The final editions of the 47 Ronin all have special one-off paintjobs. Some are still for sale, with prices starting at $45,000.

Sideburn's editor (me, Gary Inman) was the first journalist to visit the company's impressive Denver headquarters. We featured the bike and company in Sideburn 19. Our resident poet race it at Pikes Peak and wrote about the experience in Sideburn 22. G

SOLD OUT
We have very limited quantities of Sideburn 19 with the special cover we made for the mighty Biltwell of Temecula, California. These are just a few samples we had sent here.

The magazine is identical to Sideburn 19, only the cover is different, so this is only for the completist or collector.

Go to One-Off Wednesday to buy.

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]

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

The other day I pulled some records off the shelf and played them for the first time in about 18 years. One was by Gas Huffer. I bought it from Bad Records in Leeds on 24 September 1994, 20 years ago. I know that because I always used to save the receipts and slip them into the plastic, protective sleeve I'd always buy at the same time I bought a new LP. Yes, quite the nerd.
Anyway, this Gas Huffer LP, One Inch Masters, on Epitaph, came with a free comic. In the comic the band go to Des Moines and play a gig at a club called Hairy Mary's. Back then, 1994, I didn't know how to pronounce Des Moines (it's Duh Moyne, by the way), but might've known it was in Iowa. I sure as shit didn't know Hairy Mary's was a real place.
Jump forward 20 years and the manager of Hairy Mary's (at the time Gas Huffer played there, and featured it in their comic), was Jeff Wright. Jeff Wright, the man behind Church of Choppers and co-founder of FTWCo. Jeff Wright who is interviewed by Ryan Quickfall for the current issue, Sideburn 19.
I keep having very weird coincidences. Am I a witch? G

We have a great interview with Sammy Halbert for our on-going Who? What? series in SB#19, with a stunning pen drawing by Luke Dixon.
Order the new illustration-heavy issue here. BP

UPDATE
Here is the full list of subjects we've interviewed for this series (this isn't all Sideburn's interviews, just ones for this regular slot).

ISSUE  RIDER
3            Dick Mann
4            Don Castro
5            Dave Aldana
6            Gene Romero
7            Eddie Lawson
8            Scott Parker
9            Jay Springsteen
10          Chris Carr
11          Bubba Shobert
12          Steve Morehead
13          Mert Lawwill
14          Joe Kopp
15          Nick Hayden
16          Jim Rice
17          Brad Baker
18          Skip Aksland
19          Sammy Halbert

UPDATE: NOW WITH CORRECT POSTCODE - B9 4AA

Don't forget NEXT SATURDAY.

WHAT: Sideburn 19 launch + official shop opening + free motorbike film festival until 11pm.
WHEN: 1-6pm, Saturday 6 December
WHERE: Monday Mo Co, Birmingham, B9 4AA, UK

Plus prizes for best bike and furthest travelled.

That means there's a new issue of SIDEBURN due any day!

Order yours from sideburn.bigcartel.com

Sideburn 19 is now available for pre-order.
If you order BEFORE 3 December your complete order will go out on or close to 3 December.

100 high quality pages, still for £5 (plus post). Includes:

Lennard Schuurmans cover
Ronin road test
Speed Merchant Thresher Harley 500 at Perris
Sammy Halbert interview
Mutant Honda Bros DTRA racer
Dirt Quake III heroes
FTWCo and Jeff Wright
Tai Woffinden - Speedway World Champ misfit
Hodaka History
The Grey Coffin - Bultaco
Hell on Wheels Japan event report

Plus Top Trump, Travis's poem and Mark Brelsford's Trophy Queen.

Get yours at the Sideburn shop.

WHERE: Monday Mo Co, a new shop in Birmingham,  B9 4AA

This brand new shop is co-owned by a few people including Benny Boneshaker and people from the creative agency, I Love Dust. It sells Biltwell, Deus Ex Machina, Sideburn magazine and a bunch of other stuff including their own T-shirts.

WHEN: 1 - 6pm, Saturday 6 December. With motorcycle films being shown in the Mockingbird Theatre and Bar next door till 11pm.

WHAT: We don't do a release party for every issue, just when the opportunities arise and this one is perfect.
We wanted to do something with the Monday Mo Co in Birmingham and they had just announced Black Top, a film festival of bike movies.
Visit the new shop, pick up some stuff from Monday Mo Co or the Sideburn stall, check out a film, some music, some drinks...

Prizes for best bike and furthest travelled.

Hope to see you there.

Poster artwork: Jonathan Niclaus at I love Dust 

We're proud to announce Andrew from Bixby Moto is writing about the Hell of Wheels Japan race for the next Sideburn (out in early-December). We're pretty sure we're the last magazine to get around to covering this event, but our article is worth the wait.
If you don't know about them, investigate the Bixby Moto YouTube Channel. G
 Andrew. I'm pretty sure he's Canadian.
Drew's fantastic W650 complete with desert paddle tyre. This is the bike he raced in Japan (with different rubber).