NZ FLAT TRACK – THE CLAY CLASSIC
BY LUKE RAMSEY
T
he idea of trying to bring Flat
Track racing back to NZ, after a
30-year draught was something
special to a kiwi legend Sam Smith. I had mixed emotions for weeks and wasn’t sure
how to feel or what to do about it. After talking to
the other racers, I had decided my way of moving
on, and that was in the form of a flat track bike.
Sam was the first one to take the leap and build
an American Flat Track 450. He then went one
better and built a 1/5-mile clay Flat Track up at
his father’s property in Harrisville. I was stoked
to first try Flat Track when Sam decided to hold
the first Clay Classic in November 2016. There
had only been a few purpose-built flat trackers,
so most of us just removed the front brake
and put rear trials tyres on. After that weekend
I added a flat track bike to my project list. The vision in mind was pretty trick. The goal was
to hopefully bring some awareness to the sport
Sam was so keen to rebuild. The hunt for a bike
started. I managed to get hold of a 2013 KX450F.
It had 90-hours on it so it was going to need to be
fully stripped. The reason I picked this bike was
that is was originally from the United States and
had some trick pro-circuit stuff on it already. I
framed the bike and the first move I made was to
get the frame and swingarm powder coated. I sent
all the bolts over to get re-plated. The engine was
stripped and a massive list of parts were ordered.
In late April this year we all gathered, however
this time it was not filled with fun and laughter.
Sam had passed away. This caught everyone by
surprise and left a lot of devastation in its wake.
After stripping the engine, Speed Hub Motorsport
was kind enough to let me use their vapour
KIWI RIDER 93