Articles that Ben Branch 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 -
Twinline Yamaha RD350 2-Stroke
You don’t often see 2-stroke bikes getting the makeover treatment, Twinline decided to step up and make things right with this exceptional Yamaha RD350 custom featuring a phenomenal paint work and a unique “goldhead” power-plant.
Ryca Motors CS-1 Café Racer
I’m a die-hard fan of lightweight thumpers. I’ve tried my hand at everything over the years, from adventure bikes to Ducati racers to Vespa 2-strokes but if I had to pick one style of bike to ride for the rest of my life it would be something very much like what you see in the picture above.
Evel Knievel Interview – 1971
This 1971 interview on The Dick Cavett Show features a relaxed, wise-cracking Evel Knievel. The interview has been split into 3 parts and, rather brilliantly, still has all the original early-70s television advertisements in place.
Terrot Motorcycles Poster
Terrot was a French motorcycle manufacturer based in Dijon, they started building motorcycles in 1902. By 1932 they had won the triple-championship in France having taken victories in the 250cc, 350cc and 500cc motorcycle racing classes. A few years later during the second world war, Terrot supplied thousands of sidecar motorcycles to the French army.
Deus Leather Briefcase
These leather and canvas briefacases/courier bags from Deus Ex Machina are perfect for those days you need carry more than your cellphone, helmet and keys, they’re big enough to carry up to a 17″ MacBook Pro and they come with detachable shoulder straps.
Jaguar V12 Coffee Table
The idea of coming home from work and placing a glass of cold beer on a coffee table made out of a Jaguar V12 milled from an aluminium mono-block has significant appeal to me. The block isn’t just for show either, the same company that produces these coffee tables also sells vehicle-ready V12 blocks
Steampunk Cufflinks by London Particulars
I’m not a big fan of the sort of attire that requires the use of cufflinks but in this particular case, I think I’ll make an exception. These magnificently intricate cufflinks are made by London Particulars and cost just $69 USD.
MG EX 181
In 1957 the MG Car Company arrived at the Bonneville Salt Flats with an unusually shaped vehicle and legendary racing driver Stirling Moss. The car was called the MG EX 181 and it was entered into the Class F land-speed series for cars with engines between 1.1 and 1.5 litres.
1970 1000 Kms de Spa Race Poster
There’s something iconic about racing posters such as this one, it’s almost as if back in the time before microprocessors and Photoshop the only people employed to make advertising materials were real artists, earning their crust. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some magnificent Photoshop work in my time, but nothing as iconic as this 1970 1000 kms de Spa race poster. It’s just beautiful.
eBay Find: 1953 Nash Ambassador Custom
Cars like this one are becoming rarer and rarer, this 1953 Nash Ambassador Custom is in immaculate condition throughout and has only 26,106 miles from new. I can only assume that the owner of this Nash is the most fastidious person on the face of the Earth. The exterior, interior and engine bay look almost new.
The Revolver by Carpy
Having started life as a 1976 Honda CB750 the bike had fallen on bad times and ended up sitting outdoors for over 20 years, 5 of which were in Carpy’s backyard. After receiving a commision for a new café racer build from an anonymous lady-racer in Australia he dragged it onto the back of his truck…
Serpico Aviators by Smith Optics
The Serpico range by Smith Optics falls into the retro aviator catagory, not a bad thing nowadays as many new sunglass-styles leave you looking like a surprised, futuristic bumblebee. Smith uses carbonic lenses (it’s a hard polycarbonite, not glass) to avoid the risk of getting broken glass thrust into your delicate eyeballs should you perform an accidental dismount off of whatever it is you were riding.