MIXING WITH THE GREATS
My neighbour isn’t a motorcyclist and has no interest in bikes. He couldn’t tell a Velocette LE from a Ducati 900SS. Yet there’s one machine that grabs his attention when it rolls up outside; not only that, but he can recognise it at 100 paces. Triumph’s Bonneville. Is there a more famous motorcycle? Everyone knows the Bonnie, either through ownership, association or reputation, and 60 years after it was first seen at Earls Court the twin is still part of the fabric of biking. So we joined the Triumph Motor Cycle Owners Club for a knees-up. The celebration of an icon starts on page 30.
It’s not the only iconic metal this month as, for reasons best known to themselves, Suzuki decided to let me ride a couple of Barry Sheene’s race bikes. Not just any bikes, but the RG500S he took to the world title in 1976 and ’77. A boyhood dream come true, the experience was all you could imagine and more – see p74.
We also witnessed the rebirth of the Grimsthorpe Speed Trials (p54), took part in Silver’s Honda CB750 bash (p6), and discovered how great Kawasaki Bighorns are (p44). We’ve been making the most of the glorious autumn sun, too – and hitting the road with our own bikes (p102), none of which broke down.
Unprecedented.