Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more. Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
Ben Branch -
The Girl on a Motorcycle
This photograph is from the film “The Girl on a Motorcycle”, a 1968 British-French film starring Alain Delon and Marianne Faithfull.
2013 Triumph Scrambler
The 2013 Triumph Scrambler is fitted with a parallel twin, 865cc, air-cooled engine that produces 58hp and a very respectable 50ft-lbs of torque. Carburettors have been discarded in order to meet EU emissions requirements so the engine is now fed by a multipoint sequential electronic fuel injection system with SAI, this has the added benefits of being more fuel efficient and making the bike exceedingly reliable.
Classified Moto Lamp
Search the globe and you’ll never find a cooler lamp than this, that main shaft is an authentic vintage shock absorber and the base is a brake disc.
Harley Cafe Racer by DP Customs
This is one of the newer customs from DP, it’s based on a Harley-Davidson 1200 Sportster but looks like a totally new animal. The front forks have been lowered then topped with RSD clip-on handlebars…
G. Maverick Pelle Motorcycle Jacket
The G. Maverick Pelle is an interpretation of the classic motorcycle jacket by Dainese, it’s made from top-grain leather and has spaces for elbow, shoulder and back protectors.
Chuck Yeager
This is a shot of Chuck Yeager climbing out of the Bell X-1 in 1949, Chuck was first human to break the sound barrier on October 14, 1947 sitting in the cockpit of this very plane.
1948 Norton ES2
This 1948 Norton 490cc ES2 is one of those timeless, classic motorcycles that I could actually afford. This leaves me in the precarious position of having to explain to the Mrs why this would be a good purchase…
Wood & Faulk Northwesterner Bag
We’ve featured Wood & Faulk in the past, every time I go back to their website I find new gear and invariably want to feature all of it. This is their Northwesterner Bag, it’s designed to be the perfect size for carrying onto a plane…
Merlin Engine Mechanics
This is a WWII ear photograph of trainee aircraft mechanics being trained in the finer details of Merlin engine maintenance.
730hp BMW Isetta “Whatta Drag”
I think it’s delightfully insane that someone thought it a good idea to take a slightly offbeat Hot Wheels model and make it a fire-breathing 730hp super-charged reality.
Folded iPhone Carry
This leather iPhone case by Apogee is the most tasteful case design I think I’ve ever seen, it’s made of a single piece of stone-oiled leather and is completely stitchless. It’s held together by 3 folds and one tuck and is said to develop its own unique patina over time.
Rally Ferrari
The cojones it would take to climb into a Ferrari, take it off the tarmac and start sliding it around on the gravel in the company of cars like the Audi Quattro and the Lancia Stratos defies description.