BLOG | sideburn

Feb 27

Team Profile: NKR Canada

We heard about the new NKR Canada team through americanflattrack.com. The team's whole focus is to introduce young Canadian talent into AFT, starting in 2021 with Hunter Bauer (above). We realised we knew the force behind the NKR team, team manager, Niki Kendall, through the Vancouver Flat Track Club, in British Columbia, so we set up an interview to find out more about AFT's newest team manager and her plans. When did you first become involved with flat track, either as a f

Indian Contingency Calculations

Feb 20

Indian Contingency Calculations

Indian officially announced that they would run a two-man Wrecking Crew (as we reported earlier in the week). This is made up of a one-man factory team of reigning champ Briar Bauman, and the factory-supported independent (but not a true privateer), the former champ, Jared Mees. This is the first time in the new Indian team's lifespan that they've had two-rather than three riders on their 'Wrecking Crew' (see why we think that make business sense in BronBo Goes Private). On t

BronBo Goes Private

Feb 17

BronBo Goes Private

News has broken that Bronson Bauman will be riding a privateer Indian FTR750 for the 2021 season. The younger of the Bauman brothers will be supported by Indian Motorcycle of Oklahoma, among others. He says, 'I plan to contest the entire series and chase down the championship on my own dime and time. I want to thank all of the supporters who stepped up to keep me on the racetrack this year. Racing for a factory for two seasons was a dream come true, but I still have goals to

2Fast2Tasty

Jan 18

2Fast2Tasty

AFT has secured a non-bike industry sponsor for the the 2021 SuperTwins class and reintroduced a mouthwatering element of race day. Founded in America, Mission Foods are makers of tortillas, tortilla chips, flatbreads, and other baked products, and sponsors fo McLaren Racing, in F1 and Indy cars, plus field sports teams in the US and Australia. The announcement of a new sponsor doesn't normally warrant a post on the Sideburn blog, but the added interest here is that Mission F

More AFT 2020 Rules

Dec 6, 2020

More AFT 2020 Rules

As promised, here are some more rules proposed by American Flat Track for 2021. AFT say they are in a final evaluation phase. We picked up on the SuperTwins engine and electronic rules first, but the ones below spell a big shake-up too. GI Memberships, Licenses, Credentials and Entries All Classes will utilize Team Owner structure (as introduced in SuperTwins in 2020) Details TBA So, this means that the team enters the race and 'supplies' the rider. I'm not 100% sure why they

XR750: 50 Years of Wins

Nov 24, 2020

XR750: 50 Years of Wins

Evan Senn, the filmmaker behind Fast & Left, was commissioned by Harley-Davidson to make a film to commemorate 50 years since the release of the XR750. He approached me to write a script to tie the interviews he had planned together. I'm glad I said yes, because he's made a beautiful film with legends of the sport. Well done, Evan, people will watch this, and watch it again, for years to come. GI #fastandleft #evansenn #HarleyDavidson #xr750 #Harleyxr750 #ChrisCarr #JaySpring

AFT Season Finale

Oct 15, 2020

AFT Season Finale

AFT are on the cusp of completing what many thought they'd struggle to do, finishing a meaningful season of racing. They've have to adapt, reschedule and work flat out, but they've delivered seven double-header racing weekends, with Daytona Short Track this weekend, being the final. The season started on 17 July, four months later than schedule, but is ending less than a month later than planned. The Singles class is wrapped up, with Dallas Daniels as champ, and we hear he wi

This Time Last Year...

Oct 10, 2020

This Time Last Year...

We were meeting up with Jeffrey Carver in a bar in Kathmandu, ready for Sideburn's first Nepal trip. Last night he won his first AFT race in over two years, at the Charlotte Half-Mile. I can't think of a pro flat track racer I don't like, but there aren't many I like as much as #23. Nepal photo: Andrew Neri Podium photo: Lassen/ American Flat Track #JeffreyCarver #AFT2020 #AmericanFlatTrack #AFTSuperTwins #IndianFTR750 #SideburnNepal

What’s happening at Estenson Yamaha?

Oct 9, 2020

What’s happening at Estenson Yamaha?

And what does it mean for AFT SuperTwins? Going into the penultimate race weekend of the year, a glance at the AFT SuperTwins standings reveals grim reading for Yamaha fans, and worse still for the Estenson team. Combining the scores for the Yamaha USA-supported riders, JD Beach and Kolby Carlile, sees a total of 118pts: 68 for Beach, 50 for Carlile. That leaves them in 14th and 15th respectively, out of 16 full-time and five occasional/wild card riders. 118pts is fewer than

AFT: Relentless

Oct 8, 2020

AFT: Relentless

AFT's relentless Covid-era schedule continues this week with another double-header. The Charlotte Half-Mile, a banked clay, car racing half-mile. Racing is taking place on Friday and Saturday. Depending how results go, all three championships could be wound up this weekend, but as it stands, AFT SuperTwins is most open. Briar Bauman, #1, is just 12pts ahead of Jared Mees, #9, the latter coming off the back of a double-win last weekend at the Atlanta Short Track. Third place S

AFT Atlanta Rnd 1

Oct 3, 2020

AFT Atlanta Rnd 1

Not too many shock results last night, but that doesn't mean they weren't noteworthy. AFT SINGLES Dallas Daniels #32 is the most hyped young rider in more than a decade and he's proven his supporters were right. Four race wins on the trot, six wins in total this season, more than the rest of the field combined and stretching his title lead over Henry Wiles in second m the title race. Wiles came in 5th on the night. Mischler, #13, was second, Brandon Kitchen third. It's just n

Episode 2: Royal Enfield AFT Journey

Oct 2, 2020

Episode 2: Royal Enfield AFT Journey

Royal Enfield has again allowed Sideburn to debut another in their short film series following the journey of the MotoAnatomy x Royal Enfield American Flat Track race team. After the highs of successful debut at Williams Grove, PA, the team travelled to the Devil's Bowl Speedway, Texas, for two more rounds on a sticky, banked half-mile. Watch the film to see what happened. The team are not competing this weekend's races in Atlanta, but Royal Enfield will be their the Build. T

EXCLUSIVE: First view of Royal Enfield race film

Sep 23, 2020

EXCLUSIVE: First view of Royal Enfield race film

Royal Enfield North America asked Sideburn to debut the new video following Johnny Lewis building and racing his new Royal Enfield American Flat Track Production Twins race bike for the very first time. Er... Yeah! The film follows JL10 from assembling the bike, days before the race, through to the end of the weekend in an engaging four minutes. Royal Enfield say, 'The Royal Enfield Twins FT is a joint effort between Royal Enfield and Moto Anatomy, Lewis' proprietary race tea

Next up: AFT Texas

Sep 23, 2020

Next up: AFT Texas

There's another double-header this weekend, at the Devil's Bowl, Texas, a high-banked clay oval. One of the talking points of the event is that it is the home race of one of the sponsors. Not one of the racers, as is normally spoken about, but the sponsor Roof Systems. AFT say the company is 'not only the title sponsor of the doubleheader but also a key backer of nearly twenty riders spread across the three classes.' The importance of this one sponsor cannot be underestimated

Racing for the Bling

Sep 15, 2020

Racing for the Bling

I'm not a jewellery wearer, but I might change that for one of these. If you watch AFT's live feed you'll have heard Scottie Deubler mention the rings that Thom Duma, Fine Jewellers, one of the series sponsors, makes for the champs. These are the 2020 rings awaiting the class winners of SuperTwins, Singles and Production Twins. Thom Duma is also one of the Rookies Class of 79 charity that helps injured riders, and a national level racer in his day. That's him below, wearing D

So, What Happened?

Sep 14, 2020

So, What Happened?

As reported over the weekend, Johnny Lewis debuted the Royal Enfield Production Twins at the AFT's Williams Grove Half-Mile event. Friday was encouraging, with the bike coming in sixth from a field of 15. On Saturday, during the semis for the second of the weekend's double-header races, Lewis was running well, just behind reigning champ Cory Texter, when his twin started blowing huge clouds of white oil smoke. The rider seemed oblivious for a lap or so, and was black flagged.

Royal Enfield x MotoAnatomy

Sep 12, 2020

Royal Enfield x MotoAnatomy

Just yesterday, on the blog, we noted that Johnny Lewis was on the AFT Production Twins entry list, but we weren't 100% sure he was racing because we'd see a social media post he made hinting the Harris-framed Royal Enfield twin arrived from the UK on midweek, or at least was uncrated midweek. But, as these photos show, JL10 was out yesterday and muscling the new bike around harder than just about anyone else on track. We've been following this project since it was a concept

Sammy's Back

Sep 10, 2020

Sammy's Back

Sammy said all the right things when he was on the Vance & Hines Harley XG750R, and put it on the podium, and also came within a whisker of winning at it, but for a red flag when he was out front, but the statistics tell a different story. Sammy was Rookie of the Year in 2006 and the de facto GNC champ in 2009, if you, like we do, add the points for the singles and twins class (like it always used to be), Sammy had the most points. Instead, he's credited as Singles Champ and

Moroney's Fast Hogs

Sep 9, 2020

Moroney's Fast Hogs

When Sideburn launched, in early 2008, it was difficult for non-Americans to find out about flat track. US fans could travel to races and buy Cycle News, but there wasn't much more. Social media started to change that, then came Fanschoice.tv, introducing live racing to not only foreigners, but loads of Americans too. American Flat Track's website became a massive improvement of the former AMA Pro one, then regular podcasts appeared - Off The Groove and Tank Slappin'. Since l

Springfield x 3

Sep 4, 2020

Springfield x 3

There are three days of AFT Springfield Racing this weekend. It starts with the Singles competing on the Short Track today (Friday), then two days of the Twins classes on the Mile. This from AFT: The action kicks off today, Friday, September 4 with the AFT Singles presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys running back-to-back Main Events at the wild Springfield Short Track. On-track activity goes live today beginning at 3:45 p.m. ET (12:45 p.m. PT). Saturday, September 5 a

1

2 3 4 5