250 – 499cc
1956 Matchless G9
1956 Matchless G9 500 Twin 1956 MATCHLESS G9 BACKGROUND Matchless Motorcycles cut their teeth on the depressed British home market, depressed both before World War II and after. They did good business selling reliable single-cylinder bikes to commuters who used them as their only means of transport to and from work. But things were changing …
1961 Triumph Speed Twin
1961 Triumph Speed Twin 1961 TRIUMPH SPEED TWIN HAS A “BATHTUB” The British home market had been hungry for cheap transportation after WWII, and commuter motorcycles helped fill that role. But England being…well, England, was wet and rainy and to prevent rust an owner needed to wipe his bike down each night after getting home …
1949 Triumph T100 Tiger
1949 Triumph T100 Tiger 1949 TRIUMPH T100 TIGER LEADS THE PACK At the end of World War II, civilian production of motorcycles ramped up quickly to tap into the tremendous pent up demand for transportation. 1946 was Triumph’s first postwar model year. The 5T Speed Twin, its best seller prior to, and after the war, …
1971 BSA B50SS
1971 BSA B50 SS 1971 BSA B50SS BACKGROUND The “SS” stands for “Street Scrambler”, and was intended as the full street version of the 500cc single-cylinder B50 line. BSA dipped into its parts bin, borrowing from the 1971-and-later BSA A65 for the front forks, triple clamps, brakes and lighting. All of this was added to …
1968 Triumph Daytona
1968 Triumph Daytona 500 1968 TRIUMPH DAYTONA – WHAT’S IN A NAME? Triumph derived the name of this bike from Buddy Elmore’s win at the 1966 Daytona 200 at Daytona Beach FL riding a Triumph T100T Tiger 500 twin. It was Triumph’s first-ever Daytona victory, with an average speed of 96.6 mph. By 1967, it …
Norton Motorcycles
1947 Norton 350T 1947 NORTON 350T BACKGROUND Right after the War, all the British motorcycle manufacturers were gearing back up for civilian production and many were competing in various forms of racing. Road racing, various forms of off-road racing, and trials. Norton revived its last trials bike, used in the 1940 racing season, just before …
1959 Norton Dominator
1959 Norton Dominator 1959 NORTON DOMINATOR BACKGROUND Norton designed the legendary “Featherbed Frame” for the single-cylinder Manx racer in 1950. In 1953 they dropped the Model 7’s 500 twin-cylinder engine into the Featherbed frame, and created a new bike, the Norton Dominator, in fact a whole new line of bikes. As a 500, the Dominator …
1938 Velocette KSS
1938 Velocette KSS 1938 VELOCETTE KSS AT THE CUTTING EDGE The Velocette KSS debuted in 1925 as an OHC (overhead cam) 350cc air-cooled single. Being OHC placed it at the cutting edge of engine technology at a time when most machines still used side-valve designs or pushrods. The name KSS breaks down to the K …
1938 Velocette MAC
1938 Velocette MAC 1938 VELOCETTE MAC BACKGROUND Velocette, while a relatively small motorcycle company, was always known for it innovative designs and premium quality. In the 1920s, when most engines were side-valves (flatheads) and only a few had OHVs, Velocette introduced it’s K-series (KSS and KTT, first as factory racers, then as production bikes in …
1975 Rickman 250MX
1975 Rickman 250MX 1975 RICKMAN 250MX – LAST OF THE BREED After a brilliant career that started in 1959 with the creation of the first Rickman Metisse prototype, the Rickman’s brothers’ line of MX race bikes came to an end in 1975. Market changes certainly had something to do with it, as the Japanese were …
1954 Triumph Speed Twin
1954 Triumph Speed Twin 1954 TRIUMPH SPEED TWIN BACKGROUND In a few short years, the 5T Speed Twin went from being one of the world’s premium performance motorcycles to be Triumph’s entry-level twin. It had been surpassed by the T100 Tiger with its higher compression and hotter cams. And soon it would be bumped down …
1939 BSA Silver Star
1939 BSA Silver Star 1939 BSA SILVER STAR BACKGROUND The brilliant engineer Val Page designed BSA’s new 500 single in 1937, while at the same time bringing some rationale to BSA’s complex product lineup. It was now made up of 250 and 350 singles in what was called the “B-class”, and the top-of-the-line 500 heavyweight …
1961 BSA Gold Star
1961 BSA Gold Star 1961 BSA GOLD STAR GETTING LONG IN THE TOOTH The Gold Star originally evolved out of the 1937 BSA Empire Star, but it took until after World War II to actually create the Gold Star, which launched in 1948. So it’s basic design was ancient by the time it went out …
1969 Triumph Daytona
1969 Triumph Daytona 500 1969 TRIUMPH DAYTONA – WHAT’S IN A NAME? Triumph derived the name of this bike from Buddy Elmore’s win at the 1966 Daytona 200 at Daytona Beach FL riding a Triumph T100T Tiger 500 twin. It was Triumph’s first-ever Daytona victory, with an average speed of 96.6 mph. By 1967, it …
1971 Rickman-Weslake
1971 Rickman-Weslake 1971 Rickman-Weslake Background This 1971 Rickman-Weslake is typical of the Rickman dirt bikes running around in the 1960s and early 70s, the result of years of development. After years of racing motocross in the 1950s in England and Europe, brothers Don and Derek Rickman decided to design their own frame. At the time, …
1948 Velocette KSS
1948 Velocette KSS 1948 VELOCETTE KSS BACKGROUND The Velocette KSS debuted in 1925 as an OHC (overhead cam) 350cc air-cooled single. Being OHC placed it at the cutting edge of engine technology at a time when most machines still used side-valve designs or pushrods. The name KSS breaks down to the K for overhead cam …
1955 Ariel Red Hunter
1955 Ariel Red Hunter 1955 ARIEL RED HUNTER BACKGROUND The 1930s were indeed the Golden Age for the British motorcycle industry. At the time, nearly all of them relied heavily on one basic engine architecture: the air-cooled, pushrod OHV single, and most marques had built their lineup of 350 and 500 singles. World War II …
1960 Triumph T100 Tiger
1960 Triumph T100 Tiger “Bathtub” 1960 TRIUMPH T100 TIGER BATHTUB STYLING Bathtub styling was part of a brief flirtation with enclosed bike that infected England from the mid-50s to the mid-60s. After WWII, Brits were in dire need of basic transportation, and most couldn’t afford cars, so they commuted on bikes to and from work. …
1955 Triumph T110 Tiger
1955 Triumph T110 Tiger 1955 TRIUMPH T110 TIGER CONTINUALLY IMPROVES True to the British style at the time, steady, continuous improvements were applied to all their bikes. The 650cc T110 Tiger was their hottest bike in 1955 (the TR6 wouldn’t topple its top spot until 1956), so much attention was lauded on it. 1954 Tigers …
1952 Triumph T100 Tiger
1952 Triumph T100 Tiger 1952 TRIUMPH T100 TIGER LEADS THE PACK At the end of World War II, civilian production of motorcycles ramped up quickly to tap into the tremendous pent up demand for transportation. 1946 was Triumph’s first postwar model year. The 5T Speed Twin, its best seller prior to, and after the war, …
1947 Triumph T100
1947 Triumph T100 Tiger 1947 TRIUMPH T100 TIGER LEADS THE PACK At the end of World War II, civilian production of motorcycles ramped up quickly to tap into the tremendous pent up demand for transportation. 1946 was Triumph’s first postwar model year. The 5T Speed Twin, its best seller prior to, and after the war, …
1957 Norton Dominator
1957 Norton Dominator Dominator 88 – 500cc 1957 NORTON DOMINATOR BACKGROUND Norton designed the legendary “Featherbed Frame” for the single-cylinder Manx racer in 1950. In 1953 they dropped the Model 7’s 500 twin-cylinder engine into the Featherbed frame, and created a new bike, the Norton Dominator, in fact a whole new line of bikes. As …
1953 Triumph T100 Tiger
1953 Triumph T100 Tiger 1953 TRIUMPH T100 TIGER LEADS THE PACK At the end of World War II, civilian production of motorcycles ramped up quickly to tap into the tremendous pent up demand for transportation. 1946 was Triumph’s first postwar model year. The 5T Speed Twin, its best seller prior to, and after the war, …
1950 Triumph T100
1950 Triumph T100 1950 TRIUMPH T100 TIGER LEADS THE PACK At the end of World War II, civilian production of motorcycles ramped up quickly to tap into the tremendous pent up demand for transportation. 1946 was Triumph’s first postwar model year. The 5T Speed Twin, its best seller prior to, and after the war, had …
1941 Matchless G3
1941 Matchless G3 1941 MATCHLESS G3 BACKGROUND Just prior to World War 2, Matchless was on a roll. Their middleweight singles were selling as fast as they could be built. In 1939, Matchless introduced the next evolution in their single-cylinder design, the 349cc Matchless G3. Just as production was ramping up, the British Army got …
1948 Triumph T100 Tiger
1948 Triumph T100 Tiger 1948 TRIUMPH T100 TIGER BACKGROUND Immediately after the end of World War II, Triumph quickly reverted back to civilian production and hit the ground running. Prior to the war, their two top models were the 500cc 5T Speed Twin and its hotter cousin, the T100 Tiger, also a 500 twin, but …
1961 BSA Gold Star Clubman
1961 BSA Gold Star Clubman 1961 BSA GOLD STAR CLUBMAN While the BSA Gold Star was famous for its off-road and desert-racing prowess, when properly fitted out, they also made excellent road-racing machines, on par the a Norton Manx. The Clubman edition got a 36mm bellmouth Amal Grand Prix carburetor, hotter cam and timing, higher …
Triumph Tiger
1939 Triumph Tiger 100, first year for this hot new model. Note Rigid frame & girder front suspension. A TIGER IS BORN The Triumph Tiger was the natural evolution of the constant & relentless quest for more & more power. The <a href=”https://www.classic-british-motorcycles.com/triumph-speed-twin.html”>Triumph Speed Twin</a> had literally changed the motorcycle world in 1938, and was …
Matchless G9
MATCHLESS G9 BACKGROUND Like everyone else in the British motorcycle industry at the time, when Triumph rocked the world with their 1938 Speed Twin, the world’s first modern 500cc vertical twin, AMC (Associated Motor Cycles), parent company of Matchless, and AJS, developed a new 500 vertical twin for both brands. As always, there would be …
Norton Manx
NORTON MANX BACKGROUND The Manx was developed in 1937, in both SOHC and DOHC form, to compete in and win the Isle of Man TT. Before fully developed, World War II intervened, and production of the Manx was delayed until 1946. The Manx quickly gained a reputation for its speed and reliability, allowing it to …
Velocette Thruxton
VELOCETTE THRUXTON BACKGROUND By the 1960s, the motorcycle market had clearly shifted away from practical, economical commuters, and toward high-performance bikes with sporting aspirations. Triumph and Norton were killing in this market, and by the mid-60s, the Japanese were taking a major bite out if it for themselves. Velocette, never having developed a vertical twin, …
Norton Model 7
NORTON MODEL 7 BACKGROUND Following Triumph’s lead, Norton, along with nearly every other British motorcycle manufacturer, entered the parallel twin race with its own new 500 twin in 1949. Known as the Model 7 and also the Model 7 Dominator, it was Norton’s first twin, and the first in the storied Dominator line. It was …
Velocette KTT
VELOCETTE KTT BACKGROUND Velocette built the KTT expressly for racing, hence the “KTT” designation. “K” for Kammer, which is German for ‘cam’, which indicated an Overhead Cam (OHC) in Velocette’s parlance. The “TT” differentiated it from the other Velos in the K-series, TT denoting its purely racing intent. They were essentially factor racers which were …
Vincent Comet
VINCENT COMET BACKGROUND Vincent was a very low-volume producer of premium motorcycles. During the entire span of the company’s existence (1928-1955) they barely made 11,000 bikes. The big V-twin Rapides and Black Shadows may have been the stars of the show, but the 499cc single-cylinder Comet was their biggest seller, by a wide margin. So …
Triumph 350 Twins
BACKGROUND OF TRIUMPH 350 TWINS Triumph rocked the world with the introduction of their seminal 1938 5T Speed Twin. Designed by the legendary Edward Turner, the first ‘modern’ parallel twin was copied by nearly every other British motorcycle manufacturer, but World War II intervened before any reached production. But when civilian production resumed in 1946, …
2002 Royal Enfield Bullet
2002 Royal Enfield Bullet 2002 ROYAL ENFIELD BULLET BACKGROUND Royal Enfield had been building sturdy, reliable motorcycles since the turn of the century. They produced military motorcycles for the British army in both world wars. They struggled at the edge of insolvency throughout most of the 1930s but managed to hang on until the the …
2021 Suzuki GSX250R ABS [Model Overview]
Suzuki’s Compact Racer: The 2021 Suzuki GSX250R ABS Contents Model Overview Specifications Features Photos Videos Links The smallest GSX model, the GSX250R, returns as part of the 2021 Suzuki line-up with a few new additions for the new model year. Borrowing most of its DNA from the GSX-R line—arguably the most famous Suzuki motorcycles in …
2021 Yamaha XMAX [Model Overview]
Yamaha’s Smart City Slicker: The 2021 XMAX Contents Model Overview Specifications Features Photos Videos Links The compact and practical Yamaha XMAX returns for the new year with a number of exciting updates. Along with the Zuma 125, the XMAX is one of the most economical commuting options in the 2021 Yamaha line-up. When it comes …
2021 Honda Rebel 500 [Model Overview]
The 2021 Honda Rebel 500: The Middle Child of the Rebel Family Contents Model Overview Specifications Features Photos Videos Links The 2021 Honda Rebel 500 features a low seat giving a comfortable seating position. However, this Honda motorcycle is not “boring”. Much like the Rebel 300, the Rebel 500’s design is classic with a modern …
2021 Honda CRF300L / CRF300L Rally [Model Overview]
Entry-level Rallying: The 2021 Honda CRF300L and CRF300L Rally Contents Model Overview Specifications Features Photos Videos Links The CRF300L and CRF300L Rally are two of the newest Honda motorcycles on the market. They’re the new replacements for the old tried and tested CRF250L model, which has been dropped from the 2021 Honda line-up in favor …
