In my teen years I followed various motorcycle events … motocross, scrambles, hill climbs, flat track racing and more. I never competed but I tried my hand at all sorts of off road riding. I had a blast and must confess I am blessed to still be around as some of it was fairly dangerous and I had a few close calls. I was never seriously injured for which I am thankful.
Flat track racing is especially fascinating to me. I once rode around our high school cinder track spraying those cinders all over the place. I left just before the police showed up. I never used the steel plate on my left shoe … just my shoe to support myself as I zoomed thru the corners. If you don’t know what I am talking about watch this video and you will see what it is all about. Hang onto your hat! They go very fast and always are turning left as they go counter-clockwise around the track.
Most of the motorcycle used in flat track racing do not have any brakes to stop them. Believe it or not it is safer that way. Many of the professional flat track racers race single cylinder engines … usually 500 cc displacement. They go plenty fast on the shorter tracks so larger engines are not practical. The larger the engine the more the cycle weighs as a rule. However, larger engines are among the race bikes racing other larger engine bikes. Here is another video of mostly 750 cc and above twin cylinder engines. I think a few are 4 cylinder.
Back in their day this was the bike to beat … a 500 cc single cylinder JAP … an American made beast. As you can see, it has no brakes.
Personally I think those days offered better racing then more modern times.
Did you notice that these larger engine bikes go around the track differently than the smaller engine bikes in the first video? The size of the race track certainly makes a difference. On the larger tracks the larger engines show their stuff. Sometimes the racers power slide without putting their left foot down.
I don’t know if the riders are even wearing the traditional steel plate on their left shoe. A steel plate or “steel shoe” helps immensely allowing the foot to slide on the dirt easier and without catching on anything.
Racers can buy them or make their own which many do. Flat track racing is possibly the oldest type of motorcycle racing. It is exciting to watch if you like motorcycle racing. They reach speeds of 135 mph as they fly around the track.
What you see them doing in the corners is called “power sliding” with lots of throttle and a controlled slide. I have done this. It is exhilarating to say the least. At least that is the idea. Things can and do go wrong …
As you can see in the video it is usually a matter of some imperfection on the track that causes the trouble. A tire “catches” and results in a crash. Again, as you can see it is not necessarily the engine size that determines the winner. In this race at Pomona a 750 cc Harley lead most of the race and won it racing against larger 1000 cc bikes.
