The look of pure nonchalance on the faces of Leo Payne and his frame-holding friend in this photograph still makes me smile. Leo was a well-known drag racer from the ’50s right through to the ’70s, he’s known for his technical expertise at developing nitro-methane racing carburettors and for being the first man to break the 200mph barrier on a non-streamlined motorcycle.
Read more about Leo here, via the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
Ben Branch has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, the official Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, 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 millions of readers around the world and hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
Written by Nathan Duff of Retromotive Magazine “You’re doing what???…Why??” Is the most common reaction I get when I tell friends and colleagues I have started my own car magazine. People keep on telling me it’s a dying industry, but you know what? I just don’t care. I love cars and car magazines. There were…
This feature was written by Jo-Ann McEwan, the editor of In Venus Veritas and a well-known fixture of the vintage motoring scene in Australia. Follow them on Instagram – Kate Peck – Jo-Ann McEwan For those unfamiliar with motorsport or Italian food, targa florio may sound like something one could expect to find on a…
This off-road racing motorcycle is the only one like it in the world – it was built in Sweden by a motocross racer as a parts-bin special that was considerably quicker than most of its competition. The Gold Star The bike started life as a BSA Gold Star, widely regarded as having one of the…
The James Brand Ellis folding knife is one of the most popular pocket knives from the Portland, Oregon based company. Only three materials are used when making the Ellis: steel, aluminum, and bronze. There’s no plastic, and nothing is used that won’t stand up to frequent use by multiple generations of the same family. The…
The Vault of the Petersen Automotive Museum The overwhelming majority of people driving down Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles have no idea that the unusual red and silver building they’re passing has a vault below ground level that contains well over $150 million USD worth of cars. Remarkably, the vault at the Petersen is more…
The US Army Survival Manual has been standard issue to soldiers for decades – saving countless lives over the years and becoming a de facto reference for not only military personnel, but also for outdoorsmen, survivalists, hikers, and overland adventurers. The internal layout of the book is designed to be simple and easy to navigate,…
