With the introduction of the new twins flat track class and the inclusion of American style short track bikes onto the speedway track at Nepean there's a lot of interest not previously seen in these bikes. One reason for their lack of popularity is that they've never previously been a major part of our dirt track scene so potential punters are a little gun shy as to what is actually needed as far as bike setup. Another reason is the perceived high cost of importing these bikes from the US. I' going to show here that there are some very cost effective methods of getting involved basing your bike on an old motocrosser or trail bike or even an old road bike. If you're half handy with a hacksaw, a grinder and can weld or know someone who can, a near Yank style flat tracker can be built for a lot cheaper than importing one.
Example 1:
This bike is based on a 73-74 MX360 Yamaha but you could just as easily use a DT250-360-400 as the basis. As trick as this bike looks it's still your basic MX360 but he's brought the steering head angle in to around 25-26 deg, fitted Honda 19" wheels from a Honda CX500 or similar, they're very light. The XR750 HD seat can be purchased from this forum's Matcho Mick and he also might be able to supply a Champion style tank as well . The late style Harley XR tank on this bike can be bought from the USA. Shorter RD or XS forks are used on this bike but its not essential, nor is a downpipe but it does suit the look. An old DT400 would be a perfect subject for this conversion, the frame's basically the same as for the MX, the motor's as strong as an OX even if kept stock and best of all you're not cutting up a classic motocrosser. Example 2:
TT/XT 500 Yamahas and XL/XR Hondas convert over to flat track so easily. Much of the same process used in the above 360 fits here as well. Remove all of the superflous street and trail bike doo-dads and if you feel confidant cut the steering head area and bring the steering rake into the desirable 25-26 degrees. The process on how to do it is shown here http://ozvmx.com/community/index.php?topic=9177.0. Unfortunately the photos are gone because of the Village Photos debacle but I'm sure Yamaico Pete could run you through the process by posting the photos again. This bike seems to have shorter street bike forks, a Kawasaki 19" front wheel and shorter shocks to get the bike lower. The seat can once again be bought from Matcho Mick or eBay for around $120-150 and the Harley style tank can be bought on eBay or any of the dirt track fibreglass suppliers listed on vft.org.. Although there are numerous aftermarket frames available for the TT Yamaha and XL Honda motors, many Yank riders still use the cut and shut stockerExample 3:
For the big twins class there's no better entry level vintage bike than the Yamaha XS650. Once again the lightening and decluttering process is as on the above two bikes, as is the steering head modification. Because I'm trying to show the bottom line cheap entry level way of getting one of these bikes built, I haven't mentioned that another way of altering the steering head angle is to buy a set of adjustable triple clamps that offer a 5 degree variation through the use of changable inserts. These aren't cheap but it might be an alternative to those not wanting to cut the frame. The above bike was built in that flat track hot spot of Denmark and you can see he started with a typical rat bike. It's got the usual 19" wheels and a decent set of pipes but it's essentially not far from stock. The tank is a stocker and the seat is the same story as the other two bikes...Matcho Mick, eBay or vft.org. Herbie Conlon has led the trend for a bunch of blokes in Victoria and NSW who have set up stock framers and they're often seen at Nepean or other tracks around the East coast. Although the above three examples happen to be Yamahas, you can do it to whatever bike takes your fancy. We're currently very slowly converting the original VMX Magazine elCheapo project TM/TS250 into a Suzuki equivalent of the Yamaha 360 above. We've cut the top rail and done the steering mod, and will soon be fitting a Champion seat and tank. We're keeping this really on the cheap in reverence to the reason the bike was built for in the first place so we're using the stock rear wheel, and because we need a front brake here in Oz I'll lace up a 19" AT1 Yamaha wheel for the front. The engine (TS250 bottom end with a TM250 topend) will remain as is (stock as a log) except for TS points ignition and a Circle F pipe. The Candy Tangerine paint cost more than the whole bike conversion
. Why not try a CB350 Honda, RD 250/350 Yamaha, or any of those almost forgotten but bulletproof Japanese 400 twins all of the factories made in the 70's and 80's....the choices are only limited by your imagination and wallet.
