Sideburn Special Editions

We have a couple of special edition issues with covers we made with some of our beloved advertisers.
IMPORTANT: Only the covers differ to the regular issues, so these are just for collectors and completists. We only have a handful of each.

One is Sideburn 22 Icon 1000 cover, with their Slow Burn BMW R90/6, the other is Sideburn 23 Roland Sands Designs cover featuring the Geico Indian Chief.
£6 plus post from sideburn.bigcartel.com 

Mule Surf

Michael Z surfing his gorgeous Mule Triumph through Utah, captured by his friend, Kristin Park.

See and read more about this gorgeous Bonneville street tracker, and why Michael chose Mule to build it, in Sideburn 22. G

Ducati Scrambler Pro Flat Track

 

 

The biggest and most important show in motorcycling, EICMA, is going on in Milan this week. Ducati have got in early, with an Apple-style product launch on stage in a theatre setting.

They launched a 400cc V-twin Scrambler, called the Sixty2, plus Diavel and Multistrada derivatives and this, the Scrambler Pro Flat Track. Following the mould of their own Monster and, notably, the Triumph Bonneville, the Italians have rolled out a slightly tarted-up Scrambler to bolster the range at the minimum cost. 

The 803cc Pro Flat Track is very similar to the Full Throttle, one of the three Scramblers the company launched in 2014 to great success. It has the same Termignoni end cans, short front mudguard, 10-spoke alloys. In fact, only the following details differ...

Sidepanels (that don't look very flat track)

Headlight fairing (ditto)

Paint colour

Seat cover

Grips (I know, I'm scraping the barrel here...)

Photos: Ducati

They had Ducati legend, and flat track racer, Troy Bayliss ride it on stage. I like the Scrambler a lot, especially the styling of the Urban Enduro, but as a purely styling exercise, this has missed the target. Lloyd Brothers and Ducati did a great job of making their race bike look related to a Ducati Scrambler, but when the parent company have tried to reflect dirt track cool back on the street bike, something's going missing. 

It's so difficult to make road bikes look as cool as flat track race bikes, because their beauty is in their brutal minimalism. Homologated road bikes can look brutal and act deranged (180bhp, 190mph road bikes for £14,000), but it's hard to make 2015 nakeds look minimal and tick all the EU's boxes. And really, the Pro Flat Track has a good name, but it looks bugger-all like a street tracker.

The wheels are the wrong size and the rear's too far. The seat's wrong. The number boards are neither one thing, not the other. 

Still, God loves a trier. 

If you want to read about the gorgeous race bike that inspired the road bike, buy Sideburn 22 and read my story from Bayliss's most recent AMA flat track race, the 2015 Sacramento Mile. G

Ronin Variants

The final editions of the 47 Ronin all have special one-off paintjobs. Some are still for sale, with prices starting at $45,000.

Sideburn's editor (me, Gary Inman) was the first journalist to visit the company's impressive Denver headquarters. We featured the bike and company in Sideburn 19. Our resident poet race it at Pikes Peak and wrote about the experience in Sideburn 22. G

Slow Burn by Icon 1000

Read about this hard as nails BMW R90/6 and my visit to Icon 1000's HQ in Sideburn 22.

Icon 1000 are making great looking kit that Ben and I have used on trips all over the world. The geezer in this video wears the new Forestall jacket, Elsinore HP boots (now available in black) and the well-loved Variant helmet. I've spoken to a few people with those Elsinore boots, including Ben, and they all rave about them.

I wonder if my own trip to the Isle of Man in 2007, with Captain Simon and two European 125s, was any inspiration for this shoot? It's fair to say the Captain and I don't look as luscious as the lady captain of Icon's RIB, but we were in the middle of the Irish Sea and not taking any risks, opting for hi-viz buoyancy suits. G

Photo: Fly Tipping/ Fly Photos

Mint Wood Rotax For Sale in UK

UPDATE: SOLD
The Wood Rotax we used as the subject for Sideburn 22's blueprint feature is up for sale on UK eBay. This is what the advert says (it's well worth reading)...

Professionally built by Dale Lineaweaver in the early nineties from new parts. The frame is a Wood Rotax, which has never been stripped, blasted or re-powder coated. The engine is a Ron Wood Rotax, as is the exhaust and bodywork. The bike was built as a street tracker and saw very little use, as it was bump-start only. 

These bikes have fast become the choice bike for the DTRA series and for good reason. They’re light, fast and reliable. Jolly good fun. And this is the best preserved example I have ever seen. 

I bought the bike two years ago from Goodman Reed in California. I have a huge file and magazine feature from the mid nineties, which explains in detail about the bikes build. The body-work was repainted, by The Paintbox, who also altered the fuel outlet, so that it had quick (dry) release, all on the left, so the tank can be taken off without splitting fuel lines. The round slide carb was swapped for a flat slide, which has been dyno set up. I went through the bike replacing the serviceable items, such as the chain, oil and filter. I also made a few adjustments to make it race ready, such as the MV throttle, which allows slow tick over in the pit lane, then a twist of the tiny choke lever, ups the throttle to prevent stalling in the corners, when I panic brake. I also re-installed the kicker. Bump starting a bike is bad enough, but far worse with a hot shoe on. 

The bike comes with all the right parts and is in fantastic unrestored condition, which is unusual for a dirt track bike. I would consider selling without the PM Chicane wheels, because it’s taken 5 years for me to find these. 
£7500 Or £6000 without the wheels. 

The bike needs nothing but riding, racing and enjoying. I know some ebayers, like to ask crazy questions, so I've taken the liberty of guessing what they might be. 

1, Nice bike mate, do you have a buy it now price? 
Thank you for your interest and kind words. It's not an auction though, so yes there is a buy it now. Just click the button and it's yours, once you've paid. 

2, Can you make a street legal for me? Does it have a log book? 
Yes I could and have done it in the past, but I do not want to this time. And no, there is no log book. It's a race bike, but should you wish to ride on the street it's entirely doable. 

3, My Grandad had one like that, is it a Harley? 
Did he, good. No. 

4, Would you take part exchange for a Game boy? 
No, even though he sounds like a lot of fun. 

5, Can you deliver it to (add where you live here)? 
Potentially, but why can't you collect? You're going to need a van or a trailer anyway. Or if you are miles away, then I could arrange transport at cost. But you can find that cost out yourself, can't you? If all this makes me sound jaded, miserable and generally downbeat then I have given you the wrong impression. I am in fact so utterly happy all the time that people sometimes think I'm a homosexual! I'm perhaps the only bloke in the world that has had to come out as straight.

Sideburn 22: Out now

COVER STAR: Speed Merchant Harley-Davidson Street 750

BIKES: BMW R90/6, BSA B33 DTRA racer; Wood Rotax; Mule Triumph Bonneville; Dirt Quake USA misfits; Lloyd Brothers Ducati 'Scrambler' GNC racer; Redmax Harley XR1000 street tracker; Ronin Pikes Peak Special

HOW TO: Crash and walk away (with David Aldana)

PEOPLE: Kenny Coolbeth; Emroca; Troy Bayliss; Travis Newbold

PLACES: Costa Mesa, Dunkeswell, Moab, Rancho Deluxe

PAGES: 100

Buy a single issue for £6 plus post from Sideburn 22

Or eight issue subscription with a free exclusive Bultaco Astro blueprint shirt

Or the regular, old 3-issue Sideburn sub 

Massive thanks to everyone who chooses to spend any of their hard-earned money with Sideburn. G

The art portfolio of Emroca

DIY bike olympics at Rancho Deluxe from 1980

Icon BMW R90/6 on a mission

Redmax XR1000 street tracker

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