Classic Dirt Bike

The lead times on a quarterly magazine such as Classic Dirt Bike mean it seems as though we’re always talking about what’s coming up in our shows world or telling you what’s happened by way of a big post-event feature. For this issue it’s the former

Words: Tim Britton Pics: Tim Britton, Mortons Archive If any motorcycle has a legendary feel about it, then Ariel’s big single trials HT5 has to be it. Pick up any issue of the UK motorcycle press of the early Sixties and there will be something so

Words: Tim Britton Pics: Tim Britton, Mortons Archive Way back in time when the UK had a decent sized motorcycle industry, accepted wisdom decreed success in trials required a four-stroke single of 350cc or 500cc capacity, with no rear suspension –

Words & Pics: Tim Britton The easy way to rebuild a motorcycle for a magazine feature is to start with a complete motorcycle and take it apart… which is what CDB did many, many issues ago, with my Bultaco. Even though the bike has been in my possessi

A rake through the off-road machine images in the Nick Nicholls Collection within Mortons Archive brought to light this nice static shot of what the Triumph factory provided for John Giles in the mid-1960s. Having chatted a bit with John over the pas

Words: Tim Britton Pics: Nick Nicholls Collection at Mortons Archive Often viewed as a sideshow to main solo racing, sidecars did eventually gain their own championship with a series of GPs making up a European title contest which did become a world

Words Tim Britton Pics Tim Britton and Fiona Watson Is there a better backdrop for a classic scramble than the one Galloway MCC has for its Scottish Classic Grand National MX, at Drumlanrig Castle? If there is, we’ve not been there yet. Sure, there

In our world, especially during maintenance sessions, hands can become a little grubby and while some people do have the luxury of a washbasin and warm water in their workshop, many of us don’t. That’s where these hand cleaning wipes from Swarfega co

Words: Tim Britton Pics: Gary Chapman Occasionally academia glances over at our world, though it’s generally to offer reasons why we shouldn’t be rushing around on motorcycles because they’re not safe, are noisy and antisocial. However, there was at

Words and pics: Tim Britton For the past few issues, CDB has been telling you what you need in your shed, trying to tempt you with a series of nice looking bikes from all disciplines of our sport. This time however, we’re suggesting something differe

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first, what we’re doing here is a little OTT for a simple thread repair, however, the idea is to show what would be needed if the damage was considerably worse than what we’re actually dealing with. Doing the work

Words: Tim Britton Pics: Fiona Watson Though the 2018 Bultaco Revival Nostalgia Trial was alot of fun for all involved, there was a more serious side to the event and this was to raise funds for cancer charities. There are few people who haven’t bee

Of all the various blast cleaning techniques available to the majority of mechanics, be they professional or enthusiast, vapour blasting has to be the most misunderstood. We at CDB hear both sides of the story, from the customer ‘it didn’t take all t

Words: Tim Britton Pics: Sammy Miller Museum To be honest, why wouldn’t you want such a good-looking motorcycle in your shed, and, with the burgeoning Vinduro scene it’s apractical addition too – even better! With full road kit including lighting,

Words: Tim Britton Pics: Mortons Archive As guest of honour at the Classic Dirt Bike Show in the International Centre at Telford in Shropshire, Gerrit Wolsink was much in demand, but CDB managed to grab him for a chat in between his duties. First t

Words: Tim Britton Pics: Gary Chapman ❝Unlike the industry, which felt the off-road scene was too much trouble and stopped making bikes for it, Don and Derek kept their eye on the market.❞ Motorcycling history is filled with tales of old models get