2000ft over the canyon… but 6 inches UNDER the media radar.

Earlier this week we posted about the recreation of Evel Knievel’s Snake River Canyon jump, well, Eddie Braun successfully ‘jumped’ over the infamous 1400 ft canyon.

The launch was scheduled for today, September 17^th….but the EVEL SPIRIT team opted to do it yesterday, possibly because of better weather conditions. There seemed to be virtually no crowd watching.

It looked like a textbook exercise and everybody is smiling. Hats off to the team but this is possibly one of the most under-publicised events in recent history. I don’t know why this newsworthy event failed to get any media coverage. It was rather badly covered by a local TV news crew and (so far) captured with a couple of quite frankly, terrible amateur Youtube clips. I sincerely hope that this occasion has been properly documented.  

I acknowledge that times have maybe changed and everybody these days is ‘Extremed-Out’ but I can’t help but think that this just shows what a showman and entrepreneur Knievel was. Always able to ‘Bring the Circus to town’ in what seemed an effortless and flamboyant way, hawking his stunts on a global scale.

I read that Braun Spent $1.5 million of his own money to make this happen. Perhaps the EVEL SPIRIT team invested all their combined resources and energy into the mechanics of making a successful jump, maybe overlooking the pre-event publicity and build up. Or maybe the mainstream media just don’t care about an ongoing 42-year-old story. Either way, it seems criminal that this wasn’t presented ‘live’ on satellite TV and it didn’t make ‘News at Ten’. I found a picture of a tattoo belonging to an English chap who made the pilgrimage to Twin Falls Idaho to witness the jump. Ironically, this tattoo could possibly make a bigger internet splash than the jump itself.

In other news it seems Rocket Sky-Cycles are just like buses…you wait 42 years for one and then two turn up together. Apparently, on October 18^th , self-taught rocket scientist ‘Mad Mike Hughes’ will climb aboard his own version of Evel Knievel’s X-2 Sky-Cycle and endeavour to jump over the ghost town of Amboy in California. You couldn’t make it up!

Dave Skooter Farm

All photos: AP

Flat Track BC: Season Ender Bender

Flat track BC isn't Before Christ. No one is racing around the track in a hebrew tunic and sandals on a push-along balance bike with wooden wagon wheels. Well, I'm pretty sure they're not, that might be happening in Hoxton.

No! It's British Columbia, beautiful BC, over there on the west coast, perched on top of Washington state like a stately owl in fake Raybans, sitting on top of totem pole of confusion.

This region of Canada is a place full of good people with the common decency to retain the word British in the name of their region.

Anyway, the've got a great race scene going on, fast at the top, welcoming at the bottom. Their final race of the season is coming up soon. Our old mate Grant Robinson helps make it all happen, and he got his dirt track start back at Dirt Quake 1, so it shows how that is an event that keeps giving. Go to flattrackbc.com for more info. G

Yamaha XS650 for Sale

Texas Chris Jenner is selling his street legal DTRA racer.  The bike is located in Yorkshire. £5500.
Here's the info...

1976 Yamaha XS650 Flat Tracker, Street legal, DTRA Thunderbike race bike. 
-Motor rebuilt in February, kick start only, all electric starter parts removed 
-Aluminium, box section Radian swing arm conversion 
-Frame and swing arm powder coated 
-Fibreglass tank and seat unit 
-Morad, Akront high shoulder aluminium 19 inch rims 
-Maxxis DTR-1 flat track tyres (DTRA and road legal) 
-Single wall TT style pipes 
-Custom made, solid mount, aluminium riser bushings by Survivor Customs 
-PMA Stator conversion 
-New Boyer Bransden ignition, coils, battery and regulator this summer 
-small ‘shark fin’ chain guard and lanyard kill switch (as per DTRA race regs). 
-LED taillight and headlights set in front plate. 

 Overall, it’s a super clean bike, and starts (1st or 2nd kick), runs and rides and races great. It’s fully compliant and race ready for Dirt Track Riders Association flat track racing. Just take the front brake off and the taillight/number plate (the taillight/number plate is built onto a little removable sub-frame bracket, comes off as one with 4 bolts). For the road, it’s just had its MOT in August, passed with only 1 advisory, headstock was a little loose (it's adjusted now).

Contact him through thebikeshed.cc

Dust & Throttle: A film about Dirt Quake

DUST &THROTTLE from sam barker on Vimeo.

Very emotive film shot at the two days of Dirt Quake V by top photographer, Sam Barker. The action and characters are a mixture of Friday night DTRA and Saturday Dirt Quake.

Sam filmed and wrote the poem for the narrative. Lovely stuff. G

Never Go Back: Snake River Canyon

Dave Skooter Farm reports...

In this modern age, there seems to be an insatiable quest to revisit the good old days. The ‘rebooting’ of classic movies, old bands you thought you would never, ever get to see, reforming and long-discontinued chocolate bars once again available in the newsagents. However, maybe some things should be left in the nostalgic mind’s eye.

On September 17th 2016, as tribute to his childhood idol Evel Knievel, Hollywood stuntman Eddie Bruan will attempt to recreate Evel’s 1974 career highpoint (pun intended) and jump the Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls, Idaho. Regular readers of Sideblog won’t need me to point out how Knievel’s effort played out.

Bruan will be piloting an exact replica of EK’s ‘X-2 Sky-Cycle’ built to vintage blue-prints belonging to the builder of the original, NASA rocket scientist Bob Truax. The new version of the Sky-Cycle has been co-built by the late Bob Truax’s son, Scott. The craft has been christened ‘Evel Spirit’

Just like Evel’s ‘bike’, it’s steam-powered. 

Steam is superheated to precise temperature and pressure and when released, produces 6,000 pounds of thrust and 10,000 Horsepower! Expected maximum speed is in excess of 400 mph in 3.0 seconds with a calculated altitude of 3,000 feet. 

In keeping with exact specifications of Evel's X2 Sky-cycle, all of that temperature and pressure is being held in the rocket by THE LID OF A DOG-FOOD CAN!

'Evel used it—so we're using it! That's right, we actually cut off the tops of dog food cans (just like Evel did) and place the lid inside the rocket engine to keep all the pressure at bay until we are ready to release it!' 

For some reason, live spectators at the launch site have been limited to 500 people. We could speculate that it may have something to do with Evel (above) leaving behind a trail of unpaid bills with vendors and the local services his team used during their stay 42 years ago. A city councillor in Twin Falls said the town was wiser about what to expect from a daredevil attempting to jump their canyon.

Happy landings to the ‘Evel Spirit’ team.

Dave Skooter Farm

(Above) This post's author, Dave Skooter Farm, with the original Sky-Cycle in 1999. It prompted me to ask, 'Where was the photo of you taken? And why do you look like you’ve just taken one to the nuts?'

Dave replied, 'Daytona Bike week 1999, Met Evel that day too. Can’t explain why I’m in that position….soz'

Smith Gets Points Back

Following on from last week's blog post about Bryan Smith's disqualification, the AMA have reversed the decision. Below is their official release...

AMA Pro Racing announced today that an independent Appeal Board has heard and considered the appeal of a technical protest filed by No. 1 Jared Mees against No. 42 Bryan Smith on August 20, 2016 at the Central New York Half-Mile, Round 12 of the 2016 AMA Pro Flat Track season. The technical protest concerned a rear wheel assembly alleged to be out of compliance with Rule 3.22.h of the 2016 AMA Pro Flat Track rulebook: 3.22 Weight Limits and Weighing Procedures ... h. All chassis ballast must be fixed to the frame. Under no conditions is it allowable to add chassis ballast as rotating mass to the wheels outside of normal balancing procedures.    In post-race technical inspection, the wheel was retained by AMA Pro Racing staff for further investigation where it was deemed to be out of compliance. The original penalty assessed included disqualification of the #42 and loss of championship points and purse for the Central New York Half-Mile following the issuance of a Penalty Notice. Earlier today, the Appeal Board, which consisted of a non-voting chairperson from AMA Pro Racing and three voting members not affiliated with AMA Pro Racing and with no material interest in the matter at hand, heard the appeal and examined evidence presented by Smith.  After an executive session, the Appeal Board made the decision to reverse the original Penalty levied by AMA Pro Racing and restore the finishing position and points earned by Smith at the Central New York Half-Mile. The appeal board has issued the following statement: "After considering evidence presented by AMA Pro Racing and Bryan Smith, the Appeals Board identified a series of central questions: Is the wheel technically legal according to the 2016 AMA Pro Flat Track rules? If not, was the team given permission by AMA Pro Racing to utilize the wheel in competition? If the team was given permission, was that permission rescinded according to the rulebook at any moment in time after they were given permission? The following language in the introduction to the 2016 AMA Pro Flat Track rulebook was a determining factor in today's decision: 'If any rule is unclear to the entrant or competitor, the entrant or competitor is advised to get written approval prior to any modifications. Requests for rule clarifications or interpretations must be submitted in writing by riders and teams to AMA Pro Racing.' The Appeals Board has determined that, regardless of whether or not the wheel is technically legal according to the 2016 AMA Pro Flat Track rules, AMA Pro Racing officials gave Smith's team written permission to utilize the wheel in competition, and that the permission was not rescinded in writing at any point.  On that basis, the team was acting in good faith by competing with the wheel and, therefore, the disqualification upon technical protest is not considered to be valid and Smith's finishing position and points are to be restored." The decision of the Appeals Board is final and binding on all parties. AMA Pro Racing is committed to sanctioning a professional series with safety and fairness for all competitors as primary objectives. The AMA Pro Flat Track rulebook is currently undergoing an exhaustive review of language, policies and procedures in order to provide a solid platform for fostering competition on the racetrack. AMA Pro Racing will study the conclusion of the Appeals Board and implement protocols to ensure a fair, equitable and transparent process for rule-setting and enforcement. AMA Pro Racing will provide additional information on rules and procedures following an internal review. As the AMA go on to explain, 'With his points restored, Smith now leads Mees by 2 points, 221-219, heading into the season finale at Santa Rosa.' That is going to be a wild race. It's a mile, it could be Smith's year, but anything can happen. Winning the Dash for Cash gains points. Leading the most laps gains points. Mees is a fighter, and there are only two points in it. I've just been reminded the race was cancelled because of mist a few years ago. I hope that doesn't happen again, because I'M GOING! G

Survivor Rotax for Sale

Mike at Survivor Customs is selling his race bike to fund a new project. He came second in the Restricted class and third in the 2016 Thunderbike class on this bike this year. This is what he says. 

CCM Main frame with custom welded on subframe conversion to fit a Knight seat unit, custom twinshock swinging arm with Marzocchi shocks, R6 forks, 19in DID rims, front laced to a Talon spool hub, Rear laced to a KTM gs hub; polycarb American flat track tank, Renthal bars, carbon number boards, recent service with new throttle and clutch cable and oil lines,... This bike wants for nothing it's got a really nice strong motor. I can't fault it the only reason I'm selling it is because I want to build another one. If i don't get the asking price I'll keep it and put it on the road
survivorcustoms@gmail.com Tel: 07835649903

Don't You Wish That We Were Dead?

The Damned New Rose post, on the Sideburn blog, prompted a belated response from regular magazine contributor, Dave Bevan (who has been writing about cult motorcycle films for the magazine in recent issues). He pointed me to the trailer for documentary above, that had passed me by.

Even the trailer puts the hairs up on the back of my neck like no blockbuster can. Look out for Captain Sensible, who for a man of my age (mid-40s) first appeared on my radar in 1982 as a human pop sock puppet singing an unlistenable version of Happy Talking from the msucial South Pacific. This killed him in my young and dumb view as worthy of any punk cred, but really proved he didn't give a shit. Criminally, it did stop me from going back and investigating The Damned for decades. Damn you, Raymond (Capt. S's real name).

Anyway, watch this clip. I'm going to hunt down the full length doc to rent or buy as soon as I get the next couple of weeks out of the way.

Thanks to Dave B for the link. He has another feature coming up in Sideburn 26, this time about the film, Werewolves on Wheels. Dave wrote about Psychomania in SB25 and Stone in SB24 and you should check them out. He does the illustrations too. G

UPDATE: Find out more about Don't You Wish You Were Dead? at damneddoc.com

John Harrison: The Early Years

There are thousands of people in the Sideburn universe with great stories to tell, and I've chosen a handful to supply stories and update the blog. One is Travis Newbold, Sideburn poet and test rider, another is John Harrison. We met John through his antics and style in the DTRA and the more I found out about him, the more I wanted him involved.

He says stuff like... 'I don't wear T-shirts or sweatshirts (or jeans). Haven't done since my early 30s.' John is 57 with grown-up children, and started dirt track racing earlier this year. You'll find out a lot more about him, starting now. Hope you enjoy his outlook as much as I do. G

'As we're rained off today I thought I 'd get going on my motorcycling history for you. I can't imagine how you would introduce this sort of thing but here you are. Stand by for following emails. All photos are my own unless stated. 

The picture above is of me as a 12 yr old on the first motorbike I ever rode. This would have been 1972. It is a BSA Beagle (surely the bike Snoopy rode in the recently blogged Peanuts cartoon) which was an early '60s, 75cc 4-stroke that they produced in a forlorn attempt to take the fight to the Italian and Japanese small, cheap bike competition. Pressed steel frame and forks, but this one had been converted into a Schoolboy Scrambler with tele forks, a high level pipe and a bobbed rear guard. One of my friends got it and we thought it was the bee's bollocks, particularly as we reckoned it was a dead ringer for a Husky with the red and white tank. We hadn't ridden motorbikes before, but could drive cars, so set about teaching ourselves. I'm amused that the only new item of clothing I'm wearing is my brand new Stadium Centurion X helmet, the rest - shirt, trousers and shoes are all hand-me-downs. 

We had a field at the back of our place that we got permission to ride in and soon we were all on the lookout for field bikes. Another friend found a 125 Bantam ( also 'converted' to schoolboy scrambler spec) which I think he paid a fiver for. It was barely worth it. This photo shows the two bikes pretending to race; in truth they both rarely ran at the same time, or we couldn't afford enough fuel fuel to keep them both going. The same scene must have been played out by lads all over the country learning to ride and fix field bikes. Hopefully it still is. 
JH 104R

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