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Cheney Framed – 1967 BSA 441 Victor

In Custom, England, Off-Road by AbhiLeave a Comment

One of the legends of off-road frame design, Eric Cheney started as one of Britain’s best MX riders. Unfortunately, he picked up a blood infection while racing in Algeria and it became so bad that he had to stop racing. That was good news for his competition, as he applied his skills to making better frames and suspension designs for …

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#248 of 250 – 1998 Triumph Daytona 1200 SE

In England, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

In the early 90s, most major motorcycle manufacturers entered a gentlemen’s agreement to cap horsepower at 125. Triumph decided that when they were going to bring the bikes back from the new plant in Hinckley, that the best way for them to get attention was to ignore said agreement: enter the 147 horsepower Triumph Daytona 1200. A year after the …

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1974 Norton Commando John Player Special

In England, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

1-21-24 Update: Two years later, this bike is still up for sale and the asking price has dropped by $10k – find it in Greenwich, Connecticut with a BIN of $19,950 or best offer here on eBay. One of the most collectible Commandos was the John Player, a distinctive endurance-inspired Norton with unique bodywork surrounding a completely stock Mark 2A …

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1 of 89 – 1963 Greeves Starmaker 24ME

In England, Off-Road by AbhiLeave a Comment

Sometimes a bike is rare because it’s limited production, and sometimes it’s rare because consumers weren’t particularly interested so sales were low. But the Starmaker is rare because Greeves – the company who made it – only made 89 as they didn’t think it would be successful. They weren’t wrong.

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1951 Vincent Black Shadow

In England, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

The Black Shadow might just be the most famous motorcycle ever built, with an iconic history thanks to moments like Rollie Free’s bathing suit speed run on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Black Shadows were handmade, and less than 1,700 were built in total. In the words of Hunter S. Thompson, “If you rode the Black Shadow at top speed for …

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Tickle Manx Norton

In England, Race by AbhiLeave a Comment

In 1969, John Tickle acquired the rights to build Manx Nortons from Colin Seeley, and he immediately redesigned the frame and offered up 350cc, 500cc, and 650cc variants. Per Cyber Motorcycle, “some of these were very similar to the original Manx apart from the high-level exhaust and Tickle frame. Others bore only a remote resemblance to the originals with a …

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“NorStar” – 2004 Norton Manx Frame with BSA Goldstar Engine

In Custom, England, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

We’ve shared all kinds of hybrids with fun names here on Bike-urious beyond the usual “Triton” – Norvin (Norton frame, Vincent motor), Esquire (Norton frame, Ariel Square Four motor), a Narley (Norton/Harley) and even a Burton (Norton/Buell). But here’s a first on these pages – a combination of a Norton frame and BSA Gold Star engine called the NorStar.

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1953 AJS Model 20

In England, Standard by AbhiLeave a Comment

When Triumph introduced the Speed Twin in 1938, every other English manufacturer knew they had to offer two-cylinder motors of their own. AJS was the last of the major Brit builders to join the party (that pesky World War got in the way) when they released the Model 20 (and its Matchless twin, the G9) ten years later. Designed by …

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1966 Triton

In Custom, England, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

Two days ago I shared a Norton frame with an unexpected engine inside of it – today we’ve got something a bit more traditional: a Norton slimline featherbed frame that’s been stuffed with the 650cc engine from a Triumph T120R Bonneville.