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 Black Rider

Don't know where this shot came from, but one of my bike building gurus, Steve Elliott, sent it to me. Z1300s, or any six-cylinder bike for that matter, never did it for me, but this shot is great. Early Simpson Rx1 (I think), black slacks and he's even carrying off the tassled jacket with some panache. And those Adidas. I think they're Bambas. Never been re-released. Between the Kick and the Samba in the three-stripe family. Solid rubber soul, so never quite as glamorous as the Samba. G

GSX-ARRRGH

I feel a future project brewing. I love everything about this beast. I want Sideburn to build one, then strap Travis to it and point it up the biggest Widowmaker available. T, are you up for it? G
Sorry don't know where the photo came from. I think the bike might be Canadian.

Hillclimber Cream

Found on Jeff Decker's blog. Love to ride something like this up a widowmaker. A more modern equivalent, though. Same power, same weight, same wheelbase, same chains. Any suggestions what would make a good basis? G

This Champion TZ750 for sale on VFT

Valentino, are you watching? Get Yamaha to buy you this for Christmas. On vft.org

Replica Champion frame - Yamaha TZ750
Engine once powered Don Vesco Streamliner
Complete build by Mark Seifried - Marks Restorations - Engine fresh, very low time.
Ceriani Forks - Works Aluminum Shocks - Grimeca Brakes - PM Wheels - Yamaha Tach
$25,000
Palmdale, California - Can crate and ship
661 273-1533 9am - 6pm Tuesday to Saturday PST avkawasaki@aol.com

Thanks to Al McQ for the lead. How cool is Tom Horton? Read more about him at Poppawheelie

Iron Horse Saloon and Social Club

Worth looking in if you're out at Springfield, I imagine.

Here are some snaps taken at the Iron Horse Saloon and Social Club in Savanna, Illinois.
The place is run by a guy called Gerry who has a fantastic collection of classic and vintage dirt and hill climb bikes. My camera is not the latest so I apologise for the image quality.
If you are ever out that way, it is worth a detour.
Keep the shale flyin'
Best regards,
Mike Allen, UK

Look at that lanyard

If you're going to wear a lanyard cut-out, surely it wants to kill the ignition without you having to be in a neighboring state. Photo found at Poppa Wheelie.

Kwacker

Even with a 10 speed WTF transmission, and assistance from size 11 Red Wing paddles, I doubt somehow this baby Kwack could make it up a vertical widow maker. Great shot though. Maybe he reversed down? BP

Vertically Challenged

Not so much Go Fast Turn Left, just Go Fast Vertically. Maybe say a prayer before doing so and don't eat too much breakfast.
Anthony Brown is rallying troops for the VMCC Chalfont (England) hill climb. Down load this form...
Send the completed forms back to me at:

Anthony Brown
usefultone@hotmail.com

By the 7th April please, so I can send them on in one go.
If you didnt tick it when you applied you will need to get onto the ACU to make sure your licence covers grasstrack as well as short track. Its no extra cost. Entries will be £27 +£3 for club membership and £10 for a day licence if you dont have one.
As agreed before we will all run standard Flat Track / Supermotard tyres to save time and expense. Lets hope it doesnt rain.
Anyone who wants any info can call me 07834 971715

This 1949 flying Flathead shot is from the excellent iron wigwam archive. Is that a 'For Sale' sign tucked in the back there?! Maybe he just asked the owner if he could take it around the block.
BP

TL - Total Lunacy

Saw this on PB's forum and I'm struggling to work out what it is for. It looks like one of the later AMA TL1000s, but it has a front brake. There's no way someone would TT this though, is there? And a TL makes what, a good 120-odd rear wheel hosspower, yet this only has a single discs and super-steep steering, so as a street tracker it would be as unstable as nitroglycerine in a blender. The tank isn't exactly to my liking, but I'm not going to nitpick, because this thing is beautifully executed and quite obviously the brainchild of a particularly cavalier individual, and therefore fantastic on many levels.
Someone please give us more horse's mouth info on it. GI

Ramblers Rough Scrambles

The recent mini-rant, about riding what you've got rather than dreaming about having a bike for every occasion, provoked some responses.
One of our heroes (also to be in SB3), Craig Randall sent us these photos of himself competing at the Ramblers track. And this note.

I loved the Ramblers shots and am attaching a couple of shots of me racing at the Richmond Ramblers track (15H). They called it a Rough Scrambles back then, 1966 or so. My dad used to take me there when I was a kid, because we lived in Richmond (S. 13th Street) after he got back from the war. We liked to watch the hillclimbers. I loved it!
Regards,Craig

And Jonny Campbell sent this:
I agree with your blog comment about motorcycling becoming niche Gary, check out this post on helmethairblog.com - a very well shot home movie of a 1930's Californian hillclimb. Everyone is just getting on with it, hat or not.

It's a great clip, despite the innapropriate soundtrack. Thanks fellas, GI

Chalfont!

A lot of my time is spent working for motorbike magazines. And one thing that's really hit home in the last year or so, even though it's been going on for years, is the specialization of every facet of motorcycling. Niche, niche, niche. If you ride this bike you've got to have the right helmet and boots to go with it and you wouldn't think of riding it if the wind was blowing in that direction or if it was a Thursday in September.
Back when men were men, they had one bike and did everything on it. If they had a DuoGlide and their friends were going trailriding, 'Well what the fuck? I'm going too and that big, old Harley I just bought better be up to it.'
Clubs like the Richmond Ramblers (pictured), of whom Dick Mann was, and may still be, a member, epitomised that attitude. They'd desert race, flat track, hillclimb, road ride and trail ride the BSA or Triumph. They were, on the whole, club racers with no hope or pretensions of being the next Dick Mann. They just wanted to have fun.
In this spirit Anthony Brown (of the DBA blog)and Captain Highside have put their heads together and arranged a class for Thunderbike short trackers at the upcoming Chalfont St Peter hillclimb. And Team Skooter Farm are going en masse. Rules for the class are 600cc and above and dirt track tyres only. We don't really know a lot about the course, but it's no Widowmaker. Still, it'll be a laugh.
It's on April 26. the club running it are a vintage club and have stipulated the bikes must look like a vintage dirt tracker, so no DTX bikes. The Wood Rotax and its ilk are suitable. Leave a comment if you want more info. GI
PS Forgot to add, Anthony has got a bike for every day of the week. And NEVER rides on Thursdays in September.

Death Rattle

Mixing a methanol-gargling Jawa speedway engine, between the wars hillclimber chic, 70s disco font and religious iconography, Urban from Sweden has created one of best custom bike's Sideburn's seen in ages. It's not derivative, like so many bikes being built out there, but brings something new to the table. Urban is a genius when it comes to bike building (his copper-plated JAP/Husqvarna is a favourite too) and we think he's a sculptor or some kind of artist. We want to visit Urban, Marcus and the Belladonna freaks in the hot Stockholm summer. Smorgasbord!

Fred Lange hillclimbers

Thanks to Patrick for the lead on these incredible bikes. I really, really hope whoever paid for them to be built actually rides them up a hill once in a while.
1928 Hill Climber
This is one of two Fred Lange Re-Creations. It demonstrates Harley-Davidson's conservative approach to designing motorcycles coupled with their deep desire to win in competition. There is nothing exotic about the machinery except for the ingenious combination of the best materials on hand. This motorcycle used the powerful two-cam engine base from an F-head motor, and incorporated special factory-made cylinders based on Peashooter technology. Its transmission holds but a single gear. The in and out selector box was typical of hill climb specials. The rider would depress the clutch pedal, snick the transmission into gear by a small hand lever, and engage the clutch at the start of his run.
The hill climber chassis was a specialized piece of equipment, beefed up with trusses and extra reinforcement. The front fork was also not standard fare. It sported additional side trusses and a friction damper.
Everything about this motorcycle is serious, from its special front end to the chain shod rear wheel.

Another rocking hillclimber

Team Skooter Farm are entering a hillclimb on our short trackers soon. It'll be more Morphy Richards breadmaker than Utah Widowmaker. I'll keep you posted.
This one's from 1928, I think. G

Gorgeous Hillclimber

more Seasons Greetings

SV1000 dirt tracker

SB's racing mate (and contributor, supplying a great Kenny Roberts interview in issue 2), Ben 'Killer' Miller has really got the short track bug. Not only has he modifed a CRF450 to dirt track spec, he's gone and bought the UK's most vicious tracker - a framer Suzuki SV1000. Here, in his own words' is why...

'So there I was at King's Lynn, waiting for the heats and sheltering from the rain under the tailgate of Chippy 'Wild thing' Wood's VW, when Yamaha James wanders over. Turns out he's built a monster of a Thunderbike and the thing's soaked up so much time and money he wants out. Having spent the last couple of weeks pondering the creation/purchase of just such a thing to get more racing out of my rounds, I'm in. Even when he lets slip it's built around a 1000cc TL-R V-twin making 115bhp at the back wheel, I still seem to be scribbling down my phone number. A week later it's bought. Now it sits in the newly-created Miller race shop awaiting a whole lotta love. At the moment it looks like this

but by the time Short Track '09 kicks off it'll look like this

But before all that there's Scunthorpe, Chris Carr and the TL's debut this weekend. Chris, if you're listening, you need to teach me an awful lot on Saturday.'

Check it out

How difficult would it be to build a replica of this 750? Not very.

Don Castro 1975*

What is there not to love about this photo? Don Castro on one of the most bad-tempered flat trackers of all time, the 750 H2, and he's looking like one of the MC5. His boots are lace-ups, keep em nice an' tight. He's wearing his old Yam leathers. In the background is some Dodge Hauler. My wife's got a pink ringer T-shirt just like Don's. And look at the fella taking a drink of Tab from his cup. White jeans and a windcheater - a great look. I could look at this photo all day.

Just for people new to blogs, if you click a label at the bottom, like Don's name. It'll take you to all Sideburn's other posts relating to Don. Apologies for teaching any grandmothers to suck eggs.

* We think

This was taken from http://instanttractiondeluxe.blogspot.com.
We don't know where he got it from.