Coste Contemplation

Sideburn first met Dimitri when Ben, Steve Redmax and I went over to Paris to visit Ruby Helmets, not long after they'd just launched, and attend a local bike club meet (that turned out to be crap, but we became good friends with Sonic Seb through it).

Dimitri visited the offices of Ruby (his brother is the founder) and we got along so well he invited us to lunch at his house the next day. He had just bought a Triumph TR6C that wasn't running right. Steve Redmax tuned it up and made it fly and Ben shot a feature for Sideburn 5 there and then, perhaps the first on Dimitri Coste and his motorcycle passion.

Since then we've raced together, and the 'French Steve McQueen' has contributed a number of stories and attended all the UK Dirt Quakes, plus become a regular DTRA racer, and raced all over the world.

First and foremost, he's a great photographer and, for Sideburn 20, we have an eight-page portfolio on some of his favourite recent images.

If you want to see that first feature on Dimitri and his Triumph, you can read it in Sideburn 5. We have a very limited amount of this issue in our Back Issue Deal.

There is also a feature on Dimitri racing Pikes Peak in Sideburn 10 (available individually or as part of the back issue deal)

Above is a short video made at Dirt Quake III in 2014, featuring his two children. G

Influx: Alt.Bikers - notes from the new wave

Thinking man's automotive blog/web-thing, Influx is back after something of a hiatus.
They returned with a love letter to Ford's Dagneham plant and Ford Britain - getting Billy Bragg on board to write for them and star in a video.

Next up is 'Alt.Bikers - notes from the new wave'. They asked me to write a couple of pieces, one was about the mainstream 'co-optation of the alt. bike scene' (their phrase not mine). It's an insider's view, only lightly edited and barely dumbed down for the masses. That's why I like Influx so much.

The other piece I wrote for them is an interview with Bruce Brown, director of On Any Sunday.

There is also a feature on the Old Empire x ODFU Osprey by Influx head honcho, Mike Fordham, and a list of ten influential bike builders written by Bike Exif founder, Chris Hunter.

Heading up all this wordy stuff is Influx's own short and sweet video (above) shot at Dirt Quake III last year, featuring Sideburn's own entertainments officer, Dave Skooter Farm and other familiar faces.

Don't forget Dirt Quake IV is Friday-Saturday,  July 17-18.
Dirt Quake USA is Saturday-Sunday, June 20-21

You can read the articles at influx.co.uk, but here's a taster...

'For the first time since the British working class streetfighter scene of the mid-1990s – a sub-culture that spawned the definitive Triumph Speed Triple and every subsequent ‘hyper-naked’: Aprilia Tuono; KTM SuperDuke, Ducati Streetfighter… – it is motorcycle customisers, not solely racing or in-house design departments, that are leading development with their vitality. The crucial difference between the neo café racers and the streetfighters is the 21st century scene is clean-cut and affluent enough for boardroom inhabitants to relate to. There’s nothing illegal about the new scene. These people don’t look, or behave, like wrong ‘uns. They are ABC1s. Tasteful and urbane. The defining events do not take place outside a Midlands bike shop or on a wind-battered disused runway – but in hip, cultural magnets – Biarritz, Portland, East London’s Shoreditch.' G

Like Stuff Off a Shovel

Seems like Dirt Quake 2014 Chopper Class Champion Guy Martin is turning his hand to another style of bike racing and intends to compete in some niche event called the Isle of Man TT. Unfortunately, despite being a demon racer when it comes to Harley Sportsters on dirt ovals, Guy has been given some old, air-cooled boxer BMW to compete on at the TT.

Still, he's putting on a brave face. This is what he says after yesterday, his first day of testing in Almeria, Spain.

“I have hardly touched a thing on the Tyco BMW S1000RR apart from footrests and bars and I’m more than impressed already. It’s that nimble and has such a great feel, you could ride it for a lifetime; it really is a mega bike. 

“We rode today on used tyres, which does help you get a good feeling for a bike, and I had one hundred percent confidence in it and felt great. It goes like ‘you know what… off a shovel’ and even though I haven’t ridden a competitive bike for around six months, I know fast when I ride it, and it did everything I asked of it. 

“If I’m honest I’ve got more out of the first day on this bike than I did here last year for three days – so take from that what you will.”

We wish him well. If you want to see Guy's Dirt Quake adventure watch the video below. If you want to see his next Dirt Quake adventure in person, get along to Dirt Quake IV at King's Lynn, 17-18 July. G

Dirt Quake III by Mr Porky

Check out this 18-minute long, documentary-style film about this summer's Dirt Quake III made for one of the event's sponsors, Mr Porky pork scratchings!

It features Guy Martin (a Mr Porky-sponsored athlete); Maxwell Paternoster; Vicki from the Bike Shed; Mario and Luigi; Vicky Cee from Survivor Customs and a bunch more of our friends.

Music by MFC Chicken

See some great James Sharrock portraits of ten Dirt Quake III heroes in Sideburn 19. 

Dirt Quake II by Moto Journal (Now with English Subtitles)

If any English-only speakers wondered what our French friends were saying about Dirt Quake (and the Friday night DTRA racing) on the recent Moto Journal video, worry no more - they've posted it with English subtitles. Just click the little box in the bottom bar between the clock and the gearwheel and they'll appear.
Click the gearwheel to choose your preferred quality (HD if you have a good speed connection), then full screen.
Merci, once again, to Moto Journal for coming to Dirt Quake III and making such a cool little film. G

Dirt Quake III Film by Moto Journal

DIRTQUAKE : Serge Nuques, Guy Martin, des... by moto-journal

Great video from the famous French moto media company, Moto Journal.
We know there are a few Dirt Quake III videos in production, but this is the first to be released.
Moto Journal are the fellas who brought Serge Nuques.
Merci bien.

There's some vey hot DTRA action in there too.

You can click to watch in HD. G

Dirt Quake III by Bubble Visor

Lenny from Bubble Visor came over from Amsterdam to Dirt Quake III and shots hundreds of photos, some of which he's posted over 18 separate blog posts. See them all at Bubble Visor. G

Dirt Quake Portraits by Ian Roxburgh

 See more of Ian Roxburgh Photography.

Dirt Quake Merch

We have a bunch of Dirt Quake merch over at the Sideburn Shop.
Stickers, bags, patches, multipacks...

Sorry, T-shirts and caps sold out at the track.

Super Dream to the Rescue

"What you don't see on this clip is that the Honda had to first be jump started off the VW Transporter cos the battery was knackered... Damn thing didn't idle properly either which meant repeat procedures everytime it cut out in the pits.
Having only just got the wiring done Thursday night, we rock up with zero riding of bikes and even less throttle/clutch cable 'tuning'... The latter cable jamming would prove my undoing in heat#1 when it wouldn't engage on the start line...
The Tiger was left to idle all day after that and the oil in the reservoir had the equivalent viscosity property of coffee...
But that's what DQ is all about and we loved it."
Daniel

Serge Nuques: Dirt Quake Hero

A French rider arrived at Dirt Quake, perhaps late-40s but with the physique of a gymnast. He took everything in on Friday night, then reappeared on Saturday in a huge overcoat, pink furry legwarmers and riding a brand new Yamaha SR400.
Anyway, he rode like a demon, rodeoing round, playing with some very good riders, and won his class - Inappropriate Road Bike - in style. This is how he arrived for the podium (photo: Dael Poulter)

During the day it clicked, Serge Nuques is the racer I'd seen in loads of French magazines, racing an R1, dressed as a knight. 

When I arrived home, I went searching for photos. These are just some I found, plus the video. Dimitri Coste knew of him and said he arrives at prestigious Enduro events on old DT175s and smokes everyone. Anyway, he had a lot of fun and we loved having him there.

'In France, I am the only one who dresses like thees,' he explained to me. 'Ere, lots of people dress like this. It ees fantastique!'

 No, he didn't crash...

Below is Serge riding on ice. NOTE: 258km is exactly 160mph.

Dirt Quake III: All in the details...

Except for the pie setting on fire, that all went according to plan.
Great bikes, people, music, weather (except for a little shower that did the track a lot of good in the long run), Colin Furze and his jet bike, wildest podium celebrations ever seen, pork scratching catapult, milk chug...

Thanks to the DTRA and all our helpers on the day who included; the Wigan crew, the Lincoln lot; the DTRa racers who stayed and marshalled...

Thanks to the sponsors...

Bike Social - the biking social network
Krazy Horse - custom cycles, cafe and apparel
Davida - British-made helmets
Racefit - Fine titanium exhausts, hard parts and custom builds
Biltwell - hard parts and helmets
Influx - High quality online motoring magazine
Triumph - Fine motorcycles
Zaeta Motorcycles - exclusive street trackers
Redmax Speedshop - Street tracker and cafe racer parts
Muff Customs - Cafe and bikes builders
Mr Porky - Pork Scratchings!

And, obviously, the racers and spectators.

Caption: Guy Martin, in 1991 Doohan Suzuka 8-hour replica leathers,  celebrates winning the Dash for Mash on his Krazy Horse Sportster by picking out a sausage from the crown of Smash. Meanwhile, Davros, Dirt Quake's feckless commentator, is distracted by a seagull.

Photo: Geoff Co-Built

Riders Ready?

We almost have enough riders to start our own Elsinore.
Dirt Quake III tomorrow!

If you're looking for last minute info - go to Dirt Quake FAQs. We're not answering emails. BP

Yambits

Fannying about in the back of your car trying to assemble a new set of forks is not where you want to be on race day. The fitting of my freshly re-hardchromed 6" over XS650 chopper forks should have been a doddle. (the XS wouldn't fit in the Berlingo whole + Mrs + 2 kids, so I used the previous short set to manoeuvre the bike to the car and had not yet had the refurbished stanchions on the bike).
When my normally calm, lateral thinking engineer's brain went into melt-down, I cried out for the help of See See Thor, and then XS650 race veteran Travis (photo above). But they were as foxed as me, why the fork caps would not screw down - it's normal to to have to exert considerable pressure to engage the thread, to stop the caps becoming dangerous projectiles, but these bastids were being ridiculously stubborn.
I had replaced the rusty pipe sections that had previously been used to fill out the space above the springs, with new PVC pipe of the same length (151mm). Apart from a set of new Hagon progressive fork springs (same length as the old shot ones), nothing else had changed....

Thor and Travis were both busy preparing their own bikes - The Sideburn Enfield, and Skooter Farm Dave's GS chop, so had to dash.
Then, a guardian angle in the shape of a hairy biker, Rod, racing his even more hairy, rusty springer Triumph also in the chopper class, came to my salvation. He noticed that the spring top was slightly mushroomed where it had been cut and flattened in its manufacture. The new springs were getting caught inside the stanchions at the top, so not dropping down as low as they should.

Thank fud I had my Dremel in my tool kit, second thank fud, there was just enough beef on the minuscule disc to grind down both tops.

Fast forward a year and I haven't done anything to the bike. I knew the fork travel still wasn't good and wanted to investigate Before the big day next Saturday. So I've just rebuilt them twice more over with a few tweaks.
The old fork tops - the 3-position pre-load adjusters, were properly shagged. But not all parts for the XS are readily available. After a bit of cross-referencing I figured YZ250 caps which also have a 28mm fine-pitch thread might just marry. These repro beauties are from the very friendly and efficient Yambits in North Yorkshire.

The lower oil seal retaining rib needs to be filed down a little (it still does its job). And an Nth has to come off the top section. But it fits!

Bangtidy. BP

Horst does Dirt Quake

If you're coming to race or spectate at Dirt Quake, make sure you're looking your best because highly acclaimed photographer, Horst Friedrichs, above, is the official photographer of Dirt Quake III. He'll be shooting portraits of the finest and most memorable.

Horst has had a number of books published of his photography including 21st Rockers; 21st Century Mods; Drive Style; Cycle Style; Pride and Glory; Mali and Troubadors of Allah. G

Dirt Quake Barbecue

One of the extra delights of Dirt Quake will be Jasmine toasting marshmallows. BP

Dirt Quake USA: The Evidence

Just in time to get all you Britishers and Europeans excited for Dirt Quake III, here is the video evidence of what an absolute blast Dirt Quake USA was. Thanks to all the helpers and sponsors that made that event, especially all at See See Motorcycles.

To find more about Dirt Quake in King's Lynn, UK on 18-19 July go to Dirt Quake III. It's going to be the best ever. G

Dirt Quake III: Now with added Guy Martin

Just two weeks till Dirt Quake III.
July 18-19
Norfolk Arena, King's Lynn, UK

Saturday is race day, but Friday night is the big party night with the excellent - MFC Chicken playing right after the DTRA racing finishes, plus daft games, drinking, talking, planning.

Guy Martin is racing a Harley Sportster chopper with a rigid struts and keystone bars. Can he beat Sideburn's Ben Poncho Part or DQI winner Milo and his Harley 45?

These great companies have made Dirt Quake III happen.

Bike Social - the biking social network
Krazy Horse - custom cycles, cafe and apparel
Davida - British-made helmets
Biltwell - hard parts and helmets
Racefit - Fine titanium exhaust, hard parts and custom builds
Influx - High quality online motoring magazine
Triumph - Fine motorcycles
Zaeta Motorcycles - exclusive street trackers
Redmax Speedshop - Street tracker and cafe racer parts
Muff Customs - Cafe and bikes builders
Mr Porky - Pork Scratchings!

Get your advance tickets at the Sideburn webshop

PLEASE NOTE: We're not sending out any wristbands. They will all be waiting on the turnstile.

CB200

The title track from Dillinger's seminal 1976 album recorded at Channel One, better know for Cokane [sic] In My Brain.

Max Funk (Yes that is his real name) is coming over from Berlin to race his CB200 at Dirt Quake. BP

Dirt Quake Deutschland Help!

This fellow is Martin Segattini, we met at the Noyes Camp flat track school in Spain. He rides MX and whipped my sorry arse. He's a Sideburn fan and promised to come to Dirt Quake to ride his 1956 Harley chop. But then he over-cooked it on his BMX and broke an ankle.

It's pretty much healed now, but he'd really like to share his van driving duties and fuel costs from Münich, Germany - Or maybe you are en route (Luxembourg or France)? Can you help? If you are a racer he could even pick your bike up. Danke BP