Harley-Davidson Flat Track Race India Bike Week 2024: Lessons Learnt

We at ZigWheels had a chance to participate in the Harley-Davidson X440 Flat Track Race at India Bike Week (IBW) 2024. The race was our first taste of what the flat track really is, and it also came as a massive reality check.

The Beginning

A few weeks ago I had a chance to attend the TVS Ronin Drift-R school. I learnt the basics of riding on the flat track there. The experience was quite enlightening, and the lessons learnt improved my road riding skills massively. 

When I got the opportunity to take part in the Harley-Davidson X440 Flat Track Race at IBW 2024, I was absolutely thrilled. First, I was getting a chance to test out what I learnt before. Second, as someone who had never taken part in a race, this was my shot as seeing where I stand.

The Bike And The Track

For this race, we were riding a specially modified Harley-Davidson X440. The bike has seen several changes both to its design and underpinnings. The headlight section has been removed and replaced with a race plate. 

The stock seat and subframe has been replaced with a foam padding and compact looking rear. The bike has also undergone a couple of changes on the mechanical side. The front brake has been removed and the stock footpegs have been replaced with off-road style ones.

One of the things I really liked about the build was how it manages to resemble the Harley-Davidson XR750. Overall, the build has been done quite well and the bike really does ride like a proper flat tracker.

The track we were racing on was a 160m oval, which is a lot smaller than the 250m track I had ridden on before. The shorter track presented its own set of challenges. The main issue was the shorter straights.

This made the race a lot more intense as we kept hitting the corners a lot quicker. The bike we were riding was quite capable, and specially designed to take on the challenge. But the question in my mind was, whether or not I was prepared for the challenge at hand.

The Race And Reality Check

The flat track race was quite different from how I imagined it would be. Instead of all eight journalists racing at the same time, we were divided into four groups of two. So the race was a series of 1v1s, with the winner of each round advancing to the next. This really changed the equation, now that I had the entire track to work with.

One of the mantras I live by is "competence is confidence”, and before this race I was fairly confident. But when things started, it became clear that my confidence wasn’t backed by the kind of competence that would justify it.

Well, after getting eliminated from the race after the first round it was clear where I truly stood in terms of skills. There were a couple of things I got right and others that I got wrong.

During my previous time on the track I was able to work on 3 key areas: vision, body positioning and throttle control. But one of the things I missed out on was lines and this mistake was one of the reasons why I was not able to win.

When riding on roads we do think of lines when cornering.The idea here is to keep ourselves safe from the oncoming traffic. But when racing, lines serve a different purpose. The idea is to find an optimal path which would allow the rider to increase speed and minimize lap time.  

In my case, I was going for an entry from the middle into an inside line, and an exit towards the outside. This is somewhat of a habit developed while riding on roads. On the road, this gives us a better view of what is coming without entering into the wrong side. 

But while racing, the equation changes entirely. On the flat track where you are dealing with a double apex turn the lines determine everything. Ideally I should have been going full wide, with the first apex being closer to the middle of the track and the second one on the inside. 

What Racing Taught Me

One of the biggest lessons I learnt racing at the Harley-Davidson Flat Track Race was this, there’s always more than what meets the eye. When it comes to flat track racing this is definitely true. 

From the outside, it just looks like a simple race with riders going around in an oval track. But once you are on the bike, your perception of the flat track changes entirely. The lesson learnt here was quite enlightening and has shown some gaps in my game which have to be improved. 

So if you are someone who has been thinking about going on the flat track, then my advice is simple. Just do it. The experience will help improve your road riding skills to a great extent.