From the archive It is 50 years since Montesa made their appearance on the UK scene – we look at a few Montesa things and chat to a name or two, Small but perfectly formed Moto Aspes made high-quality machines but they’re quite rare. We spot one in the wild, Subscribe! Subscribe! Subscribe! As CDB is subscription only you’ve either subscribed, nicked a mate’s copy or seen us at a show. If it’s one of the latter two subscribe here...

Quality over quantity
Italian manufacturer TM made its name by choosing to strive for high-quality components when building its machines.

A matter of excellence
Everything can be improved if you know what you’re doing and one of the best looking trials bikes at Telford was this Honda TLM.

Talmag 2024
Legend has it the Talmag was the first ever trial to embrace the pre65 theme, it is still a ‘must do’ event on the classic calendar.

Honda re-thought
What happens when a former world champion feels Honda’s TLR could do with a bit of work to put it into shape? This is what happens…

Kitting up
Buying an AJS Stormer in kit form saved a considerable amount of tax for owners and enthusiasts. The loophole was closed when VAT replaced Purchase Tax..

Out to grass
All sorts of engines have powered grass bikes and it’s possibly easier to say what hasn’t been in a grass frame but BSA has done its share of duty.

Limited Edition
Featured briefly in our archive piece last issue, Malcolm Rathmell’s M133 1974 works Bulto deserves a closer look.

Workshop time
Heading into the workshop is ‘our time’… there we are masters of the domain, guiders of destiny… at least when things go right..

Moto Memories
The terror of Edramucky Gulley awaited the SSDT entry as they crossed the Forth and headed up to Perthshire. Mick Wilkinson tackles the wet rocks in 1973.

Well fettled
Tony King decided his RTL Honda wasn’t quite as tidy as it could be, so set to and tidied it up… the result is stunning.

Workshop time
All sorts of things going on, then…coming to a halt thanks to a tree; yes, we said ‘tree’, which put the editor on the back foot.

Dirt Talk
‘Dear Sir…’ is the beginning of many a letter to an editor. Will it be good? Will it be bad? Are we doing it ‘write’ or wrong… read it here.

A matter of inspiration
Scott Ellis asked BSA’s comp manager Brian Martin if it was okay to modify his works BSA… Brian said yes.

Workshop fettling
A new machine gets some attention this issue... just to check it over, you understand.

Water-boiler
Watercooled monos are nicknamed ‘water-boilers’ but if the water boils it’s not doing its job. We look at an Aprilia Climber, one of the first water-boilers.

The 1980 Scottish
A strike meant the 1980 SSDT never made it to the pages of MotorCycle Weekly. This left a few hundred pics floating around, causing a danger to society – we safely nail them to the pages here.

News and views
The talk is of the coming season, the coming show and lots of other stuff coming in 2023! Come and find out what’s coming.

Moto Memories
Sidecar sport is slightly offbeat these days when many motorcyclists have never been in a sidecar, let alone driven one.

Gold Standard
Three special Ariels were built for the 1958 ISDT. Ariel’s three factory riders were charged with winning gold medals; it took one rider a bit longer to fulfil the brief..

Mono Montesa
The bike which joins the traditional Montesa range to the spangly watercooled ones: we give you the Cota 310.

On (very) active service
Eric Cheney wrapped his frames round some stunning engines but perhaps the most unusual were the BSAs built for the Army ISDT team.

Magical’s machine
Building a machine for Mick ‘Magical’ Andrews to ride in an OSSA celebration is a daunting thing...

Dirt talk
Your opinions… in print, for all time, unlike the fleeting and transient world of the internet where it vanishes in an instant.

Pre65 Scottish Trial
Who won? Here’s your chance to find out and catch up on all the news and views from north of the border.

Workshop rebuilds
At every turn there is frustration, what should work doesn’t, what should fit doesn’t, what should be understood isn’t.

Moto Memories
As this issue is leading up to the CDB show we thought a ‘show’ pic would be a good idea, so here is one… were you there?

Hudson at Hawkstone
Celebrating Neil Hudson’s championship year anniversary at Hawkstone Park.

High-boy Bulto
Not exactly common in the UK, a fully Millerised Bultaco Sherpa is extremely rare in the US. See how this one arrived over there…

Dirt talk
Four whole pages of news, views, opinions and suggestions fill our dirt talk section this issue.

Sidecar Celebration
Wasp sidecars are as intrinsic a part of British scrambling as mud is… so we went to a dusty track to celebrate the iconic marque.

Basingstoke Bulto Bash
Hot on the heels of Covid regs relaxing came the Bultaco Club UK’s big weekend at Basingstoke, just too late for last issue so here it is now, roll on 2022.

Moto Memories
There are few ideas which are truly new. Take electric bikes for instance… yes, they’ve been done before.

Magical Matchless
If you’ve a Matchless available to ride then why not let a former Matchless works rider ride it for you… and suggest his improvements.

Classic Highland
Scottish motorcycle sport made a welcome return when Inverness DMC met the Covid requirements and ran their 2020 Highland Classic Two Day Trial.

Classic British MX series
Lockdown eased, a scramble organised, Andy Withers was there for us to see what the first round of the Classic British MX series was like.

SkyWalker
Mecatecno’s last model was a brilliant attempt to create excellence.

Bergada’s beauty
Take one talented engineer, add the best bits in the Pre-65 world, assemble with care and maybe you could come close to this Triumph.

Lovely Lito - Featherlight fabulousness.

Gold Top - Cream of the ISDT.

Twoor four… - … strokes, your choice...

Showground showcase
As pandemic restrictions were easing so sporting action briefly returned and Westmorland MCC arranged a scramble at the county showground – we went along.

Twinshock stopgap
Aprilia tested the trials scene with a twinshock bike before launching their monoshock in the UK.

Realising the ideal
Is there an ideal ISDT machine? Maybe, maybe not, but the thinking behind creating one has remained remarkably consistent since 1913.

Little Honda…
…don’t worry we’re not breaking into the Beach Boys but rather featuring a neat little TLM from Honda’s immense stable..

Just in time
As threats of a lockdown were rising, The JerseyTwo DayTrial just made it in time.We weren’t there but Bernie Schreiber was.

Winners all
So, the pandemic called a halt to sport, but with pages to fill we thought “let’s look back at past winners of the Pre-65 Scottish and see if there’s a theme…”

Czech pointers
Just how do you go about building a stunning CZ MXer? We get the scoop from John Fleming...

Bikes you couldn't buy
There are motorcycles which everyone knows about, they're in the press week in, week out, yet couldn't be bought. We look at Jeff Smith's BSA.

Pioneering trail
OSSA made an Endure bike but in North America it became the Pioneer - nice looker.

Pure performance
Bultaco's Pursang model came in all sorts of sizes. We catch a 360 Mk.7 which looks and goes like a dream...

Dirt Talk
Letters, opinions, you’re doing it wrong… you’re doing it right… all come in to CDB’s office by post, electronic communications or even the telephone.

The Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show 2019 
Just a quick review of the Mechanics Show held at Stafford in October, which was right on our deadline last issue.

On top of the world
World championship winning machines sometimes get lost in the ether, this one didn’t.We review Bernie Schreiber’s 1979 Bultaco.

Small but well formed
A good-looking 125 Yamaha catches the editorial eye at the International Dirt Bike Show. Its story is quite intriguing..

The Famous James
All sorts of riders used a James Commando – we look at a standard version while Sammy Miller tells us what it should have been like.

Mighty Matchless
In the days of big bikes and the men who raced them, ‘Matchless’ and ‘Curtis’ were pretty much synonymous terms..

Masterclass - The best way to learn or improve at something is to have some tuition from a master. CDB went along to a Schreiber Trials School.

A celebration - Rickman day at the Sammy Miller museum and a profile on TimDallaway – all squeezed into five pages.

Dirt Products - Got something of interest to the dirt bike world? Let us know and we’ll tell everyone else… we’re like that you see..

Dirt Talk - Letters, opinions, you’re doing it wrong… you’re doing it right… all come in to CDB’s office by post, electronic communications or even the telephone.

The Classic MotorCycle Show - Not specifically a dirt bike show, but there was still plenty there for us who like to play in the mud… and yes this year it was muddy...

Super Profile - Bultaco and Sammy Miller are synonymous.We went along to check out Sammy’s last works 250 Bultaco, freshly restored.

No substitute for cubes - A big Maico was the ultimate tool in enduro of the early Eighties,Welsh star Geraint Jones was master of his craft...

And the winner is…

From the archive,

An educational masterpiece..!!

Moto memories
The space-age had arrived and
the world was not enough…
enter the Kosmos which attracted
a lot of attention at the Racing
and Sporting Show, Wardy’s Yam
Yamaha’s TY Mono trials bike was, and is,
a good bike, but to ride one in the toughest
trial in the world 30 years after its era?
Must be something pretty trick...

Moto memories,

That was the year when,

Chef’s Special..!!

We check out Gary Mac’s Bantam,

A change of direction,

Moto memories, and much more!!

For more than 30 years it has been the aim of a Scottish rider to win the Pre-65 Scottish. It nearly happened last year but Gary Macdonald has done it in 2017. The lad from Kinlochleven kept his cool and took the top spot. CDB were on hand to get his Bantam for a feature.

Take a selection of Eighties SWMs, a bunch of riders determined to enjoy them and some dampish scenery in Wales… yes it’s the Old Knobblies on tour. See our sport feature for more.

Class of 1970 - It was all going on for Husqvarna in 1970 – top in MX, movie stardom and riding high. A young lad was smitten by a model kit of the 400 Cross…

That was the year……that the press got a hold of the ISDT team bikes for a pre-event tryout. Their sketch artist went along too, oh if only we could afford sketch artists these days.

Lean, mean and green - Take one ex-works team Kawasaki, add a bit about the company’s early MX forays, talk about the work needed and hey, it’s an SR400 feature. 

An hour… …with the Banks family, MX through and through with three generations all making their mark.

Dazzling the opposition - It pays to take time to do a job right and Roger Simkin’s Cheney Victor is a shining example of this credo.

GROUND BREAKER - Hondas final Elsinore.

SHOWTIME! - Classic Motorcycle Mechanics International Dirt Bike.

SPORTING ACTION FROM FARLEIGH CASTLE AND HAWKSTONE PARK.

AN HOUR WITH… …ROB EDWARDS.

TECH TALK Tubeless for classics.

PLUS! WORKS SUZUKI // CHENEY TRIUMPH ISDT // BSA GOLD STAR // PROJECT IT.

Summer 2024

Spring 2024

Winter 2023

Autumn 2023

Summer 2023

Spring 2023

Winter 2022

Autumn 2022

Summer 2022

Spring 2022

Winter 2021

Autumn 2021

Summer 2021

Spring 2021

Winter 2020

Autumn 2020

Classic Dirt Bike magazine: is about the bikes and personalities of the sport, covering pre-65 machines, classic and twin shocks, trials as well as scrambling/motocross and enduros. There are reader rebuilds from the UK/Europe and North America, event coverage, personality interviews/profiles, letters, products and so much more.

Download your favorite titles and read them offline, anytime and anywhere

Gift your loved ones with a Magzter Gift Card instantly and give them the freedom to read their favorite magazines and newspapers from thousands of best-selling titles.

Gift your loved ones with a Magzter Gift Card instantly and give them the freedom to read their favorite magazines from thousands of best-selling titles.

Gift your loved ones with a Magzter Gift Card instantly and give them the freedom to read their favorite magazines from {{magCount}}+ best-selling international titles.

Name

Please fill out this form if you need any help regarding publishing your content on Magzter

Since we launched, Magzter has been committed to partnering with global organizations to provide the greatest possible newsstand technology & service to our customers. Whether you are looking to offer magazine subscriptions to your customer database or just want to learn more, Magzter is committed to helping your business grow. To find out more, please fill out the questionnaire below:

Classic Dirt Bike - Winter 2018

Classic Dirt Bike - Winter 2018

In this issue

Classic Dirt Bike Magazine Description: