Teen lust

When I was too young to ride on the road, I had posters on my bedroom wall of Harley's SX and SS250s, and I was mad for 'em. I still think they look great and we have a soft spot for them on this blog, given that Garrett B's street-tracked SX was the subject of our very first post, eight-and-a-half years ago.

By the time I was old enough for a road bike, the law had changed and 250s with L-plates disappeared in a blue-grey fug of lost hope. But even at that tender age, I'd have had no trouble telling a 1000cc four-stroke V-twin from a two-stroke single, though the AMF-era marketing geeks hoped otherwise.

"If you can't tell it from our big bikes, see your AMF Harley-Davidson dealer," they say. Why? Did they have in-house opticians back then? MP

El Solitario at Dirt Quake

David El Solitario rode from Spain to King's Lynn to compete in his third Dirt Quake. He rode and raced his very trick Zaeta, the bike named Pluto (more on that bike in a future Sideburn). He also loaned it to two lady racers in distress, one crashed it, one won on it, then he rode it home again.

He travelled with top photographer Gonzalo Arroya.

You can see their mahoosive report at El Solitario Dirt Quake. Thanks El Solitario! G

Why Anyone Waiting For A Factory Street Tracker Should Stop Waiting...

Someone left a comment on the post below - about the Indian FTR750, that echoes a thousand comments being made around the world, the gist is: If they made a street tracker version it would be great/I'd buy one/I'd give my left ball for it, etc.

Well, sorry to rain on your parade, but Indian never will, and no other OEM will either. A GNC Twin race bike is so goshdarn handsome and lean with an incomparable stance, because it does not look like a conventional showroom-fresh road bike. And vice versa, homologated DOT/EU approved showroom bikes cannot look like dirt track racers, however hard they try.

No factory has built a good looking 'factory' street tracker, since the Bonneville TT of the mid-60s (except the early Honda FTR250s with the duplex frame, though the later FTR223s are kind of cute). When it comes to twins, nobody has come close. VT500 Ascot? Meh. Too heavy above the waistline. The H-D XR1200 was compromised, a midling effort, but not good enough. The Scrambler FT Pro isn't right either. Storz kitted Sportsters can look right, but they're not factory. Plenty of people can build great looking custom street trackers, but manufacturers cannot. The Zaeta is the only thing that comes close, but they're made, and sold, in tiny quantities, and they're singles.

Big factories need to sell reasonable quantities. The man on the street, the kind who buys brand new bikes, thinks they want something that looks like a road legal GNC bike, and perhaps they would right up until they read the first road test or lived with it for a week.

A dirt track bike has a 6 or 7-litre tank. These tiny tanks are essential to the looks, but no one would buy a road bike with a 50-odd mile range. Put a bigger tank on it and the looks are gone (see VT500 and XR1200).

Modern bikes require airboxes for fuel injection and noise regulations, not big K&N filters. Where does the airbox go? Indian are hiding the FTR's airbox in the tank area, but their race bike only needs to run 26 miles (a fast 25 miles and, they hope, a slow victory lap, but only 26 miles all the same), so their airbox won't ruin the looks. Road bikes need indicators, mirrors, front brakes, front mudguards, license plate hangers that extend beyond the back of the rear wheels, lights, electric starter, alternator and a battery big enough to start the bike repeatedly in sub-zero temperatures. It also needs a chassis strong enough to deal with a 30-stone rider riding through potholes for 30,000 miles, unchecked. And road bikes need a big wiring loom to run everything I've described and that needs hiding somehow. Also, GNC bikes have short wheelbases and steep steering. They're as twitchy as the cast of Watership Down. Look at the VT500's rake!

It is not impossible for a clever factory to build a trick street tracker. Ducati are pushing the edge of the envelope of what the public will tolerate with the Panigale, truly a racebike for the road, but it still has a proper tank range and all the legalities.  Plus a lot can be hidden under a Panigale's fairing. A size zero GNC flat tracker is as naked as a jaybird. Look close enough and you can tell what it had for breakfast.

So if Indian do build something they say is related to the FTR, those who reckon they're waiting with credit cards locked and loaded will get a compromise. The compromise might look a lot like Roland Sands' Indian Superhooligans (see SB24). They have a brutal charm, and they're based on decent road bikes. I've ridden a Scout around Oregon, and can vouch for them as a good basis even if I didn't like the riding position of the road Scout. But Superhooligans are not GNC bikes. I do think the Superhooligan Scout would sell. I don't believe the buying public, those with $12,000/ £12,000 to spend, is ready for hardcore street tracker in the numbers that would make it worthwhile for a factory to build.

So stop waiting for the factory to release your dream street tracker and build your own. Or buy a Zaeta. G

FTR750 photo: Indian/Cycle World

Texas Chris Jenner

Back in May we organised a Yorkshire Ride Out with HebTroCo. Among a bunch of great bikes was a very neat very neat, street trackered XS650 built by and belonging to 'Texas' Chris Jenner and American living in the UK. Nothing particularly unusual, there were a few good looking street trackers among the mix. What was interesting was I knew Chris was heading to dirt track practice at Greenfield the next day on the very same bike.

Chris is a graduate of the University of Dirt Quake, yet another rider who has undertaken their first motorcycle race at Dirt Quake, only to be seduced by the action and atmosphere and then bought or built a bike to race more seriously.

Chris took off the front brake and light overnight in preparation for the practice. These aircooled Yamaha twins are solid machines, but it didn't stop Chris, a BMX rider, launching it off the Greenfield TT jump and even crossing it up in mid-air, looking like a 21st Century Kenny Roberts. Great photo by James Boddy.

The DTRA Greenfield TT is on this weekend. Spectator entry is free, but car parking is £5. There is a bar on site, camping, and two days of racing.
Aim for Greenfield Farm, Alford, Lincolnshire, LN13 0EB.

A report of the Yorkshire Ride-out will be in Sideburn 25, coming very soon. G

Shaw Mert Lawwill Replica

 

Tasty custom from British Harley custom specialists Shaw Speed & Custom. Looks like it's based on the new entry level Sportster 48 and uses a lot of stock parts but still looks great. G

Harley-Davidson: Battle of the Kings 2016

Harley-Davidson UK and Ireland are running a custom competition for their dealers, with the grandiose title, Battle of the Kings. 30 shops all had to modify a 2016 Sportster Iron 883. Some are better than others...

These are four that stood out to me. Above is the Maidstone H-D entry, below is Warr's, Shaw and Dublin H-D.

Harley want the public to choose the short list of finalists. They say "All votes cast online between now and 18 April will determine a top five shortlist, which will go to the Bike Shed London show on 27-29 May for an independent judging panel to decide the overall national winner."

Follow this link  to see more and vote: H-D Battle of the Kings 2016
Be quick there's only three days left to vote.

I wonder if any of the dealers fancy entering the Harley-sponsored DTRA Hooligan class... G

Warr's H-D

Shaw H-D

Dublin

Dirt One by Plan B

Plan B of Italy built some great bikes and I met Christian out at Verona in January. He sent this email ages ago and it got buried and missed. I know Christian has sold this bike now. Sorry for missing this email Christian!

I'm Christian from Italy and there is no need to say I love your work with the coolest and craziest sideways magazine around, so I'll go straight to the point. I build motorcycles here in Italy under the name of Plan B Motorcycles. Mostly cafè racers, but I'd like to present you my latest build, it's called "The Dirt-One" and it's based on a 1990 Aprila Pegaso 600. It's a so called "street tracker" or, in other words, a "daily rider" street bike in a tracker suit, with lights, indicators, number plate etc., but I think it turned out pretty clean and apart from the fu**ing useless 4 litre fuel tank. Really, really fun to ride :-D 
A lot of parts are hand made from aluminium sheets, it was lowered and a big amount of time was spent modifying the bike's geometry. I've attached a couple of pics. 
Grazie! 
Christian

Herencia Garage CB750

Great looking four-cylinder, CB750 street tracker from Herencia Custom Garage in Argentina.
Spotted on Bubble Visor. G

R1 Tracker

Ben Bostrom
+
Gregg's Custom Yamaha R1 1000cc street tracker.
+
Story by MotoGeo's Jamie Robinson.
=
Sideburn 9 
Also available in a back issue deal, while stocks last. G

XTR Honda 250 Tracker

Pepo, who was Radical Ducati, closed that company after deciding he had to take a break from making his gorgeous but niche creations and the Radical Ducati name and assets were sold to France., where the business continues. It seems he missed the bike business so much that he quickly came back with a new company and a wider remit.
XTR Pepo, based in Madrid, Spain, uses all kind of bikes, often humble machines, from Laverda twins to Suzuki 600 Bandits, or even Honda CBF250s like this one, and creates street trackers, scramblers, cafe racers and retro endurance style bikes. This is his latest build. Here's the spec...

Donor Bike: 2004 Honda CBF 250
Modified Ducati Monster front mudguard
NG front brake rotor
Frentubo brake line
MASH 125 front light
Vicma conical handlebar
Goneli grips
MASH 125 fuel tank
Monza gas cap X
TR tracker fiberglass solo seat
XTR upholstery
Modified frame with a new subframe
Modified Suzuki Bandit Footrests supports
Ergal cnc machined Puig Footrests.
XTR aluminum licence plate support
Tsubaki gold chain
LIPO battery
XTR clock
DNA air filter
Super Mario exhaust
SPARK GP silencer
XTR aluminum side numberplates
Artenruta painting.

 Pictures: SERGIO CARDEÑA