Board Track Racing: A Ride on a Razor’s Edge

[psyflyer]

In the early 1910s and 1920s, America experienced one of the most spectacular—and at the same time deadliest—eras in motorsport history: board track racing. On gigantic ovals, known as “motordromes,” pioneers raced against time and death on machines like the Indian 8-Valve.
The Tracks: Giants of Wood
The racetracks consisted of millions of pine or spruce planks laid on their edges. With steep turns of up to 60 degrees, these tracks were designed to harness centrifugal force to enable speeds beyond imagination. A tire blowout in this situation was almost always a death sentence due to the G-forces at play.
The Machines: Pure Power

No brakes & no clutch: Every gram of weight was saved. Braking was achieved by short-circuiting the ignition or, as with my model, by lifting the intake valves so that compression collapsed; starting was done by pushing or using a tow rope.

Radical Technology: The 1,000 cc 8-valve engines were technical masterpieces that catapulted riders to over 190 km/h—on tires barely thicker than those of a modern bicycle.ycles like the 1914 Indian were highly efficient, uncompromising machines:

The Gladiators of the “Murderdromes”
The riders were superstars whose only protection consisted of a leather cap and a wool sweater. Heroes like “Texas” Cyclone Taylor and Charles “Fearless” Balke were celebrated for their courage as they raced for their lives through thick oil mist and swirling wood dust. To counteract the dust and oil sticking to their throats, the riders often chewed on lemon slices to stimulate saliva production.
The risk was ever-present: the oil from the loss lubrication system turned the tracks into mirror-smooth traps, and rotten planks became deadly projectiles. These extreme accident rates earned the tracks the grim nickname “Murderdromes.”
The Legacy
Board track racing disappeared in the mid-1920s. The costs of maintaining the wooden tracks were too high, and the risk to riders and spectators was no longer acceptable. Yet the machines—like my model of the 1914 Indian—endure as mechanical monuments to an era when courage knew no bounds.
Key technical specifications, based on the 1914 1000 cc (61 ci) factory V-twin engine (Engine No. 74E 674).
Technical Specifications: 1914 Indian 8-Valve Board Track Racer
Engine Type 42-degree V-twin
Valve configuration OHV (overhead valves), 4 valves per cylinder
Displacement 998 cc (60.92 cubic inches)Bore x Stroke 82.5 mm x 93.6 mm (3.25" x 3.68")
Power approx. 15–20 hp (depending on tuning and fuel)
Compression Ratio approx. 5.5:1 (very high by the standards of the time)
Carburetor Schebler Model L (racing version)
Ignition Bosch high-voltage magneto
Lubrication Flood lubrication (hand pump on the tank + drip lubricator)
Drive Direct chain drive (no transmission, no clutch)
Frame “Keystone” type (engine is load-bearing element)
Weight approx. 115–125 kg (ready to ride, extremely lightweight)
Top speed approx. 115–120 mph (approx. 185–195 km/h)
For my reconstruction, I used the 1914 Indian 8-Valve factory race bike—likely the last one ever displayed in nearly original condition—which was exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum in 2008 as part of the “The Art of the Motorcycle” exhibition. The bike was sold to a private collector at a Bonhams auction in 2022, and the photos from that auction served as my reference. I hope you enjoy looking at it. Best regards, Rainer

[Frank_Meyer]

That looks really cool! I like the micro-exaust…

[romtecmax (Max)]

I had never heard of these races before, but it’s fascinating and really just insane what they were doing.

Here are some blogs that go into detail about it:

https://dlmracing.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-short-history-of-greater-san.html

https://www.distilledhistory.com/motordrome/

Fascinating. Also the way they constructed the racing track.. How did they even come up with that

[psyflyer]

Hi Max,
The race tracks were inspired by the bicycle races held on wooden tracks that were very popular in the U.S. at the time. Of course, there were already long-distance motorcycle races back then—though they were more like motorized bicycles—but in those races, you couldn’t really see much of the action. —so one day, Jack Price had an idea: “Let’s build oval tracks so the spectators can see the spectacle better.” —the first tracks could barely fit two riders—after the project proved successful, the tracks grew larger and larger—the banked turns steeper and the races faster—the tracks were up to 4 miles long, and races were held over distances of up to 300 miles. The races were very popular alongside baseball and attracted tens of thousands of spectators. No one realized that it wasn’t just the riders who were in mortal danger—and then came September 8, 1912 — Eddie “the Texas Cyclone” Hasha took part in the last race of the day—while in the lead, his Indian 8-valve began to misfire; the machine veered toward the upper edge of the track at high speed and struck a child who had leaned over the railing to get a better view—Eddie was thrown from the machine and collided with a post
His bike skidded back onto the track and struck another rider, who died four hours later in the hospital—and whose bike flew into the crowd, killing several people. The incident triggered a stampede that left many more injured. - That was the beginning of the end—because people became aware of the danger, and a few years later, the era of board track racing came to an end
Rainer

[3dsynergy]

Awesome work thanks for posting!

Also sure you know but just to reminisce about all the great bikes like this, some made in Chicago around that time as well.

Excelsior Motor Manufacturing & Supply Company was an American motorcycle manufacturer operating in Chicago from 1907 to 1931. It was purchased by Ignaz Schwinn, proprietor of bicycle manufacturer Arnold, Schwinn & Co. in 1912. In 1912, an Excelsior was the first motorcycle to be officially timed at a speed of 100 mph. The Henderson Motorcycle Company became a division of Excelsior when Schwinn purchased Henderson in 1917. By 1928, Excelsior was in third place in the U.S. motorcycle market behind Indian and Harley-Davidson. The Great Depression convinced Schwinn to order Excelsior’s operations to cease in September 1931.

RM

[Normand (Jakob Normand)]

Hi @psyflyer
What a wonderfully detailed model and great background story! The disregard for human lives in the early days of motorsport - both 2 and 4 wheels - is both fascinating and scary as hell!
-Jakob

[eleven]

Check out Paul Brodie on Youtube, he’s built a couple

[3dsynergy]

Very cool I just checked a few vids.
Thanks for the suggestion.
RM

[theoutside (Kyle Houchens)]

wonderful models and renderings-