Harley-Davidson XR750是历史上的胜利的平面轨道自行车，但H-D不是那场景中唯一的机器。赛车手使用印第安人，英国人自行车甚至是日本自行车。本田RS750是迄今为止最成功的日本普通追踪器，在80年代中期赢得了大量的AMA硬件，但十年早些时候，雅马哈与XS650有自己的成功故事，感谢Kenny Roberts。
Kenny Roberts Sr.已知很多东西，但你可以争辩他真的通过在AMA平道赛车中成功鞭打工厂Yamaha XS650来制作他的标记。Roberts在'71的年度是新秀，骑雅马哈，并通过乘坐Yamaha的TZ750 Roadracer为铺砌的比赛以及污垢中的Xs乘坐了'73和'74 AMA Grand National。
By rights, the XS shouldn’t have won those titles. Even when it debuted in 1969 as Yamaha’s first “big” four-stroke motorcycle, it was outdated, based on a Hosk design from the 1950s. It took a lot of tuning trickery to make the Yamaha competent against the factory-supported Harley-Davidsons, but Yamaha had a secret weapon: legendary race tuner Shell Thuet, hired around 1972.
Piggyback shocks, and a low-rise exhaust. Photo: Flattrackersforsale.com
Thuet figured out how to get max performance from the XS650’s air-cooled 654cc parallel twin, with 360-degree crank, SOHC and two valves per head. Not only was he successful in building a machine that beat Harley-Davidson, he was successful in convincing a lot of other riders the XS650 had potential. Yamaha published a tuning manual for the XS, with Thuet detailing how to boost performance.
By the mid-’70s, though, the aging XS couldn’t match the updated XR750 around the ovals, and Yamaha started focusing on other projects. However, plenty of enthusiasts were still interested in the XS650. It was an affordable, durable motorcycle, and thanks to Shell Thuet, owners knew they could get more speed out of them. From big-boring the cylinders, to new cam profiles, to exhaust modifications, Thuet had shown what was possible.
定制建筑商喜欢使用XS街头交易ckers, as they came with a street-legal VIN. Photo: flattrackersforsale.com
Street rides
与此同时，有另一场有趣的场景从扁平的轨道社区发展。平轨赛车手想骑自行车在公共道路上。其他骑手只是喜欢平轨赛车手的外表和人体工程学，并希望建立具有相似线的定制机器。这就是我们如何获得街道跟踪器 - 基本上，街道的平迹追踪器。
Street trackers have been around for decades now, but until recently, you couldn’t just buy one at a dealership—you had to make one yourself, or have someone build it for you (unless you lived in Japan, and could find a Honda FTR223—but that’s another story).
每个摩托车的细节会略有不同，因为这是如何用定制自行车的方式，但通常，规则是相同的。街道跟踪器几乎总是有一个前进的制动器，你不在平轨自行车上的东西。它们具有宽，中升的车把，玻璃纤维尾部，具有独奏座椅和数字纸张而不是股票侧板和前灯（它们通常具有内置的迷你车灯）。有时它们会带上铸轮，有时有辐条轮，但它们通常具有匹配的18英寸或19英寸的车轮前后。通常，前挡泥板缩短，没有后挡泥板。几乎总是一个定制排气;有时它很高峰，就像经典的扰乱排气，但并非总是如此。通常，股票燃料箱获取靴子，较小的修剪单元上的构建器螺栓。
Look around online, and you’ll see all sorts of bikes used as the basis for street trackers, but the XS650 has historically been one of the most popular. Unlike the Harley-Davidson XR750, the XS came street-legal from the factory. That meant less hassle from The Man, if you wanted to register your bike for riding on public roads. Also, with the XS’s popularity on dirt tracks, there’s always been a booming aftermarket for the XS, with small shops selling race-style bodywork, exhausts and other bits for the bike. This made the XS attractive to plenty of builders, who couldn’t be fussed to weld up their own exhaust or fab their own fiberglass panels.
Sadly, this engine seems to be lacking any Shell Thuet magic, although the yellow/black paint recalls the glory days of Yamaha’s racing team. Photo: Flattrackersforsale.com
这习惯怎么样？
This machine,for sale in Key West, Florida, is a modern recreation of a vintage street track build. The seller says the bike was never raced; it’s a 1976 model, with bodywork fromOmar’s(tank, number plate, rear fender). The exhaust is also from Omar’s. The bike wasn’t powdercoated; the motor mounts, swingarm, wheels, frame, etc., are painted, and the builder says it’s one thing he wishes he could do over. There’s no front fender, just a fork brace, and there’s a set of aftermarket piggyback shocks in rear.
The engine itself seems to be stock, with lots of attention to detailing, but no hop-up parts. That’s going to disappoint speed junkies, but at least it should be fairly reliable. The OEM electric start is still operational, too (some XS-based customs install a block-off plug for the starter port, and run kickstart-only).
At $9,000, pricing seems high on this bike. However, it is a pretty good representation of the XS-based street trackers that were floating around about 20 years ago. Still, you should be able to find something pretty decent for less than $9k, which is almost enough to buy an Indian FTR1200, Polaris’s modern take on the street tracker formula. This定制街道跟踪器运动器来自Mule Motorcycles刚刚售出15美元的价格，很可能是一个更好的自行车。但是嘿 - 你总是可以打电话并发出要约，对吗？
