TIME TO CELEBRATE!

CLASSIC BIKE was launched in Spring 1978. This September issue is the 500th edition. It’s grown from a one-off punt into a quarterly and is now the world’s leading monthly magazine for classic motorcycle enthusiasts the world over. So how do we celebrate such an amazing landmark? We thought we’d give the whole mag a 500 theme – especially as, for many decades, 500cc motorcycles were the pinnacle of bike sport and the number one choice for the road riding enthusiast.

We’ve picked the 500cc road machines that defined each decade from the 1900s, starting with the Werner and its bolt-on engine in a bicycle frame, through Norton International, BSA’S Gold Star, the Triumph Speed Twin and on to the complexity of the modern four-cylinder Honda CB500-4 and the super-quick Suzuki Gamma four-cylinder two-stroke.

We’ve looked back 50 years to the changing of the guard in the 500c Grand Prix World Championship, the last gasp of the British singlecylinder against the might of the exotic MV Agusta – and the increasing threat of the twostroke, represented by the Suzuki twin.

We’ve also covered the amazing supercharged era of GP racing when BMW, AJS, Gilera, Moto Guzzi and Velocette produced some really wacky machines that all had their chassis, tyre and brake designers struggling to match the awesome power of the forced-induction engines. We’ve also had lunch with Graham Noyce, one of the all-time motocross legends – the 1979 500cc world champion and a fabulous character. We’ve looked back to the roaring ’20s, too, when two women hit the headlines racing 500cc speedway bikes on cinders against the blokes.

If that’s not enough, we’ve got the Thruxton 500, the 500 Velo that went 100mph for 24 hours and Bert Le Vack’s 500-mile Brooklands victory, not to mention the 1971 launch of the BSA B50 range.

A mega 500 celebration for our 500th issue.