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.
The fourth and final episode of Slide has just dropped, and it’s a fascinating insight into the psychology of racers. What happens before a flat track race? How do the riders calm their nerves? Are they even nervous at all? Patrick ‘PJ’ Jacobsen and Corey Alexander reveal all.
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Motorcycle racing is a serious business. It’s time consuming, usually expensive, and always risky. But there are still a few folks willing to have a laugh while chancing an ambulance ride, and Grant Killoran is one of them. Grant is the marketing manager for Motorcycle Parts Warehouse, based near Brighton on the south coast of…
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REV’IT! has just dropped the third episode in the bite-sized series on flat track, Slide. This week we go behind the scenes with racers Patrick ‘PJ’ Jacobsen and Corey Alexander, who explain why flat track has become essential training for some of the world’s fastest road racers. These guys know what they’re talking about: in…
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One of the defining trends of motorcycling right now is the resurgence of flat track racing. Probably because it’s exciting to watch and accessible for amateurs—and the bikes look damn good, too. So REV’IT! has created a four-part film series called Slide, giving us a bite-sized insider’s look at flat track racing in the US.…
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Read more »The great thing about flat track racing is that anyone can have a crack. You don’t need a rocket scientist crew chief,…
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