Flat track Laverda

chrisk

chrisk

Hero member
Location
Brisbane, Australia
After seeing the pictures of the Laverda SF Flat track racer a while back, I thought I’d YouTube it. Frankly, I’ve never seen FT racing before, and presumed I see something exciting.


OK, from what I can gather there are:
Various track surfaces
Numerous classes
Different track lengths, with the Holy Grail being 1 milers.

After doing a bit of Speedway, I found myself asking the TV why the hell they were backing off for the corners? Maybe they need to realise, if the bloke at the back of the line didn’t back off, he’d win every race. But no, it seems to be a procesion line of bikes. It reminds me of NASCAR racing on two wheels. And is as exciting as watching Grid Iron, when you don’t understand the rules.

Or am I missing something?
 
Bit of a throw back sport from when the U.S weren’t included in international competition. For years the rules were rigged to favour Harley Davidson, which set it aspic . Two valve Jawa would run rings around them.
Worth watching Kenny Roberts howling a TZ750 using all the track
 
I too don't know much about flat track, but the Harley XR750 is about the only Harley I think looks really cool. I guess like anything you have to understand what's going on to really appreciate it, and it's likely a lot better in person than on TV. When I got foxtel to watch Motogp I also found things like world speedway on the channel. I really tried to like it but it was pretty tedious. The best thing was the Monster Energy promo persons. I suppose it's different if you're there feeling the speed, getting showered in dirt, smelling the methanol fumes, etc.
 
and there was an XR1000 that was pretty cool ... only registerable in QLD because of exhaust / intake noise as well as that metallic rattle that HD's have (t'was nice to ride)
 
chrisk said:
After doing a bit of Speedway, I found myself asking the TV why the hell they were backing off for the corners? Maybe they need to realise, if the bloke at the back of the line didn’t back off, he’d win every race. But no, it seems to be a procesion line of bikes. It reminds me of NASCAR racing on two wheels. And is as exciting as watching Grid Iron, when you don’t understand the rules.

Or am I missing something?
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True wheels in line power on flattrack is really only the mile and half mile. They run it on 1/4 miles here - and it's boring.
I built a flattracker years back for a local B grade speedway rider. He was runner up in the NZ title the year i built it. He's found it and dragged it out again after a rebuild by me again. Now he's copping flack from the opposition cos he hangs it out speedway style....He's still quite quick and they can't find a way past, LOL.

The old man rode the mile and half mile grasstracks here in the 20's and 30's. I saw Bob Coleman break Pa Coleman's record for the mile at a meeting here in the late 60's. Matchless G50 engine in an ex works scrambles frame. Now that was not boring. 100mph alongside post and rail fences....
 
When I was a 2nd year Boilermaker apprentice in 1977 I completely designed and built a Kawasaki H1 Flat Track sidecar outfit. This was to compete in the junior class ( 500cc) mile and half mile flat tracks in South Australia. The "Morgan Mile" "Tailem Bend half mile" and "Port Pirie half mile" tracks. I designed the expansion chambers for a fairly narrow power band around peak rev limit. Once on song it was crazy fast, and handled pretty well considering it was my first attempt at making one of these sidecars. Raced those tracks for quite a few years, had 3 spare engines ready to go in those days, Then sadly work got in the way and I did not have the time to keep it going. Boring ? No way, one of the most exiting things I have done.
 

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Bloody good fun if ya ask me.....😜 most of the bikes doin it in Aus are mx framed and running rear trials tyres...... the good guys can really get up and boogie the ton on short track yeeeeha. Broadford has a peanut shaped track rnd about 500metres long. Harley Club Vic, run club race meets, hold Vic/Aus titles with side cars moderns and classic bikes...... bloody awesome 👌🏼 Giddy up!
 
I was running an MT43 Pirrelli rear on my Husky and coping stares and comments galore. Anything outside The Norm seems to irritate some people to the max.
 
Exmoor beast said:
Two valve Jawa would run rings around them.
Click to expand...
You are comparing apples to aubergines. On a speedway track yes. It would be the other way around on a 1 mile dirt track.

Both types of racing are boring to watch on TV ..... for me anyways! Watching them in person is another experience altogether! Speedway has such amazing short range acceleration (I don't know what else to call it) and flat track has unbelievable corner speed.

Jim
 
BlackJota said:
When I was a 2nd year Boilermaker apprentice in 1977 I completely designed and built a Kawasaki H1 Flat Track sidecar outfit. This was to compete in the junior class ( 500cc) mile and half mile oval tracks in South Australia. The "Morgan Mile" "Tailem Bend half mile" and "Port Pirie half mile" tracks. I designed the expansion chambers for a fairly narrow power band around peak rev limit. Once on song it was crazy fast, and handled pretty well considering it was my first attempt at making one of these sidecars. Raced those tracks for quite a few years, had 3 spare engines ready to go in those days, Then sadly work got in the way and I did not have the time to keep it going. Boring ? No way, one of the most exiting things I have done.
Click to expand...

??? ......... looks like a Speedway outfit to me.
I never knew we had Flat Track, in Australia and NZ.
 
helicopterjim said:
Perhaps you can't perceive the speeds they are running. If they didn't back off they'd cartwheel over the fence and probably attain Low Earth Orbit.

I'm thinking it's around 140 mph on the straights and about 90 in the corners.

Jim
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:D Fuck me, that is impressive, and alters my view of what I was watching.
But explains why the TV coverage is so badly filmed, the poor old cameraman can't keep up!

I'm having a little trouble with the fact that they can make HD, Triumphs, XS650's and Indians run that fast for that length of time though, let alone an SF750.
 
Mile Flat Track is nothing like Speedway, the mile is the ultimate when it comes to flat track racing. This is a video from 2010 when Nicki Hayden was riding Ducati not only in Moto GP but also showing his incredible talent on the mile. Ducati was doing very well, kicking ass but decided it wasn't their focus many privateers picked up where the factory left off.
These days Indian, yes Indian rule the roost Kawasaki, Yamaha KTM are trying to knock em off the podium. You have to see/ hear it live to really get it. On the mile, the big boys can hit 130-140 on the straights touch the back brake to set it up for the corner (no front brakes, no rider aids just your throttle hand) use the slide to slow you down keep it on the throttle thru the corner and come out the other side 90 -110 and throttle up for the straight. Every lap makes your hairs stand up on end the sound is deafening but magical (bring earplugs. Nicky Hayden was a master mile racer check him out around 1:15 on the vid

 
For a bit of history on flat track try that vid a put up, you need to get past the shtick but it has lots of magic bits if you have never seen it. It launched a million motorcyclists worldwide. made by The Endless Summer surfing film bloke. The last 5 minutes with Steve MacQueen and Malcolm Smith are stunning.
 
Lads: Describing the excitement and adrenalin of dirt track/short track/flat track to a non-North
American is a tall order. While Europe and the UK certainly owned speedway,the style and rules
of dirt oval racing stemmed from fairgrounds and small local organizers and of course the two
American brands. Only later on in the 50's did Triumph start making inroads into racing mostly
due to displacement and engine configuration rules. On a modern basis the fact that all of the
500GP American riders that were World Champions were due to to the fact they all started out
racing dirt track as kids/teenagers. Growing up in SoCal,Friday night was racing at Ascot Park in
Gardena on the 1/2 mile track watching the then legends and the future superstars. Watching
"On Any Sunday" is the best and most accurate primer of what its all about. That footage was
filmed in 1970 and seeing the on-bike camera work still is exciting.Dirt track is a wholly American
invention and is often compared to jazz as an invention.
 
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