A Manx for the road
Steve Tonkin has been building very special classic bikes to order for over 20 years, with around 100 different examples to date. Currently, his work is focussed on what is called the Tonkin Tornado – […]
Triumph
Bert Flood: “Everything’s a fluke that happens to me”.
Story: Transcribed and edited from an interview with Peter Drakeford in 2007. Photos: Rob Lewis, Bob Cann, Flood archives, OBA archives. These days, monocularity (the state of having vision in only one eye) virtually debars anyone […]
Doug Fraser’s Empire Twin
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Photosmith.com.au , Jim Scaysbrook, Doug Fraser archives Doug Fraser is a BSA man from way back. In the fledgling days of historic racing he campaigned a very rapid B33 BSA and was particularly […]
Tracks in Time: Little River
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • With assistance from: Jenny Martinez • Photographs: Ray Kelly, Wes Brown, Noel Cheney, Ross Martin and other private collections. Like its more famous counterpart in the Irish Sea, the Australian TT was […]
Tracks in Time: Mount Druitt, NSW
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photographs Frank Shepherd, Bill Tricker, Charles Rice • Archival assistance: John Wicks Even though it closed almost fifty years ago, Mount Druitt is inevitably mentioned whenever a bunch of old timers get […]
2021 Triumph Speed Twin – A speedier Speed twin
Ride Test: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Sue Scaysbrook and Triumph. At a glance the new 2021 Triumph Speed Twin seems very much like the previous model, but a deeper look (and a ride) confirms otherwise. Both […]
Mt. Druitt 24 Hr Races 1954 & 1955: Twice around the clock – twice!
The world’s first and second motorcycle 24 hour races produced heroic performances, amazing endurance, and tragedy. Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Dennis Quinlan, Graeme Osborne, Todd Hamilton, OBA archives. Rugged and devoid of facilities it may […]
1912 Dunlop Dispatch Relay
His eclectic lifestyle totally dependent on the sale of tyres, adman Harry James realised the 1912 Dunlop Dispatch Relay was certain to inflate his pay packet. Story: Peter Whitaker • Photographs and research: Phillip Smith No one […]
A Seeley Velocette – Phil’s vision
Former top road racer Phil O’Brien has bent a lot of tubes for customers, so he thought he’d bend a few for himself. The result is a very special Velocette. Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Dick […]
Doug James: The Original Wollongong Wizz
At just seventeen years of age, Doug James was the youngest rider in the Australian Tourist Trophy in 1939. He was also a long way from home. Pre-war, the journey from Wollongong to Phillip Island, […]
