Brown, Benns, Birtles and the Bean: The Book

In 1927, Francis Birtles, a crazy Australian adventurer, set out alone from London to drive 16,000 kilometres to Melbourne. Almost 100 years later, a cartoonist and a journalist set out to recreate that epic adventure.

Words: Roderick Eime. Images: supplied

Warren Brown, the man who put the ‘car’ in cartoons, is widely known to Australian television viewers and readers. A talented cartoonist since the 1980s, he has produced incisive, often controversial political caricatures that appear in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.

BSA Gold Star 650: A Modern Classic with a Proper Pulse

Reviving one of British motorcycling’s most revered names was always going to invite scrutiny. Yet reviewers broadly agree that the new BSA Gold Star 650 succeeds where it matters most, combining convincing period style with an unusually smooth and characterful big-single engine.

Image: BSA supplied

Few revived motorcycles carry as much historical baggage as the BSA Gold Star. The original was one of Britain’s most celebrated sporting singles, so attaching its name to a modern motorcycle built in India was a bold move. Judging by prominent road tests, however, the reincarnated Goldie is much more than a cynical exercise in badge engineering.