BSH 344 TO THE FORE

And so, as the delicate doily underpants of autumn are rent asunder by the mighty flatulence of winter, we are rolling into November, month of fireworks and fog, dark mornings and darker nights. But one bright note of cheery in a gloomy month is the arrival of BSH 344 on the newsstands this very Thursday. Vic Jefford’s latest build, the dazzling ‘Carousel’, features on the cover while, inside we have an array of bikes, from Sean’s frankly quite mad Virago to Jeremy Cupp’s stylish ‘Old Black’. Plus, there’s massive coverage of the Trip Out and of Stormin’ The Castle, of Tribal Kelts’ Gathering, the Rock & Bike Show and Mecrin, as well as all the usual good stuff like Tech, Trike Tech and Ogri. And this month there’s a chance to win a load of groovy stuff for Christmas with our ridiculously simply competitions. See, November just got a whole load better!

BRIDGE OF SIGHS. AND GROANS. AND INSURANCE CLAIMS...

This railway bridge in Durham, North Carolina, has been standing for over a hundred years but that doesn't still stop trucks, caravans and RVs crashing into it on a regular basis. This is despite the fact that the city of Durham has installed signs to warn of the 11', 8" clearance for some three blocks leading up to the bridge or that there is a warning beam across the road beforehand with a large banner saying 'If you hit this beam you will hit the bridge'. But still they come and still they crash, on average with one accident every month...

THE SHREDDER

By now, we’re all pretty familiar with the two-wheeled pedestrian conveyance, the Segway, even if we’d never been see dead on one. Student MIT Ben Gulak thought the same, so he set out to take the Segway and make it sexy. His first attempt, the Uno, was an electric vehicle which, with the flip of a switch, could transform from unicycle into motorcycle mid-ride. Gulak intended to market the Uno to Asia but, even after convincing Canada’s version of ‘Dragons Den’ to invest some $1.25 million in the model’s development, he realized that he would never be able to jump through all the legal hurdles required. He says; “Segway spent almost a quarter of a billion dollars getting its vehicle certified for sidewalk use. I would never be able to raise that sort of capital.” So, instead, he developed an idea for a vehicle that would be more focused on speed and would also be cheaper to produce. The result is the Shredder, an all-terrain vehicle with tank treads, a bike throttle and the agility of a snowboard or skateboard. It has a 200cc engine, can tow up to 400lbs and can travel at up to 30mph. Although instantly popular with adrenalin junkies, snowboarders and skateboarders, Gulak says it also doubles as a rugged workhorse for the army, law enforcement, hunting, farming and other industries and he is currently in negotiation with the military to develop the Shredder as a robotic pack mule which could haul loads of up to 800lbs over rocky terrain. However useful it could be, we reckon it just looks like a whole load of fun.

ALEX'S CALIFORNIA ESCAPE

MOTORDROME

One of the coolest little videos you'll see in a while...

Motordrome - Board Track Motorcycle Racing in the US from Deluxe Ride on Vimeo.

PRESCOTT AUTUMN CLASSIC HILL CLIMB

SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIFES: Pt 20

BSH343 STANDS AND DELIVERS

In the United States, October is National Pork Month. It’s also Clergy Appreciation Month, although I don’t think the two are necessarily linked. Or particularly compatible, unless you’re a Catholic priest with a penchant for tender meat. Here, in the United Kingdom, October sees the dawn of BSH 343 which will beat a pig’s trotter hands down. Or, perhaps, feet down. This month’s issue includes a Brat-style BMW, a hardtail CB350, a Wiltshire-brewed caff racer, Malcolm Green’s remarkable Virago trike, a mental V-Max and Borderline’s fabulous ‘Ironbourne’ boardtrack-inspired build. There’s coverage of the Bulldog Bash, Creature’s Small Change Rally, the Tsunami Riders’ Ride The Wave, Norwich Harley-Davidson’s Open Day, Kingman Bike Day and some more stuff on Faro. And, of course, the splendid Ogri. So, pull up a sausage, stroke a vicar and settle down to a good old read. On sale on 4th October 2012.

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