Two Of A Kind?
The Classic MotorCycle|April 2017

On paper it’s often hard to separate the British 650cc twins of the late 1950s/early 1960s, but on the road they can be very different animals.

Phil Turner
Two Of A Kind?

The B1107 in Norfolk wouldn’t have been my first choice of road for my first ever outing on two of the finest examples of the British 650cc twin – narrow, bumpy, busy – but the rasp from the exhausts of Mathhew Hilton's Super Rocket echoing off the Thetford Forest pines that stood either side of us, goaded me to keep pace. I started to wish I could hear what the Norton 650SS (also Matthew's) I was on sounded like from behind...

It didn’t take long for my mind to start wandering and wondering how many other Brittwin pilots I was following in the wheel tracks of, and how many of them had earned their café-racer stripes on these bends.

There’s a fair chance some of those would’ve been earned on the Rocket and SS. Although both enjoyed only a brief time in their respective range spotlights – the 650SS quickly overshadowed by the Atlas, the BSA by the Rocket Gold Star – it can still be argued that both represented a high point in the development of the British 650cc twin; doubtless they were both much more affordable for the budding road-racers of the early 1960s, compared to their poster boy, headline-grabbing siblings too.

The Norton

For the rider wanting power, pace and poise, the 650SS would’ve been the obvious choice.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 2017 من The Classic MotorCycle.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 2017 من The Classic MotorCycle.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE مشاهدة الكل
Runs should be fun
The Classic MotorCycle

Runs should be fun

The club run is an integral part of the old motorcycle scene. During 2020, a variation on the usual theme emerged, enabling people to ride in the company of like-minded souls.

time-read
3 mins  |
April 2021
Hybrid chicken
The Classic MotorCycle

Hybrid chicken

BSA Bantams come in many forms, and the ability to interchange parts between different models permits an almost endless number of variants.

time-read
7 mins  |
February 2021
Green WITH ENVY
The Classic MotorCycle

Green WITH ENVY

Life aboard a 1950s 350cc British single is perhaps as good and as uncomplicated as it can get.

time-read
9 mins  |
February 2021
Worth the wait
The Classic MotorCycle

Worth the wait

Captivated by sight of one as a small boy, finally our man has the chance to try an NSU Max.And a ‘Spezial’ one at that…

time-read
10 mins  |
February 2021
The Motorcycle: DESIGN, ART AND DESIRE
The Classic MotorCycle

The Motorcycle: DESIGN, ART AND DESIRE

The concluding part of a two-part feature, in which the history of motorcycle evolution is examined and a new book’s author interviewed.

time-read
7 mins  |
February 2021
Cream rises
The Classic MotorCycle

Cream rises

There were several ‘star performers’ at Bonhams’ winter sale, as the choice machines achieved huge sums.

time-read
4 mins  |
February 2021
The Giant of Provence
The Classic MotorCycle

The Giant of Provence

With so few events to report from, it’s time to look back over a spectacular French event and look forward to its hopeful resumption.

time-read
8 mins  |
February 2021
Store cupboard special
The Classic MotorCycle

Store cupboard special

A big box of presents? Must be Christmas! More deliveries keep the project on track.

time-read
6 mins  |
February 2021
By 1929, CJP Dodson was a bona fide top level road racer, pretty much unbeatable on the sand, too.
The Classic MotorCycle

By 1929, CJP Dodson was a bona fide top level road racer, pretty much unbeatable on the sand, too.

The diminutive Charlie Dodson was the last man to win a TT, the 1928 Senior, on a ‘flat-tank’ machine, then the next year became the first (and only) winner of a TT on a saddle tank Sunbeam, as well as recording the last ever success in the Island for the Marston maker.

time-read
3 mins  |
February 2021
Cassandra the Canadian Commando
The Classic MotorCycle

Cassandra the Canadian Commando

After landing a new job and with time on his hands, a young man in Vancouver decided to restore a British motorcycle considerably older than him.

time-read
8 mins  |
February 2021