It’s hard enough to believe that our summer of fun is well under way, and while the office workers are battling for their sweat soaked seat on the overcrowded tube, my day consisted of taking delivery of a new bike, lent to me for Dirt Quake IV. The instructions were “Feel free to personalise the bike and do whatever you like to it, oh and have fun” I didn't have a clue what to expect, but when the Bike arrived, I was grinning ear to ear. Herald Motor Co. is a Cambridgeshire based importer and manufacturer known for their 125 and 250cc motorcycles. “Putting a smile on the riders face and not a huge hole in their pockets” is there raison d'être, and they deliver on both. The Mutt 250cc a single four stroke scrambler based on their retro inspired Classic 250. Out of the crate the Herald looks and sounds fantastic but collaborator Benny Thomas of Boneshakers works a bit of extra magic, adding the Mutt treatment. Essentially providing 1960s Californian Desert Sled cachet for not a lot of cash. Weighing in a 130kg (dry), the Mutt has all the character of a custom bike, but with the reliability and smoothness of a new bike. Benny, a former Herald customer, uses the Classic 125 as a base for the bikes he produces under the brand Mutt Motorcycles. The guys from Herald loved what he was doing so they joined forces and the Herald Mutt was born. Imported direct from China The Mutt 250 will leave you enough change from £4000 to buy some decent selvedge denim jeans, a pair of redwings and an open face lid. These guys are really doing something quite special for the money and could be bringing more non-custom riders into the market by providing such a sweet product. Plus if you drop the thing, parts are cheap. A replacement fuel tank for instance costs less than feeding the Bike Shed crew a single meal, at home! The first thing the guys do at Hearld when a shipment comes in, is change the engine oil and brake fluid to better grade Silkolene lubricants. Additionally on all 250 models they replace the battery, chain and sprockets, rear shock absorbers, brake pads, spark plug and the tyres. The guys at Hearld work hard to deliver a sound bike without hiking up the costs. The Mutt has presence; I could hear the rumble as I opened it up on the track and for my first run on it being the parade lap it was pretty confidence inspiring. This bike is fun and I got to dress up like a raven and race it around a track… what more could a girl ask for? It’s a good looking bike and perfect as a city commuter, but at the weekend, lose the number plate and you’ve got yourself a whole heap of dirty fun. Words: Vikki van Someren Photos: David Marvier Whilst Vikki was preening her raven wings and getting used to her new bike the rest of us battled it out in the Street Tracker and Inappropriate Road Bike classes. Here Timm Wellens tries to find grip out wide on his thoroughly un-race prepared 2001 Bonneville whilst Dutch hunts down the next guy on his W800 Tracker. Vikki's Native American roots were let loose on her suit and the Herald guys were happy for us to get all creative on the Mutt. Vikki and Ross were locked in battle for the crown of most outlandish outfit. In a bid to improve on last year's effort Ross broke out the paints and did some colouring-in on his newly acquired eBay purchase, though we are not sure quite how much beer was consumed prior to bidding, we suspect too much. After the bitter disappointment of not making it out of the car park for Dirt Quake III Ross put the hours in to make his Cagiva Tracker more reliable, or noisier depending on where you were standing. Dutch & The Duchess on their matching Trackers, how cute. On fresh dirt rubber, Dutch's Kawasaki W800 built by Will Allen went well and sounded fantastic. As usual the laughs and piss-taking made up for any on-track talent deficit. Guy Martin was showing off again this year, his new streamlined hair piece assisting him to multiple wins across 3 classes. Timm lost this smile shortly afterwards, along with his keys... as everyone was about to line up on the grid. Thanks to the Sideburn Magazine, The DTRA and all the volunteers & marshals for putting together such a fantastic event. And of course to Benny & Phil for sorting Vikki with a her Mutt. Thanks to Dominic Hinde for acting as snapper for the day, the full photo set without our mugs in them can be found here. There's also a vid by Dom