Introduction

Iceni CAM Magazine

This is the home of the Iceni CAM Magazine—a free e-magazine about Cyclemotors, Autocycles, Mopeds … and more.  It was launched on 15 April 2007 and the most recent ten issues can be downloaded here.  All the articles from all the previous magazines are on this website.  For non-computerised folks, printed copies are available at £1.50 per edition; we can accommodate mail order too at £3.02 for single edition or £12.20 for a year’s subscription.

So what’s it about?

It’s an e-magazine all about cyclemotors, autocycles and mopeds that carries road test & feature articles, rally reports, free adverts and other assorted information.  Although we are an independent production, we have strong ties to the EACC and also to the New Zealand Cyclaid Register.

We are based in East Anglia, but are by no means limited to that area.  Much that appears in the magazine is of universal appeal.  We welcome contributions, wherever they are from, and are also happy to help to publicise any events for cyclemotors, autocycles and mopeds.

When’s it published?

We publish four times a year at the beginning of January, April, July, and October.  Iceni CAM is purely an enthusiast production, and all produced on a tiny budget.  The free downloadable version will be posted on this website on the same day as the printed version goes on sale.

All the issues of CAM Magazine that we’ve produced have been very well received.  Thank you all for your comments; they are much appreciated.  Several of you have also made donations, which has helped enormously in keeping Iceni CAM going.

What’s in it?

The July 2025 edition is available now on our Downloads Page.

Main feature: Time Slip

The article started 14 years ago in 13/06/2011 with a road test and photo-shoot on the original un-restored bike.  Notes were typed up, some related research was added to the file, with a idea to develop a story line along the lines of the ‘Life on Mars’ TV series, which was popular at the time.

Why the article got mothballed for 14 years is beyond explanation, because the second restored FS1-E was also available at much the same time, and both bikes were owned by Neil Bowen of Walton Works Graphics.

The first FS1-E got tested when it did because he was on the verge of selling that bike, because he’d already bought the fully restored one, and was intent on keeping the new one.  Why we also didn’t test that at the time escapes us.  Maybe nothing happened because the first one was ‘in the bag’ when it got sold on, so there was no pressure to do the ‘new’ one.

Finally, and exactly 14 years later, we completed the road test and photo-shoot on Baja Brown FS1-E no.2 on 13 June 2025, so here we are!  How weird is that?  Both bikes tested on the same day 14 years apart, absolutely unplanned, and we didn’t even realise this until looking up the film dates for these production notes!

The other interesting aspect is that Neil has this second Baja Brown ‘Fizzy’ as two-bikes-in-one, because this bike is also the ‘Vizzy’ that is regularly seen at local events.  The trick is accomplished with a change-of-clothes’, by swapping over a spare set of tank and side panels in white background with Viz cartoon graphics.  There’s also another tank version with a zipper…

It’s the same bike!

Since everyone knows that the Yamaha FS1-E is probably the most iconic sports moped of its time, the article structure didn’t really need the usual historical style introduction of less familiar makes and models, so the Time Slip story format was brought in to carry the load.  Since the Fizzy was introduced in the unrestricted sports moped era, and subsequently overlapped into the performance limited ‘Slo-ped’ age, there was a whole range of models over a 10-year period, and it seemed useful to qualify the details of respective machines in a chart to help with identification.

So here’s the $64,000 question—How was FS1-E restricted?

One of the suggestions is that a washer was welded into the exhaust pipe, but we’re not sure that fitting pattern exhaust system with a ‘clear pipe’ makes much improvement.  Internet searches don’t seem to yield any results on how they were restricted, so we don’t really know, and it seems as if ‘they’ don’t want anyone to know either, but perhaps someone might tell us?

Many thanks for another sponsorship from Les Gobbett, Lough, Lincolnshire EACC.

First Support feature: The Simsons

Hopefully the title raised a smile despite the obvious misspelling, but was too tempting to ignore.

Some remarkable statistics come from this article, starting way back in 1854 and taking over 100 years before the factory even made its first moped!  Probably, many riders would be unaware of the remarkable though little known history of their eastern European mounts…

Our featured S51 Enduro came from Tony Austin in Northamptonshire, with the road test and photo-shoot completed on Monday 10 June 2024, so it’s been ‘in the tubes’ for a year.

The Simson S51 model series didn’t come along until after the end of the sports moped era when pedal mopeds were redefined on 1 August 1977, so it never was an original ‘sports moped’ with pedals, but came as a supposedly restricted 50cc Mo-kick motor cycle.

The engine specification never really quite met the official 30mph ‘Slo-ped’ performance maximum limit, but probably didn’t exceed it by enough to concern anyone, so it wore a compliance plate and just got sold anyway because it wasn’t really very sporty.  The motor could produce a capable enough 3.7bhp, but the bike was bulky and heavy for a 50, and while the long-stroke design of 38mm bore x 44mm stroke was useful for torque at low and medium speeds, it proved less effective at higher revs.  It’s a solidly built and well-proportioned steady commuter, but the former eastern European communist satellite styling generally seemed to find less appeal among younger riders in the UK.

The Simsons was sponsored by Wayne Mann, Suffolk Section EACC.

Second Support feature: Third Time Lucky?

Was a continuation about our previous bad luck in testing Ducati Cucciolos, which never seemed to go as well as stories about their performance might have led us to believe.  Perhaps we just had a couple of tired examples, so here we were again, and hoping for Third Time Lucky.

A problem with repeatedly testing the same machine is that the article needs to be different each time, so needs a new angle of approach. This time we covered other aspects of the Cucciolo’s introduction to the Italian market, early versions, its introduction to the British market by Britax, different road test results, the closing phase with Britax, and at last a bike that performed better than the previous two.

The somewhat complex controls on this uniquely constructed example make it difficult to relate to on a brief ride, it’s likely to be something that needs more familiarity to appreciate.

Like the Simson S51E, this Cucciolo was also tested on Monday 10 June 2024 after driving on from Northampton to Nottingham to meet with Derek Langdon to test this T2 Ducati mounted in a Raleigh bicycle.

The three Cucciolos that we’ve tested now have each been strikingly different machines, from the Pogliaghi, the mystery bike, and now the Raleigh.  The ‘Little Pup’ cyclemotor could be fitted into so many different frames that the possibilities are endless, with all being interesting and unique in their own right.

Sponsored by Chris Willis, of Willis Wheels, Epping, Essex.

What’s Next?

The next magazine is scheduled for publication at the beginning of October 2025.

Next Main Feature: Everything has a sequel, eventually … If all goes according to plan, this should be a ‘Return to The Lost World’, but over the last 23 years there’s been some evolution taking place …

Next First Support: This Company made lots of bicycles, and while this is not the first Motorised Cycle sold under the brand, it is the first version of this moped, and that’s what makes it different …

Next Second Support: Another obscure British-branded moped, which is unlikely that you’ve ever seen, and probably never heard of!  It appeared in early 1957, and was sold in various forms until 1962.  The cycle chassis is Italian, and it carries a German engine  … hold on  … how come this is called a British moped?

What else?

Well, there’s this Website … we’ve put a lot of useful information here, and we’re alwas adding to it.  We have a directory of useful people to know.  Information on local events and, after each run, we put photos of the event on this website.  There’s also a market place where you can buy and sell mopeds, autocycles, cyclemotors and other related items

As each edition of the magazine is published, we add to our collection of articles.  From Edition 3 of the magazine, we introduced another evolution.  Previously, features in the articles section had reflected what appeared in the magazine, but you may now discover a bit of extra content has crept into some items as they’ve transferred to the website—you might call it ‘The Directors Cut’.  The problem with printed magazines is editing everything to fit page sizes and space, and there can sometimes be bits you’d like to include, but they have to be left out to fit the available space.  The web articles don’t need to be constrained by the same limitations so, although the text will remain the same, the ‘Directors Cut’ graphic in the header indicates the item carries extra pictures and bits that didn’t make it to the magazine.

We also have an Information Service—if you want to know more about your moped, we can help.

What we do

Iceni CAM Magazine is committed to celebrating all that’s good about the Cyclemotor, Moped and Autocycle scene; researching toward the advancement of the pool of knowledge about cyclemotors, autocycles, old mopeds, and other oddities; and the publication of original material.  We are a declared non-profit making production, though we still need to fund everything somehow to keep the show on the road.

The magazine is free on line, and the nominal price of supplying hard copies to non-computerised folks is pitched only to cover printing and postage.  All advertising is free since we believe that the few people left out there providing parts & service for these obsolete machines do so as a hobby and an interest.  This involves far more effort than reward, and they should be appreciated for the assistance they provide.  Our Information Service is there to help anyone needing manuals to help with restoration of a machine.  We make a small charge for this but, again, we have set our prices so the just cover postage and material costs.  However, we are trying to make this free too!  We are setting up an on-line library where you can download manuals at no charge.

Overheads involve operation of the website, and particularly the generation of features.  Articles like Last Flight of the Eagle can cost as little as £20 to complete, while others have cost up to £150 to generate, eg: Top Cat on the Leopard Bobby.  With these overheads, you may be wondering how we get the money to keep it all going.  So do we!  But, somehow, it works, helped by a number of generous people who have sponsored articles or made donations to keep the show on the road.

How long does it take to research, produce, and get these feature articles to press?  Well, up to two years of preparatory research in some cases, where little is known about the machine or its makers, and where nothing has been published before.  Then, collating all the information and interviews, drafting and re-drafting the text, travel and photoshoots typically account for up to 40 to 50 hours to deliver the package to editing.

There are many examples where these articles have become the definitive reference material for previously unpublished machines like:

Ambassador Moped,

Dunkley Whippet & Popular,

Elswick Hopper Lynx,

Leopard Bobby,

Mercury Mercette & Hermes,

Ostler Mini-Auto,

Raleigh Ireland Super,

Stella Minibike,

…and many others.

We’re committed to continuing to produce these articles, because we believe it needs to be done, and we’ve got a proven track record for achieving it.  Nobody else has done it in 50 odd years, so if we don’t do it—who will?

To whet your appetite for what’s ahead, here’s an updated list of machines with developing articles for future features:

Ariel Pixie;

Beretta–Mosquito;

Capriolo 75 Turismo Veloce;

Cyc-Auto (Wallington Butt) & Cyc-Auto (Villiers);

Dot ViVi;

Dunkley S65 & Whippet Super Sports;

Elswick–Hopper VAP MIRA test prototype;

Gilera RS50;

Hercules Her-cu-motor;

Honda Gyro Canopy, Model A, CD50, & SS50;

James Comet 1F;

MV Agusta Liberty;

Norman Nippy Mark 3;

Powell Joybike;

Rabeneick Binetta;

Simson SR2E;

Solifer Speed;

Sun Autocycle & Motorette;

Vincent Firefly;

The working list changes all the time as articles are completed and published, and further new machines become added—so as you see, there’s certainly no shortage of material.

Readers have probably noticed a number of the articles collecting sponsorship credits, and we’re very grateful for the donations people have made toward IceniCAM, which certainly assures we’re going forward into another year.  We don’t need a lot of money since IceniCAM is a declared non-profit making organisation, and operates on a shoestring (and we’d like to keep it that way)—run by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts.

It’s easy to sponsor an article by either picking a machine from the forward list, and we’ll attach your credit to it, or simply making a donation.  There is no fixed amount, it’s entirely up to you, and however large or small, we’re grateful for any contribution to keep the show on the road.

If a vehicle you’re interested in seeing an article about isn’t in the list, then let us know and we’ll see about trying to add it in the programme, but we do need access to examples—perhaps you have a machine you’d like to offer for a feature?

See the Contact Page for how to: Sponsor an article–Enter a free advert–Submit an article yourself–Write a letter to us–Propose a machine for feature–Offer your machine for test feature …