Blueprints Back In Stock + New 1930 Norton DT print

Since issue 13 we have printed technical drawings and accompanying history pieces about some of our favourite dirt track race bikes. The blueprints are drawn exclusively for us by Mick Ofield.

We started to offer high quality Giclee prints, created with an Epson Pro 11880 on Somerset Enhanced Velvet 330gsm paper with archival quality Ultra Chrome K3 pigment inks. The prints we sell come complete with 'folds' and the appearance of timeworn degradation, added by Ben Part.

They are 40x30cm, a size chosen to look great in a cheap frame. They are £22 (plus postage) and are sent in a heavy duty mailing tube with free stickers, flyers and posters we have hanging around.

We have just added the 1930 Norton DT, shown above. In stock we also have: Wood Norton, Yamaha TZ750, Harley-Davdison XR750, Trackmaster BSA A70; 2014 Bonneville Performance; Wood Rotax. Bultaco Astro is back in stock in a few days.

Click to buy Sideburn blueprints

If you want to read about the bikes (and others that we haven't made into blueprints), here are the issues they featured in.

Sideburn 13 Wood Norton (sold out)
Sideburn 14 Bultaco Astro
Sideburn 15 Yamaha TZ700/TZ750 (sold out)
Sideburn 16 Harley XR750
Sideburn 17 Trackmaster BSA A70 (sold out)
Sideburn 18 Bonneville Performance 2014 (sold out)
Sideburn 20 1930 Norton DT
Sideburn 22 Wood Rotax

We also have limited numbers of the XR750 blueprint T-shirt for £18 plus post. G

Norton P11 WANTED

We've had a Bertie Bassetts mix of bikes for our Sideburn repop Top Trumps so far. For issue #22 which will be back from the printers shortly, we have a tasty Parisienne BSA Road Rocket.

We are now on the hunt for a Norton P11. We only need one decent HiRes shot of this classic, if you know of one in your vicinity? The owner/ supplier of the photo will get a free copy of the mag with their bike featured. BP

UPDATE:
Thanks to Jerry Kaplan we have a great example of the breed for SB#23. BP

Norton Bultaco Firewater

Steve RedMax built 'The Reverend' for short track racing in the UK. There are are far easier ways to go about preparing a vehicle for such a task, but Steve would never walk that line. He likes his firewater.

"I’d bought a Knight Bultaco [to sell on] that someone had bought in the States to race grasstrack in the UK. It was a lovely bit of kit, but no one was interested in buying it. That’s when the tape measure came out. I worked out I could get the Commando engine out of my café racer into it with half an inch to spare.’

Oh yeah, the engine would fit in, but the gearbox wouldn’t. That didn’t stop Steve though. ‘I thought I could use a speedway bike’s cross-shaft,’ he explains. Speedway bikes have one gear, permanently engaged. Steve ended up linking the NEB cross-shaft to the output sprocket with a super-short primary chain. ‘The clutch is old-fashioned with new tech. It has five or six weird looking 3mm thick clutch plates in an alloy clutch basket.’ Next, he rebuilt and tuned the parallel twin. ‘I changed the bearings; bored it out to 920cc; fitted a 4S cam, the genuine Norton Norvil racing cam; new valves and springs… It revved like a two-stroke even when it had the standard cam. I also fitted a Norvil two-into-one intake manifold because two carbs wouldn’t fit. A Mikuni flatslide is mounted on it."

Read the full story, in Sideburn #8

Dave and Gene

Super-evocative photo. Photographer unknown.

Dave Aldana, Gene Romero and an unknown (to us) Yamaha XS jockey, lining up for the Peoria TT.
Romero running drum front brake while the privateer has a single disc and Aldana has twin.
Romero keeping faith with a Jet helmet rather than a full-face Star.
Aldana on a Trackmaster Norton (I'm pretty sure).

Thanks to Roger F for forwarding it. G

Pony Power

Not all girls want a little pony for Christmas.
Some demand more serious horsepower.

This pretty Wood Norton Big Tube jigger can canter out 83bhp at the rear hooves. BP

Dennis Kanegae 5x

We featured Dennis and his Trophy Queen in Sideburn 14. He send this...

Here's a shot of my first Expert year on a Norton Trackmaster, leading John Hately (98) and the late Lloyd Houtchins...1974 Mahony shot

Sub Cool

Tidying up the hoarders mountain of my desk, unearthed this dusty snap (from a pre-digital age so I think it's from ±1999). Ater Matchless 500 racing at Assen, Holland. Love it. Not that I know anything about it. Who dares to paint their bike BROWN?! (Maybe the owner had a matching Austin Allegro). Lester mags? Ridden by (amongst others) Dave Croxford and...

Peter Williams - here at Brands Hatch in 1970.

Also related to this JPN lovely?
When I eventually get my Guzzi back on the road, I'd love a raw white gelcoat full fairing like this. BP

Made in England

Davida Helmets

March 13 is Dimitri Coste Day. Pt. 2

 

The French website Husz.fr has published Dimitri's 2013 race diary. Last year saw the Frenchman compete on short circuits, flat track, Vintage MX and drags (organised and outlaw). He used a mixture of British, American and European singles and twins in France, England and the USA. And wearing a different Ruby helmet nearly every time, it seems.

The article is in both French and English. G

Star Twin Norton

This came in from Wieger at Star Twin, Netherlands

Came across this project from a few years ago, as you can see we made the stainless system for it. .
Take care, Vriendelijke groeten, Wieger

Redmax Norton Street Tracker

If you like the look of the new Nortons (in the post below) read about the world's first street tracker built from one by our old muckers at the Redmaxspeedshop, in Sideburn 13.

Photography by Paul Bryant. G

Day Job

My 6 year-old daughter has a book called "What Does Daddy Do?" where the main character tries to explain to her class-mates what exactly her Daddy does for a living. In the face of her friends whose Dads all hold down 'normal' jobs she initially struggles before verbally painting a colourful and heroic picture. I'm not sure if my daughter's version would be so rosy considering the amount of time I seem to be chained to the computer of late. But last week I did have the pleasure of dusting off my studio equipment to go and shoot the new Norton Domiracer prototype at the Donington factory as a cover story for Café Racer Magazine.

Bertrand Bussillet Le Look Le Plus Cool.

BB on buffing detail.

Claire Salter erected an impressive bouffant with model Charlotte's hair.

Even with all the cash I've been saving recycling zipties, I don't think I will be investing it in a £22,000 Domiracer despite its good looks. Although the real bike still only exists on paper, most of the proposed 50 production bikes have already been sold to prospective customers.
Café Racer #65 (Septembre-Octobre) OUT NOW! BP

Sideburn 13: Pre-order

To help us deal with the rush of orders and get magazines out to you as soon as possible we put new issues up for pre-order. That's what we're doing right now with SB13.
It's a beauty.
Pre-order at the Sideburn Webshop and your magazine will be sent out as soon to the March 22 published date as possible.
If you're a subscriber who has moved in the last four months, you better tell us your new address by emailing dirt at sideburnmagazine.com
Thanks for buying Sideburn. G

UPDATE:
Greetings. I took this photo on 27, Feb. at the barn, so you can guess my surprise at seeing the cover for Sideburn 13. This is one of the next projects on the table. Subscriber Jeff Ellison has finished his Ossa DMR, now it is time for him to tackle a #44 rep.
Cheers Bob Metz Minnesota

Over Cooked

Thanks to Jeremy for this photo (of unknown origin) of someone toasting their Norton Commando.
- Would you sacrifice grazing the jeans off your arse; possibly down to the bone, or launch yourself over the highside and pray against all odds that your ailerons can guide you to the soft grass field the other side of a 3-bar wooden fence? BP

FTWCo On It

One of my favourite companies in the world, FTWCo, have updated their website. Go check it out at www.ftwco.com.
Pictured is one of their sponsored riders, Jordan Baber, Norton on the gas, front wheel off the floor. Bumpy track! G

Desert Racer

Who made this wonderful internet trawl GIF animation?!
I'm guessing the bike is a late '30s Triumph Tiger 90? BPUP DATE: Indeed, it is a clever viral teaser for The Master staring the superb Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix. Set in the '50s, based on the stirings of Scientology, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Out in September. Promises to be great. And it's a late '40s 16H, ES2? Norton.
UPDATE ON THE UPDATE:

1939 Ohio Flat Track

From Roger F (who regularly finds the good stuff). Even assuming the early section of this film is cranking slightly faster than it should, they are flying. Check out riders with the turned-down bars. You can see one best when the riders line up at 2:38. G

These guys are really hauling and the quality is pretty good, although I don't know any of the riders. There's two locations this may have been. My guess is the present harness racing track in Northfield, but wasn't there another "Northfield" half-mile further south on old Rt8 just before Cuyahoga Falls on the right? Closer to Akron? Anyway, this was in our backyard when all we know was country....r

Wheels and Waves, Biarritz, pt. 2

So, we didn't know what to expect from Wheels and Waves in Biarritz. There are a lot of shows to go to in Europe and we can't do all of them, but lots of good people had said they were going to this, so we joined them. It was amazing. 

Thursday night was a party in a Biarritz Beach House, Friday was the art and bike show, Saturday was ride out and gig/meal and some surfing (not that we partook), Sunday was beach race and recovery. 

Unfortunately, we didn't know about the beach race, so we had to hightail it back to England for other commitments. Still we had a blast. 

I loved hanging out with Dice Matt, Lenny Bubble Visor and Laurent Bagnard, among many others, on Friday. They even had a great DJ and I got to play a few records with Matt. Here are my Saturday snaps. G

Mrs El Solitario and her new BMW.

Chilling out in summer dresses.

Admirer. We took Sideburn's FT500 and Royal Enfield and they went down well.

The Impossible Team. The Southsiders and El Solitario have got together to build bikes to take to Bonneville this year. The bikes look great. Follow the link to find out more.

Space Scooter

Sportster Racester. Big ol' carb.

El Solitario's incredible Balau BMW. I'd followed the build and wasn't sure of it, but in the flesh, and on the road, it's a great looking machine.

Spanish photographer Kristina Fender borrowed El Solitario's BMW

Dimitri Coste preparing his photo expo

Neat Norton. Loved the black Ruby and black visor.

Mrs Bell Moto 3

Jonathan from Death Traps MC had shipped his Shovelhead from California and was touring around Europe. He could ride this hand-shift hog like he was ringing a bell.

Photographer Sam Christmas on James's bike.

Relaxing by the lake (and the Dice van)

This chap, sorry forgot your name, came from Belgium with his other-half and new baby, his honda on the back of the car. He proved if you want to do something, you can do it.

Celine with a Sideburn bag. Get yours at the webshop.

Roses and rods. The location of Friday's art, car and bike show and auction was a Chateau/hotel/pornstar palace. Nice place to hang out from 9am till 11pm. We took a dip in the pool to the disgust of the paying hotel guests, and drank gin we'd bought at the Channel Tunnel.

 Sonic Seb. Great to see him again.

Dimitri's finished expo. I love how the girl on the top left is squinting at the real sun.