Several types of motorcycles can be called ‘trackers.’ The original is the board tracker, named after the machines that raced on board tracks in the USA in the 1910s and 1920s.
In the 1930s, as the board tracks faded away, flat trackers appeared: street bikes modified to race on dirt or clay ovals. Past icons include the Harley-Davidson XR-750, but others include machines from BSA, Norton and Triumph. This style is still popular today, with interest spurred by an intense rivalry between Harley-Davidson and Indian.
Flat trackers (or dirt trackers, as they are sometimes known) do not have front brakes, but the slimmed-down style is popular with builders of street customs. These can be based on virtually any middleweight motorcycle, but your typical ‘street tracker’ has 18- or 19-wheels, a slim and elongated fuel tank, a short and kicked up tail unit, and sometimes a high-mount exhaust.
The world of custom motorcycles is full of beautiful machines, but many of them see little mileage. While that doesn’t stop us from admiring them, we’re suckers for bikes that are designed to be ridden in anger. Right now, we’re hooked on this BMW R nineT flat track weapon, built by Dan Riley. Based in…
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Commuter motorcycles don’t usually excel in the styling department, but they don’t need to either. As long as they’re cheap, sip fuel, and are dainty enough to weave through traffic, you’re good. On the bustling roads of Taiwan, the commuter bike is king. One of the world’s largest manufacturers of scooters and small-capacity motorcycles, SYM,…
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The great thing about flat track racing is that anyone can have a crack. You don’t need a rocket scientist crew chief, or clever throttle body setups to have fun: there’s a series for every man and every budget. The bug has even bitten Bill Bryant, the man behind the Biltwell Inc aftermarket empire. And…
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Two weeks ago, we revealed George Woodman’s cute little Honda SS50. But George had a further ace up his sleeve: he was working on another, equally quirky project. Et voilà, here it is: a stunning 1972 Aermacchi 350 TV SS, adorned with George’s signature wooden touches. (And if the Italian marque sounds familiar to our…
Read more »Indian has finally revealed details of its production street tracker, the FTR 1200—the most hotly anticipated bike launch of recent months. The…
Read more »Kawasaki are making waves in the neo-retro scene with the well-reviewed Z900RS. But truth be told, we still really miss the simple,…
Read more »The Glemseck 101 festival being held this weekend is a high-octane celebration of speed and power. At this very moment, thousands of…
Read more »Harley-Davidson owned the internet yesterday. Unless you live under a solid aggregate of minerals, you’ll know that the Motor Co. teased its…
Read more »Like many of you, we’re total suckers for racing machines—especially flat trackers. And although we’re captivated by American iron like the Indian…
Read more »You could argue that the modern custom scene owes its success to Universal Japanese Motorcycles. They’re affordable, reliable and easy to pull…
Read more »If you live in the UK and you want a fast street tracker or a well-sorted flat track racer, you call Steve…
Read more »The Ducati Scrambler is an obvious fit for ‘casual’ flat track racing. Ducati even made a ‘Flat Track Pro’ limited edition in…
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