Engelhart set out to Continue Reading
A Pan Asian Pan Euro
It would be easy to start a review of a Chinese bike with some disparaging remark about a funny name, or the existence of a poorly executed copy of a Continue Reading
Never too old to lean – or – Don’t give up
I sat on the floor in the Gents with the hand dryer blowing on my head and realised I had a big problem. In late September, I’d left Dieppe in Continue Reading
A View from the Group W Bench
Waving and nodding. I try to do one of these to all bikes of any size, shape or hue, but there is one bloke on a Jap multi I pass Continue Reading
Riders’ Lives – Paul Nicholas Blezard (aka Blez)
1.What was your first motorcycling experience? Aged 13, hiring a 50cc motorcycle and riding it on the streets of Rimini for an hour without mastering the clutch, but also without Continue Reading
Paddy’s Perspective
Which Way Now? It’s something to ponder: Where’s the Bike Industry going? Chasing a GP dream or embracing environmentalism? Are the marketing men leading, or are consumers demanding change? Is Continue Reading
A View from the Group W Bench
I am going to have to disagree with Dave G here. I started proper biking aged 26 in 1979. I bought a Lewis Leathers Double zipper and a set of Continue Reading
Funky Mopeds
There was a time, many years ago, when some of the contributors to this august journal had long hair, pimply faces and flares, when there existed a sub culture Continue Reading
The Ace Cafe, Café Racers, and Racing Aces – Book Review pt. 1
It is doubtful that there is anyone involved in the world of British motorcycling whose life is not touched directly or indirectly by the Ace Cafe. A visit here, an Continue Reading
The Ace Cafe, Café Racers, and Racing Aces – Book Review pt. 2
The world of the contemporary café racer in the United States is more properly addressed in Seate’s Café Racer: the Motorcycle (2008). For the past five or so years Seate Continue Reading
From the Editor ~ 177
As many of you will be aware, I tend to leave me editorial until the very last thing. This is partially to lend it a degree of immediacy in recognition Continue Reading
Paddy’s Perspective
Commercial interests? It’s often the case that legislation emanating from Europe appears to have a commercial interest. You may remember that compulsory ABS on all bikes and scooters was something Continue Reading
The Boy Biker – sees the light
A recent excursion led me down a path, which having emerged the other side unscathed, gave me a lot to think about, biking and otherwise. Last month I was Billy Continue Reading
Nuts & Bolts
Going faster with cheap gin. Time passes by incredibly quickly, especially once one reaches a certain age. Actually, scrub that. Time is inordinately and mind numbingly regular in its passing. Continue Reading
Playing Blackjack
Back in the 1960s, I had an Isetta ‘bubble car’ made by BMW, which was great fun but I wrote it off on black ice, so I moved on to Continue Reading
Biker Down
“Kevin, I’ve got an idea and I’d like hear your thoughts about it” That was how I was first introduced by Jim Sanderson to what was soon to become ‘Biker Continue Reading
Paul Sample: The Interview ‘Everyone chooses their own destiny; mine’s a bike’ – OGRI
Whitchurch is one of those places that encapsulates the essence of Englishness with all its half-timbered houses, red bricks and stone-built churches. It’s a theme I want to explore with Continue Reading
Portraits of the TT 2012
It had been 10 years since my first and last visit to the Isle of Man for the TT races, back in 2002 I had just changed jobs, as I Continue Reading