Culture & Patrimoine Moto
The BSA Gold Star: the English single that the Ton-Up Boys wanted
From the Brooklands banking in 1937 to the counters of the Ace Café, the story of the most coveted single in England: where the name came from, the Clubman and DBD34 versions, the domination of the Clubman's TT and the brutal end in 1963.
Speedway: 500 cm³, no brakes, four riders on the cinders
Born on the Australian ovals in 1923, imported into England in 1928, the most stripped-down discipline in motorcycle sport: 500 cm³ on methanol, one gear, no brakes, four riders and four laps of cinders.
The 1972 Imola 200 Miles: the race that gave birth to the Ducati legend
On 23 April 1972, an Italian factory known for its singles lined up eight brand-new desmodromic twins against MV Agusta, Honda and Triumph. At the finish: a one-two, a legend, and the birth of the Ducati 750 SS.
Baggers and dark custom: the two faces of modern American custom
On one side the bagger, the American saddlebag tourer turned style object and race machine with the King of the Baggers. On the other, Harley-Davidson's Dark Custom , an aesthetic of black and stripped-back simplicity. Two opposite faces of the same need for identity.
The Britten V1000: the New Zealand genius who beat the factories
In a shed in Christchurch, John Britten hand-built a carbon racing motorcycle with no frame, around his own 999 cc V-twin. The result: four world records and wins at Daytona against the factory machines. Then cancer took him at 45.