British motorcycles

Finally, the wait is over. About this time last year, we wrote about the news that Mahindra Group in India had bought the rights to the BSA brand, and would be producing them in the UK. They just pulled the wraps off their debut model a day ahead of “Motorcycle Live 2021” in England. BSA sneak-previewed their all-new Gold Star 650 at England’s National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham before the Motorcycle Live event at the NEC, the first in a series of motorcycles the brand plans to bring to market in the coming year(s).

Royal Enfield 2022 650 Twins Sneak Peek

by Road Dirt Crew | Aug 27, 2021 | Bikes & Gear | 5 |

Royal Enfield North America just announced the launch of new color schemes and upgrades for its 2022 650 Twin motorcycles—the INT 650 and the Continental GT 650. Both models will also receive a host of aesthetic upgrades, including blacked-out rims and fenders and black fork gaiters, adding a stylish flare to Royal Enfield’s modern classics.

Legendary Bikes: 1967 BSA Spitfire Special MKIII

by Rob Brooks | Apr 14, 2021 | Legendary Bikes | 5 |

I’ve long harbored a fascination and great affection for the classic British motorbike brands. I grew up on and around my father’s Triumphs, and have owned a series of them myself over the years. Yet the Grand Marshal of the Brit parade to me was always the BSAs. With their polished tank medallions, exquisite paint schemes, compelling names (Gold Star, Rocket, Lightning, Spitfire, Bantam, etc.) and racing pedigree, the BSA brand for years has been, as fellow writer Ted Edwards might quip, my “unicorn.” I’ve longed for and lusted after them, but have never owned one. Yet.

Legendary Bikes: Peter Egan’s 1974 Norton Commando

by Road Dirt Crew | Aug 28, 2020 | Legendary Bikes | 18 |

Peter Egan has been called America’s Favorite Automotive Writer. A Wisconsin native, Egan held unprecedented dual editorial positions with both Cycle World and Road & Track magazines for nearly three decades before semi-retiring from his monthly columns in 2013.
In that time, he rode and reviewed hundreds of motorcycles, but none remained as close to his heart as the Norton Commando. In fact, it was “Dateline: Missoula,” a story about an ill-fated, cross-continent trip on a Commando which was his first published article for Cycle World back in December 1977. Egan wrote, “So it seems I owe my journalism career to that Norton as well. If I’d bought a Honda, god knows what I’d be doing now. Possibly something useful to humanity. That or sleeping under a bridge.”

Triumph Wields A New Trident

by Rob Brooks | Aug 26, 2020 | Bikes & Gear, Industry & Racing | 0 |

In a press release this week, Triumph Motorcycles unveiled a prototype of a new roadster styled motorcycle that should go into production in the coming year, wearing the famous “Trident” moniker. The model name has been in use by Triumph over the years since about 1968, and graced a number of legendary bikes in their lineup.