Motorsport of the Month: Flat Track

Flat Track racing is one of the oldest forms of motorcycle racing. It is probably the most American form of cycle racing as well. Flat track racing involves modified street bikes racing around a dirt oval. The bikes are not equipped with front brakes, instead racers pitch their machines sideways and drift through the corners. This makes for some exciting racing. The sport's roots go back to the 40's and 50's. At the center flat track was the Springfield Mile at Springfield Illinois. The Mile was the Daytona 500 of flat track racing. In 1954 the American Motorcycle Association took control and organizes the sport today. In the 1950's Harley-Davidson dominated the sport withe their flat head twins. In the 1960's English twins from Triumph and BSA started to take victories form Harley. In the 1970's Harley Davidson introduced their over head valve XR750, the bike they continue to race to day. In the 70's however Yamaha decided to enter flat track racing and produced the incredibly powerful TZ750 which Kenny Roberts raced to victory with.

Indian Scout

Harley Davidson KR750
Triumph T140

Harley Davidson XR750Yamaha TZ750

Honda RS750

The 1980's saw an effort from Honda with their new V twin Ascot and Bubba Shobert. Through the late 80's and 90's Harley mostly had the sport to themselves. The AMA decided to shake up the rules in the late 1990's and new classes were introduced. Motocross based singles up to 450cc's (4 stroke) were allowed to compete. This lead to a wide variety of manufacturers who otherwise would have never been in flat track, like Suzuki and Aprilia. Today the Grand Nationals are still dominated by Harley Davidson.