Old Bike Australasia

Old Bike magazine is a must for those who ride as well as the dedicated enthusiast and rebuilder, covering everything from Vintage to early 1980s bikes - marvel at the restoration of machines that could still sit proudly on the showroom floor. Each issue brings you the latest news and results from recent events, race reports and Rally Roundup, along with new and old bike news and reviews, readers letters, Club Directory, What’s On and much, much more.

EDITOR’S LETTER

Old Bike Australasia

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

RARITEE Best Letter

OUT IN THE SHED

Pitstop Online closes

One Raceway boost to Historics

Old Timers bounce back

Winton lost to bikes? • Victoria’s longest continually-operating race circuit, Winton Motor Raceway, near Benalla, which held its first race meeting for cars on 26th November, 1961, will not stage motorcycle meetings for the foreseeable future. The first motorcycle race meeting took place on New Year’s Day, 1963.

FOMSA steams ahead

Something for all tastes at Donington auction

Under the Chequered Flag

A STAR IN TWO HEMISPHERES • The death of John Dodds in his adopted home of Germany (see obituary OBA 113) closed the chapter on a career that elevated the rider from western Sydney to international stardom.

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From Big Five to oblivion • Bianchi, which continues to this day as a producer of world famous bicycles (one model of which is called the Dolomiti), was also a manufacturer of some very fine motorcycles.

USER FRIENDLY • Customers were somewhat dismissive of the Diversion when it first appeared. Today it is recognised as a very sensible and practical sports tourer.

FROM WHENCE WE CAME

JUST MAD ABOUT THE FIFTIES • No, not the nineteen fifties, but the 50cc mini-marvels that were created in that and the subsequent decades. In Ron Murrell’s case, those bikes have become an obsession.

1932 Christmas Guineas • 1932 was probably the most tumultuous year so far in the relatively short history of Australia since 1788. The Great Depression, with the global flow-on from the Wall Street Crash in 1929, had a devastating effect, with massive unemployment, the closure of industries, and desperate shortages of everything, including food. Yet motorcycle racing survived through this period, not exactly unscathed, but seemingly resilient to the deprivations of the time.

THE BIKE THAT ALMOST MISSED THE BOAT • The so-called Street Scramblers of the late ‘sixties were certainly more street than scramble, but soon a new category emerged – the dual-purpose motorcycle. By the time Honda begrudgingly joined the dual-purpose club, it was nearly too late, such was the pace of development. But short-lived though it was, Honda’s SL range is today fondly remembered, because they were largely bullet-proof, nimble enough to handle both roads and mild trails, and they were four strokes, not the ring-dings most other manufacturers offered.

A Garelli by any other name? • There I was minding my own business and idly flipping through Facebook when up popped a Marketplace ad for a little yellow bike for sale in the US.

The Bullet ricochets • Just like Triumph and Bonneville, or Ducati and Monster, Royal Enfield and Bullet just go together. Or at least they did until 2020, when the company’s most venerable model name, introduced in 250, 350 and 500 form in 1931, was quietly shelved. The much-loved 350 was just resting however, unlike the 500 Bullet that has breathed its last.

Old BIKE Out’n’about • Welcome to Old Bike Australasia Out’n’about – a forum of people, places, history and happenings.

Royal Enfield Project Origin • The missing piece – 123 years in the making

Gary’s FLASH...