To the average John Citizen, flat tracking racing like any form of motorsport on an oval appears to simply involve going around and around in circles. That is until you experience it yourself, and that first full power slide becomes a sultry seductress you just can’t resist. More throttle, more power, more speed and it feels like you’re defying physics itself. So, keen to up the ante with their involvement in the sport, Triumph guru’s A&J Cycles, found a cheap donor and set about transforming it into a Hooligan flat track racer. From the bones of a 2006 Triumph Scrambler, they’ve worked their magic, to produce this seriously sexy sliding machine.
Regular readers of Pipeburn will be familiar with the impressive work of Brian Ballard and his team at A&J Cycles, located just a 30-minute scoot outside of New York City. Having built the business up over the last decade they can confidently lay claim to being a true one-stop-shop for all your Triumph needs. Whether you’re after a full-on custom build or just looking to do some online shopping for your next upgrade. So it makes sense that Facebook Marketplace would point them in the direction of any Triumphs for sale and it’s a rare sight to see one for $1000.
Checking it out further the 2006 Triumph Scrambler proved too good a bargain to turn down and was quickly snapped up and on its way to the workshop. “Never one to leave well enough alone, A&J chipped away throughout the course of 2020 to bring new life into the machine and not only ensure its success on the track but to turn some heads,” Brian tells us. Competing across the East Coast of the US in both Hooligan and AMA Vintage National events meant the team would run into serious competition. So a plan was devised to ensure no stone was left unturned in their pursuit of speed and scintillating good looks.
First, the engine came out and was treated to a serious overhaul, with Brian a fan of the British engines 270 degree crank for flat track racing. “With assistance from Bill Gately at Bonneville Performance, we installed their 12.5:1 compression piston kit, along with their ported/oversized valve head and race camshaft package.” To provide the spark, ignition and coils are custom from Triumph Twin Power in the United Kingdom. While feeding in the fuel is a set of Keihin FCR 39 flat slide carburetors that are neatly filtered thanks to a set of Uni filter pods and socks. The soundtrack comes courtesy of a custom made 2 into 1 exhaust with a SuperTrapp muffler to finish.
With Mike Goñi of Standard Cycle Company in New Jersey handling the tuning, the bike was strapped to the dyno. The results are impressive, low 70hp at the rear wheel and most importantly a smooth torque curve. But already there are plans underway to increase the bore size to deliver 904cc and fit dual Mikuni HSR42 carbs that should kick power up to 85hp at the back tyre. With the stock bike having produced just 62hp when brand new at the flywheel, these are impressive genuine figures, not the sort of dreamland stats you see quoted on social media.
Of course, power is only one part of the equation, the weight being another and a Mule Motorcycles oil cooler kit to eliminate the lower frame rails is a big help. “Reducing weight from roughly 475 pounds stock to just 389 pounds wet,” Brain explains. To make the most of the new power to weight ratio, the suspension comes in for a serious overhaul with custom adjustable offset triple trees from Jeremy Deruter and an aluminum swingarm from Calfab USA. A custom Ohlins Nix 22 cartridge kit with adjustable rebound and compression goes into the forks and the rear wears 340mm Ohlins TR 627 S36 shocks.
A set of 19” Sun rims (3”f, 3.5”r) are laced to the stock hub in the front and a custom Barnes quick change hub in the rear. The bike rides on Mitas FT-18 tires and when you do need to brake the rear 10.5” disc is grabbed by a Brembo P32 caliper. The bike is outfitted with 7/8” Pro Taper dirt track bars, Renthal kevlar waffle grips, G2 tamer throttle, Magura hydraulic clutch conversion, and Pingel kill switch. Looking trick the fiberglass tank and tail section are from First Klass Glass and Mule Motorcycles. Jay and Dave at Slag Kustom took care of the aluminium electrics tray, wheel spacers, and a host of other items. Before Dave took the gun and laid down the sweet Burnt Orange and Cream Pearl paint job.
AAll wired up in house and with the little details taken care of, the Triumph was ready in time for the opening of the 2021 season. Piloted by Nicholas Christie out of New Jersey, the team headed for the first events of the season, “the Steve Nace All-Star and Vintage Nationals during Daytona Bike Week, Nick had multiple first place qualifying sessions and placed second and third in the main events. Nick came out strong on a revamped setup, leaving Florida solidly in second place in the point standings.” A seriously impressive start for a new race bike, but then again we wouldn’t expect anything less from A&J Cycles and their good friends who you can check out at future events – here – and watch their kick-ass Triumph take to the track.
[ A&J Cycles | Photography by Antonio Carusone ]