PISTONHEAD RUN, FINLAND....part three

The show was held on a local camp-site close to Mala's house. It was a small and intimate gathering with some interesting people turning up. Friday night, a 2 piece band SPOON HILL played (bass drum, tuba, acoustic guitar and harmonica) I ended up joining them on percussion. Oddly enough ....a guy from Lancaster rolled up....it turns out we share the same barber!

Viva Montesa!

Whilst trawling through old family photos at my parent's house, I found this gem.

That's my sister and me on my Dad's Montesa back in about 1973. Not a clue why we are both wearing RAF dress hats.

THE MAKING OF 'DIRT QUAKE' TEASER TRAILER

 Great day recently, filming the teaser trailer for Sideburn Magazine's next event DIRT QUAKE.
Weather was amazing, Hayley Saull and Dan Walsh from Patteran Productions did a super job as did my co-star Wilky # 99!
Extra big thanks to Kaitlyn, our glamourous starter girl who patiently hung around all day waiting for her call...and also Jonathon Saull for taking the photos.

Bikes featured in the shoot were my '82 Suzuki GS 850 shaft drive and Wilkys newly imported '38 Harley Flathead. The bikes were required to be street legal for the road sequences and it was a bit of a challenge to achieve that. Wilkys bike wasn't even registered in the UK and mine had been stood in a damp shed for over six years. Favours were called,  queue-jumping MOT's sorted by Gary at NORTHWEST CUSTOMS, emergency carb stripdown, new battery and filters by Paul and Tony respectively at PITSTOP MOTORCYCLES.
Wilky jumped through hoops to re-register his sickle on a UK plate....just in the nick of time.
The choppers rode surprisingly good out on the track....considering the hardtail frame, high bars and forward foot positioning. the Flathead developed a fault half way through the day....but Wilky somehow managed to keep her running and got the job done....a real trooper!

Keep an eye out for a cameo appearance by SKOOTER FARM team manager Joe Crawford!

Watch the trailer

DIRT QUAKE PREVIEW from SIDEBURN on Vimeo.


More event details http://sideburnmag.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/dirt-quake.html

VERONA EXPO part three ...MR. MARTINI

Mr. Martini is a big TRIUMPH dealer in Verona.....across the street from his dealership he operates a small retail shop selling really nice customised vintage and modern Triumphs. The shop looks and feels more like a VIVIAN WESTWOOD/AGENT PROVOCATEUR lingerie emporium than a bike shop. To say Mr. Martini is an Anglophile would be an understatement, for his stand at the show he rented a London double-decker bus and utilised the top floor as a VIP lounge.
The geezer in the last shot is on the Mr. Martini payroll, his neck tattoo says "IT CANNOT RAIN FOREVER".......He's obviously never been to Manchester!!

VERONA EXPO part two... EVEL KNIEVEL EXHIBITION

The Evel Knievel exhibition was on display at the show. It all packs into a big trailer and is on tour throughout Europe for all of 2011. The blue leathers are the ones he wore for the Wembley Stadium Jump. Also on display was the Canyon Sky Cycle (complete with damaged nose cone) his XR750 he used for the jump over the tank of sharks, the EK Dragster and the Jet-Bike. The highlight of the exhibition was a skeleton showing all of Evels broken bones........I purchased an EK bathrobe!

Czech Coolness..... part one

60's Czechoslovakia is my new Utopia!!
Here's some groovy ads for the city  runaround MZ ETS 250cc.
This was the first road bike I owned. It was actually registered on the log book as a 125cc and I rode it on L-plates and even took my test on it.....folks used to say "that's pretty quick for a 125!".....that's because it was a 250...

Wigan Speedway

 Infinitely more famous for rugby league and football,Wigan had its fair share of speedway racing with not just one but two different venues. Poolstock Stadium was the home of Wigan Warriors in 1947. The team upped sticks and moved to Fleetwood in 1948, although they returned to Poolstock again in 1960. incredibly, Laurel and Hardy came to watch the racing in 1947. They were speedway fans and were appearing in nearby town, Bolton. Apparently they came along to cheer on a he/she mystery rider known as "The White Ghost". Woodhouse Lane Stadium was also used briefly in the early 1950s, this local team was known as the Wigan Panthers. I didn't know anything about this local bike history but I wanna find out some more.....