Sideburn 35 OUT NOW

Sideburn 35 is out now.

COVER: Steph Bolam on the Rebels Alliance SR500 Rough Diamond 

BIKES: Rebels Alliance SR500 Rough Diamond; Lloyd Brothers AFT Ducati 821 Twin; Fuller Moto Ducati Pro Street Tracker; Royal Enfield Interceptor 650; Sur Les Chapeaux de Roues Honda CRF450; Durex Suzuki GSX-R750: Harley Sportster 1200 Hooligan racer; Newbold Yamaha XS650 dirt bike: Honda XR75 mini flat tracker; Bultaco Astro; River Rat C and J Kawasaki 650 AFT Twin 

PEOPLE: Brandon Robinson; Kevin Atherton; Wilbur Skipp; Joy Lewis 

INTERVIEW: Brandon Robinson 

HOW TO: Spanner like a pro with Brent Armbruster 

EVENTS: Bultaco Astro Cup, Atlanta; Swank Rally, Terminal 1, Italy 

ADVENTURE: In South Africa with Motosafari 

PAGES: 116

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Kennedy Racing Selling Up

DTRA racer Mike Fisher read the previous post, where I mentioned Brandon Robinson, saying perhaps he's happy with his team and wouldn't entertain a move to factory Harley (if it was offered, this is all conjecture on my part). Mike then forwarded me a link to vft.org pointing out that the Kennedy team is selling up. Seems like the sport is running a well-run and competitive privateer outfit.

The ad reads... 'Kennedy Racing going out of business sale. 2 750 Kawasakis, one C and J and one J and M. The best of everything. Three XR-750's. Event winners, $25,000 apiece, all fresh and ready to race.' G

Charlotte Last Week/ Springfield Tomorrow

Last weekend, the 2015 GNC series rolled up to Charlotte Half-Mile, North Carolina for the Don Tilley Memorial. I won't give the result here, for those that might have missed it, because you can see it at your leisure at FansChoice.tv (and it's worth watching). 

Cory Texter (Shayna's brother) debuted a new framer with a Kawasaki Vulcan S (the parallel twin cruiser), supported by Cycle World magazine.

The Basic twins ran at Charlotte, this is the GNC2 class on twins. This has been the most half-baked of recent AMA innovations. The idea was to prepare the GNC2 'Juniors' by having them ride twins at mile rounds, and also not thrash their 450s to death on the big tracks. But the idea fizzled out and the GNC2 riders raced 450s at some miles in 2014. Now they're totally forgotten from 2016 onwards in the new rules...
Anyway, this is Rob McLendon III's Triumph, the only Triumph to make the main in the GNC2 class.

 Henry Wiles and Stevie Bonsey

Having broken his leg after hitting something on track at the Black Hill,s South Dakota round, Brad Baker turned up to sign posters. #5 Jake Johnson has been standing in for him on the factory Harley.

GNC1 rookie Jarod Vanderkooi and Brandon Robinson. Vanderkooi has been great this season and Robinson's making the Triumph work much better than Shayna Texter did last year.

Johnson and Sammy Halbert. Sammy is running 69, instead of his normal 7, in memory of his recently deceased brother, Jethro.

Flyin' Bryan Smith.

Photos courtesy of AMA Pro Racing.

Smith wins fourth consecutive SacMile

Bryan Smith left it very late to announce which team he'd be racing for in 2014, after the Howerton team decided to call it a day, but it hasn't affected his performance. He's retained the same engine and the same form that saw him losing out on the number one plate (in the twins class) at the very last year of 2013. He's won three out of eight races so far and leads the title race at the halfway point. 

Jared Mees (#9) kept the pressure on with another podium finish. I wouldn't bet against him to win the title.

Above and below. Qualifying streamlining. #44 Brandon Robinson finished fourth in the main. #7 Sammy Halbert's comparatively so-so results continued. He came seventh, losing a place to Brad Baker on the run to the line. The race he was nailed on to win, Lima, ended early when his bike broke.
#16 Young gun Wyatt Maguire made the main, coming in 14th.

Coolbeth, #2, had another great start, but faded to finish in no man's land in fifth, away from the leading four, but more than four seconds ahead of sixth.
I'm really interested in Jake Johnson and the Lloyd's Brothers' Ramspur team. This year Jake has run an XR750, Ducati 1000 and, above, a Kawasaki 650. Plus he runs a Honda on the short tracks and TTs. Who else, at the very highest level, runs four different makes of bike in one season (all in the same team's colours)?

Next GNC race is the Castle Rock TT this Saturday. 

Photos courtesy of AMA Pro Racing.

Smith wins in Hagerstown

Bryan Smith broke Harley's decades-long grip on AMA pro half-miles when he won last weekend's Hagerstown half-mile in Maryland. This is his second win of the season, after dominating the Springfield Mile. 

We have an in-depth tech feature on Smith's Crosley Kawasaki ER-6 (same engine, different chassis to this bike) in Sideburn 15. 

 Jared Mees came in second leads the championship. 

Jake Johnson has Ramspur XR750, Ducati 1000 and Kawasaki to choose from. He picked the Harley for the Maryland race and continued his good run of finishes with a sixth place.

Jake Shoemaker - who made his first main in 2012 - got his best result so far, a third on another Kawasaki. Nine Kawasakis made the main. There was one Triumph - Mikey Martin's, the rest Harleys.

After the cruel luck of breaking down while having a clear lead at Lima, Sammy Halbert came in 5th in the main, one place behind...

 ...Brandon Robinson.

Like Sammy, in the last race, Kenny Coolbeth was in the lead and way ahead when his Zanotti XR750 broke down. A few laps later his teammate, Bonsey's bike expired. Very unusual from this championship-winning team.

Like he did at Springfield, Smith won the Dash too.

Semi action. Johnny Lewis, #10, on the KTM. Mikey Martin, #91, on a Triumph, Steve Murray, #51, on a Harley. Only the Triumph rider made it to the Main.

Henry Wiles overheating on the startline.

Johnson and Halbert.

Smith and Mees.

Next race: Grays Harbor Half-Mile, Elma, WA - July 19.

All photos courtesy of AMA Pro Racing.

Mees wins Lima

2012 champion Jared Mees was there when it mattered to win the Lima Half-Mile on a very rough and tough looking cushion track. Sammy Halbert, #7, had won the Dash for Cash (for fastest qualifiers) and had ridden away from the field in the main, when his engine let go... It looked like Bryan Smith would be the first non-XR750 to win a Pro half-mile Main since prehistoric times, but Mees hunted him down, passed him and cleared off.

Dash for Cash - Halbert, Baker, Bonsey, Smith, Mees, Bauman.
It finished Halbert, Baker, Mees.

Smith led a few laps of the main when Halbert pulled off, but couldn't hold off Mees. He faded towards the end and was passed by another Kawasaki, with Brandon Robinson (#44, below).

Jake Johnson seemed to really struggle and had to use a once-per-season get out of jail pass to make the main, when he didn't get out of his semi. It was a good gamble as he eventually came 5th in the main.

The standings are now 1. Coolbeth (who came a solid 4th at Lima) 2. Johnson. 3. Mees. 

Defending Champion, Brad Baker is in 10th in the championship after a DNF when his factory XR750 broke.

The next race is tomorrow, 5 July, Hagerstown Half-Mile. 

All photos courtesy of AMA Pro Racing.

Daytona Short Track Day 1

Briar Bauman won his first national, from Sammy Halbert and Brandon Robinson. He won by a clear 1.9s, a mile in short track terms. 

Reigning champ, Brad Baker battling with Stevie Bonsey. Baker was blackflagged from the main for swapping a bike after a bike after the main was red-flagged. Swapping to a back-up is allowed, but his bike wasn't in the back-up bike area (or some such minor indiscretion). He lost his points from the first round last year and still won the title. National winner, Bonsey is doing his first ever complete season in the Zanotti team (alongside Coolbeth, who was 17th in the main).

Brandon Robinson, came in third. If he stay fit this year he'll be even more of a challenger. 

Sammy Halbert was second in the main and won the Dash for Cash, so he is equal on points with Bauman. 

The second round goes of on Friday evening. 

Photos courtesy of AMA Pro Racing.

Sacramento

These photos came in ages ago, but I was away, so I never got around to posting them. Still worth a quick flick through. This is the Sacramento Mile, from back on 27 July.

Bryan Smith #42 won, starting a rush of wins for Kawasakis. We have two great features lined up for SB15 about Kawasaki twins.
Brad Baker, #12, was fourth on the XR750

From qualifying.
#2 Coolbeth made the main on the factory H-D. #49 Chad Cose didn't make it through the semis. Veteran rider, Dan Ingram #31, DNF'd in the semi.

Johnny Lewis #10, transferred straight to the main on his Latus Triumph and came 15th, one place behind Mikey Martin's Triumph. #59 Willie McCoy was 10th in the main.

Sammy Halbert was on the comeback trail after an injury and operation over the winter. He came fifth, but the season would turn sour a few days later when he crashed at a non-GNC race at Sturgis.

Coolbeth #2, Robert Pearson #27, Jake Johnson #5 (on one his last rides for Zanotti), Mikey Martin #91.
In The main, there were 9 x XR750, 6 x Kawasaki, 2 x Triumph, 1 x Ducati.

Close finish. First to Sammy Halbert in fifth was just 0.223 seconds.

1. Smith; 2. Mees; 3. Robinson.
1. Kaw; 2. H-D; 3. Kaw.

All photos courtesy of AMA Pro Racing.