1966 Triumph
Classic 500 flat tracker

By Ron Atherton

"Rigid frame and no brake." I think this is what real vintage flat track racing is all about.

I started racing flat track and TTs in Sportsman events back in the early '60s. I started on a 100 Bultaco, and in the mid'60s I bought a 100 Kawasaki. I rode the Kawasaki in flat track, TTs and even roadraced it at Daytona a few years. I was having so much fun and doing quite well, I wanted more.

So in 1971 I decided I wanted to go pro. I bought a 1971 250 Ossa DMR to ride in my Novice year. In my Junior year, Fred Bradley and I built a 1968 750 BSA, which I rode until the mid-'70s. I gave up my pro license and returned to amateur events, riding the Ossa, BSA and a 1974 340 Rokon.

In 1976 I hung up my steel shoe, but I didn't retire my bikes. My oldest son, Gene, took over racing them in the amateur circuit.

By 1991 I still had the bug to race, so my steel shoe came out of retirement and I bought a 500 Wood Rotax. Later I made it into a 600 and I wanted to ride some miles like Springfield, Ill., so I got my pro license back. And so I did ride the Springfield Mile. Scared my wife half to death. My pro days were short lived. My wife thought I was too old to be riding with the 16-year-olds, and that it had been too many years since I had been in the pro circuit. She was right. So I went back to just riding amateur events again.

1993 was my first year riding AHRMA events at I-96 Speedway on my Rokon. This was a blast and I wanted more.

In the spring of 1995, I build my 1966 500 Triumph. It is so much fun to ride. I wish there were more racetracks like there use to be, with a cushion but not like a speedway with a groove. I still race my Rotax at different places; my favorite is the Indy Mile.

Thanks to Leo Jovanovic of Leo's Triumph for all the help getting this project on the racetrack.

Visit my home page at www.ronscycle.com