Racing at Del Mar

Roland Sands is promoting this race at Del Mar's short track (the race I saw there in 2000 turned me on to amateur flat track). Roland says...

Join IV League Flat Track and RSD as we bring Flat Track Racing back to DelMar. This is your chance to bring out the old iron and that rusty steel shoe and put them to good use. There’s a class for nearly everyone so go to the website and register now. Hooligan classes, quads, vintage, pro, beginner and classes for the youngsters. Southern California Flat Track by the Beach in Del Mar is back!

Poster by Adi Gilbert...

Top Trumps

Sideburn #19 sees the start of a new series on classic Top Trumps cards. As prepubescent youths, before we got our hands dirty, motorcycles (and dragsters, and trains, exotic cars, and cricketers) were battling each other by torch-light under bedsheets purely on their technical specification.

Our first featurette, is this wonderful Jawa 897 engined Hagon grass tracker photographed by Andy Baker of the Jerkyls. BP

In Aus we don't have any grasstracks so we use dirt tracks which have both right and left hand corners some of which are tight and require gear changes and brakes are required under the current rules. This bike is made up from what we could get our hands on. The chassis is a Hagon sand racer with a homemade swinging arm slightly longer than standard. The engine is a Jawa 987. Wheel adapters, brakes and exhaust are home made.
Here is some extra spec:
compression ratio 14:1; Carburettor Dell'orto 36mm round slide; Ignition is a Pal magneto; Gearbox is a Norton AMC 3-speed with 1st gear removed; wheels 23" front 19" rear; Brakes front Hagon drum, rear Yamaha disc (handlebar operated); suspension front is rubber bands, rear are Hagon shocks.
Cheers Geoff
[fettling the bike in the photo, who built the bike along with Steve Constable and Chris Murrey]

Stalion

Nothing beats the eroticism of a simple stand-up wheelie. Here, Jim Odom. BP

F2 speedway testing

F2 speedway is the brainchild of former racer Pete Seaton. The aim is to offer an affordable way to get into a sport that has become prohibitively expensive for many. The bikes use 450cc four-stroke motocross engines running petrol. Understandable, approachable, affordable bikes. Among the riders here in testing is three-time UK short track champion Aidan Collins (Honda kevlars), who's put in hundreds of laps on these bikes. Read his views, those of Pete Seaton and about F2 speedway in Sideburn #16. MP

Biltwell Special Edition SB19

We tied up with long time Sideburn supporter, Biltwell to offer a thank you to their customers.
Anyone spending $99 or more on Biltwell helmets, clothing or hard parts through Lowbrow Customs will be sent a copy of Sideburn 19 with an exclusive cover.
This is the only way to get this cover, so don't ask us.

The magazine is identical inside, it just has a different wraparound cover. The idea is for Biltwell and Lowbrow to thank people spending $99 or more. From our point of view the idea is to get Sideburn in the hands of people who might not have seen it before. G

Mablethorpe Sunday Morning

I've had a couple of attempts at racing at Mablethorpe this season without much luck. Water in the electrics, crap in the petrol tap. Simple stuff, but it's hard to test a sand racer except at the beach, and once you're there it's not easy to work on the bikes.
Anyway, I'll have another go this Sunday. Practice from 10am. Free to spectate.
If anyone is going along and wants last-minute Xmas presents for themselves or others; the new mag, back issues; hoodies; hats; whatever, leave a comment or email us at dirt @ sideburnmagazine.com, saying what you want and what size (if relevant) and I'll take it along. G

Honda 250s are very popular. Neil Tuxworth, former Honda BSB, WEC and WSB team manager and a top road racer in his own time, won on the beach with the Honda 250 for years so (nearly) everyone else followed suit in the 250 class.

One who didn't was Carl of our good friends CFM. He races, and wins, on a Yamaha TDR250 two-stroke. He's the reigning champion.

There are some horrors on the beach, but this is the neatest bike. It arrived spotless, like a show bike, with a titanium Akrapovic MotoGP style exhaust mega. Beach race clothing varies from full leathers to full MX gear via Rukka waterproofs, speedway Kevlars and this, British desert camp and a Simpson RX.

 The road bike class, that I race in, is home to oddballs, including this Yamaha SRX600.

Me, basking in the glow of actually finishing a race. Honda SLR650, bought for £500 or so, originally built by CFM. Bungee cord is just to hold the speedway-style swinging foot peg out of the way of the kickstart for starting.
Tuned 650 motor, no brakes.
If you're coming, buy me a cuppa, white, one sugar please. I'll need it.

Salem Saturday Night

The indoor series continues at Salem, WA. Get there if you can! G

Super-slomo-stigio

Intoxicating video with great slo-mo from last weekend's race. Well worth watching (or we wouldn't have shared it. Duh.).
Watch it big screen. G

Papersmiths

Papersmiths is a new Sideburn stockist in Bristol. Just opened on Boyces Avenue, Clifton. Born of Kyle Clarke and Sidonie Warren. We join an impressive rank of new independent magazines from around the world.

All things bright and beautiful.

Don't be fooled by the delicate hanging terrariums, Sidonie is a self-confessed stationary fetishist. The selection of pencil sharpeners, stripey rulers, fountain pens and designer scissors are enough to make a grown man cry.

If any of my Aunts that normally give me unwanted self-knit socks for Christmas, are reading this, please give me any one of the art books, or prints that they also sell. BP

OEM Merlin

The lads at Old Empire are doing a lot of great quality work at the moment. I found these old(er) photos of their Merlin, based on a Kawasaki W650, that are worth sharing. G