Sideburn 35 OUT NOW

Sideburn 35 is out now.

COVER: Steph Bolam on the Rebels Alliance SR500 Rough Diamond 

BIKES: Rebels Alliance SR500 Rough Diamond; Lloyd Brothers AFT Ducati 821 Twin; Fuller Moto Ducati Pro Street Tracker; Royal Enfield Interceptor 650; Sur Les Chapeaux de Roues Honda CRF450; Durex Suzuki GSX-R750: Harley Sportster 1200 Hooligan racer; Newbold Yamaha XS650 dirt bike: Honda XR75 mini flat tracker; Bultaco Astro; River Rat C and J Kawasaki 650 AFT Twin 

PEOPLE: Brandon Robinson; Kevin Atherton; Wilbur Skipp; Joy Lewis 

INTERVIEW: Brandon Robinson 

HOW TO: Spanner like a pro with Brent Armbruster 

EVENTS: Bultaco Astro Cup, Atlanta; Swank Rally, Terminal 1, Italy 

ADVENTURE: In South Africa with Motosafari 

PAGES: 116

Just £6 plus post. Order from Sideburn.bigcartel.com

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This issue is also available in digital form for £2.50. Go to Sideburn Digital ISSUU

 

Sideburn in the Sahara

Last month, Sideburn undertook its second sold out Desert and Mountain Tour of Morocco with 12 adventurous readers in partnership with MotoAventures.

We are planning to run the tour again from 13-19 March 2017 (to try avoid the biblical rain storms). We have 10 now just 7 places.

It was a tough tour. Some riders got broken, others exhausted, while many just smiled the whole way through. One day it was boiling, the next we were riding through a blinding sandstorm for 30 minutes, then the final day served up flashfloods.

We had riders from the UK, Kuwait, Australia and the USA and it was an unforgettable experience for all.

Read Andy Baker's no-punches-pulled report from the 2016 tour on the new Sideburn website's STORIES page.

The price for 2017 is €1950. For this you get...

• Seven night's accommodation, six in hotels, kasbahs and riads that range from good to exceptional plus one night in a desert bivouac
• Five full days riding, 95% off-road
• Rental of a late model, very well maintained KTM 450 EXC
• Breakfast and evening meals and most lunch meals, plus drinks and snacks
• Full technical support from MotoAventures, a company that's been running off-road tours for 20 years
• Transfers from Marrakech to Ourzazate, the start and end point of the riding
• Use of a personal Garmin with an (almost) foolproof route so you don't have to follow a leader, you can ride at your own pace
• A whole week of riding and hanging out with Sideburn readers on the same wavelength as you

What isn't included: Flights to and from Marrakech; drinks with evening meals and any alcohol; Damage to bikes (limited to a maximum of €750 - 2016 figure, 2017 figure not confirmed); meal on last night in Marrakech; food on transfers to and from Marrakech; personal accident insurance with repatriation cover - this is essential.

For more info or for details on how to pay a deposit, email us at sideburnmag @ gmail.com

NOTE: This is a hardcore off-road trip not to be taken lightly. We had two riders with limited experienced of off-road riding, but who'd both done the Sideburn Himalayan tour with no problem. One of the riders survived, the other broke his wrist on day two. Although I'm a dirt tracker, I don't have a lot of trail riding experience (or skill). I find this tour tough, but rewarding.  G

Australia to England on a Postie

I've met Nathan a couple of times, and he seems a lovely fella. My son is reading the book of this trip at the moment and enjoying it. G

Hoi Chi Minh Trail by C90

Criminally I don't make enough time to read books, so it's taken me over six months of dipping to get through this book but it's a good read. 'Ants' Bolingbroke-Kent is a well-traveled TV producer who had already explored Vietnam in preparation for more pampered adventure, but she decided to return on her ownsome to follow the route of the infamous Hoi Chi Minh trail (still littered with unexploded American bombs), which also crosses Laos and Cambodia. On a 1989 C90.

Four back-street engine re-builds later she made the 2000 miles unscathed. Most people she meets on the two month treck think she's mental for her choice of vehicle and lack of companion or logistical back-up, but she proves that her calm determination (and a bottle of stashed gin), will push her through and also makes her also more open to approach.

Wot no knobblies. BP

Road Apples // Pemberton Speedway Flat Track

Pemberton Speedway from Blaine Connolly on Vimeo.

Becky from Canada got in touch. She pointed us to a video and her great looking blog (where I have pinched some nice photos to post below). It's a mixture of adventures on TT500s, choppers shows, women on bikes, amateur flat track and amazing Canadian scenery. Becky wrote...

I always check out your blog and thought this would be something you'd be into posting about! 

Blaine Connolly made this little edit about the Pemberton Flat Track Races that Sam Villanueva hosted. There's some photos as well as some more information on www.themroadapples.com I love your stuff keep killing it!
Becky Goebel

 Neat Street 750 racer.

Sunburn Desert Kit

The reason we're running our now sold out Sunburn trip to Morocco is because I went on the same trip with the same tour operator, MotoAventures, earlier this year.

On the last day I asked Sam Christmas to take a shot of some of the kit I used. This is a bit of a guide for anyone going on our trip or a similar one. All this stuff is recommended by me. Some of it's new (helmet and gloves). Other items I've used for years. G

1. Hydration system.
Not essential, because you can simply carry a bottle of water in a bag and take a glug when you stop for a breather or to take a photo, but a straw you can suck on makes things easier. I bought this when I was training to run a marathon and dug it out for this trip. I stored it inside my trusty Kriega rucksack, because I like to carry my notepad and other nick-nacks. Kriega do hydration packs and also retro fit bladders to fit into most of their existing rucksacks if you already have one.

2. Knox Cross Shirt body armour.
I can't remember how long I've had this, but it's years. I wear it when riding BMX and off-road motorcycles. This armoured shirt is one of a few British company Knox offer. Thumb loops are essential to keep the arm protection from moving as soon as you hit the deck, uncovering your unprotected corners. Not cheap at £199, but very good quality and shows no signs of wearing out despite a lot of abuse.
Also look at the Icon Stryker Rig.

3. Fox Knee Armour
Rather bulky, but cheap (at £22) and stayed in place. I wore a part of old Nick Ashley cotton trousers and a Fuel Motorcycles long-sleeve shirt over the top of my armour, because I'm not keen on the MX look and didn't have it anyway. MotoAventures have some clothing for rent if you need it.

4. Oakley goggles
£30. Had them about eight years. Nothing fancy. Were already a bit scuffed.

5. Dainese Huge Air gloves
These £52 gloves, aimed at the off-road market, didn’t bunch up, didn’t stick to sweaty hands, always easy to pull on and off. My hands blistered, but I’ve never used a glove that would’ve helped considering my death grip in the desert. There are cheaper options. MX shops have sales on at this time of year.

6. Long MX socks
I bought these Fly socks in Utah on a 8000-mile cross-country trip when my boots wear chafing. Since then I've used them every time I've raced. You can pick up socks like these at any MX shop for £10-15.

7. Palmsavers
Bought a day into my Morocco trip and, perhaps, a day too late. MotoAventures sell these for €10. Get yours as soon as you arrive. They act as an extra layer of protection to stop calluses across the top of your palms.

8. Knox Cross Shorts
Literally saved my ass when I crashed a BMW into a South African garden. All-day comfortable. I use these for BMX too. The armour is slotted into pockets and comes out so you can wash them. Now superseded by Guerilla shorts.

9. TCX 2.1 Boots
I asked a friend, who'd been on a MotoAventures desert trip before, if I could get away with Blundstones (that I'd worn on my Benelli trip through Africa) or brogue boots (that I'd worn for a 16-day off-road trip with MotoAventures in South Africa). I was told, definitely not. So I dug out these TCX 2.1 boots that I'd ended up with, but rarely worn.
On the first day I couldn't buckle them up or barely even walk in them. By the end of the trip I loved them. I haven't worn them since though.
A better compromise for road riders who don't ride off-road regularly, could be the Icon 1000 Elsinore or Prep boots.

10. AGV AX-8 EVO
£240 Brand new before the trip, the lightest helmet I’ve ever worn, at just 1150g. It is comfortable for eight-hour hard days, from day one. I love it.

Also take lip balm; glucose sweets or jelly babies or similar; camera or camera phone.
Wicking long underwear is recommended, to wear under armour, but I did without it.
Swimwear and light, casual shoes.
Travel light. The hotels are smart, but no one is judging you for wearing the same shirt for three nights.
Even though you camp out for one night you don't sleeping bags or anything.

If you missed out on Sideburn's Sunburn trip but still fancy going to Morocco for some desert kicks, the tour company we are working with are offering other tours in early 2015. Go to MotoAventures.com for more info. They're also exhibiting at the forthcoming NEC bike show in the UK. G

Photos: Sam Christmas

SUNBURN

A big one. Vast even.
Already a while back, Sideburn had bandied the idea about in our collective head (like Frank Sidebottom's but bigger), about the feasibility of Sideburn endorsed trips. Then in February GI was invited to Morocco to ride a desert tour with Moto Aventures and covered it for MCN. He had an amazing time, a trip of a lifetime even, so it makes sense to give it the Sideburn stamp of approval.

AND WE WANT YOU TO COME WITH US

I will be going this time, and can't wait. I have zero sand experience (apart from building a few sandcastles on the Gower in south Wales). But GI reassures me that my combined rookie flat tracking, minimal green laning, many miles of road riding, and a bit of bravado should see me through. If it wasn't a little daunting, it wouldn't be so exciting!

Here are some evocative photos of GI's trip by Sam Christmas.

There are a few extras that are not included in the price e.g. riding kit (it's presumed you will bring your own, but if you're a city dweller who has never been on mud so you don't have any MX stuff, you can rent it from them, a camelback drinking water bag. Repatriation insurance.

There is talk of a wind-down night out in Marakech on the way back (so leave the next day instead, on Sat 18), staying in a riad off the main square of Jemaa el Fna. (I spent a week in the Marrakech medina with my young family a couple of years ago. It's mental - in a good way).
We will draw up some more complete details nearer the time. BP

A few words from GI:
My brain is chapped, my eyeballs need Supergluing in place and every screw in my head has vibrated loose.
I’m on a motorcycle tour of Morocco with the company Moto Aventures. I flew into Marrakesh, drove over the High Atlas Mountains to Ourzazate, joined a group of Portuguese riders and set off on three days of punishing off-road riding on a 450cc KTM enduro bike.
Every day begins with one of John the tour leader’s short and to the point briefings. If your blood doesn't run a little cold, you’re not listening.
‘Watch for the wash-outs today. Don’t overstretch yourself or you will fuck up,’ barks John, like the father I never wanted. He then gives details of the map we must select from the satnav’s menu.
The big attraction of this tour was to ride at Erg Chebbi, the 30-mile long, five-mile wide range of wind-blown dunes. I have zero dune-riding experience. I’ve fallen off three times when John pulls up on a gently rolling hump of sand then points to a golden mountain, the biggest dune in sight. ‘We’re going up there.’ I don’t know what to say. There’s so much adrenalin pumping around my damp body, I don’t think I’ve blinked for 20 minutes.
I press the starter to bring the Austrian dirt bike to life and follow John’s wheel up the shallowest side of the 125m dune. It doesn’t sound high, but it’s 40-storeys above our accommodation for the night, a desert bivouac less than a kilometre away as the crow flies. Steadily I make it to the summit. There is flat area on top, but it’s as wide as a single car parking space at a supermarket. My emotional state is flicking, like a puppy’s tail, from exhilarated to intimidated.
Then John informs me I have to ride down the steepest face. He says goodbye and, as he rides off the end of the world, disappears. From the top, there’s no sound or sight of him for four or five seconds, then he appears, as a dot below. Now it’s my turn. I’m as scared as I’ve been on a motorcycle in years. I don’t want to go, but neither do I want to back out. Every muscle is tense. I’m imagining the front wheel digging into the sand, stopping dead and the dirt bike flipping to land, like a Mexican luchador, on my fragile spine. Pumping my fists on the grips seems to dispel the thoughts and I click the bike into gear.
Five seconds later I’m the speck, still on its wheels, exhaling an f-bomb. Tonight I’m going to drink a beer at the top of another dune with new friends, then sleep under the stars (till it becomes too windy and I drag my mattress into the nearest Bedouin tent). Tomorrow I’ll wake and feel like I’ve been run over by a dustbin lorry. After checking my boots for camel spiders and scorpions, I’ll climb onto the borrowed KTM 450 and do it all again. Life does not get any better…

Minibike conquers Pikes Peak

This is a great story from and starring our friend, regular correspondent and occasional magazine contributor,  Roger F from Ohio.

Here's a blast from the past. I just got my new issue of Sideburn magazine with a cover story about Guy Martin and the Pikes Peak Hillclimb, and there was also a minibike picture posted on FB by a friend that caused me to look around for these pictures and maybe put together the little minibike basketcase that fell into my lap last week. Serendipity. 

In the fall of 1971, I was enlisted to help another student in high school get a motorcycle license endorsement so he could ride a minibike up the famous Pikes Peak mountain as a promotion for a new Mercury brand centrifugal clutch. Centrifugal clutches were a weak point for minibikes back then, as kids would thrash them, slipping them unmercifully, making expensive replacement necessary. Unfortunately, a week prior to going their rider gets mono, so at the last minute, I'm drafted to fill in. The advertising account manager, a mechanic and I are packed into a station wagon and drive out to Colorado, right before the road closes for the winter. 

We had three days out there to make it to the top, and back then, only the first five miles were paved. The rest was an exceptionally well cared for, wide dirt road that could be navigated safely by tourists in their automobiles. There was no real skill required to ride the road, just twist the throttle and endure the cold. 

The first day we had great weather, but despite preparation beforehand, the bike was still jetted too rich for the altitude and ran out of breath about a couple thousand feet from the summit. Overnight in the hotel room, the carb was rejetted, but the next day the weather turned bad and we were stopped at the cabin at the end of the pavement due too snow and wind at higher elevations. 

We had one day remaining and it was do or die. The weather was clear but cold, and we made it without incident. The bike was still hampered by a lack of power as I got closer to the summit, and I was consciously taking wide lines to conserve momentum in order to make it. By the time I got to the top, my speed was down under 10mph and the motor was struggling, but that clutch never faltered, even after miles of hard work over the three days on the mountain. 

The publicity was very successful, and the ad manager ghost wrote my account for Mini Cycle magazine, and the story also appeared in the AMA magazine and several local newspapers. The attached pictures are b/w promo shots taken on our way down for the ad campaign. It really was a cool little minibike, despite the lights, horn and mirror tacked on to make it quasi street legal..
Roger

Where to?

Tom B sent us this

Not sure if you know these guys, a couple of adventure riders scooting about in South America, but spotted what looks like your "Get thee behindme" logo at 50 sec in.  
All the best, Tom

We do know one of them for sure, Martin from Sweden, living in Japan, exploring South America, from the great Time You Enjoy Wasting... blog. There's also another Sideburn sticker on the bike's fairing right at the end of this great clip - what looks, appropriately, like Sandy. I'm pretty sure this short, mainly GoPro footage film will inspire a lot of daydreams. G

Austin Vince in Portland!

Portland continues to prove to the world it is the greatest motorcycling city on earth.
This week our good friends at the Sang Froid Riding Club have arranged for Austin Vince to visit Portland to premiere his new film, Mondo Sahara. This Thursday!
It has special resonance, because two of the riders on the adventure were from the Oregon city.
It's only $5 to get in. You'd be as dumb as a rock-eating dog not to get along if you're in the vicinity. G

Hebden Bridge is the new Cannes

Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire is hosting a night of motorcycle adventure films.  It's on Saturday 7 December. It includes the Austin Vince new release, Mondo Sahara. This is what the organisers say...

AdventureSpec present an evening of film spanning the whole spectrum of Adventure Motorcycling. After a sell-out premiere in London’s West End, Austin Vince heads north to showcase his epic new film Mondo Sahara! Following Mondo Sahara will be the premiere of Graham Jarvis’ Erzberg the Hard Way movie. Both the film’s protagonists will be in attendance and there will be special guests and ‘special features’ making for a one­off evening of entertainment.

More details on their facebook.

Mondo Sahara

Austin Vince makes another call to arms to would be adventure riders to move away from their computers and ride out the real wide world. This time his mission - with 6 other large men on diminutive Hondas, is the deserts of Mauritania. He has called upon a little more technological assistance than previous wilderness forays, but the message is still modesty can conquer mountains.

Bonfires - Yes, almost every night.
Beers - No as they are traversing Islamic territory.
Bromance - Not exactly, their Weise quilted waterproofs aren't very sexy.
Beards - No, just a little stubble.
Helicopter shots - None.
Authenticity - Yes, in abundance.
Inspirational - Yes, most definitely.

If your Christmas is destined to be turkey centred, but you still hanker for some danger beyond poking the yule log, then buy the DVD here. BP

Scram Africa

Inspiring advert for North African guided tours (from Spain) that's a reminder (to me at least) how hard it can be to ride heavy bikes in soft sand, from our friends at Fuel in Spain. G

Firm Hold

So your day job is skirmishing with modern day pirates on the high seas. You are more versatile than Harry Houdini, in wriggling out of sticky situations. You raced your Yamaha XS750 chop at Dirt Quake II (wearing a Men in Black suit). You obviously tackle adversity with relish. But when your tubeless tyre gets smacked off the rim in a pothole in the middle of nowhere, how do you get home eh clever clogs?
Mike had been riding in the thick of 50 motorbikes on the Mud Crab ride-out in the glorious Peak District, but had dropped to the back of the pack so as to do some filming when BANG! his front end disappeared and the Astralite front rim took a big dent. He found himself shipwrecked.
Being the enterprising visionary sort, he walked to the nearest shop. Bought a can of Pantene firm-hold hair spray (it's not something he normally carries in his man-bag). Doused the the gap between crudely undented rim and tyre bead and then set fire to it. POOF! the tyre exploded back on to the rim and he rode off into the sunset on his next adventure. BP

Two Years Ago...

Just over two years ago, I returned from a 16-day trip riding through South Africa, Namibia and into Zambia with a group led by Charley Boorman and Motoaventures. I follow him instagram (we are @sideburnmag by the way) and he's just done the trip again. Seeing his insta posts reminded me to dig out these photos, under the perhaps ill-found assumption you might be interested.

The first day's riding around the Cape was incredible.

The back of Table Mountain (not Sugar Loaf Mountain, you dumbass Inman! See comments).

Selfie. I wrote that bike off the next day.

Charley B, wearing the Sideburn x Deus Ex Machina shirt Deus made a couple of years ago.

Near the Fish River Canyon, Namibia.

If this looks like fun, and you've got a wedge of cash for a trip of a lifetime, check out Motoaventures Tours. G