Single-Cylinder
1954 Ariel Red Hunter
1954 Ariel Red Hunter 1954 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 …
1939 Ariel Red Hunter
1939 Ariel Red Hunter 1939 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. As the 1930s …
1947 Ariel Red Hunter
1947 Ariel Red Hunter 1947 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 …
19Royal Enfield60 Royal Enfield Bullet
1960 Royal Enfield Bullet 1960 ROYAL ENFIELD BULLET – A LONG HISTORY Royal Enfield introduced the 350cc and 500cc single-cylinder Bullet line in 1948, and while many changes were made in the interim, including a change of ownership of the company, the Royal Enfield Bullet has the unique distinction of being the longest-running motorcycle model …
Velocette MAC
VELOCETTE MAC BACKGROUND Velocette had great success with their OHC (Overhead Cams) singles, like the KSS, but in 1933, they decided to introduce a new line of OHV (Overhead Valves, ie: pushrods) machines, as a way of reducing their production costs while delivering a lower-priced motorcycle to market. The K-series had been expensive to produce. …
1968 Velocette Thruxton
1968 Velocette Thruxton 1968 VELOCETTE THRUXTON BACKGROUND Velocette had a proven design in their 500cc Velocette Venom. Big singles had sort passed from grace in the 1960s with the advent of all the twins pouring out of Britain, and now the high-revving, and totally-reliable twins coming out of Japan. Velocette didn’t have the funds to …
BSA M20
The BSA M20 was just part of BSA’s massive wartime contribution to Britain’s war effort. But it was a very big part. 1937 was its first year of production that would last until the late 1950s. Designed to be simple, rugged and reliable, the M20 was a side-valve (flathead) 500cc air-cooled single with a cast-iron …
1948 Norton Manx
1948 Norton Manx 1948 NORTON MANX BACKGROUND The Norton 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 …
1962 Norton Manx
1962 Norton Manx 1962 NORTON MANX BACKGROUND The Norton 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 …
1959 Norton Manx
1959 Norton Manx 1959 NORTON MANX BACKGROUND The Norton 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 …
1953 Norton Manx
1953 Norton Manx 1953 NORTON MANX BACKGROUND The Norton 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 …
1949 Norton Manx
1949 Norton Manx 1949 NORTON MANX BACKGROUND The Norton 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 …
1952 Norton Manx
1952 Norton Manx 1952 NORTON MANX BACKGROUND The Norton 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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
1959 Triumph Tiger Cub
1959 Triumph Tiger Cub 1959 TRIUMPH TIGER CUB BACKGROUND The 200cc T20 Tiger Cub was produced from 1956 through 1968 and sold quite well for Triumph. The original Cub was introduced in 1953 at the Earls Court Motorcycle Show in London England as a 150cc commuter, at a time when there was a very big …
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 …
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 …
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 …
1961 Triumph Cub
1961 Triumph Cub 1961 TRIUMPH CUB BACKGROUND The 200cc T20 Tiger Cub was produced from 1956 through 1968 and sold quite well for Triumph. The original Cub was introduced in 1953 at the Earls Court Motorcycle Show in London England as a 150cc commuter, at a time when there was a very big market for …
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 …
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 …
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, …
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 …
1963 Triumph Tiger Cub
1955 BSA A7 Pre-Unit 500 Twin 1955 BSA A7 BACKGROUND The 500cc A7 was BSA’s first vertical twin and marked its entry into that very lucrative market, started by the Triumph Speed Twin just prior to the war. At war’s end, virtually every British motorcycle manufacturer fielded their own vertical twin, usually starting out at …
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 …
1966 Triumph Mountain Cub
1966 Triumph Mountain Cub 1966 TRIUMPH MOUNTAIN CUB BACKGROUND The 200cc T20 Tiger Cub was produced from 1956 through 1968 and sold quite well for Triumph. The original Cub was introduced in 1953 at the Earls Court Motorcycle Show in London England as a 150cc commuter, at a time when there was a very big …
2022 Kawasaki KLR 650 Adventure [Model Overview]
Middleweight Adventurer: The 2022 Kawasaki KLR 650 Adventure Contents Model Overview Specifications Features Photos Videos Links The KLR 650 Adventure is the top-spec KLR model in the 2021 Kawasaki line-up. It’s an impressive motorcycle that takes everything that we already love about the newly revived KLR 650 but fuses it with a shopping list of …
2022 Kawasaki KLR 650 Traveler [Model Overview]
The 2022 Kawasaki KLR 650 Traveler: A US Exclusive Contents Model Overview Specifications Features Photos Videos Links The KLR 650 Traveler variant is exclusive to the US 2021 Kawasaki line-up. It’s not available in Canada, sadly. This model is almost identical to the base model KLR 650, though it features a number of accessories that …
2022 Kawasaki KLR 650 [Model Overview]
The Dual-Sport King Returns: The 2022 Kawasaki KLR 650 Contents Model Overview Specifications Features Photos Videos Links Despite being a part of the 2021 Kawasaki line-up, the famously green Japanese manufacturer has decided to badge up the new KLR 650 as a 2022 model. Don’t worry though, it’s very much available in 2021! The arrival …
2021 Yamaha Zuma 125 [Model Overview]
Rugged, Economical, and Fun: The 2021 Yamaha Zuma 125 / BWs 125 Contents Model Overview Specifications Features Photos Videos Links Japanese motorcycle manufacturers really know how to make practical and economical small-capacity scooters, and Yamaha has outdone itself with the Zuma 125—A.K.A the BWs 125 in Canada. This small commuting machine returns as part of …
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 Suzuki DR650S [Model Overview]
Updated For 2021: The Suzuki DR650S Contents Model Overview Specifications Features Photos Videos Links The DR650S is a formidable dual-sport motorcycle that many riders will agree is one of the best dual-sport machines on the market. It joins the 2021 Suzuki line-up with a handful of new updates, though nothing terribly drastic. But for real …
2021 Honda PCX150 [Model Overview]
The Smart Economical Choice: Honda’s Redesigned 2021 PCX150 Contents Model Overview Specifications Features Photos Videos Links Honda’s PCX150 returns to the 2021 Honda line-up with a number of interesting updates for the new year. When it comes to small, economical mobility solutions, the Japanese motorcycle manufacturer Honda knows exactly what it’s doing. The entire Honda …
