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 track racers appeared: street bikes modified to race on dirt or clay ovals. Past icons include the Harley-Davidson XR-750, but others include flat trackers from BSA, Norton and Triumph. This style is still popular today, with interest spurred by an intense rivalry between Harley-Davidson and Indian.
Flat track motorcycles (or dirt trackers, as they are sometimes known) do not have front brakes, but the slimmed-down style has been copied by builders of ‘street tracker’ customs.
It’s all about nostalgia this week, with a special Brough Superior SS100, a new exhibition at the Petersen Automotive Museum, and a documentary about a single-owner Ducati 750 SS. Plus we have a Suzuki GS1000 restomod from Malaysia, and a Ducati Scrambler flat tracker from the UK.
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We love Royal Enfield North America’s Build. Train. Race. program for two reasons: it shines the spotlight on women in motorcycling, and it produces killer bikes. Now in its second season, it’s a grassroots initiative where a selection of women riders are each given a Royal Enfield 650 twin to customize for racing. Then they…
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Triumph France is about to throw the wraps off a new custom build-off contest for dealers, and we’ve got a sneak peek at one of the entries. Built by Triumph Limoges, it’s a flat tracker based on the 1,200 cc Speed Twin. And it’s set the bar extremely high. Remarkably, shop boss Nicolas Ginouves is…
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One of the raddest things about electric motorcycles is their ability to spark imagination. The possibilities are endless when you’re piecing together your own drivetrain and chassis from small, easy-to-package bits. Which is exactly how Giacomo Galbiati at GDesign Custom Motorcycle built this dashing battery-powered board tracker. Based in Como, Italy, Giacomo has a love…
Read more »This week’s custom motorcycles come in all shapes and sizes—from a pint-sized flat tracker, to a stylish BMW R18. Plus we take…
Read more »Forty years ago, Yamaha made a brief foray into the flat track scene in the States with its XV750 race bike. Like…
Read more »Paint is the last thing that happens on a custom job, but it’s the first thing that people notice. And the livery…
Read more »The next phase of Triumph’s electric motorcycle project broke cover this week. Plus we look at a tasty Yamaha RD400 restomod, and…
Read more »There’s nothing unusual about building a custom motorcycle with the primary purpose of taking it to a show. But what if the…
Read more »We’re heavy on Bavaria this week, with a blacked-out BMW R18 from Harley specialist MB Cycles and a flat track-inspired R100 from…
Read more »The mythical Kawasaki H1 Mach III needs little introduction. The triple-cylinder 500 cc two-stroke made a splash when it hit the market…
Read more »It’s been a challenging year for most people. But the restrictions that have come from the worldwide pandemic have sparked new forms…
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