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 • NUMBER 115

BLOW YOUR OWN • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

RARITEE Best Letter

CLASSIC COB • OUT IN THE SHED

Sir Al comes a cropper

Motorcycle Speedway set to return • After a prolonged hiatus, motorcycle speedway will soon be returning to Sydney International Speedway. This exciting announcement comes following successful discussions between Motorcycling NSW CEO Daniel Rushworth and Sydney International Speedway Track Manager Garry Willmington.

Weather woes hit One Raceway • The incessant rain that has lashed the eastern part of Australia in past months has had a major effect on the work on the reborn One Raceway (formerly Wakefield Park) in Goulburn.

Oily Rag’s flying start • The much-anticipated sale of the estate of the late Vic Maberley was entrusted to newcomers Oily Rag Auctions. It exceeded even the wildest expectations, not just for the prices achieved for the motorcycles, but especially for the rare parts on offer.

FOMSA’s first swap meet • The Festival of Motorcycling SA is pleased to announce SA’s first Undercover Winter Swap Meet thanks to the generosity of Greyhound Racing SA.

Moyna Boulden • Just who coined the phrase, “Behind every strong man there’s a strong woman”, is disputed, but it could well have been Ron Boulden, who in a short but meteoric career amassed two Australian titles and four Bathurst Australian Grand Prix wins, amongst countless other top results.

Graeme Morris • Former Australian Supersport Champion GRAEME MORRIS passed away on 25th March, 2024 aged 62, after battling bowel cancer for four years. A memorial service was conducted in Mayfield West, in Graeme’s native Newcastle, on 4th April.

Pat Hennen • Born April 27, 1953, Phoenix, Arizona – died April 6, 2024, Mountain View, California.

IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN • What is Australia’s most successful racing motorcycle? That’s easy. The Honda RC161 sent from the factory to Bennett & Wood, Sydney in late 1960. The four-cylinder 250 was one of about half a dozen produced as replicas of the 1960 works bikes, and were visually identical except for chrome exhaust pipes and megaphones instead of the black pipes on the factory bikes.

Skeleton in the cupboard • The return of Ducati to the single-cylinder MX and Enduro scene in 2024 dictates a look in the rear view mirror of history to back when the famous Italian sportbike manufacturer last previously dabbled in this sector.

WHEN THE FIGURES JUST DON’T ADD UP • When Excelsior-Henderson sank from sight in 1931, it was just another once prosperous company that had drowned in the tidal wave of bankruptcies during the Great Depression.

Missing an issue • from your Old Bike Australasia collection?

An ugly duckling no longer • If there’s one thing that the Brits do well, perhaps better than anyone else, it’s motorcycle chassis design and execution. Think of the Rickman brothers, companies like Wasp, Maxton…and Harris. And if you include the Irish, of course there is the Norton Featherbed, conceived and built by the McCandless brothers, Rex and Cromie.

Brooklands, UK • Nowadays resident in Invercargill, Stuart Francis was home in the UK recently and took the opportunity to visit one of the world’s most famous motor sport sites.

A GREAT, GREAT GRAND STORY • Consigned...