Sideburn 30

Another milestone reached. Issue 30! And our regular readers tell us it keeps getting better. That's the idea. This another fat 116-page issue squeezed, like blood from a stone, out of Sideburn's Lincolnshire HQ.

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COVER STAR: Manon Hache; Co-Built Rotax and Chris Piascick art
BIKES: Bottpower XR1R Pikes Peak special; budget Yamaha FZ-07 framer; monoshock H-D Sportster; Wedge BMW 310; Honda 650 Mablethorpe Sand Racer
EVENTS: Travis at Pikes Peak; The Springfield Mile; Pendine Speed Trials; DirtQuake VI
HOW TO: Use your brake to go faster by Johnny Lewis
PEOPLE: Marco Belli; Sean Flynn and Dana Stone
PORTFOLIO: The photography of Kristina Fender
MOVIE: Godspeed! You Black Emperor
ADVENTURE: Across frozen Mongolia on Enfield 500 combinations
PAGES: 116

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El Rollo Report

This post is now over two weeks late for a variety of reasons, one being that I inadvertently deleted it after nearly finishing it. The other being Dirt Quake USA, new magazine, book to write, Greenfield TT to race...

Anyway, A couple of weeks ago the excellent Wheels and Waves festival of stylish motorcycling took place in Biarritz. Every year the event has developed, introducing the Punks Peak hillclimb a few years ago, the Village dealer area and, for 2016, Vincent and the Southsiders wanted to introduce a flat track race. They contacted Sideburn to help make it happen.

The Wheels and Waves organisers employed Spanish motorsports promo company, Fly Group, to create the track and staff the event. Fly Group are more used to running international MX events and spectacles like Red Bull X Fighters, but both agreed they wanted some grassroots dirt track involvement and expertise and that's where Sideburn came in.

Wheels and Waves has expanded from a 2-3-day event into one that runs from Wednesday to Sunday.  The El Rollo flat track race was set to open the event on Wednesday. I arrived in Biarritz on Tuesday evening. It was the first time I'd been back to Wheels and Waves since 2013 and there seemed to be more bikes in town on this Tuesday night than at the height of the 2013 event. It really has grown massively. That growth has led to the organisers using venues all over the basque region. This year more happened in Northern Spain than in Biarritz.

The El Rollo race was held on a brand new track formed within the middle of a mile-long horse track at San Sebastien's Hippodromo. On a good run the track was just 40 minutes on the autoroute from the centre of Biarritz, but the motorway often gets chewed up with lorries stuck in the toll booths and at the border. I had been loaned a fire-breathing BMW S1000XR for the couple of days I was in town. This is the unholy alliance of S1000RR superbike engine and R1200GS ergonomics. Wicked machine. I met up with UK DTRA regular Frank Chatokhine, his mate Treust and the Bike Shed's Ross Sharp who were all racing. I followed their van and we were the second racers to arrive at the track, shortly after 8am.

There were slightly too many cooks with Fly, various Southsiders and Sideburn all trying to make the right decisions and sometimes standing on each others toes, unintentionally, but for a first event, on a track that didn't exist two weeks previously, it went pretty smoothly. The classes could have been organised a little better, but the Southsiders had specific ideas on that and it was a fun race. Riders came from all over the world and seemed to enjoy themselves. Everyone deemed it a success and it was good to be a part of it.

Early arrivals - Cristian from Yamaha, Ale from Deus Milano and Jason from Leicester. Jason's tasty TR6C.

 Neat Yam 500

 And another

Thor from See See was a guest of Harley-Davidson. He rode the gorgeous Shaw H-D Mert Lawwill replica harder than anyone should be able to.

Tasty Trackmaster Triumph had just been imported from the US.

 BMW beast

 El Solitario's girder fork Zaeta.

 Sideburn 21 cover bike, Olivier's 1949 WR racer.

 Roland Sands was over racing one of his Indian hooligan bikes. Read all about them in Sideburn 24.

 Jason, ready to race. He was second vintage race bike in the combined race bike final.

 Hugo from Blitz and Treust.

 Road legal XR750 from Italy - Wild Hogs/ Holy Freedom team.

 Yamaha Faster Sons promo girl. Notice the Sideburn logo on her shirt arm.

 Jacopo Monti on the New Brutalist KTM 690 Duke we featured in Sideburn 21

 The setting was glorious. The weather baking hot.

 I got to race Go from Bratstyle in the Faster Sons Yamaha race.

Marco Belli race this Yamaha XSR700 twin. He and Thor had a hell of a race, Marco just edged it. Here Marco is getting a man hug from an emotional Jason.

 Good bikes, great people, fine times. Thanks Wheels and Waves. G

Pirelli Moto at Snow Quake

The godfather of European Flat Track, Marco Belli, raced the Deus XJRX Yamaha XJR1300 at Snow Quake. And he flew on it. I got the holeshot in one heat race and he came past me like a 100bhp blizzard making me think, almost simultaneously, 'How is he riding that so quickly?' 'Why aren't I riding this more quickly?' and 'Jesus, those tyres look dangerous. Second place is fine this time.'

The special Pirelli tyres helped. A lot. The clip-ons didn't help. One bit. Marco Belli blew people's minds.

Marco also runs the Di Traverso flat track school in Italy. Fly in, ride the Yamaha SR400s on a beautifully prepared track, hang out at Deus Milan and neighbouring bike shop Officine Mermaid, then fly home. Perfect.

Thanks to Pirelli for helping make Snow Quake happen. A big report on the event is coming up in the next issue, due out in March. G

Snow Quake Success!

El Solitario heavyweights!

Just a quick post to say a massive thanks to all the racers who drove and flew from far and wide to race at Snow Quake. I put my hands together for Dave Skooter Farm and Anthony Co-Built for race-flagging and organisational support on the day.

Thanks to the hardcore fans who came from as far away as Athens, Greece and Vigo, Spain.

Mille grazie to Pirelli Moto, Deus Ex Machina and Marco Belli of Di Traverso for helping make it happen.

More reports to follow. G

 Marco Belli was incredible on the Deus Yamaha XJR1300 on Pirelli spikes.

Pierre-Alexandre Truest raced the Lara MV 800

My ice tyres were crap. Anthony's electrics were playing up. I took the electrics off mine and we shared Anthony's bike. Team work!

Nick Ashley makes the party and Paolo Sormani is always a pleasure.

Dirt Quake hero Serge Nuques raced a Honda chopper. Park it like you stole it. G

Di Traverso Party

Marco Belli (above, #6) threw a sliding celebration and Sideburn contributor Peter Guld was invited along...

Unless you're a pensioner, looking for a relaxing weekend, it’s a normally not a good idea to travel to Misano Adriatico, one week before the Misano MotoGP race. This year was an exception. Italian flat track legend, Marco Belli invited me for a party that he organised to say a big thank you, to his partners, who were involved in his Di Traverso Flat Track School.

The list of the partners is impressive, companies like Deus Milano, Riders Magazine, Yamaha Italia, MotoShop Parma, Dainese, Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli... There was no question, if the Italian holds a party, it will be different. Belli invited his long term friend Graziano Rossi, the father of Valentino, and many other Italian and European flat track riders and race car drivers. Later in the afternoon Loris Reggiani, former-GP star, arrived at the event, and didn’t hesitate before jumping in a car. Drivers gave lucky passengers rides around the track in muscle cars. People could put their name down and, of course, the longest list was next to the name Rossi, but Graziano was happy with it, because it meant he could spend time in a car, not in the sun. 

Belli and Signor Rossi planned car vs. bike races, but it was postponed, so the biggest surprise just came when the flat track ace, after few practice laps in a cross-car, showed up in a big BMW and raced against Graziano and his Audi R8. 

The fans shouted like it was the last lap of MotoGP race when these two mad Italians produced the hardest car race of the event. 

It’s cliche, but true: If you are going to an event where a guy whose name is Rossi is involved, it will be something special. After the event, during the night, a blonde lady was driving a go kart, prepared with dirt tyres, pretty fast. She was in shadow, but seems to be like a pro, and she was sliding crossed with full throttle. I realised it was Graziano’s daughter, Clara Rossi (below). 

At the end of the great event no one was in doubt that Marco Belli said thanks to his partners with style.


Words and photos: Peter Guld

Belli in a buggy

Belli, Rossi, Reggiani




 Graziano on his bike...

And in his car.

Smiles Per Hour

I love this photo from Dirt Quake. I don't know who took it, but it's Marco Belli talking to Shun, the boss of the Yamaha Yard-Built project with Alessandro from Deus Milan in the middle, and David El Solitario in background. People from three different countries all having fun at our event. G

Yamaha Yard-Built x Dirt Quake

This is Yamaha Yard-Built's official video from Dirt Quake IV. They brought a great line-up of modified Yams from their Yard-Built program and two 'official' riders - Marco Belli (dirt track legend and man behind the Di Traverso school) and Alessandro Rossi (one of the owners of Deus Ex Machina Milano).

Marco raced the Deus modified XV950 D-Side (with sidecar and surfboard removed - see it below in its beach-bothering incarnation). Alessandro raced a 2014 SR400 modified for the Di Traverso School.

The video - which was made by the same crew that film Yamaha's MotoGP coverage and campaigns - features other Yamaha riders from the weekend: the DTRA's reigning Thunderbike champ Dave Chadburn and the wicked fast #36 TT500 he raced on Friday's night DTRA round; Hubert Bastie - the Ninja Turtle on the Clutch Paris-supported FZ750 and Serge Nuques on the 1000cc R1 he raced at the TT. Watch him win the inappropriate road bike class at 3:01 for an incredible way to cross a finish line.

Big thanks to Yamaha Yard-Built for supporting Dirt Quake IV, all the sponsors help make the show bigger and better. G

Motorcycle Limbo at Dirt Quake IV

DTRA rider Alan Birtwistle ruling the Di Traverso School-sponsored Motorcycle Limbo at Dirt Quake IV. This blew my tiny mindholes. G

Paolo tries dirt, becomes (even more) irresistable

Top Italian moto-journalist and dirt riding novice, Paolo Sormani (above in his DMD Rocket helmet) tested out Marco Belli's super new Di Traverso flat track school for Sideburn and it had an instant effect! Read the report in Sideburn 20.

The school has some heavyweight supporters including Yamaha, Deus Ex Machina, Ariete, Dainese... They have dates throughout the year in Italy and Marco speaks perfect English (and pretty good Italian). G

Deus Ex Machina, Milan

My trip out to Deus Ex Machina in Milan was a one-night whistle stop, but a lot of fun. I was asked to be one of five judges for the annual Deus Bike Build-Off. This is the first of two or three posts on the trip.

I thought I'd seen so many good bike-clothes-lifestyle boutiquey shops I'd be immune to the charms of the Italian Deus, but I was blown away. It's a great shop with eye candy everywhere. I'd seen the place at it's pre-opening party in November 2012, but it was nothing like it is now. The shop opened in March 2013.

I took my kids (my wife was away with her sisters for a birthday bash). They were happy hanging out in the cafe on Saturday evening and Sunday, and playing with the co-owner's children. The store has its own courtyard and feels enclosed and cut off from the world outside.

The Carby artwork on the walls is the business. If you want to read an interview with Deus' design maestro, Carby Tuckwell, order Sideburn 7.

DMD Rocket with Deus wing paint

Eau Rouge, the Deus x Yamaha Yard-Built XJR1300 is a rare and handsome beast with some tasty, quirky touches.

The attention to detail in the adjoining Deus Cafe is fantastic. If you're in Milan, get over to this place. It's located on Thaon di Revel, a five-minute walk from the Zara underground station.

The shop also has its own mini cinema and showed the MotoGP (not the most scintillating race) for the bike builders who entered the Build Off.
You can see the scale of the place. The shot is taken from row 3 of 8 or 9.
The bikes are the Scrambler special editions commissioned by Ducati. These were built by Deus's neighbours on the same street, Officine Mermaid and Mr Martini of Verona. Deus's own Scrambler is the yellow one in the top shot of this post.

The shop had a few of the Deus x DTRA T-shirts that were made using the artwork Sideburn commissioned for the 2013 DTRA x Sideburn Posters. This is the Stevie Gee one.

Umberto works in Deus cycle works. He had a sticker of me, that Chris Watson drew, on his laptop.

I've never owned or even ridden a fixie, but I've always liked the look of them. Especially with a basket on the front for delivery of Sideburns when the fuel runs out (I haven't totally thought this scenario out yet).

Deus are one of the main partners of Marco Belli's Di Traverso flat track school. This is one of the Yamaha SR400 school bikes.

 More tasty Deus Yamaha SR400s.

 The end of the corridor to the toilets.

Good looking shop, good looking staff

One-Off Deus Lego hot rod.

Stay tuned for more photos from Milan... G