I’ve heard rumours of balloon tires being used on WWII motorcycles in North Africa, I’ve been struggling to find any references to them though. As always, if you know more than I do, let us all know in the comments below!
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.
We damn near had no film. The sinking sun gave us a hard out of around 6:10 pm and my watch read 5:30. Months of planning, a lot of money and the sliver of a reputation I had nearly joined the disappearing daylight.
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 Supermarine Spitfire The Spitfire is not only one of the most consequential aircraft of the Second World War, it’s also one of the most famous aircraft of the 20th century. Originally developed in the mid-1930s, the Spitfire was designed by Supermarine to fill Air Ministry specification F7/30, calling for a modern fighter capable of…
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…
The Yamaha RZ350 Kenny Roberts Edition is a holy grail for fans of two-strokes, it was the last street-legal two-stroke ever offered for sale in the USA due to tightening emissions regulations, and the RZ350 remains so popular today that entire races are dedicated to them called “RZ Cups”. The Yamaha RZ350 Kenny Roberts Edition In order to…
The Rickman Metisse Triumph is one of the most thoroughly British motorcycles we’ve featured in some time. Not only does it have a British engine and transmission thanks to Triumph, it has a Rickman frame and bodywork, and just to cap things off, it’s parked outside the Ace Cafe in London – the original home…
