Classic Bike Guide Magazine 336 April 2019 Back Issue

At the moment I am a lucky boy and have a varied concoction to ride. Royal Enfield have loaned me one of their new 650 Interceptors, which you can read about what it’s like to live with on page 52. I’ve been enjoying the blend of ‘hop on and go’ of a new bike, with the ‘that’s a nice old machine; I used to have one’ interaction with folks I come across.

It's good to see the old name growing. I popped in to see another British manufacturing survivor recently, CCM. The factory, while small, was buzzing, with bikes everywhere, new models being assessed and a really positive feel to what is the oldest British bike manufacturer still in the UK.

For a small player in the modern bike world, they really are punching high: it must be a constant battle being a small business in this large, corporate-led world. But the Spitfire and its derivatives are old-school, with light weight, a great single-cylinder engine and – get this – throttle cables! And so from the new to the old. At the London Carole Nash Motorcycle Show it was plain to see that Triumph, Indian, Ducati et al were pushing their retro ranges, with the visitors looking favourably towards the older-style bikes.

So it was also great, when Classic Bike Guide was asked to get an interesting bike for the main stand. ‘Something old and modified’ was the theme, so my great friend Neville had the perfect bike, his 1100cc JAP side-valve engined ArielWD. Complete with dirt, oil and grease adorning it, the ‘Rough Inferior’ really stood out from the shiny, shiny show bikes.

The crowd loved it, but what was best was I had to ride it back to his on the Monday! Smooth, low but powerful, the JAP pops and bangs through town, but for an engine that started life powering a rotavator, it carburates beautifully. What a machine and I’d love to ride it more.