No. 9 and The King Screenprints

Two new screenprints at great prices. Designed and hand screenprinted by Ryan Quickfall himself.
£20 plus postage.
Would make a great Xmas present.
Posted rolled in a heavy duty mailing tube with old posters, flyers and stickers we have lying around. Frame not included.

Get yours from sideburn.bigcartel.com

Kenny and Skip

Researching the Skip Aksland archive for Sideburn #18, as well as going through his own old album snaps, I came across this one online (on a German website I think), but I couldn't find the source, and so sadly no hires that we could reprint. Left to right: Fred Moberg, Kenny Roberts, Bud Aksland (Skip's older brother who worked as his mechanic for many years), Skip Aksland, Terry Sage (tuner), after winning an Astro Dome short track race 1970. Below, the opening page to the SB#18 story.
Skip also battled with our Barry on the road racing circuit.
Skip shadowed Kenny like a good Jedi, replicating his every move. BP

(Left bottom) Yamaha TZ750, San Jose Mile, 1975 "My rookie year. Me, Kenny, Randy Cleek, Stevie Baker and Rick Hocking rode these monsters at three mile races: Indy, Syracuse and San Jose. I made the main event at all three races. Kenny made the bike famous when he won on it at Indy by chasing down Jay Springsteen and Corky Keener on the last lap."

UPDATE:
I just asked Skip:
"How did you hook up with Kenny in the first place?
- you look really young in this [top] photo!
How come Kenny took you under his wing?"

"Ben, my bother Bud owned a Suzuki shop in Manteca Ca. In the late '60 and sponsored Kenny in his amateur years. We rode together just about everyday at my Dads ranch. When Kenny turned professional he hired Bud to be his mechanic. I'm 13 or 14 years old in this photo. Terry Sage (far right) would later become my mechanic - my best years as a professional. This photo was taken by my mother driving home from Houston, somewhere in Texas or New Mexico. Kenny had just won the Junior Shorttrack National.
Skip"

Daytona short Track 1971

Sent to us by regular contributor Alastair McQ. Check out British speedway rider Barry Briggs' riding style and how he has his bars set in the contemporary speedway style, so different to the dirt trackers. Kenny Roberts makes an appearance, still with his District 38 number - 80Y. Notice how unforgiving the outer wall looks too.

Peoria TT This Sunday

Kenny Roberts only one it once (he was busy for the next few years reinventing GP racing in Yoorope).

Chris Carr won the GNC main a record 13 times.

Henry Wiles has won ten straight and only an idiot (or Brad Baker) would bet against. Baker is desperate to break the cycle. And lost out by 3/100ths last year.

All the action can be seen live, in high definition and free of charge, at FansChoice.tv.

The Expert main event is scheduled to start at 4:30pm. Central time (google it). The Pro Singles main is scheduled for a 4pm CT green flag. On-track action will begin at 10:30am CT and opening ceremonies are slated for 1:30pm CT.

We'll post the recorded main here as soon as it's available. G

Bonsey Dominates Vegas Indoor

More from Randy K in at the Gene Romero WCFTS Indoor meet at Vegas.

Stevie Bonsey was dominant last night as he led every lap raced and had a convincing victory in the Open class. Stevie won the 2005 AMA Horizon Award given to the fastest amateur racer in the U.S. He went on to compete in the MotoGP circuit in 125 and 250, with the backing of Kenny Roberts. He's now back home racing flat track. 

Note 1: Check out the carpet shoe. Click the green carpet shoe link below carpet shoes through history. Note 2: Look at the carnage in the background of the photo above.
Note 3: Both yesterday's post, Vintage class winner, John Kocinski, and Bonsey have links with Roberts.
Note 4: Bonsey rides with 80, the number a young Kenny Roberts raced with.
Note 5: Keep front mudguards out of flat track.

Can you spell that please, sir?

I refer to this book a lot for my day job. It has the results of every 125, 250, 500 and MotoGP race from 1949 to 2008 all printed on paper like that of a Gideon Bible. Plus there are a ton of other details to cross reference as well, like the results of every particular rider and manufacturer and all sorts. I get lost in it.
I was looking for details of the mighty KR211V, Kenny Roberts' Honda-V5 powered MotoGP bike for the 2006 season (bottom) when I spotted this Swiss rider, who came sixth in the 1951 Swiss GP. Made me smile, anyway. G

PS There is no Swiss GP any more due to the country banning virtually every form of motorsport after the Le Mans tragedy of 1955. Every day's a school day at the Sideburn blog.

KR Jr leads KR Sr, both riding KR211Vs. This is the bike with the British made chassis and HRC V5 that scored podiums (and should've won the Portuguese GP) in 2006. The last non-factory or non-satellite premier class GP bike to have any kind of success.

Motocourse

I went through a period of buying Motocourse books on eBay. I use them for reference and like looking up at the top shelf and seeing their spines. I had six of early ones out looking for some details the other day. I don't have the first ones, with Sheene on it, but I do have two, 80-81. I should sell it to buy some I'm missing. I love the Uncini cover, mostly forgotten now, Ghibli lid, running number 13. G

MZ and XS for sale

Our good friend Dave is selling this tidy MZ. It's in Lincoln.

For Sale......£700 for a beautiful piece of former Eastern Bloc history !!! Please
Enquire, for further info !!"
Thankyou.....Dave
taylor_ad@yahoo.com

Elsewhere, this bike, that claims to be a former Roberts Shell Thuet XS, is up on UK eBay. Bidding starts at £7550. Thanks to Richard for the tip. G

Tom Horton's Garage Sale

From Al McQ...

There are some real beauties for sale at VFT.org.
Check out the Shell Yam (Shell frame & motor), the hardtail Triumph, the Bultacos and the Roberts Yam shorttracker. He's asking sensible $ too...
Cheers!
A

Gas City this weekend

Expert singles, Pro Singles and the Bultaco Astro Cup all in Indiana.
Those in the photo aren't Astros, but they are at the Astrodome. Precursors to Bultaco's iconic stroker I reckon, but someone out there will know, for sure. With a young Kenny in the middle on, I think a Yam 360 (?). Those tyres have some profile, eh? They took massive.
Someone please send us some shots of the Bultacos after the weekend. G

UPDATE FROM ROGER:

There sure is some talent in that picture of the hottest three junior/amateur (the
middle level then, just below expert). I'm relatively sure you know that 64R is Gary Scott, and 72N is Mike Kidd, all three future Grand National Champions! Thanks for the picture!...roger

Happy New Year (again)

From Tim Beaumont.
He's good, isn't he? GI

KR back on the killer - NEW VIDEO

At last, some decent footage of Kenny on the TZ750 comeback. We were afraid that no one had got decent clips, but Yamaha have spliced together a half-decent short film for those of us who didn't make it in 1975 or 2009. See it over at our friends' site, Hell for Leather.

It all begs the question, if dirt track racing can create such strong memories, why aren't manufacturers throwing a few dollars at it now? It sounds like they're all dropping out of AMA Superbike racing. It wouldn't cost much to have a pro looking effort in the GNC. Triumph, Ducati, Aprilia, Suzuki... Independents are doing the hard work for you, why not give them the money you normally spend on the office plants and really help take the fight to the establishment?

And remember - we had the story on Kenny's 1975 race in his own words, and Ben Miller's interview with KR in Sideburn 2. We have some left, but they're going fast. Buy now and avoid being skinned when they inevitably come up on eBay after we've sold out. GI

Phone photo: Adam Wright

Coming out swinging

We were sent these images from Indy 09 by Chris Pedersen. Love the first corner shots. Thanks Chris.

Complete Book of Flat Track - Gerald Foster interview

It's nearly Christmas and we reckon a load of you won't be struggling to think what you'd like (Harley XR750, Ruby Pavillon helmet, Belstaff riding attire, your own roller derby team...), but the Complete Book of Flat Track Racing is something you NEED and have a real chance of being bought. Get it on your Christmas list. It's a bloody beauty.

We've been selling a load of copies and everyone who has bought seems to be very happy, so we decided to interview the author to find out a little more about it.

Click here to find out how to buy your own copy.


What inspired you to write the original Complete Book of Flat Track Racing?
It wasn’t any great flash of inspiration I must admit. I had been contributing to and writing magazine dirt bike tests and street riding books. The early seventies were the start of motocross in the U.S. and coming from Europe gave me a certain expertise on the subject. Or so the American editors and publishers thought! Anyway, by 1975 the motocross market had become a lot more sophisticated and my “expertise” had become eclipsed by younger more competent evaluators and riders. I was by this time thirty five years old, married with a pregnant wife and looking for work to pay the bills. In my quest for work I attended the American Booksellers convention in Anaheim, California, and met Tim Parker, who at the time, was holding down the fort at the Haynes booth. Two good things came out of that and subsequent meetings over the next few days: The promise of a contract to write a book on flat track racing, and a friendship that still continues today.

1970s Gerald


How did the reprint come about?
A couple of years ago Tim finally started his own publishing company, after being instrumental in putting Motorbooks International on the map, and asked if I would be interested in working on a reprint of the flat track book. To be honest I wasn’t interested, mainly because I didn’t think the original was marketed very well, (read very few sales), and I didn’t want to go down that road again. Besides, thirty years on it was outdated. I didn’t realize at the time that that was the beauty of it. In addition, the print artwork had been destroyed and I had no idea where many of the original photographs were. I was convinced to at least consider the idea after Tim suggested using other photographs to replace those missing. In effect the book didn’t have to be exactly the same because if you hadn’t seen the original you wouldn’t be aware of any differences. And, I offer this only for those who actually own one of the original copies; in doodling around the Internet I found several copies of the book for sale at anywhere from 15 pounds to $450.

The quality is beautiful. Whose idea was the embossed cover?
I take no credit for the quality and layout of the book, That was all done in Stillwater, Minnesota; it was Tim’s idea to emboss the cover. I do think the cover is a definite improvement over the original, and the quality of the paper gives the book a more expensive look and feel. I’m very happy with the finished product. It definitely exceeded my expectations.

The repackaged Gerald


How much work went into the repackaging?
After I agreed to do this I had no idea how time consuming it would be. I’m sure a lot of the time was because I treated it as though I was starting from scratch; reading every word, re-editing and trying to find if the companies that were mentioned were still in business – some were, some weren’t, and finally we decided not to update the original information since the book was a snapshot of a moment in time.
As I mentioned the photographs were the biggest problem. I had boxes of photographs in the garage which I dusted off, and went through in an effort to locate the originals. Some were never returned from the publisher but I did manage to track down Dan Mahony, at the end of a dirt road in Missouri, who provided many of the original photographs and graciously provided a lot more from which I was able to choose. All in all a lot of work, but since I’m retired, no big deal. It was just like going to the office every day.

Looking back what has changed in the Flat Track scene over the last thirty years?
The 1960s were really the height of the golden years of American flat track racing. There were races practically every night somewhere around the country, and tracks such as Ascot Park in Gardena, California, were the training grounds for future national riders. By the time I became interested in the mid -70s the sport was past its prime. Yes, there were still some great races at the mile tracks that drew huge crowds, but to be a flat track racer meant building your own bike, and collecting all the necessary parts from specialist manufacturers. And, this was at the beginning of the motocross craze where young riders could buy a perfectly capable off the shelf production motocross bike, and fly through the air with the greatest of ease. The direction became motocross, motocross and more motocross. Granted there were a few years in the mid eighties when Honda took the national title away from Harley-Davidson, but the decline continued. The American Motorcycle Association (AMA) is, I believe, not without blame here as since its inception has represented the factories and the riders. To say that the manufacturers held sway with the organization to the detriment of the riders would not be a dishonest statement. Technical advancement was limited, and I’m sure this contributed to the decline. And, as stated, with the advent of motocross the pool of young up-and-coming flat trackers began to shrink as the AMA devoted more and more effort to motocross. Now, having said that, I know nothing ever completely dies. There is always a core of enthusiasts who will nurture something and keep it going. And, that is the miracle of flat track racing. Old farts wanted to race, and so set up their own organizations independent of the AMA, and slowly there has been resurgence. The AMA National schedule under Mike Kidd’s leadership has also started to add races, and since I wrote the preface for the reprint in May we now have a National in California after an absence of quite a few years. So, in thirty years I’ve seen a decline, but now I’m hoping we’re seeing an upsurge. It may never get back to where it was but one never knows.

Who is your all time favorite racer and favorite track?
I don’t really have one because they are all so exceptionally talented. To stand at the end of the back straight of a mile track and watch these guys scrub off 130+mph by putting the bike sideways into the corner is something to behold. Favorite track? I like any cushioned track where the riders can run around the outside with the throttle wide open. That’s spectacular.


And the best race you ever remember seeing?
The best race was one I never actually saw. I write about it in the book because everyone I talked to who saw this race remembers it. It was the 1975 Indianapolis Mile when Kenny Roberts rode the TZ750 Yamaha and won coming off the last corner. Kenny was in third place on the last lap, and throughout the race had been working hard to put the enormous power of the bike to the ground. Exiting the last corner Jay Springsteen and Corky Keener were congratulating each other when Kenny just turned the thing on, and with a huge rooster tail, beat them both to the line by literally inches. An incredible feat which also helped seal the fate of seeing the machine in future competition. You’ll have to read the chapter to understand why though.
As a footnote to that story, at Indianapolis this year Kenny did several laps on a replica TZ750 and at 57 years old looked pretty damn good.

King Kenny (at Houston)


Did you ever race yourself?
I was fascinated when I went to Ascot Park to watch my first flat track race soon after I came to the United States but having grown up competing in scrambles in the UK I didn’t really see myself riding. Too fast and maybe a little too late to learn something new. And, with my new wife the only one working, I doubt she would have been too keen on sponsoring my efforts. Besides, I really wasn’t a very good scrambler. I remember someone, and I cannot remember his name, describing his own scrambling ability as ‘mudgrunt vulgaris’. The same also applied to me.

Do you go to flat track races now?
Rarely, though I do enjoy vintage racing. There are a couple of events every year I do like to attend put on by Ventura Vintage Outlaws. The racing is fun, there are classes for bike size, bike age and rider ability. There are even Harley road bikes and choppers in the mix. And, like their website says: Nobody is allowed to take themselves too seriously. Add to this the fact that this little racetrack is literally yards from the ocean, and on a hot summer’s night when it is a hundred degrees in the city, there is no better place to be with a beer and a hot dog in your hand.

Ventura Vintage Outlaw race


Do you know anything about the fledgling short track scene in the UK?
I didn’t even know it existed until I came across a link to sideburnmagazine.com on a vintage flat track site here. And, I love that Ironman Chris Carr comes over and teaches. All you need now are some longer tracks, and to make sure that you have a governing organization that doesn’t screw things up.

Thanks Gerald.
Click here to find out how to buy your own copy.

Spot the Difference

From Tim Stevens (80r) to Gary Inman (13r).

Roberts Yam for Sale

There are always lots of great bikes for sale on VFT.org, but these are our two faves at the moment. Al McQ told us about the Roberts Yam. he says it looks kosher.GI

Kenny Roberts 750 flat tracker
Early 70s model Yamaha flat track bike. Acquired from Kenny Roberts in 1976.
Kenny Roberts' TT Practice Bike with pipes for half mile racing and foot pegs.
Last started 6 months ago. New stainless steel brake lines. Goodyear tires. Oakley, CA
$12500


The other bike is a great BSA Hornet project in NorCal for $2000. Make a fun barhopping street tracker.

More from Indy

The shots are from Adam Wright's phone. He took his camera too.

Tom Brown found something the column by BBC MotoGP presenter Matt Robert's (no relation). Thanks fellas.

The very nature of dirt-track makes it more dangerous when the machines are ridden at anything less than 100%, so to see Kenny ride three 'demo' laps at virtually full throttle was an incredible sight.
"I said at the time they don't pay me enough to ride that thing… they still don't!" Kenny smiled afterwards.
Somebody clearly hadn't paid Valentino Rossi enough either because was suited, booted, and ready to ride the TZ750 himself but after seeing Kenny in action he changed his mind.
"He's not as stupid as he looks!" joked Kenny.