1909 Reading & 1908 Indian

1909 Reading Standard Board Track Racer
In the early part of the last century, the motorcycle world was dominated by board track racing. Cities around the country built massive wooden tracks with steep banks that became nearly vertical in the turns. Motorcycle manufacturers produced special racers just for competition that had just one very tall gear, no brakes, no suspension and no throttle. Riders were simply expected to start the bike and hold on. As you might guess, this type of riding was beyond dangerous and eventually fell out of favor, but not before a handful of very cool bikes was produced.

1908 Indian Torpedo Tank Board Track Racer
Like its competition from Reading, the Torpedo Tank was built for tackling the high-banked arena of board track racing, sacrificing everything in the name of speed.

These bikes were at the Concours d'Elegance, the world-famous gathering of vintage machines in Monterey, Calif.