We are long-time vintage enthusiasts dedicated to helping new hobbyists take the plunge and buy a vintage vehicle. Welcome to our free vintage motorcycle magazine RIDE VINTAGE.

My friends ride down to Le Mans most years. On the way in 2005 they met a 78-year-old woman who’d ridden her veteran Triumph there and back; they saw her again at Mallory Park. However, most pioneer motorcycle riders and racers of the 1920′s have already hung up their boots. My pals and I are in our forties and fifties. What will happen to our vintage bikes in 20 years time? Who will own them? We hope they’ll still be on the road rather than in a dealer’s showroom, museum or collector’s garage. For that to happen, our hobby needs new blood, younger generations of vintage enthusiasts…

Dare you move beyond the luxury of modern vehicles?

Can you see yourself riding something a bit different?

You don’t need a 100-year-old Triumph motorcycle to ride a machine oozing character and personality. This magazine reviews machines of various ages and prices. Each of them thumps, rattles and plods along in a delightfully individual way.

When you’re ready to ride vintage, we’ll help you all we can.

RIDE VINTAGE
A free online vintage motorcycle magazine with a quirky look at vintage oddities. Please send our website address to your friends: http://www.Ridevintage.com

There’s plenty written about bigger vintage bikes and the more common marques. My personal interest is unusual smaller motorcycles, so that’s what I’ll focus on. Though my own collection may be too odd to give a precise illustration of what’s for sale generally, it should give you an idea of the range of motorcycles, mopeds, cyclemotors and autocycles you might expect to find in private ads, on ebay, or in dealers’ showrooms.

Many small 2-Stroke manufacturers used common out-sourced engines (Villiers, BMA, Sachs, etc). Even though the motorcycles themselves may be rare, their engine spares would be easier to find if needed. British examples include James, Excelsior, Francis Barnett, Cotton, Brockhouse Corgi, Panther 2-Strokes.
You’d expect to pay more for a 1948 Brockhouse Corgi when it has a child’s sidecar attached like this; but what a practical idea for encouraging family interest in your hobby!

If you can find a German or French machine in the UK in good running order, you’re likely to get more for your money. (Despite the rarity value here, most marques sell for more in their country of origin). You should be able to pick up a useable, attractive, restored 1950′s 125-250cc bike in good condition for under £1500. The 1958 Zundapp 201S pictured below left is a typical example.

For not much more you might be able to buy a girder-fork machine from the 1930′s, such as this rare 1935 French Genial-Lucifer, below right.

By looking at various vintage motorcycles, scooters and 3-wheelers via this magazine, I hope you’ll be inspired to take the plunge. Ride Vintage!

RIDE VINTAGE
A free online vintage motorcycle magazine with a quirky look at vintage oddities. Please send our website address to your friends: http://www.Ridevintage.com

Mopeds, cyclemotors and small scooters are becoming increasingly popular. They’re ideal vintage bikes to start with if you’re just getting into the hobby because they are cheap, many are quite easy to ride, and they are easier to maintain. Also, they have pedals in case you break down…

Pictured above is my new-old-stock 1952 Selection moped with a le Poulain engine; it came from a French cycle shop that closed down, and had never been used. The 1968 Honda P50 (below) is newer than most of my bikes, and I don’t usually buy Japanese bikes; but I do like iconic styles.

Many enthusiasts do simple restorations on their bikes in the winter, and then take them with their families to local steam rallies and shows in the summer. It’s a great way to get your kids interested in a hobby, whether they help you with simple mechanical tasks, paintwork or just riding the bikes around the parade ground at a show. If they’re only ridden around a showground the bikes obviously do not need to be insured, MOT’d or even registered.

Some of my friends restore small machines for their wives or girlfriends to use. Let’s face it, convincing the ‘other half’ to go to a motorcycle event can sometimes be hard work; shows can be boring. But a group effort – and the promise of a picnic in the sun at a summer event – helps a lot.

Pictured below are a 1955 NSU Quickly (on the left) and a 1954 Cyclemaster (on the right). These are models you could find for around £500 in good running order.

I hope you now have an idea of various types of bikes available, on the road and running, with prices from £500 upwards.

RIDE VINTAGE
A free online vintage motorcycle magazine with a quirky look at vintage oddities. Please send our website address to your friends: http://www.Ridevintage.com

I’m still adding details to the site, but it’s ready for you to start browsing.

You can find it at http://www.Under50.cc

or CLICK HERE

The main feature is my 1955 Elvish, an extremely rare French cyclomoteur with a 48cc cucciolo engine.

I’m interested in history. But the way it was taught when I was at school was unbelievably boring. I’ve learned so much more through owning vintage vehicles.

You can buy vintage motorcycles with low-capacity engines for quite reasonable prices, so I collected one from each decade from 1900-1970. I love to discover what was going on at the time each was manufactured, and I particularly enjoy hunting for advertising material and articles in period magazines.

Bit by bit I’m uploading information onto my websites to create a database for them. Although popular vintage vehicles are well-catered for on the internet and in print, it can still be hard to find information on rarer models.

For example, the picture above is of a 1935 German Triumph TS 100, with a 98cc Fichtel & Sachs engine. Many enthusiasts don’t know that this famous British motorcycle manufacturer was actually German. It has been interesting researching the build-up to the War from a German viewpoint, through this motorcycle. (In my generation, our families were directly involved in the war, so I’ve always found it a hard subject to study). You can read more about the Triumph on Page 6

Attached to it is a 1932 Fenton Zip sidecar (made in York). This sidecar is the second one that this small company supplied, and is probably the only one still in existence. I’ve uploaded the history of this sidecar on my main website http://www.groovydubs.com/wordpress

If any local history teachers read this (Brighton/ Eastbourne area), please get in touch if you’d like me to bring some vintage bikes into your class. I have friends with private collections in other areas of the country who might be willing to do something similar.

RIDE VINTAGE
A free online vintage motorcycle magazine with a quirky look at vintage oddities. Please send our website address to your friends: http://www.Ridevintage.com

I’ve always had an affinity for three-wheelers; maybe because my first ‘vehicle’ was a tricycle as a child?

My first car was a Bond Bug, in 1974; I was able to drive it using my motorcycle license. I’ve owned quite a few vintage 3-wheelers since, but this 1920′s Blotto, pictured above, is definitely the most unusual. After its magneto was rebuilt last month, I’m hoping to find time to get it on the road this summer.

Motorized vehicles from the turn of the 20th Century are very expensive. So, to include the Edwardian era in my personal history project, I found a vehicle without an engine (pictured below). It’s a 1905 Alldays commercial tricycle, used by a company that is still in existence, in the Liverpool area.

The French name for this type of vehicle is ‘triporteur.’ Motorized tricycles were, of course, the first cars, and I have dedicated a website to these machines, both the motorized and pedal-powered variety. You can read more about them, and about the famous annual triporteur race by looking at: http://www.triporteurs.co.uk/

I have recently taken on the post of ‘marque specialist’ for commercial 3-wheeler motorcycles for the VMCC (Vintage Motorcycle Club, Great Britain), and I hope to add much more research information to the triporteurs website in due course.

RIDE VINTAGE
A free online vintage motorcycle magazine with a quirky look at vintage oddities. Please send our website address to your friends: http://www.Ridevintage.com

Copyright www.Ridevintage.com 2007

The new official website for the National Autocycle & Cyclemotor Club can be found at:

http://www.thebuzzingclub.co.uk

And the VMCC website is:

http://www.vmcc.net/

It has a very active cyclemotor section.

Both of these clubs are thoroughly recommended.