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Valentino Rossi’s Special Yamaha XJR1300 Flat Tracker

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It is good to be Valentino Rossi. Not only do you have nine world championships to your name, legions of yellow-crazy fans, but you also get pretty nice gifts from your friends.

Take “Mya” for example – a special Yamaha XJR1300 custom flat tracker that the folks at VR|46 built for their fearless leader.

Now, when you think about bikes that should be the basis for a custom project, the Yamaha XJR1300 doesn’t exactly come to mind. It probably doesn’t help that this decades-old model is only Euro3 compliant, and set to sunset at the end of this year.

The XJ1300 certainly doesn’t strike us as the appropriate starting point for a flat track bike either, especially with its 530 lbs weight figure.

That all being said, the VR|46 crew have done a pretty good job of spiffing up the old girl.

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Bikes

Is The Husqvarna Svartpilen 701 the Future’s Flat Tracker?

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In addition to showing us the production-ready Husqvarna Vitpilen 701, the Swedish brand also teased us with its dark side, debuting the Husqvarna Svartpilen 701 as a concept model.

A neo-retro take on the flat tracker aesthetic, this “black arrow” street tracker was designed to boast both minimalistic and sophisticated lines to motorcyclists around the world.

Centered around the same 690cc single-cylinder engine as the Vitpilen 701, the two bikes are a sort of ying and yang to where the Husqvarna brand is headed with its street bikes.

They share common design elements, like the round headlight, exposed pod air filter, fuel tank shape, and muted color palette.

Likely to be a 2019 model, the Husqvarna Svartpilen 701 concept is very close to what we can expect to see on dealership floors, if the debuted Vitpilen 701 can be believed.

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Bikes

Indian Scout FTR1200 Teases a Coming Street Tracker

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Indian Motorcycle dominated this year’s American Flat Track series, and what a better way to celebrate the success of the Wrecking Crew than with a custom street tracker concept.

The Indian Scout FTR1200 shares the name with the donor bike it comes from, but in reality it aims to look and feel like the American brand’s 750cc flat track racer. Though without the über-trick 750cc v-twin engine found on the Indian Scout FTR750 race bike, this 1200cc variant looks pretty good too.

Word is, we might see it go into production…just not for the 2018 model year. As such, don’t hold your breath – but also, never say never.

Indian created the Scout FTR1200 in house, wedging the 1,133cc v-twin engine from its production Scout into a custom frame that resembles its racing Scout.

Built like a race bike, the Indian Scout FTR1200 shaves massive amounts of weight, compared to its production counterpart – to the tune of 117 lbs. This means that the Scout FTR1200 hits the scales at only 427 lbs.

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Dirt

American Flat Track at the Arizona Mile with Scott Jones

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Our man Scott Jones was out at the Arizona Mile recently, with the American Flat Track racing, doing what he does best. Shooting the fourth round of the season, Scott got to document the resurgence we’ve seen in American Flat Track racing.

As usual, his photos are outstanding, and we hope that we will see him at a few more AFT races this year. Above, a pack of AFT Twins riders chase down Brad Baker. Check out the other photos, after the jump. -JB

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News

Dirt Quake Acquired by North One TV

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Dirt Quake, the grassroots flat track event, has been acquired by North One TV. The transaction sees North One TV acquiring both the Dirt Quake name, and the Dirt Quake events, with the core Dirt Quake team, including Gary Inman, staying on for the foreseeable future.

North One says that with the acquisition the media company plans to grow Dirt Quake internationally, with Dirt Quake already hosting popular events in the UK, Europe, and United States.

Presumably this means an expansion of Dirt Quake events into new markets, where flat track racing is already popular.

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News

Dainese Working on Flat-Track Specific Race Apparel

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Dainese/AGV and American Flat Track announced their partnership today, with the Italian apparel brands becoming the official safety and race apparel brand of flat track racing in the United States.

What is more interesting though is that according to the announcement, Dainese and AGV will develop products that are specifically designed with flat track racing in mind.

This should be a huge boon to flat track racers, who often have to compromise and adapt apparel from road racing and dirt disciplines for their unique needs.

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Bikes

Indian’s Flat Track Racer Now Available to Mere Mortals

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When the Indian Scout FTR750 flat track race bike debuted, our comments section was filled with enthusiasts screaming for a production version of the water-cooled 750cc machine.

Well my friends, your prayers have been answered…in part. Indian is making the Scout FTR750 available to anyone who has the coin to spend, with a couple caveats: 1) you will need to pony up $50,000 in order to purchas the bike, and 2) it will be a race-only model.

Still, the news should be exciting for privateer flat track racers who are keen to use Indian’s very trick racing package, which looks to be far more purpose-built than Harley-Davidson’s Street 750 based offering.

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Podcast

Two Enthusiasts Podcast #44 – Michael Lock

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Episode 44 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is very special, because we have our very first guest on the show, Michael Lock from AMA Pro Racing.

Some of you might know Lock as the man behind the freshly rebranded American Flat Track series, and he has deep roots in the motorcycle industry, leading the US efforts for Ducati and Triumph, as well as working for Honda in the UK and across Europe.

As such, we had a very interesting time picking Lock’s brain about the current state of the US motorcycle industry, what is wrong with road racing, and what he is doing with flat track (with a bevy of side topics along the way, of course).

You will want to grab some provisions before hitting the play button on this show, because this one is super long (two hours) – we just didn’t want to cut out any of Lock’s insights.

Duration aside, we think you will find Lock’s comments and perspective to be very insightful, especially during these uncertain times for the motorcycle industry. 

You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Dirt

Super Hooligan Flat Track Racing Is A Thing Now

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Super Hooligan Racing is officially a thing now, with the big-bike flat track racing event taking-on a nationwide racing series format for 2017.

The brainchild of Roland Sands Design, Super Hooligan racing adds a sort of “production racing” element to flat track racing, with competitors on motorcycles that are 750cc and up, along with stock frames, dirt track tires, and no front brakes.

The first race of the season has already taken place here in Salem, Oregon – tied into the The One Moto Show – and other Super Hooligan events will take place at similar motorcycle festival events throughout the year.

With contingency money and purse prizes going to race winners, and an Indian Scout FTR750 race bike going to the series winner, there is a good incentive here for riders to come out and try wrangling 500+ lbs street bikes around a dirt oval.

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MotoGP

Marc Marquez Winning the Superprestigio, A Video

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Not too many MotoGP racers have their own YouTube channel, which is interesting in its own right, but it doesn’t surprise us to see that the two biggest personalities in the GP paddock are constantly churning out content for their fans: Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez.

Just recently, the 2016 MotoGP World Champion won his own event, the Superprestigio Dirt Track race in Barcelona. That victory might not have been as big of a deal as winning again the MotoGP title, but make no mistake, Marquez’s victory over Brad Baker & Co. was very important to the Spaniard.

To celebrate that win, Marquez and his crew have made a little video celebrating the occasion. Whether you love or hate Marc Marquez, we are sure the video will only fuel those feelings further. Enjoy!

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Dirt

Michael Lock Talks About the Future of Flat Track Racing

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As discussed previously on Asphalt & Rubber, flat track racing in the United States will have a comprehensive makeover in 2017. The series will be rebranded as the American Flat Track Series, and the calendar expanded to 18 rounds. 

At the Superprestigio in Barcelona last weekend, the CEO of the American Flat Track series, Michael Lock, sat down with Asphalt & Rubber to discuss the reasoning behind the changes.

The expat Englishman came to flat track with a unique perspective; that of an outsider. He was an Englishman abroad, and brought fresh eyes to the problem of trying to grow flat track racing once again.

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