ZLA goes flat-tracking

A caravan left the ZLA parking lot one Wednesday afternoon, loaded down with fuel, gear, tools, and lots of water. RevZilla's Culture Club secured Airport Speedway for us in New Castle, Delaware, where Zillans were invited to bring their bikes, try getting sideways, or just hang out as spectators to watch the action. How could we turn that offer down?

Normally razed by 125-600 cc micro-sprint cars and a motorcycle series, the banked eighth-mile dirt track was ours for the night. The speedway itself opened in 1981, though its home club was building ovals in the late 1950s. A crew of helpful, if puzzled, track personnel was on hand to work the flags, gates, and lights, while also standing by in case someone binned it. More on that later.

The parking lot quickly became ZLA’s pit. From the beginning, the event was open to any kind of bike, which resulted in lots of woods bikes, including my own Suzuki DR-Z250, and street machines. A local kid wandered over, confused. “Whatcha doin’ on streetbikes?” he asked. When we explained our plans for the night, he was baffled. “But don’t you wanna go fast?”

Only one real flat-track bike showed up. Just a handful of riders had correct tires, and the rest were either running knobbies or road rubber. But what we lacked in correctness, we made up for with enthusiasm. Wrong bikes, right people. This could only be great.

In a quick briefing before our first lap, ZLA’s event organizer (and the guy with the flat-tracker) Matt explained the basics of riding on the oval. “Ten laps per session. Checkered flag means it’s over, take a cool-down lap, and yellow flags and lights mean exit to the pits. Don’t touch the front brake, and ride safe. Got it?” How hard could it be?

Almost every rider was rolling onto a dirt track for the first time, myself included. We rode the first few laps almost exactly unlike pro racers. Hesitant. Shaky. It looked like a learn-to-ride drill with bars flat, torsos upright, and a generally dull show for the Zillans in the stands who’d come to see some bad racing, but not the boring kind.

For some riders, the learning curve was just frustrating. It didn’t help that almost all of us had to deal with quirks from our bike choices. “I almost loaded up my truck and left,” said Rob, whose motocrosser was not happy getting sideways. The street bike crew was also struggling, but with every lap, the pace picked up a little more, and a little more after that…

A few sessions in, these racers looked nothing like the dirt squirts who’d just started an hour ago. The pace was up, back wheels were stepping out a little, and body position was radically different. Elbows came up, left legs got out, and soon we’d worn a nice line into the dirt that crested right over the apexes. Riders went right through the pits without stopping, just so they could get in line for the next session. Things were heating up, and not just the pace. 

Relying only on our rear brakes, boiled fluid and torched discs became a real risk. Paul’s KTM suffered a stuck caliper, so Brandon explained an unsticking trick to get the KTM back on the track. Rather than wait for cool-down laps, Zillans tried “liquid cooling” their brakes by pouring water on the caliper with good effect. Nissin and Brembo might say you’re not supposed to do that, but you’re not supposed to flat-track these motorcycles, either. Besides, we sell parts. (And brake fluid, which a few of us had to buy after thoroughly cooking it.)

Joe, who you'll remember from Lemmy’s mini bike series, showed up with his monster minibike. It promptly hucked a chain. Fortunately, he’d also packed his 1972 Triumph Tiger, which he's raced for the past three years in AHRMA vintage hare scrambles. He quickly switched from the gnarly single-track of sand, mud, rocks and roots for the dirt track. One thing he didn't switch was the tires.

“When I heard about ZLA’s flat-track night, I was all in," Joe said. "I ended up keeping the knobbies since they were fresh, and we were not asked to change them out. Once I was on the track, I really got a feel for the best body position, braking points and where I could keep the throttle pinned. It was surely squirrelly, but such a blast. Being able to dice it out with my work buds on all sorts of bikes from a scooter to a sport bike had me giggling like a school girl in my helmet.”

Halfway into our flat-track night, we were hooked. George, who’d been sidelined by a mountain bike crash, refused to miss the event, became our photographer instead, and described the action this way: “I stood mid-track watching guys dishing out the beans like I wish I could. I saw gratuitous wheelies, showboat countersteering, and everyone putting away as many competitive laps as possible. Yeah, it was a casual ride, but who really rides casually? Especially with the audible assault of a straight-piped vintage Triumph echoing off every wall?”

“I watched battles between a seasoned motocrosser versus an enduro rider, very appropriate bikes versus inappropriate bikes. All in all, everyone was pushing the limits. The limits were pushing back. I saw quite a few rear ends give way before I ultimately watched in horror as a front end tucked.”

Oops. That front end was mine, and I’m proud to report that I bit the dirt in one of the best crashes of the night. Joe and I were battling for position, and I came into turn three a bit hotter than I should have. I thought I could save it until I felt the bars slam into the stop. Then I got that crashing feeling. A gracious victor, Joe helped get the wind knocked back into me, and I recovered in the stands with a hoagie and some ice packs. The bike started right up afterwards (takes more than that to kill a DRZ!), and I had a neat bruise to show around the office on Thursday. Not bad! I suspect running actual flat-track tires instead of TKC80s might have kept me upright, but I was happy with my progress.

From the stands, I got to spend some time watching my coworkers fling clay. My favorite bike? The Vespa 300 GTS, campaigned by Millz.

“Before going out, I was 90 percent sure I was going to rash myself and the scoot,” he reflected. “That’s not specific to the experience of riding the scooter, but more to my lack of experience on dirt in general. Even the 'upgraded' OEM suspension left a lot to be desired, and the 12-inch wheels probably didn’t do me any favors either. But having never raced or been on a track of any kind before, I had a blast. I’ll probably have to check and tighten every bolt, since it felt like it was going to shake apart the entire time, but it was so worth it.”

Another fan favorite was Nick, on his Ninja 300. “I don’t own a dirt bike, dual-sport, or supermoto, but when I heard RevZilla was organizing a flat-track night I just couldn’t resist,” Nick explained. “It’s not often that I get the chance to slide the rear wheel around on my Ninja, but it was a great opportunity to learn a new riding technique and get more comfortable on a bike.” Watching a fully faired bike getting sideways is one of my favorite memories of the night. If a Ninja can do it, what’s stopping you?

Looking back, the beginners had come a long way. “I was truly impressed with everyone's skills,” Joe smiled. “Even though we were all on different machines, the tight track kept things pretty even. The heavy but powerful Triumph was a bear to get through the corners but could really pull hard coming onto the straights. The smaller bikes may not have had the same pull out of the corners, but would rail through them without much need for slowing down. Ultimately it was a pure blast and we all left with dirt in our teeth from smiling so much.”

Photographer George will be back for the next one once he’s healed up. “To me, flat-track represents a constant teetering on the edge. Even the pros, at best, appear to continuously juke between being pulled under or catapulted over. Amidst all the risk, I think there's an underlying juvenile appeal to throwing yourself at something so simple as racing your friends around an oval.”

You can bet we’ll bring the enthusiasm, cameras (make sure to check out the other photos in the gallery), and wrong bikes to future flat-track events. But next time, I’m changing my tires.