There’s something strangely appealing about board tracker motorcycles. To modern eyes, cars from a hundred years ago usually look odd and ungainly—but board track bikes still look minimal and elegant.
Unfortunately, any machine built to race around the motordromes of the 1920s is virtually unrideable on the road today. But the Arizona company WYLD has come up with a more practical way to enjoy this classic style.
Founded by Nathan Shew five years ago, the Scottsdale workshop has built up a reputation for classy VW bus and Toyota FJ restorations. It has a booming business in BMW café racers too, with 19 orders on the slate right now. So these guys know their way around ancient hardware.
This ‘Vintage Board Tracker,’ however, is a modern ground-up creation, and a prototype for a production run. “Our vision for this build was purely fun,” says Justin Casaubon, Wyld’s operations director. “We wanted to do something completely different.”
“We have always thought that old school board trackers are cool. What a great era for motorcycle culture—those guys paved the way for what we have now.”
The core of the bike is an off-the-shelf, air-cooled replica Suzuki 250 cc engine. In future that may change: it’s there for proof of concept, as WYLD develop and refine the design. At the moment it is carbureted, but the company is also looking at a fuel-injected option.
The frame is handmade, and simplicity personified. The gas tank fits neatly between the upper frame tubes, and it’s not merely a cover for a fuel cell—it’s lined with Red-Kote and properly sealed.
“We also thought it’d be cool to incorporate a couple of small things on the bike that might not be ‘typical’,” says Justin. “So on the tank we used brass hose bib fittings for the filler neck and vent. The vent was also fitted with a welding tip.”
The classic vibe is carried through to the handmade forks, which Justin describes as a ‘truss-style’ design.
Although superficially similar in appearance to classic girder forks, the truss layout does not include springs—and uses geometry more commonly found in bridge design.
Sideways rigidity comes from CNC-machined braces, whereas damping comes from the inherent flexibility of the tubes. Plus a little sidewall flex in the chunky 4.50×18 Shinko E270 tires—a classic sawtooth design with a full aspect ratio.
The sprung seat further cushions the rider from impacts, given the hardtail frame, but many of the other components are modern tech in disguise.
“Some things keep it mechanically sound, but still lend a nod to the era—like the Kustom Tech brake masters and clutch lever, the yellow headlight lens, the taillight and the brass details throughout the bike,” says Justin. “Hand wrapped grips also help to preserve that vintage look, and even give it a bit of a steam punk vibe.”
The lighting is LED though, and WYLD plan to offer an electric as well as kickstart version if you don’t want to be too ‘authentic.’
The paint is on point, with a lustrous all-over navy blue finish, plus cream on the ‘tank window’ and rims.
The Vintage Tracker has got spectacularly strong showroom appeal, and WYLD have already received two orders off the back of this prototype. We suspect there will soon be many more.
WYLD Garage Co. | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Justin Wade Orton
