Boardtrack Racing Handlebars

[sportscarpat]

Lately I have been putting a lot of miles on my current boardtrack build. Having lots of fun and basically just riding the heck out of the thing. I get lots of questions about the build. To someone who has never seen a 1920's boardtrack racer the first thing they usually ask is "why are the handlebars upside down?" After explaining why about twenty times I decided to build some handlebars that were more like the original racers. I looked at old photos, kicked around some ideas, and decided to build some 1920's Indian style bars. What I discovered was that my design offered a huge range of adjustment and I could easily dial in the look as well as the feel. Since running these bars the only thing people say now are "wow, those are cool handlebars". I am sure some will copy my design, but just be careful because if they were to fail due to poor welding or improper component selection the result could be painful. If anyone is interested in a set of these bars they are available. Brackets required machining as well as tig welding and come in stainless steel.

 

[sportscarpat]

Here is another shot of the handlebars.

 

[makaworx]

Intresting and nice indeed.
I love the tank and the paint job on it.

 

[danosixtysix]

thats a sweet looking bike. bars look awsome.

 

[dmar836]

Good job. Check out BoardTrackRacer's bars. He built his as well. I won't tell his secret but his are very close in appearance to original bars.

 

[bairdco]

nice, i'm digging the vintage spark plug cable, too.

 

[Board Track Racer]

Actually this set-up is more of a resemblance to a 1915 Pope.

 

[dv8cam]

Lately I have been putting a lot of miles on my current boardtrack build. Having lots of fun and basically just riding the heck out of the thing. I get lots of questions about the build. To someone who has never seen a 1920's boardtrack racer the first thing they usually ask is "why are the handlebars upside down?" After explaining why about twenty times I decided to build some handlebars that were more like the original racers. I looked at old photos, kicked around some ideas, and decided to build some 1920's Indian style bars. What I discovered was that my design offered a huge range of adjustment and I could easily dial in the look as well as the feel. Since running these bars the only thing people say now are "wow, those are cool handlebars". I am sure some will copy my design, but just be careful because if they were to fail due to poor welding or improper component selection the result could be painful. If anyone is interested in a set of these bars they are available. Brackets required machining as well as tig welding and come in stainless steel.

I would be interested. Are you selling the bars and the brackets? If so, how much? Can you do a didderent bend on the lower bars or are you cutting up existing bars?

Thanks!

 

[sportscarpat]

Hi Board Track Racer,
Here was my inpriation. Guess it's a 1915 Indian. I think I have figured out how to get the bend of my bars more accurate, but it will actually require two sets of bars cut down. The drop down center section will come from one set and the hand grip area will come from another set. I hear you made a set also. I did a search but could not find them.

 

[MotorbikeMike]

Hi guys, this bike belongs to a guy about 40 miles from me. Mike says it is a 1915 Indian, knowing that he must have paid good money for it, and the fact that he knows more about antique Motorcycles than anyone I know, I would say "Yup, that seems right!".

Here is a side view I shot, showing you the down angle of the bars and one from the front to see the shape.

It seems that you could use a MTB bar for the center and some of the "kiddie Bars" or vintage girls cruisers will have the hard bend for the outers.

I hadn't noticed the 3 piece bars before, but I see now that besides adjusting more for rider position that the controls run thru the bars and exit out the ends.

Notice that his 1908 Sears does not do this! The late 'teens early 20's Iron Dinosaur has a similar type bars, and yes, it is still raced today!

BTW that day was a total immersion in Antique Motorcycle for me!

Mike

 

[sportscarpat]

Thanks for the pictures, guys. I will be fine tuning my design over the next few days and will play with different bends until I nail down the Indian or Pope look. I have also ordered some aluminum bar end plugs to cap the holes and clean up the look a bit. The parts to build the brackets are not cheap and it takes me an hour to build them up between the milling operation and the tig welding. What I find in this hobby is that a lot of people are shocked at the prices I need to charge to make custom parts. Some people think that because an engine only cost $100, then everything else should cost much less. I build this stuff in my home shop in my spare time one part at a time.

 

[sportscarpat]

dv8cam,
I consider these bars the prototype and will be building three more sets of clamps in the next few days for customers. If you want this set as you see them I could let them go at a resonable cost. The bars I started with were fairly cheap and the real cost is in the brackets. Once you have the set you could use any 7/8" donar bars you can find to get the look you are after. Email me if you are truly interested.

 

[Board Track Racer]

Heres how I made mine. 1 set of cheap MT bike bars for the center section. 1 set of cheap ape hangers for the drop downs.

This is a link to some pictures of my bike
http://motorbicycling.com/f38/my-boardtracker-post-yours-here-6242-7.html#post127573

 

[sportscarpat]

Board Track Racer,
Those are really cool. You used two sets of cheap handlebars and then spent hours designing and building two sets of really cool brackets. You know what it takes. Nice work.

 

[lobsterboyx]

hey pat! i really love your bike.. where do you ride? we have been trying to put together a board track style motor-bicycle ride for awhile now.

 

[sportscarpat]

I live just south of San Jose. Would like to ride with others but everyone is pretty far from me.

 

[sportscarpat]

To anyone interested I am just finishing up a run on these boardtrack style drop bar clamps. I have been running them on my bike and have not had any problems so I feel comfortable selling them. I still have two sets available. Clamps only, stainless steel construction machined and properly tig welded. Bars not included so you can experiment with whatever configuration you like. Bars must be cut square to achive a proper clamping area and this is easily done with a tubing cutter. The donar bars shown in the attached picture were $8 from Husky bikes and are just standard Wald brand cruiser bars. Clamps are $65 plus shipping. Just email me if interested.

 

[Dave31]

I live just south of San Jose. Would like to ride with others but everyone is pretty far from me.

Try posting a new thread here Events, Races & Rally - Motorized Bicycle Tavern at Motorized Bicycle Forum, you probably have a better chance of someone in your area reading it.

 

[Robert Price]

Yeah those are cool and everything but for my weight I went with a 1 inch sportster handlebar. My design is a lot like sportscarpat's.