Topic: board track racer

[donny]

 Anyone given a 750 a makeover to a board track racer look ?  I am seeking ideas to steal, er, I mean photo's for inspiration.  My bike is a 76 f with a 78 f tank, a start, it kinda looks like the oldies.  A V twin would be a better engine than a sohc 4, but still,  there may be possibilities.

[fuzzybutt]

A V twin would be a better engine than a sohc 4

are you sure youre in the right place? i have a 33 year old sohc motor that will run circles around ANY stock harley and guess what? i have less than 1500 dollars into it too. oh yeah, it doesnt break down all the time either.

[AHuff]

I think the v-twin comment might be aimed at a more period correct look. Granted the SOHC might be a good motor, but a board track racer should look skinny, and thats one area the 750 is defiantly not.

[gerhed]

I too like the board track look.
I have a very skinny Honda XL600 motor that I could see
in a board track type frame.

[donny]

yes, I think a V-twin would be more period correct, but I want to use the 750.

[Geeto67]

more board track racers were singles than v-twins, but keep in mind they were race bikes first, who knows how many originals survived.

the point is, to nail the look you need a very thin motor, as one of the great tradmarks of the look is a thin overall bike (remember these bikes were just a cut hair above bicycles). Even when they use modern v-twins to build replica BTRs they always look a little too fat.

that doesn't mean you can't restyle a honda using some of the elements but one thing to consider...most of that is in frame design (dropped center section frames, under backbone gas tanks, slanted seat post, etc) and is a lot of work. 

[bgfootball67]

Here is an example of a CB board track racer, opps I mean flat track racer.  I believe this is JP's bike, or he built it for someone if I remember correctly.  You can make anything you want out of just about any bike...

[bgfootball67]

Do you have any more pics of that bike?  That is one sweet machine!

[fuzzybutt]

i think the tone might have been wrong in my message. i didnt mean to come off sounding like an a$$, i am sorry about that. i'm just having an "i hate harley riders" day

[AHuff]

http://74.54.120.132/dbbp/coolest/awo.htm

http://74.54.120.132/dbbp/coolest/rtd.html


And finally.......



http://74.54.120.132/dbbp/coolest/indian/uschoppers.html

.....too bad a roller is 15k if my memory is correct.

[chopstar500]

AHuff:

Those are some superb bikes - nice find!

[754]

I have thought about this a few times, and how to pull it off.. nicely..

BG you are showing a street tracker. I can see how most on here are not too familiar with boardtrackers..unless you enjoy a wide range of bikes.

A buddy I know has a 1921 (I think) 4 cyl boardtracker but it is inline four... also a very rare 08 Indian twin racer!!

Another guy here built  one of the very first retro boardtrackers and helped launch the rebirth of the style.. look up Goldammer Cycle Works, and look at BTR3.

Generally with twins the look on originals is very narrow ( I have to disagree though with the comment that most of the real ones were singles...then as today there were displacement classes)

So back to doing a 754 or sohc up..
I think it needs to look slim, and you have to work at that.
Big part I think would be  4 into 4pipes under the motor or very tucked in, nearly touching near oil filter. Narrow girder or springer.. skinny big hoop wheels. .. Magneto,  big carbs..

a 350 four would probably just look great!!

The fact that it (Honda Sohc's) is unit makes it a lot easier to pull off but you should build enough strength into it for at least bar hopping.. TT bike...( Tavern -Tavern)

Geez I better dig out that Indian leaf spring fork I have or the 1916-20 HD springer I got kicking around......... or mock up that 14 HD twin hulk I have... hmmmm..

[ekim98]

Well, it's not a board racer,not a sohc but it is a 750 4 cylinder/2 cycle and Kenny Roberts didn't have any problem with the v-twins for a couple of years in flat track racing. Kenny was suppose to have said he never wanted to ride that TZ750 again. They said after a race the chord would be showing, the rear tire just spun all around the track. So I guess a 4 cylinder could compete on board racing too.

[754]

Multis got outlawed the year after Roberts ran that.. Hocking was running a Honda 750..

[ekim98]

You are right 754, one of the few battles harley won against the Jap bikes.