Trackmaster Titan

Trackmaster-framed Suzuki Titan 500s are rare beasts, perhaps only two or three were ever made. This is one shot 'in the day' at the San Jose Mile. We found another of the two-stroke twins, with its original racer and owner, at Springfield last year. See the bike and read the story in Sideburn 20. G

The Full Fat

So, if the Suzuki Boulevard V-twin from Sideburn 20 wasn't mad enough, the owner, Bill decided to fit a few hundred ice screws into the tyres...

Then strap it using a rope under a helicopter...

Fly it over beautiful Canada...



And place it on a frozen lake for some ice riding. I suppose you've got to have a hobby.
Read all about this bike in Sideburn 20. G

Thanks to Motorcycho Norm for the tip-off.

Geoff's Jawa & Tiddler Turner

From Geoff D in Lincolnshire. I love old speedway bikes' asymmetrical bars.

As it was a nice day in Lincs today I took a few pics of my Jawa that may be of interest. 

The Tiddler Turner story [in Sideburn 20] was great and brought back a lot of memories. I put a link to Sideburn on the Speedway Friends facebook page where it got a lot of interest as he was a very popular rider. I saw Ian ride many times including the meeting I've attached photos to. 

The engine on the Jawa hasn't been started since a rebuild but I do plan to give it a spin at Scunthorpe. I just need an original throttle and it's about ready. 

I also have Shawn Moran's 1990 World Championship (which he was later disqualified from) runners up GM which i'm putting back to how it would have been on that season. It won't be concours as i also intend to give it a spin when it's finished. I'm trying to get all the correct stickers at the moment and there are a lot to get because he plastered it with sponsors stickers! When it's finished i'll send a pic. 
Cheers Geoff

Punk Snot Dead

From the current issue of Sideburn, as seen in the Ian 'Tiddler' Turner photo album, who knows what the rest of this famous '70s forecourt sticker says? (clue: 15 letters). BP

UPDATE.... Well done 70s kids Fingersinpies, Hot Shoe and The Mouldie.

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

Sideburn 20: Is in!

The magazines have arrived. Subscribers and pre-orders are on the way already.
Time to order!

In this issue are street trackers and races bikes; a photography portfolio and a poem; history and cutting edge; success and failure; beginners and experts.

Get yours for just £5 plus post from the Sideburn webshop.

Thanks for your support. Without you, we don't exist. G

Sideburn 20 - available for Pre-Order

So, regular Sideburn blog readers will know we are a small team and we offer the magazine as a pre-order a few days before it arrives. This is so we can get jiffy bags labelled ready for the mag's arrival without dealing with an avalanche of orders. And it means we can then send it out as soon as possible.

The magazine is due to land on March 9th. If you order anything with your issue 20 it will all be sent together.

Issue 20! Who'd have thunk it? It's taken a relatively long time to get here, since our launch in 2008, but I never imagined making two of them, never mind 20.

We're still a tiny niche within a niche, but we're still doing things our way. Thanks for your support, all those who've ever bought something and all those who've contributed stories, photos or help along the way.

Order Sideburn 20 at the Sideburn shop.
Remember, every order from us gets a free sticker.

SUBSCRIBERS - Now is a very good time to tell us if you've moved house recently.

COVER STAR: Drake McElroy
BIKES: Baer Racing KTM 1000 GNC racer; Honda CRF450 cafe motard; Maico Mega 2 490; Suzuki Boulevard fat tyre desert racer; 1930s Norton Dirt Track; Trackmaster Titan 500; Yamaha XS650 street tracker
PEOPLE: Jared Mees; Ian 'Tiddler' Turner; Dimitri Coste; Stu Egli; Marc Marquez
PLACES: Barcelona; Black Rock Desert, Canterbury; Misano
PAGES: 100

#20

Who'd da thunk it? We certainly never realised our little fanzine would make it to twenty issues. Sideburn #20 is now at the printers!
We do appreciate the seven years of cheering from the grandstand.
Without you, there would be no us. Thank you for your support.

Classic photo by Dan Mahony of #20 Johnny Murphree leading the freight train at the Springfield Mile. BP

Di Traverso School

There's a report from the launch of Marco Belli's Italian school coming in the next Sideburn, on sale in March. G

Di Traverso Flat Track School

Former British, Italian and European flat track champion and co-founder of Zaeta, Marco Belli has launched a flat track school in Italy.
Di Traverso has backing from Yamaha, Deus and Dainese among others and dates throughout the year.
The photo below is of our old friend Peter G from Hungary (left) and top Italian journalist Paolo Sormani, who was at the launch reporting for the next issue of Sideburn.

Find out more at Di Traverso Flat Track School.

Marco's English is very good, so if you want to attend but can't understand the Italian website, contact him through his website. G