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

Icon Raiden on the Sideburn Morocco Tour

Portland-based motorcycle clothing company, Icon moved into the burgeoning ADV market with their Icon Raiden range. As part of the testing and marketing, they went on 2015's Sideburn Sunburn tour to Morocco. They shot this film when they were there.
The 2016 tour sold out in two weeks. If you're interested in going on tours like this with Sideburn, please drop us a line to dirt @ sideburnmagazine.com

Sideburn in the Himalayas

It's been a month since I returned from the Himalayas and I haven't mentioned it once on the blog, which even strikes me as weird. The main reason was I didn't want to post any photos that Ben ended up using in Sideburn 23, that we're working on right now. That article is laid out now, so I can share a few of my own snaps.

This Himalayan adventure was the second Sideburn-endorsed fly-ride road trip. The first was our desert and mountain trip to Morocco that Ben took (with the excellent MotoAventures) back in the Spring. Read about it in Sideburn 21. We're running another Morocco trip in October 2016, and all 12 places sold out in six days to riders from Australia, USA, UK and Kuwait. If there are people who missed out on this trip we could run another in October 2016, with a special guest Sideburn representative, so get in touch.

And we're also almost definitely doing another Himalayan trip to the Pangi Valley next September. So if you fancy that, email us for details. The date is likely to be September 10 - 18. Same route as this year's, same Helmet Stories crew.

The idea for doing these trips is simply Motorcycle Fun Times. To bring a group of like-minded people together (like-minded because they all read Sideburn - or that was the idea, but the word spreads and we've had a few people on the trips who didn't know anything about the magazine and were told about the trip by mates, which was unexpected but not a bad thing). It's also so we can work with and promote small companies we like.

For a tiny company Sideburn tries to do a lot - make and sell magazines and merch; organise Dirt Quakes and other events, videos; attend other people's events; pay artists, writers and photographers; sponsor races and now run trips. We are massively appreciative of everyone who supports us and makes all these things happen. Please keep doing it because no one's getting rich making niche magazines and we want to keep going.

Here's some more info about the Indian trip...

It's a long way down in the Pangi Valley. No barriers, dirt roads... Up ahead is Mark from the Jerkyls, the Australian dirt track club. I'd never met him before and now I love him like one of own eyes. That's what these trips can do. In turn, Mark enjoyed the trip so much he signed up for our 2016 Morocco as soon as it went on sale. He's bringing five other Jerkyls with him. It's going to be carnage.

Young Dan getting a move on at dusk to get the tents up before sunset.

We rode along valleys for days. It was hard at times, but never boring. 

A lot of the rest of the time was going up and down mountain passes. Look at this photo. Who wouldn't want to do this trip?

Four nights in a hotel, four nights free camping. One night the field the guides had used previously had been 'stolen' by another tour company, almost unbelievably. The guides spoke to the locals, and one of the guides jumped in a car with them and drove off. We hung around for half-an-hour or so, tired and wondering what was going to happen. Then the car reappeared and we rode 15 minutes up a mountain track, in a long conga line of Royal Enfields, until we came to this heli-pad, at 10,000ft. We camped around the side, gathered wood for a massive fire, washed in the stream running down the mountain side and had one of the wildest nights of the trip.

Motorcycle fun times! 

If our trips don't work with your schedule Helmet Stories run other trips in India.

MotoAventures run tours in Portugal, South Africa, Greece and Morocco on KTMs and BMW twins. Quote SB23 when booking to get a discount on any MotoAventures trip. G

Sideburn Sunburn 2016

We're going back to Morocco, 12 months from now. We endorse this trip and one of the Sideburn crew will ride with you.

20-27 October, 2016.
€1850
Includes transfers to and from Marrakech plus B and B in Marrakech at the end (the 27th)
Not included - flights to Morocco. Personal insurance with repatriation cover (essential). €700 deposit for motorcycle damage (No one paid a cent on the trip I went on in 2013).

Aimed at off-road bikers with some experience, this tour is a total of 7 days; your arrival and departure days, plus 5 days biking.
Level 6-7. (1-10) You will experience:
Fast tracks across vast dried lake beds
Sandy river beds and trails
Rocky tracks up through the southern foothills of the High Atlas Mountains
Virgin desert sand to the famous Cathedral Dunes at Erg Chebbi (the highest in Morocco!)
Twisting trails through the palmeries of the Draa Valley
Jebel Sahro - considered some of the most beautiful mountains in Morocco
A night in our desert bivouac with musicians and campfire – 50kms from the nearest road
Excellent accommodation
Great Food
Alcohol available every night – we bring the beers and wine to our bivouac

There are only 11 places. 

Here are some previous blogs to whet your appetite. http://sideburnmag.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/SUNBURN

Ben did the trip earlier this year. Read all about it in Sideburn 21.

Email us at dirt @ sideburnmagazine.com if you're interested. G

BOOKING AND PAYMENTS - The 30% deposit paid at the time of booking is accepted as part of the total cost of the tour and will not be refunded unless the applicant cannot be offered a place. The balance of the total cost for the tour must reach us no later than EIGHT weeks before the tour date.

Erg Chebbi

"An inverted tear-drop shape, spanning an area of 125 square kilometres, 20km west of the Algerian border (closed since 1994). ‘Don’t stray too far, they’ll chuck you in the slammer,’ says John. The giant golden sand pit of Erg Chebbi, with the 150-metre-high Cathedral Dunes in its centre, pushes up the skyline. We detach our satnavs. Our bearings removed. This is the only section of the tour where John rides with us and gives us specific technical instruction as to how to proceed in this alien environment. If an episode of The Mighty Boosh were to be written about motocross, they would surely be riding over mountains of caramel blancmange...." BP

Read the full story of my five days riding with 13 others, in the Sahara, for our first Sideburn Sunburn tour, in Sideburn #21.
It wasn't all sand, sand, sand, sweaty scruttocks. Plenty of rocks and cooling rivers too. BP

Fuel Scram Africa BMW

From Karles at Fuel, Barcelona.

Hi all, 
Just a few lines to introduce you our last build: the Fuel Scram/7 The bike was built to be ridden at the Scram Africa trip and the pics has been taken as the bike was when arrived after 2.000km of roads, trails and dunes. Hope you like! 
Kind regards 
Karles Vives 

The FUEL SCRAM/7 project started 2 years ago when Mark from Australia participated into the Scram Africa, a trip to desert for classic and neoclassic bikes organized by us.

After that experience he asked us to build a bike to participate again this year.

The donor bike is a BMW R100/7 from 1977 and the main goal was to convert that road bike into a scrambler .

To achieve that goal we start changing the entire front for a Suzuki DR 650 fork and  21”wheel. The fork was trimmed for better bike geometry and the rear shocks were replaced for a longer Ohlins ones.

To get even more height we remove the original oil pan for a new one more robust and narrow getting more height on the bike

The tank is from a BMW R27 with 17 liters capacity which gives sufficient autonomy for the stages of the trip.

We love to add to our builds some creative details…on this bike, we have added a compass at the top of the tank ..you can’t get lost in the desert!

For a better scrambler look we mount a new high exhaust pipe on the right side with a modified Ural silencer at the end.

The tires was a customer request, on the rear we got a Maxxis Maxxcross Soft  Terrain, a tyre designed for riding on really deep sand and mud and a Pirelli Scorpion MX on the front.

Inside the tires we mounted a tubeless sistem called Nuetech Tubliss, wich replaces conventional inner tubes with a small red 100 psi insert that creates two different pressure zones inside the tire itself. This increased tire stability and eliminates pinch flats. In turn, this allows you to run very low tire pressure for massive gains in traction and a much plusher ride

A high seat and rear rack gives an old enduro look and practicality at the same time.

The Fuel Scram/7 finished the 2.000km trip with no damages and Mark greatly enjoyed the ride through the sand and dunes. 

 Main Mods

-Classic trial front light

-Analogue speedometer for BMW

-70’s enduro handlebar

-Oury grips

-Ohlins vintage rear shock

-Maxxis Maxxcross rear tire

-Pirelli Scorpion MX front tire

-Handmade exhaust pipe

-Seat designed and built by Fuel

-Handmade subframe

-Odyssey battery

-New front and rear fenders

-Off road footpegs

Scram Africa photos by Manel Portugal

Sideburn Sunburn Good Times

Our first Sideburn endorsed moto trip was awesome. A game-changer. We couldn't have amassed a more fun group of 14 guys from 3 different countries. Thanks to John of Moto Aventures for shepherding us so professionally. From ponderous river crossings in the High Atlas, perilous rocky cliff faces, a flat out dash across a firing range and conquering the mighty 150 meter high Sahara dunes of Erg Chebbi, we did it all - often with comedy aplomb. A happily relentless challenge to man and machine - but mostly man, as the 450 KTM EXC excellently prepared/repaired by Hussein every evening, were so forgiving.

Spectacular scenery every which where. Everyone said they would absolutely do it all again - once their bruises and blisters have healed.
Thanks too to Su and Maryam, for pre-production and real-time lubrication, ensuring everything ran smoothly. BP

GI posted a few highlights shot by various riders, whilst I was away, on the Sideburn Instagram

Wardrobe Dilemma

This time tomorrow I will finally be trekking over the Atlas Mountains and into the Sahara! Months of intense training will be challenged - I've put back on the 1kg I lost a week ago through nervous cake eating. My dickie knee that the Dr just drained 24ml of "Oh it looks like Castrol GTX?!" (said the professional, when he was expecting it to be a clear yellow liquid not thick black gunk), is already podgy again. In the next hour (real-time as I write this blog post) I need to overcome my teenage girl club night wardrobe dilemmas and just stuff something into a suitcase. Strappy sandals do seem like the best option for refreshing airiation. السلام عليكم BP

photo Pierre Bourdieu

Day 13

Day 13 of my regime, and no stones, or even single pebble, have been lost. Disappointing, considering that's plodding every day except Sunday and the last two days as Man Flu has grounded me.

Blogging hours traded for jogging miles have not given me healthy enlightenment, although I should feel slightly self righteous. I'm certain that I've gone down a cup size from an E to a double D. My wife says I 'look' slimmer.

Then I thought running to up-tempo music might up my RPM and increase calorie burn. It sort of worked for 20 minutes but made me want to puke, and I don't like going to discos in daylight hours anyway.
Seeing as this is all in aid of a Sahara adventure, it makes sense to better replicate the stifling atmospheric conditions with a fur lined coat and my new Barstow 100% goggles. Combined with the oversize DJ headphones, I look like a weekender bender escapee. Jog on. BP

Humbling

There you are, riding around the Moroccan desert, feeling elated by how well you're coping with your first time in the dunes. You have all the gear, and a soupçon of idea and a KTM 450 on the right tyres. You're feeling quite the Peterhansel.
Then you hear a distant noise. Like a house fly stuck in a Coke bottle. You look around and see a teenage fossil seller, carving the dunes on a Motobecane, with a great sack of polished rocks balanced on the frame, kept in place with his sandal-shod feet. And he's wearing a sun hat.
Oh yes, you're quite the Dakar hero. G
Photo: MotoAventures

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…

Mopeds of the Medina

When I'm a billionaire and I've already got my Amsterdam pizza delivery boy MotoGP up and running, the next project will be another life threatening street race but set in amongst the tiny Souks of Marrakesh. The max speed obtainable on such puny step-through machines wont render it as terrifying as Macau, but then again Macau isn't awash with donkey piss, toothless beggars, carpet salesmen trying to abduct your wife, and dumb tourists stumbling about.
I've just got back from a week's family holiday. We stayed in a cheapo riad with air-con that actually heated our room up above the ambient street temp. Icecream couscous became our staple diet. But it's an amazing place. I had hoped to sneak off for a couple of days KTM'ing with Wilderness Wheels, but my back was still out, so I had to make do with a one day taxi trip into the spectacular Atlas mountains and daily gorking at mopeds.
BP