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 mythical Kawasaki H1 Mach III needs little introduction. The triple-cylinder 500 cc two-stroke made a splash when it hit the market in 1969, with an unforgiving power band earning it the infamous ‘widowmaker’ nickname. There are faster bikes out there these days, but a classic H1 is still a good candidate for a rapid…
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It’s been a challenging year for most people. But the restrictions that have come from the worldwide pandemic have sparked new forms of creativity. For hooligan flat track racer Andy DiBrino, the result was a wild drift video titled ‘HooliGhana,’ with a BMW E36 and a KTM 790 Duke—both piloted by him. Based in Tualatin,…
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There are a few builders we watch like a hawk, because everything they touch turns to gold. One of them is NYC Norton, run by the affable Kenny Cummings. He’s one of the top Brit bike specialists in the States, but he doesn’t build a bike up from scratch every week. When he finishes one,…
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The flat track bug seems to have permeated all corners of the motorcycling world—including Sweden. We love this very sharp Indian FTR 1200, which comes from Blixt & Dunder, a parts and lifestyle shop in Malmö. Friends Jonathan Falkman and Mattias Malmgren opened the shop two years ago in Sweden’s third-biggest city. Their shelves are…
Read more »Flat track racing is still going strong in the USA and Europe, and we’re starting to see customizers building personal track bikes…
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Read more »With five different models in the range, there’s a BMW R nineT to suit most tastes—from the cafe-styled Racer to the classic…
Read more »Customizing your own bike is a one-way ticket down a very deep rabbit hole. Make just one change, and soon you’ll have…
Read more »If you live outside Europe, one of the most interesting bikes you can’t buy is the Fantic Caballero Flat Track 500. The…
Read more »Minnesota native Jillian Deschenes is not a pro custom motorcycle builder: from Monday to Friday, she’s a hospice nurse in the suburbs…
Read more »If you’re a custom builder, one of the most difficult briefs is for a race bike. No matter the genre or discipline…
Read more »A classic Triumph flat tracker from the race director of the Wheels & Waves festival, a Virago influenced by 90s Japanese import…
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