Honda C71Z – Rarer than rare
For most of us, Honda’s racing history begins with their 1959 incursion at the Isle of Man, where they swept the 125 class and carted off the team award. But that effort was as a […]
Bikes
Kawasaki 650 W2 SS – Roast or sukiyaki?
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but underneath the BSA-inspired veneer, the Kawasaki W-series twins had plenty of original thinking… From the time the Edward Turner-designed Triumph Speed Twin stopped British Motorcycle Show-goers […]
White knight – Kawasaki Z1B
By the mid 1970s, the Castrol Six Hour Production Race was the biggest thing in Australian motorcycle sport. It had grown like topsy from an argy-bargy affair in 1970, to a heavily trade supported, nationally-televised […]
BSA Gold Star – All that glitters
Around the globe, Gold Star owners and fans rejoiced on June 30th as the 75th anniversary of the feat that led to the creation of the legendary model – Wal Handley’s Brooklands lap. Few motorcycles […]
Honda CB1100R – A machine on a mission
In ten years, the Castrol Six Hour Race at Amaroo Park had established itself as the equivalent of the Bathurst 1000 four-wheeler classic. The scrutineering was as tough as the race itself, and for the […]
Ducati 450 ‘Silver Shotgun’ – A bike to put a sparkle in your eye
When you mention Vincent HRD, just about everyone thinks of the big vee-twin, the legendary Phil Irving-designed machine that is today one of the most valuable and collectable motorcycles on the planet. Likewise Ducati; the […]
Mini Marvels – A pair of works Lambretta racers
Strange looking devices they may have been, but the Lambretta C Racers were effective, if ephemeral in a competition sense. During the Second World War, when Allied troops began the invasion of Rome, British bombers […]
Norton Commando – Taking command
The Norton Commando is one of the most uniquely styled motorcycles of all time, with its share of detractors and well as legions of fans. Here are two examples of a different spin on a […]
Katana – The Suzuki born in Bavaria
The boom in big-capacity motorcycles that began in the late 1960s continued unabated a decade later, and the annual end-of-year shows, in Milan and Cologne (which rotated year about) and Tokyo always contained a few […]
Rumi 125 – A Latin love affair
In a sea of Bantam BSAs on Victorian race tracks in the late 1950s, Ian Free’s Rumi stood out like the proverbial dog’s bits. Not only was it Italian, but it was a twin-cylinder 125, […]
