Building a Streettracker:

Old Triumph v new Triumph? You say, “Buy an old Triumph”. That should mean 2003 or later. Reason being, after you’ve worked on a project bike for 6-12 months and invest mucho sterling into it, you should expect to be able to ride it trouble free for quite a while. The “Antique” twins are all British tradition, great to look at with lots of mechanical beauty and charm. Pretty decent power and the weight is not bad either. But mechanically? Forget it. Unless you are an old Triumph expert and have an abundance of experience, patience and parts for them. After working on them for a while in the mid 70’s, I was cured. Another consideration is what will the bike be worth when you decide to sell it later?

Generally speaking I get asked a lot, “What brand makes the best tracker? What engine should I use to start the project with? Not knowing your budget or how nice a bike you want (I understand the patina/used look), your mechanical ability, access to tools/ equipment, etc., I’ll give you some generic answers.

Say you wanted to build a “Mid level”, really nice bike. I’d say you have 4 main choices with the main differences being , power output, weight and cost. Now these are also US based options. You r prices may vary in the UKwhich could affect your choice.

1.Yamaha XS650

This would be the cheapest, lightest, lowest power. Prices go from free to maybe $3k. Power output goes from 45 RWHP to maybe 62, after a complete rebuild AND lots of performance upgrades. The good news? Weight could be sub 330 lbs depending on money spent. As in, level of light weight components and/or ingenuity.

2. 03-08 Triumph Twins

Next would be the 03-08 Triumph twins. Stock weight is 470-490-ish, power is about 60 RWHP stock and can go to 110(!), again with lots of treasure. Costs here run from $4500-6000 for a low mileage, no rust unit. Lots of weight reduction can happen fairly easily and cheaply (more or less).

3. Harley Sportster

Lastly would be a Harley Sportster based build. Here in the USA, these can be had with very low miles, super tidy (as they are considered a “Chick” bike and see limited use) for around $4500. Power is about the same as the Triumph stock, but can go to 130-150 RWHP or even higher.  Weight can be in the 550-570 range stock and like the Triumph, can be reduced in huge chunks.

4. Donor Bike

The 4th donor option would be every other bike out there that you could get your hands on. I’ve done a 916 Ducati, a Confederate, a bunch of singles, etc, etc. The common thread being achieving a proper stance, balance and proportions. Those are the three main ingredients, assuming weight and power are in an acceptable range.

Price, weight and power output factors?

Achieving the right combo is obviously the goal and generally speaking, you get to choose two of these factors, unless you want low price, high weight and weak power, then nothing matters. Then anything would work. I try to shoot for a compromise of these factors with an emphasis on maintaining the “true essence”, in my opinion anyway, of what a streettracker should be. That would be a flattrack style bike that’s light (lively), and exciting to ride. Huge power seems to be a waste as good acceleration can be had with moderate power increase and a big weight reduction.

Budget:

Building up a nice rolling package requires pretty much the same amount of money regardless of motor choice. Forks, wheels, shocks, tank, seat, controls, brakes, custom exhaust and at the upper end of the budget scale, maybe even a custom frame. That said, the Sportster frame is extremely heavy with the XS650 next and the Triumph being the lightest. If you can trim, modify, utilize or set-up the stock frame, that saves money and simplifies registration. With an aftermarket frame , every tab and bracket has to be designed and added on. This can be a positive or a negative, depending on who does the work and how ingenious they happen to be. That’s where the real magic comes in.

Power output: 

This can range from merely air-cleaners and some jetting and extend to carbs, cams, bigbore kits and beyond. This would be totally based on budget obviously. The good news is that the bike could be complete and in service while funds and parts are gathered for motor upgrades. However, with the XS650, it’s more likely that a complete motor package should be completed first as the youngest of these motors is 35 years old, and probably will have seen better days. With the Sportster, you may never do motor upgrades. While they run pretty decent stock, cams, carb, bigbore or whatever can be done in the frame in an afternoon! The Triumph is pretty much the same, meaning you could run it stock with air-cleaners, a jet kit and exhaust and probably be happy as a clam.

Weight is the fun part:

I like this aspect of a build and I would start by buying a gram scale that goes to maybe 4-5 pounds and another that can go anywhere up to 45-50 pounds. Weigh everything! Washers, bolts, battery, fenders, controls, exhaust parts….everything. Steel parts can become aluminum, aluminum can be plastic and some things can be completely eliminated. Also when shopping for components, knowing what’s lighter or the lightest can save weight on installation. Many times there are some nice surprises in the salvage yard. Using a small lathe, non-structural  bolts can be gun-drilled to bring them down to the same weight as Titanium.

The Look:

This is an area that requires an eye for knowing when something looks “Right”. Proportions are a huge part of it as is balance, rake, muscle and incorporating the laws of nature (physics). Mainly, I see everything when looking at cars, bikes, planes, appliances, and especially racing machinery. There is an inherent beauty to things that are hi-function in the natural world. A motorcycle that has goofy lines (a chopper) and most like doesn’t function well, won’t hold up to the Natural lines theory. I go for mainly curves or at the least, radius’d corners. A really relaxed steering head angle looks wrong on anything ever built and slows the handling. Handlebar rise height, seat length (too much or too little) are areas I’m usually very fussy about. Wheelbase will be a bit shorter usually and longer shocks will tighten up the head angle a bit.

To really answer this question, I’d have to see the bike you end up with first and I can make suggestions. Just buying a bunch of components and throwing them at a bike doesn’t make a streettracker or at least doesn’t guarantee a good looking, functioning one. 

Lastly, a streettracker is NOT a flat tracker. Having built a couple hundred or so, I learned what it takes to make them work on the street. The handling requirements of a flat tracker are unique. Some flat trackers can be modified into street use and some will not be suited..

Regards,

Richard Pollock

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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Three

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Four

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.