It occurred to me on seeing this photograph that I’ve never actually tried sleeping on a motorcycle. I slept next to one once due to the fact that I can occasionally be an idiot who forgets to turn his petcock from “reserve” to “normal” and as a result ended up a long way from nowhere with a motorcycle that was about as functional as a homeopathic flu remedy.
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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.
This Norton is a racing special built by legendary California Norton dealer Sonny Angel for racing duties in the USA. A Norton Featherbed frame was used as the starting point for the build, a favorite among motorcycle racers of the era and a design that was widely copied by other manufacturers.
I’d never seen a 1980 Mercury Cosworth Capri before stumbling across this one, and that shouldn’t really be that surprising as only one of them was ever made. The car is a proof-of-concept prototype overseen by the Ford Motor Company but actually developed by the Mercury and McLaren Engines Inc. The Cosworth BDA Connection McLaren Engines Inc. had previously…
The Harley-Davidson 11K was the American company’s first purpose-built V-twin racer – it was developed by Bill Ottoway, an early engineering genius who had been poached from Harley-Davidson’s rivals over at Thor. Harley-Davidson 11K Board Track Racer Although Harley-Davidson motorcycles had been used in competition previously, including a first race win in 1904 at The Milwaukee Mile with the…
The Racing Scene is a 1969 film presented by James Garner, interestingly it’s a personal favorite of Quentin Tarantino who showcased it at the New Beverly Theater in Los Angeles alongside the Steve McQueen classic Le Mans. The film covers a wide array of different racing series and formats including sports car racing at the…
This is the Husqvarna 400 Cross ridden by Steve McQueen in the seminal motorcycle documentary On Any Sunday – undoubtedly one of the most important motorcycle films ever made. The closing scene of the documentary famously features Mert Lawwill, Malcolm Smith, and movie star Steve McQueen riding over sand dunes and out across a beach…
This four-cylinder Windhoff was one of the most advanced motorcycles of its time thanks largely to its engine, which doubles as the motorcycle frame, and features oil-cooling, an overhead camshaft, and an engine block that acts as a giant radiator. Windhoff Motorcycles Windhoff Motorcycles, officially Windhoff Motorradenbau GmbH, began producing motorcycles in 1924 but the company…
