Kickstart & Magneto
  • Home
  • Classic Motorcycles
  • Retro Bikes
  • Blog
  • What’s On
  • Video
  • Useful Stuff
  • Contact
Kickstart & Magneto Kickstart & Magneto
  • Home
  • News
  • Classic Bikes
  • Retro Bikes
  • What’s On

Posts by tag

featured

33 posts
  • News

Allen Millyard’s Maddest Machines Under the Hammer – Including Viper V10

  • 25 June 2026
  • Dave
Allen Millyard and his Viper S10 motorcycle
MCN test of Millyard's Viper V10 at Bruntingthorpe
MCN test of Millyard’s Viper V10 at Bruntingthorpe
Allen Millyard's 550cc Kawasaki 'four'
Allen Millyard’s 550cc Kawasaki ‘four’
Allen Millyard's Honda-Kawasaki SS50
Allen’s Honda-Kawasaki SS50
Most of us, when faced with a spare engine and a bit of time, might think about a winter rebuild or perhaps a café racer project. Allen Millyard, on the…
More
10
More
  • Japanese Classics

Bike Of The Week: Virtually Unused 1981 Yamaha XT500

  • 12 June 2026
  • Dave
A remarkably preserved 1981 Yamaha XT500, showing a scarcely believable 47 kilometres from new, is on the virtual auction block at Bonhams’ Online Summer Sale until 15 June with an…
More
More
  • European Classics

Bike Of The Week: 1965 ‘works’ MV Agusta 500 tops Bonhams Stafford auction

  • 2 April 2026
  • Dave
If you’re a fan of motorcycling history, it doesn’t get much bigger than this. A 1965 MV Agusta 500cc Grand Prix racing bike – formerly ridden by the legends Mike…
More
11 BSA Empire Star
More
  • British Classics

Bike Of The Week: 1937 BSA Empire Star, a pivotal classic but I missed it!

  • 31 March 2026
  • Dave
Kick, kick, kick… no, not a reluctant starter but me for not paying attention to this beautiful 1937 BSA Empire Star which came up for auction during H&H’s sale at…
More
1975 Ducati 900SS
More
  • European Classics

Bike Of The Week: 1975 Ducati 900 Super Sport: Raw and Raucous

  • 1 December 2025
  • Dave
Somewhere around the mid-1970s, Ducati fever overtook me and half of the motorcycle world. Paul Smart’s win at the ’72 Imola 200 had lit the fuse, and the factory’s road-going…
More
MV Agusta Senna at Iconic Auction
More
  • News

Iconic Auction shows classic motorcycle prices ‘resetting’

  • 18 November 2025
  • Dave
One of the last big auctions of 2025 was the Iconic Auction on 9 November – what did we learn? Iconic boasted it was a success for classic cars, citing…
More
1927 Scott Flying Squirrel — water-cooled ingenuity meets inter-war British sporting spirit. A rare survivor from one of motorcycling’s most innovative marques.
More
  • British Classics

Bike Of The Week: Scott Flying Squirrel – Two-Stroke Royalty

  • 1 November 2025
  • Dave
In the history of great British motorcycles, the Scott Flying Squirrel sits slightly apart. While other marques of the 1920s boomed, barked and thumped their way along, the Scott arrived…
More
Honda CB1000F
More
  • Retro Bikes

Honda CB1000F: will the retro Fireblade match original CB900F?

  • 22 October 2025
  • Dave
When the Honda CB900F Super Sports first arrived in 1979, it took a little time to realise just how good it was. After all, wasn’t it just another UJM? –…
More
11 1970 Honda CB750
More
  • Japanese Classics

1970 Honda CB750: The Original Superbike Heads to Auction

  • 10 October 2025
  • Dave
There are few motorcycles that changed the course of motorcycling history quite like the Honda CB750. When it arrived in 1969, it wasn’t just another new model, it was a…
More
12 1970 Indian Velocette Venom 500
More
  • American Classics

The Curious Case of the 1970 Indian Velocette Venom 500

  • 15 September 2025
  • Dave
In the twilight years of the British motorcycle industry, when storied marques were either folding or floundering, an American entrepreneur named Floyd Clymer attempted to write one last heroic chapter.…
More
1988 Yamaha XT500
More
  • Japanese Classics

1988 Yamaha XT500: Still Crated After All These Years

  • 12 September 2025
  • Dave
If you had to pick one motorcycle that set the template for the modern adventure bike, the Yamaha XT500 would be a strong contender. Built from 1975 until 1989, the…
More
More
  • News

Route 66 at 100: EagleRider’s Once-in-a-Century Ride

  • 5 September 2025
  • Dave
Some roads are just tarmac and paint. Others become legends. And then there’s Route 66 — the Mother Road. The highway that stitched America together, carried dustbowl migrants westward, birthed…
More
Kawasaki GPz900R Top Gun replica
More
  • Japanese Classics

Kawasaki GPz900R: Top Gun Legend That Changed Motorcycling

  • 21 August 2025
  • Dave
Some motorcycles are remembered for their technical brilliance. Others for their cultural impact. A select few, like Kawasaki’s GPz900R, manage both. It was the bike that rewrote the rulebook in…
More
BSA Bantam 350
More
  • Retro Bikes

The BSA Bantam 350 flies again

  • 7 August 2025
  • Dave
Some names in motorcycling carry more than just letters on a tank. They carry memories. The smell of two‑stroke smoke on a damp morning. The sound of a waspish little…
More
16
More
  • American Classics

Climbing Legends: 1928 Harley-Davidson FHAD Hillclimber

  • 30 July 2025
  • Dave
In the smoky, oil-rich atmosphere of 1920s American racing, the hillclimb was the gladiator arena of the motorcycle world. Stripped of niceties and bred for brute power and control, these…
More
10 BMW R12 S
More
  • Retro Bikes

BMW R 12 S: Boxer with a Dash of Daytona

  • 11 July 2025
  • Dave
BMW has a knack for this sort of thing. Reach back into the archives, pull out a design that had us all swooning in the ’70s, and give it a…
More
National Motorcycle Museum is throwing its door open
More
  • News

Insider Guide to National Motorcycle Museum Live 2025

  • 27 June 2025
  • Dave
If you love bikes, banter and a good rummage through an autojumble, then clear your diary: NMM Live 2025 is rolling into the National Motorcycle Museum, Solihull, on Saturday 25…
More
10 Bud Ekins Matchless G80S
More
  • British Classics

Fancy a bit of Hollywood history? Bud Ekins’ Matchless G80S

  • 18 June 2025
  • Dave
If ever a motorbike could wear sunglasses and a leather jacket, this would be it. This 1952 Matchless G80S isn’t just a handsome slab of post-war British iron — it…
More
1928 BSA sloper
More
  • British Classics
  • Video

1928 BSA Sloper: A Jolly Green Giant is calling

  • 2 June 2025
  • Dave
There’s a certain quality and star status afforded classic motorcycles with girder forks. Partly it’s because many date from a ‘Golden Age’ of motorcycles when there were dozens of manufacturers…
More
More
  • American Classics

Slice of Americana: 1918 Harley-Davidson Model F

  • 16 April 2025
  • Dave
Meet the 1918 Harley-Davidson Model F, a motorcycle that predates television, the BBC, and sliced bread — but still manages to look like it could roar into town and cause…
More
11
More
  • Classic Motorcycles

Six Of The Best: Classic Motorcycles at Bonhams’ Spring Stafford Sale 2025

  • 25 January 2025
  • Dave
Bonhams has announced an extraordinary lineup for its highly anticipated Spring Stafford Sale, set to take place on 26-27 April 2025, at the Staffordshire County Showground. Coinciding with the International…
More
11 Triumph Heritage logo MY25
More
  • Retro Bikes

Triumph launches 2025 range of Modern Classics

  • 1 November 2024
  • Dave
Triumph Motorcycles has announced a new collection of seven Modern Classic Icon Editions for 2025, featuring a Triumph logo dating back to 1907. The new bikes will be in showrooms…
More
13 1936 HRD-Vincent
More
  • Classic Motorcycles

World record for Olympia Vincent at Bonhams £3.2m autumn auction

  • 18 October 2024
  • Dave
A new world record price was set at Bonhams’ Autumn Stafford Sale in October for a very famous motorcycle: the 1936 Olympia Motorcycle Show Vincent-HRD 998cc Series-A Rapide. The price?…
More
13 Triumph Speed Twin 1200 2025
More
  • Retro Bikes

First Look: 2025 Triumph Speed Twin 1200 and 1200 RS

  • 29 September 2024
  • Dave
Looking for a modern bike with retro looks and plenty of style and performance? Well, at first glance, Triumph has nailed it with the 2025 Speed Twin 1200 and its…
More
20 1957 Triumph T21 350cc unit
More
  • British Classics

Triumph’s very first ‘unit’ construction twin: the 1957 350cc ‘Twenty-One’

  • 8 August 2024
  • Dave
A seismic change in British motorcycle design happened in 1957: the introduction of ‘unit’ construction combining the engine, primary drive and gearbox in one case. The first Triumph twin to…
More
More
  • News

Barber Vintage Festival beckons US classic motorcycle riders

  • 29 July 2024
  • Dave
UPDATED US classic motorcycle enthusiasts are gearing up for one of the events of the year: the Barber Vintage Festival, held over 11-13 October 2024 at Barber Motorsports Parkway in…
More
19 1980 Moto Guzzi Spada
More
  • European Classics

Moto Guzzi Spada Royale: The Luton Job

  • 29 July 2024
  • Dave
Back in the 1970s and early 80s, Luton dealer Coburn & Hughes was the UK agent for two Italian manufacturers, Ducati and Moto Guzzi. Two very different styles of motorcycle…
More
1938 Brough Superior SS100
More
  • British Classics

‘Special’ Brough Superior SS100 sells for £241,500

  • 14 November 2023
  • Dave
A very special 1938 Brough Superior SS100 sold for an incredible £241,500 at the Iconic Auction staged at the NEC Classic Motor Show, Birmingham on Sunday, 12 November 2023. The…
More
Vincent Black Shadow
More
  • Classic Motorcycles

Mixed fortunes at Charterhouse October auction

  • 12 November 2023
  • Dave
What to make of the results from the Charterhouse auction of classic & vintage motorcycles on 26 October 2023? There were some good prices made, a number of bargains, but…
More
8 1952 Triumph Trophy TR5
More
  • British Classics

Bike Of The Week: Triumph TR5, The original ‘Trophy’

  • 3 November 2023
  • Dave
Over the years, Triumph has bandied around the name ‘Trophy’ willy-nilly. Sometimes it’s attached to a trail bike but more often to a tourer – as recently as 2017 –…
More
8 1952 Mondial 125 Monoalbero GP in original unrestored condition, as raced by factory riders and privateers
More
  • European Classics

Rare Mondials to appear at world’s biggest motorcycle auction

  • 26 October 2023
  • Dave
FB Mondial is one of those motorcycle manufacturers bathed in myth and legend, dominating grand prix racing during the early and mid 1950s. Created by a band of brothers named…
More
More
  • Retro Bikes

Triumph Scrambler 1200: modern day TR5 (sort of)

  • 4 October 2023
  • Dave
In case you haven’t noticed, Triumph is really going for it at the moment. Not only are brand new road models coming out – including this latest Triumph Scrambler –…
More
More
  • Classic Motorcycles

Brough Superior SS100 Pendine replica sells for $220,000

  • 22 September 2023
  • Dave
Top of the top ten results at the Mecum John Parham auction earlier this month was a 1927 Brough Superior SS100 Pendine Replica, said to be one of the finest…
More
Kickstart & Magneto
  • Home
  • Useful Stuff
  • What’s On
  • Video
  • Contact
Classic & Retro Motorcycles

Input your search keywords and press Enter.