Information request for a couple of collections of MC magazines.

[BML]

I have a dozen or so black folders carrying a remarkable amount of information on Motor Bikes around the 1950s marked as, "On two Wheels" and know your bike". For some strange reason none of the contents carry any date information. Can anyone throw light on these magazines?

[R]

I likewise have a set of those - it was given to me, but in the 1990s.
Cover price was 36p per issue (weekly ?) - which probably dates them as 1970s ?

It covers bikes up into the 1970s also.
Covers some marques better than others, I'd comment.
Mainstream models get more pages than the less common...

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/LeIAAOSwcBleXNkE/s-l800.webp

[Rex]

http://www.45worlds.com/magazine/title/on-two-wheels

"Google" as the Yanks like to say "is your friend".  Duff magazine though...it was the sort of thing your dad would read.

[R]

One of the (many) sets for sale* shows there was an index to them all.
(*With a huge variation in prices, it must be said)

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/6g4AAOSwjBdgGFUE/s-l1600.jpg

Yes the info in them was rather basic.

[BML]

Many thanks for the information now all I need to do is to find a MC museum who might like them.

[Rex]

Stick them on Ebay at no reserve, and if/when they don't sell recycle them.
The bottom has dropped out of the old mags market. Back in the Summer someone gave me a bound volume 1 of Classic Bike from the 1978/9 era and recalling how years back people would posted wanted ads for the early editions, I went on Ebay to see that there were a couple of these editions for sale, which didn't sell even at 10 quid start.
The Net is a more convenient way to look up stuff than looking through old mags.

[iansoady]

Yes, worth nowt. I picked up about 10 boxes of Classic Bike etc at the weekend from an ad in the Roadholder. The chap didn't want anything for them. Starting reading through tem, Classic Mechanics seems to have the best articles with several by Frank Farrington (Radco). When I've finished them, anybody here can pick them up from Redditch foc.

[Rex]

Early Classic Mechanics was a good mag for it's time. Did an excellent series on stripping and rebuilding Triumph 350/500 engines which was at least  as good as the official workshop manual and loads better than the Haynes manual, which isn't saying much.
Went downhill when they started to list things like the year-on-year spec changes to Z1's though.

[33d6]

I’ve just thrown out some 20 year old mags. They were full of gloom and doom stories about lead free petrol. Who ever cares about that now? Nowadays the same gloom and doom stories revolve around ethanol in petrol.
Strangely, I’ve not been bothered by either issue, if anything the old clunkers are running better than ever.

[Rex]

One of the big news stories if the time complete with daft personal predictions by some journo hack.
The other big common prediction was the forthcoming explosion in demand for Jap "classics"...still waiting for that one to materialise.

[iansoady]

Early Classic Mechanics was a good mag for it's time. Did an excellent series on stripping and rebuilding Triumph 350/500 engines which was at least  as good as the official workshop manual and loads better than the Haynes manual, which isn't saying much.
Went downhill when they started to list things like the year-on-year spec changes to Z1's though.

Yes, just been going through some of these included in my huge stash. They had proper people writing the articles eg John Hudson for Nortons and Jack Gray for Enfields. Also articles by Radco which expand on some of the topics in his book - maybe they were a precursor? And good old PUB. I think I'll be keeping them.

[Rex]

Look out for a series of articles written on the principles of bike electrics by someone called Dai Griffiths.
Laughably bad, and shows why well-meaning "amateurs" shouldn't be allowed to write techie articles without proof reading by someone more skilled. 
The sand-blasted engine  CBX project fiasco is interesting too.

[iansoady]

Haven't come across them. Royce Creasey, although irritating and arrogant, has written some good stuff in CM.

[Rex]

Certainly irritating in his column where he just appeared to be "musing out loud".
Used to talk about his Velo-powered FF a lot. I can't think of  a worse engine in an FF thing, but then I can't visualise anything worse than an FF either.