Out of the blue: A Triumph Trackmaster hiding in Germany
In a world where everyone is screaming for attention, Heinz Lange is an enigma. He has no catchy workshop name, no website…
Read more »Flat Track
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.
‘Twins FT’: A Royal Enfield x Harris flat tracker
Four years ago Eicher Motors, the owner of Royal Enfield, bought the famous British company Harris Performance. Since the 1970s, Harris has…
Read more »
Hasty Flaming Buffalo! An Indian Scout from Luuc Muis
When Indian delivered a new Scout Bobber to young Dutch designer Luuc Muis, there was a catch: he had just 20 weeks…
Read more »
Quiet Riot: A Zero FX flat tracker built by a clay sculptor
Truly great motorcycle design requires a human touch. That’s why, in a world of digital design and 3D rendering, traditional crafts are…
Read more »
Dust Kicker! Justin Steyn’s Honda RS600 flat track bike
Flat track racing is all the rage in Europe and the States, but it hasn’t really caught on in South Africa yet.…
Read more »
What goes through a racer’s mind before the flag drops?
The fourth and final episode of Slide has just dropped, and it’s a fascinating insight into the psychology of racers. What happens…
Read more »
Heroic Failure: Flat tracking the Sinnis Scrambler
Motorcycle racing is a serious business. It’s time consuming, usually expensive, and always risky. But there are still a few folks willing…
Read more »
In conversation with PJ Jacobsen and Corey Alexander
REV’IT! has just dropped the third episode in the bite-sized series on flat track, Slide. This week we go behind the scenes…
Read more »
Watch: An American Story about Dirt and Speed
One of the defining trends of motorcycling right now is the resurgence of flat track racing. Probably because it’s exciting to watch…
Read more »
An electric flat tracker rises from the ashes of Alta
Elegant is not often a word used to describe electric bikes, but this pared-down tracker is both petite and beautiful. It’s from…
Read more »
Spanish Flyer: A Honda CB1000R tweaked for the track
For power junkies, the Honda CB1000R is one of the best roadsters on the market today. The build quality is superlative, the…
Read more »
Noise Cycle’s rad Street Rod 750 tracker gets a revamp
In the world of professional motorcycle racing, development is a constant grind. Hooligan flat track racing is the same. But here, the…
Read more »