Helmet for Scale

That time I met a massive spider on a lonely road in New Mexico. G

Dirt Quake Ladies Final

There's quite a bit before and after that you can skip through, but this is a good onboard taste of the 2016's Dirt Quake Davida Helmets Ladies final shot by first time racer Katrina James. If you don't skip through it, it's an example of exactly what it's like to compete in a six-lap amateur flat track race from leaving the pits to getting back in one piece.

'Hurricane' Katrina takes a brave, wide line on her Kawasaki ZXR400 (not the ideal dirt tracker, but totally proves Dirt Quake's ethos).

Up ahead is Vikki from the Bike Shed with Kiki coming up strong on El Solitario's Zaeta. Watching this makes me think, Who wouldn't want to compete in Dirt Quake? It reminds me why entries sold out in a week.

The top three in the Ladies class are being awarded special Davida DQV Classic Jet helmets. Like all Davida helmets, they're made in England and hand painted in the Birkenhead factory by the company's staff. These special editions use elements of Lennard Schuurman's Dirt Quake poster. Davida do things properly. G

Helmet Evolution featuring Nuke-Leah

This short video was made for Dirt Quake headline sponsor, the specialist motorcycle insurer Bikesure. It features the one and only Nuke-Leah Tokelove on her Death Spray Custom KTM 350. Nuke-Leah is the UK's top female racer, an inspiration to all and a lovely lass.

She is also featured in Sideburn 25, barn-burning in a lycra catsuit (see outtake photo below by Sam Christmas).

The video was shot at the Adrian Flux Arena, King's Lynn, the world class speedway venue that will host Dirt Quake V this weekend.

Read all about Nuke-Leah in Sideburn 25 and see her kick ass on Friday night in the Dirt Quake DTRA races. G

Davida X The Rolling Stones

The UK's last remaining motorcycle helmet factory has been chosen to create a special edition Jet for the new Rolling Stones 50th anniversary Exhibitionism at the Saatchi Gallery London.

This from Davida...

Using traditional techniques and all by hand, these special helmets are manufactured and painted in the Davida factory in Merseyside, using the Rolling Stones iconic Classic Tongue logo, both in the original red 'Tongue and Lips' design and in the new Exhibitionism colours. 

The Davida Jet helmet is handmade in the UK, with a full leather-lined interior and approved to the highest European standard ECER22-05 for the road and ACU Gold Label for the race-track. All Davida helmets are beautifully painted and finished in their factory in Birkenhead looking over the River Mersey to Liverpool.

The Davida Rolling Stones Jet helmet is available at the Saatchi Gallery in London from April to September 2016 SRP £400 and from Davida dealers around the world, excluding North America, or directly from our website www.davida-helmets.com. 

Very few people could make playing xylophone as menacing as Brian Jones. Looks like his hair was cut around a Davida. Bill Wyman's Vox teardrop is the business, too. G

Davida x Distinguished Gents Ride

Press release from Davida. Great company doing nice things for good people.

Leaving Davida for Umberto De Pretto in Geneva, Simon Whittaker in Canberra, Michael Butler in Tunbridge Wells, Donald Leonhart in Los Angeles Vincent Nicolai in New York, these very special and exclusive DGR helmets. These can not be bought, only won and awarded by those who excelled at raising money for Prostate Cancer on the 2015 Distinguished Gentleman's ride. 

37,261 riders in 410 cities in 79 countries took part in the 2015 DGR raising $3 Million with each of our prize winners raising approx £5,000 each. 

Davida are proud to support the DGR once again this year by creating and supplying these exclusive special DGR helmets, free of charge to the top fundraisers.

Nerves

Superb photo of a nervous Davida team rider, Jasmine before her first motorcycle race. She was our flag girl last year and only passed her motorcycle test a few weeks before last weekend's Dirt Quake. She did great in the final too, just missing the podium.
Photo: Paul Bryant

8 Rays Over Cream

From our friends and long-time supporters, Davida.

Created to compliment the Japanese theme of the Southsiders 2015 Wheels and Waves event in Biarritz, the latest helmet colourway to be launched by Davida (UK) Ltd is the 8 Rays over Cream, a stylised 'Rising Sun' used in modern Japan as a symbol of tradition and good fortune. Davida offer an unparalleled choice of more than 100 colourways available as standard as well as a custom bespoke service. 

 All Davida helmets are hand painted in the UK using a fibreglass shell, lined with fully quilted leather and finished with a satin crown. Davida helmets have a unique ergonomical design to prevent lift and speed and give an exceptionally quiet ride. Using 3 shell sizes to create 6 helmet sizes the Davida is never larger or heavier than it has to be. 

Davida Design 406 - 8 Rays Over Cream
Ninety Two Helmet £298 (Certification BSI 6658 Road Legal in UK)
Speedster Helmet £342 (No Certification & Inc 20% VAT)
 Jet Helmet £298 (Certification ECE R22-05 & ACU Gold for racing)  http://www.davida.co.uk

Cosmic Flake

Made in England by Davida Helmets.

Made in England

Davida Helmets

Golden

Sideburn wears and trusts Davida helmets. This is what Davida says about their new latest design...

New from the UK's sole remaining manufacturer of certified motorcycle helmets, these two new Davida colourways. The gold base with Rocket Ron Pinstripe was originally made as a one-off design for Brad Pitt some years ago and now in response to demand has now been added to their range, with a choice of either matt gold (423) or gloss gold (422). These new designs brings the total number of standard colourways available in their range to over 75. 

However, when you take into account their bespoke service which delivers dozens of one-off helmet designs every month, Davida UK produce literally hundreds of different colourways every year. Based on the Wirral, Davida UK are proud that, unlike most modern creations, these open face motorcycle helmets are still hand-built in England using the best quality materials available. Every distinctive livery and details is carefully created by individuals who still care about these things. 

Established in 1976 and driven by their own needs as motorcyclists, Davida UK have been manufacturing for more than 30 years. 

The 422 or 423 Gold Pinstripe design is available on the Davida Jet and Ninety2 at RRP UK £265.00 and on the Davida Speedster at RRP UK £220.83 Ex VAT. It is not available on the Davida Classic.

Made In Britain

Hannah wearing Davida lid and leathers, posing with Mr Llewelyn's home-built GM dirt tracker at a sodden Amman Valley. Check those cowhorn bars!
Photo: Ben Part

Art and Moto, Lisbon

One unexpected side effect of making Sideburn is all the artists I've come in contact with thanks to working with Ben on the magazine. We've used illustrators and artists since issue one to supply drawings for features, hand lettering for headlines and T-shirt and poster designs.

Two Spanish artists we've become friends with are Antonio Merinero and Raulowsky. On 27-28 April they're joining forces for Art and Moto, a joint show at the incredible LXFactory, Lisbon, Portugal.

Also at the show, Davida are showing the Dominik Scherrer's anarchic 1998 motorbike-opera Hell For Leather (nothing to do with the website and made in 1998) as their contribution to 2013 international 'Art and Moto' exhibition. Davida say...

At turns both provocative and hilarious, this visceral and Wagnerian re-imagining of Satan and his acolyte's banishment to hell via a post-apocalyptic London is twisted and compelling for every minute of its modest 30 minute running time. Shot in beautiful monochrome 35mm and featuring an extraordinary looking cast of characters, it runs wild with all manner of genres from motorbike exploitation films to fetishism to, well, opera with adult content, not for the faint-hearted.

Sideburn will be there. G

Burning Man

Davida went with a small contingent to Burning Man this year. This was Fid's personal favorite, a Honda CX500 powered avgas tank car; with (the nerd in me says) Mini 1275 Rostyle wheels (but then they look bigger than 10"?).

This is their Evel Knievel Speedster. BP

It's Christmas (Sam Christmas)

Sam Christmas shot the British Speedway GP for Sideburn 12 (and Maxwell P's BSA for SB9). Here's some more of his work. It's bloody marvellous.
He's planning an exhibition in January. It'll be in London, but worth a day out to see, I reckon.
There's a short interview with him at The Bike Shed.
G
From top to bottom (Kitty for Davida; Kingdom of Kicks; James from Kingdom of Kicks, Rensh the Widder).

Robert Dancel

This is Robert Dancel in his original Tokyo T-Shirt and his new Davida Tokyo Helmet.
Following Sideburn’s Rollerburn last year, we sent a Davida Tokyo helmet to Robert Dancel, one of the original actors in the 1975 cult movie Rollberball. A professional skater in real life, Robert was hired for the film alongside other team mates from the Canadian Roller Derby Association. He gained celebrity status amongst Rollerball Aficionados as the Tokyo player who took out Houston’s ‘Moonpie’ and was then subsequently killed by the Houston Team Captain ( James Caan).
Sharon Underhill

Dancel before things got bloody violent. BP

Gary Indianapolis

GI is on a big cross-country trip in America road riding the latest Yamaha Super Ténéré with a tour group led by round-the-worl adventure riding nutcase Nick Sanders. You can follow his Instagram feed here at Sideburn's facebook, or on your smartphone by searching for @sideburnmag . BP

Ornamental Conifer x Davida x Inman

I'm going on a three-week tour of the USA soon. NY to SF to LV to TX then back to NY with a lot of points inbetween. 7500 miles in 20 days on a Yamaha Super Tenere.
I had the idea to get a new helmet that I'll wear and remember this trip every time I see it. Davida supplied a Jet and Nico at Ornamental Conifer painted the names of the 24 states I'll ride through, plus his own O.C. and my racing number 13 (that I've had on helmets for a good few years now). This is the result. Wild, eh? They'll see me coming.
Big thanks to Davida and Ornamental Conifer. G

Prized

Thanks to all at Davida for the made in England Classic pudding basin for the weekend's top Quakers. G

Dirt Quake Prizes

Everyone was a winner. If you looked the quagmire in the eye and said "Hell Yeah Bring It On" got on your bike and wobbled round - or fishtailed like horny salmon headed up (a muddy) stream, you're a winner. We did also give Co-Built-made Sideburn trophies and a special DQ Davida helmet to:
Milo for cleaning up in the Chopper Class on his hand-shift 45

(bike photo CFH)Guy in Inappropriate Road Bike Class for rodeoing his rubber cow BMW to victory

(bike photo Capt Simon)

Roberto Ungaro who came over especially from Italy and styled it on the Spillo in Street Tracker Class - I can imagine some people having first seen this bike in Riders Magazine, thinking what a ludicrous and poncy vehicle - this thing bloody shifts and would stab you in the belly for even thinking of looking at its girlfriend.

(bike photo Capt Simon)

Then, also in the Inappropriate Road Bike Class, Amanda, a worthy Davida spot prize just for having a go on her Virago.

Dirt Quake Heroes One And All. BP

DIY helmets

Our good friend Captain Simo, a fellow helmet fetishist, modified his Davida with an old Arai chinpiece he bought at the Stafford Show. Looks great with his new Xtravue goggles. G