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 -
Gravel Crew Honda CB400SS
The Honda CB400ss is a reliable and highly capable thumper that produces 29hp and 23ft-lbs of torque, the original bike weighs in at just 139kgs (306lbs) and by the looks of it, this reworked version is even lighter still.
Ayrton Senna Arrives – The 1984 Mercedes Nürburgring Race
The 1984 Mercedes Saloon Car race at the Nürburgring was meant to be a casual affair, quite who thought it actually would be a casual affair is unclear. It seems naive to think that a race track stacked with some of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time, all in identical cars, would be anything other than a four-wheeled version of a bare knuckle fist fight.
Lady Moto
50 internet points to anyone who can tell us the make and model of the bike she’s on. Ben BranchArticles that Ben has written…
Rebel Harness Motorcycle Boots by Durango
Finding motorcycle boots is a matter of balance. At one end of the spectrum you have the hyper-modern-flashy-graphics boots with carbon fibre toe guards and dayglo neon logo’s emblazoned across every inch of available space and at the other end of the spectrum you have the “I’m a hard-core dentist wannabe biker” boots that are generally all black with lots of shiny chrome studs (and maybe even spurs).
The Supercharged – Nitros Injected Koppa Kafe Racer
Bolting a supercharger onto the side of a Honda CB750, then adding nitros, seems like the work of a maniacal, café racer obessed genius. And in this case, that’s exactly what it is. Built by Carpy, the tattooed two-wheeled engineering whizz over at CB750 Café.
DKW Motorcycles Production Line – Circa 1927
Das Kleine Wunder or “the little wonder” was the name of the first two-stroke engine used in a DKW motorcycle, by the late 1920s and early 1930s DKW was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world and in 1932, DKW merged with Wanderer, Audi and Horch to form the infamous Auto Union.
Skully Tee by Deus Ex Machina
Deus Ex Machina turn out some of the coolest motorcycles on Earth, no one’s going to argue that, they also have a clothing label and for anyone with an eye for design, the clothing label is a winner.
Isle of Man Scooter Racing – Circa 1970
I never knew that people raced scooters at the Isle of Man, until last week when I discovered this footage and became an immediately happier person. I like scooters. I know that this makes me less of a man in the eyes of hard-core motorcycle dudes but I don’t care. There’s a lot to be said for a 50cc smoke-spewing two-stroke.
Vintage Corvette Poster
This retro Corvette poster just made my day, the ’58 Corvette is one of the best looking American cars ever made as far as I’m concerned and the gorgeous minimalistic graphic design of this late-50s advertisement does it ample justice.
Stealth by Blitz Motorcycles
The Stealth was built for Edwin, a clothing manufacturer, and is based on the Yamaha TW 125. The TW is an 11hp “go-anywhere” bike with an oversized rear tire designed for beaches/sand-dunes and an exceptionally light frame.
Gangster Waxed Jacket by Belstaff
I like Belstaff Jackets, I own two of them and I always feel they can make anyone look that little bit cooler. Hell, I…
Airborne Harley-Davidson WLA
Jumping a 562lb hard-tail Harley WLA whilst wearing a gas mask and a flimsy tin helmet automatically elevates anyone to hall-of-famer status in my World-view.