PC Hipsta

Still loving it.  See more at PC Hipsta. G

P.C. Hipsta

Following on from the Dan Walsh-prompted 'We've reached Peak Hipster' post, a Sideburn reader (who will remain anonymous, unless he wants to 'out' himself) has come up with a whole a series of funny strips playing on the single photo.

Here are a couple. See more at P.C. Hipsta

We have reached peak hipster

From occasional Sideburn contributor and good friend, Dan Walsh...

We have reached peak hipster. 

Moustache, tattooed fingers gripping a heat-wrapped truncheon. Tattoos he got in a non-touristy town in India you've probably never heard of. Staring into the distance, he imagines fitting drum brakes and knobblies to the riot van. 'It would be, like, totally authentic.'

This photo was taken yesterday at the EDL*/anti-EDL demo in Walthamstow, which delighted him, because a friend of his has opened a pop-up in the Stow called Pot Noodles and Palaver, and he can totally get his lunch there after. 'And you won't believe this, but they serve it in an old tin can and shit.'

*EDL - English Defence League. Far right, anti-immigration, anti-Islam street protest group.

Photo: Guy Smallman

Distraction Pieces

I've been listening to a lot of Scroobius Pip's Distraction Pieces interview podcasts and it made me want to find out more about his music and spoken word stuff.

Love this video, the clever wordplay and delivery. NSFW - cussing and that...

You can find the podcasts on iTunes or Acast. G

Travis at Pikes Peak by Sam Christmas

This wolverine portrait pic was taken shortly after I watched the fellow run off the Finish line. And then receive CPR in the back of a flatbed plow truck. That was not the first time I have seen chest compressions at the races. It was the first of this summer but not the last. Racing is real. Deep and real.
Travis Newbold

via FTW Racing

Giuliano Segoni

Having invented the beard in Florence in 1969, Giuliano Segoni went on to design this exciting stressed-member Laverda. pictured here in 1971 with his architect brother and test rider Augusto Brettoni.

In 1973 he went crazy and came up with this monocoque frame for the SFC.

Ohh err on the engine turned finish

Then in 1974 he discovered funk, and things calmed down a little. This Kawa Z900 (he mysteriously badged K900 - maybe discovered pipe smoking?) was shown off at the Milan show.

He gained some endurance success. Beating the official factory team in 1975 at the 24hour Bol D'Or - even being the sole Italian team to finish. Dude. BP

Facial Vermin

Great ad campaign, Free Your Skin, by Y&R New Zealand, for Schick razors. Art director Mark Tallis, photographer Troy Goodall. BP

Bitten By The Dirty Bug

Since their skid about at Perris, Bill Biltwell and co have made a unanimous discussion to get dirt track bikes and go (more) crazy...BP

Ben,
Thanks for your info help! I just nabbed this XT on VFT  [always has interesting pedigree for sale], about five hours away for $2k. Gonna go pick it up Saturday. I can do tail section and glass tank right away and then grow into some more mods like better fork etc down the road. This at least gets me on the track.
The small ad claims: 'high performance engine, dual oil-feed, new Mikuni carb. Race-ready. Won the Sacramento Mile Vintage Class a few years ago'

And Otto just scored this CB450 out in Pennsylvania!

SFA - Golden Retriever

Heard this on the radio yesterday and it reminded me to hunt down this great video (and song) on Youtube.

The Super Furry Animals put on one of the most memorable shows I've ever seen. G

Shit just got mainstream

Ha, ha! This is an interesting one. I do hope all the independent companies involved in this sell a lot of stuff out of this exposure. That's what I hope when I write about them for mainstream mags, too.
I didn't see this co-opting of 'the scene' coming. It would be hypocritical not to admit I would take corporate money if a big company wanted to sponsor a Sideburn event, though. Is anyone listening? Dirt Quake 3 in the O2 Arena anyone? G

DTRA Round 5, Buxton

It's time for the next instalment in the Sideburn-commissioned posters for the UK Dirt Track Riders Association 2013 season.
The race is at High Edge Raceway, just outside Buxton. It's a beautiful ride out there and the track is in a pretty unique setting.
If you want to get involved you can race on a day licence for less than £60 for a day's racing in the novice or minibike/pit bike class.
Bike's need a front sprocket cover, no front brake (or at least no front brake lever, you can leave the disc and caliper on), mag wheels need big gaps covering up. To ride on an X plate, as a one-off 'guest' rider, you can race on any tyres, though some are more sensible than others.
Get in touch with the DTRA directly for more details.
If you want to be close to the action, but not race, the series always looking for marshals to help out on the day.

The world famous Stevie Gee (as loved by Deus Ex Machina, Paul Smith, Band of Horses and Lacoste among a thousand others) rustled up this one. As we have with all the artists, we asked him a few quick questions...


Age
32

Where do you live? 
North London.

What bike do you own? 
I currently dawdle around on my 70s Yamaha RS 125 but I'm in the process of an exciting build project with SIDEBURN which is you, I'm hoping to reveal it to the world in November with an epic motorbike, magazine and art fest. I'll be there signing bums and boobs.

What's your dream bike?
The one we are building right now I hope! I've always liked the Steve McQueen 70s Husqvarna 400, looks like so much fun.

Who is your favourite racer/motorcycle hero? 
I always thought my Dad was pretty cool when he picked me up from school on his motorbike. I think Dimitri Coste has great style, he's crazy fast. Not sure if he's my hero but I do have his face tattooed on my thigh.

If you were going to start racing flat track, what bike would you choose?
A really fast one I guess. I'd get Co-Built to build me one as theirs look and sound amazing. Also… when I stabbed my hand at Rollerburn, Anthony saved my tendons from being forever severed! Thanks man.

What was the inspiration for your DTRA poster?
I was inspired by my favourite bit of SIDEBURN, TROPHY QUEEN at the back. I love how all these legends have great stories of how they never got paid or how they hooked up (or didn't) with the girl in the photo. I wanted to capture that kind of thought… and avoid a poster of someone racing a bike. That's rad too but I wanted to go for something different, more about the person. Whatever. Nevermind.

Finish this sentence. Racing is life, but…
I'll probably finish last.

Stevie Gee is taking part in a group show coming up in New York next week. At the Joshua Liner Gallery.

Hayate!

I love this advert found in a recent copy of Bike India. There are no skinny, tattooed hipsters trying to sell bikes to one of the biggest two-wheeled markets in the world, it's this polyester-wrapped Magnum-alike.
Where do I sign up for a Suzuki Hayate (in metallic lime)? G

Guy back on it

Guy Martin's had a tough year by his standards, but he won a big one this morning, Superbike race 1 at the Ulster. Mint. Michael Dunlop won the other, with Guy second. G

Ace Face

Quote of the day, 'I don't ride Vespas, I'm a Lambretta man.'
Well done, Wiggo. G

The World's Fastest Mod

I love Bradley Wiggins. G

Ted James

Took the kids out to the Leigh Woods trail. There were a lot of shaved headed and legged types charging through the undergrowth, then like a bionic sasquatch came this big beard. Bunny-hopping up a stone steps section when other riders were desperately crunching through über low gears trying to ride up them. He didn't grunt as much as the human beings either. Ted James is a London bicycle frame designer and builder usually holed up in his tiny Truman Brewery workshop, so it was funny to bump into him out here in the styx. BP

Dopple Gang

Damn the game's up..."Ben have you been moonlighting as a cult doughnut shop owner in Portland? I'm sure i saw you on Man vs Food the other night. Have you also roped SB's events officer in?" RichM
You can tell he's a fake, I would never wear such short socks. BP

Guy's Big Brew (and new lid)

For charity...

Guy Martin's Big Brew
Road racing legend Guy Martin wants us all to have a ‘proper mug of tea’ at participating venues over the Bank Holiday weekend of 4th-7th May 2012, in support of the charity Spinal Research.

All around the UK kettles will be boiling, tea will be brewed and fundraising activities will be underway. A number of partners have signed up so far, from motorcycle dealerships and Hein Gericke stores, to biker cafes, motorcycle owners’ clubs, IAM and individual riders, all with a view to raising money and giving something back.

Show and grow
To make this year’s event even more fun you can enter a ‘grow your own sideburns’ competition. Male Guy Martin fans might decide to ‘grow their own’ or sponsor a friend, while the girls might decide to design jewelled or painted sideburns, so they can take part too. The winner of the best sideburns as judged by Guy will win a Focused Events track day on the full Moto GP Silverstone circuit at any of their 2012 events.

Visit your local participating dealership or Hein Gericke store during the Big Brew weekend, to have your photograph taken with your best ‘mutton chops’ and be entered into the competition.
You can also tweet your side burn growth images to @TheBigBrew or share their evolution on Facebook (search 'Ride Out for Spinal Research') to give your facial hair the recognition it deserves!

In other Guy-related news, below are images of Guy's 2012 race lid - painted by Paddy of 3six2seven. G

Big Night Out

I rode the 110 miles down to London to see The Stags play at the Soundflat Records party at The Stag's Head, Hoxton. I didn't know how great it was going to be. The venue is cool, with a tiny stage. Loads of interesting people turned up, the DJ - the boss of Soundflat Records, whose party it was, rivalled Johnny Alpha for danceable rare tunes, including an original pressing of Northern Soul classic, Magic Touch.

First band up, MFC Chicken, looked like a 50s prom combo, but sounded like The Sonics. All their songs were about love or chicken. Or loving chicken. Can't wait to see them again.Sideburn's Dave Skooter Farm played in two bands on the night, The Stags and first, The Shook-Ups, who did a great set of original garage killers with lead singer Steve getting turned on by the crowd's attention.

Race van, band van. LDV does everything.

No hot ashes

Stags Style: slip-ons and manmade fibres.

Somewhat disappointingly Topsy Stag didn't bother getting dressed up for this gig.
Big daft Shaun and Stags drummer Kenny Roquette.The Stags in action!
Stags keyboard maestro Spencer Chess was on fire.
Two go-go dancers flew in from Paris just to see the gig. They had matching shimmy dresses (Dave told me that's the name of them and it makes sense) and danced for the whole Stags set. That's what the Stags do to people. This is Spencer Chess with one of them. The other was Mimi de Monmartre. Youtube search her if you're feeling down.

A couple of interesting cruisers were locked up outside. I never imagined anyone this cool would be riding. The lady had hotpants, patent high heels and a Wookie fur jacket, the chap had black and white correspondent brogues and fanciful facial hair. Good going.
1.20am. 70 miles down, 40 to go. The Cockroach now stands me at £1100 with new Continental tyres, oil change, and a day or so at CFM fitting the lights and clocks that the previous owner cut off. About ten minutes after this I was buzzed on the A1 by motorway plod. I dropped from 85 to 70 and he shadowed me for a couple of miles, probably running my plate, then had the decency to leave me alone, for which I was grateful. Common sense rules.

Great night out. G

Streetmaster Race Bike - EXCLUSIVE

From L-R: Richard 'Mule' Pollock, Richard 'Streetmaster' Varner, Jeff Johnson, Shawn Kump
The legendary Dick 'Bugsy' Mann checking out the bike.

The Streetmaster, built by Mule, is the high water mark of street tracker's, the one all others will be judged against. And now there's a race version, tested at Perris, California. Exclusive news from Mule himself...

Richard Varner who IS Streetmaster decided we should build a race bike to showcase our chassis and other parts soon to be available. So that's what we did. Racing intent is start out locally and see how it goes with the strong possibility of bigger things later this year.

The motor has the 270 degree crank with the total emphasis on traction and torque. Weight is very low (I plan to get it weighed this week) and handling is neutral and superb according to test pilot Pro Jeff Johnson. Power is good and more dyno work, gear sorting and refinement will take place over the next couple weeks. All in all, a great first outing with perfect weather. More to come for sure.
Mule

The $75,000 Streetmaster prototype (with titanium spokes!) was featured in Sideburn 8