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

Just £6 plus post. Order from Sideburn.bigcartel.com

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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

Boss Yamaha TT500 For Sale

For sale on UK eBay. Up for £2995 or offers. Don't know anything about the history of this machine and we're not selling or linked to the seller, just putting it out there as it looks like a possible DTRA Vintage or Thunderbike racer. Pretty surprised
There are more photos at Boss Frame Yamaha TT500.
Thanks to Kev H for the tip-off.

This is what the seller says...

VERY RARE VERY COOL KENNY ROBERTS BOSS FRAMED TT540 FLATTRACKER 
KENNY ROBERTS NEVER RACED OR SAT ON THIS BIKE HE JUST PUT HIS NAME TO THIS MODEL TO HELP SALES. 
THE BIKE JUST NEEDS FINISHING OFF AND WE HAVEN'T THE TIME 
NICKEL FRAMED 
MOTOR IS 500 BORED TO 540 
HAS NICE JEMCO EXHAUST 
HAS A COOL BARNES REAR WHEEL 
RECENT RESPRAY AND STICKERS JUST NEEDS LAQUERING 
FULLY REBUILT MOTOR NOT TRIED TO RUN IT YET 
MIKUNI CARB 
COOL PERIOD FLATTRACKER 
HAS REAR CALIPER, FOOTPEGS ETC

OEM Lightning Video

We shared the photos of Old Empire's latest custom build, the OEM Lightning, named after the Cold War jet of the same name, now there's this fun little film.

In the video Alec and Rafe, the two chaps behind Old Empire Motorcycles remind me the band Public Service Broadcasting, another Great British duo. G

Old Empire Lightning

Old Empire Motorcycles sent us photos and info on their latest build, the Lightning. We don't feature a lot of cafe racers on this website, despite the fact all the staff have built, have owned or still own cafe racers, because so many others do, but Old Empire are good friends and this is a tidy bike.  This is what they say...

Built around a 1979 Yamaha SR500, our first thought was how to create something different, yet not too radical as budget was limited. After looking at the framework underneath the usual toot we figured a monoshock would fit perfectly in the end of the top tube (and oil tank) so we went about building a subframe onto the original swingarm suitable to mount a custom Hagon monoshock based on a Kawasaki SXR400 spec shock.

The tank although looking like it was unmodified has been retunneled and moved to sit lower and further forward to keep the lines of the bike true. The original rear section was promptly cut off and replaced with a far nicer flowing unit suitably braced with a second top tube that the rear of the tank now sits on. Custom LED rear lights house in the tail section complete the look.

Photos: Ian Jubb

Kedo Bronco and Stallion

Yamaha are going for broke with the 'Yard Built' customs. This is the latest from German, SR specialist, Kedo and some official waffle as it arrived in our laps.

'The German customiser, KEDO, is the latest company to move into the EICMA spotlight. After taking part in last year's SR400 transformation - the Wrenchmonkees' Yard Built 'Gibbonslap' - through creation of the vital kit parts, KEDO is now busy with its own first Yard Built projects. KEDO, based in Hamburg, has presented not one, but two, SR400 concepts at the EICMA 2014 in Milan.

Click to see my favourite Kedo SR. G

Wrenchmonkees x Sandqvist

We were sent this press release...

It was a through a genuine interest in motorcycles that Swedish fashion brand Sandqvist Bags and Items first encountered Danish custom build Wrenchmonkees in summer 2013. When Sandqvist founder Anton Sandqvist met Wrenchmonkees founder Nicholas Bech, a design collaboration was a natural extension of their discussion about the lack of functional and attractive motorcycle bags. 

The bags are made of thick, black canvas with leather detailing.  The backpack holds a 15-inch computer and has a built-in aluminum frame that can be securely attached to a motorcycle as a pannier. You can just as easily sling it on your back. 

'I am a dedicated motorcycle builder, so collaborating with Wrenchmonkees is like a childhood dream. I love their brutal and pared down bikes, says Anton Sandqvist, who founded Sandqvist in 2004. 

'We had previously considered developing a motorcycle bag for our new Yamaha project, but lacked the expertise. The pieces just fell into place when Sandqvist visited us. Their simple and smart style was the perfect fit. The deciding factor for us was their knowledge of how to make sustainable and durable bags,' Nicoloas Bech says. 

The bags will also be on display at motorcycle fairs around the world on Wrenchmonkee’s version of the Yamaha model SR400.