Flat Track racing champ, Ryan Wells shows off his team's KTM Super Duke

As soon as we walked into the Indianapolis Dealer Expo we were drawn to the KTM Super Duke 990, maybe because we've never seen a Flat Track motorcycle before, at least not a KTM one. Basically, it's a beautiful street bike, done up for racing.

Ryan Wells is one of the top Flat Track racers in North America. Although not his bike, Ryan's told us a bit about his team's KTM Super Duke 990cc ridden by mates Jeremy Higgins and Steve Murray. Much of the bike is stock. Well, perhaps not that much. The frame was changed for a Lazer, the front brakes are (obviously) gone and clearly the tank/seat aren't stock. Suspension almost certainly got a tune up, but the engine is basically unchanged apart from the cams. Team owner Dave Waters tells us the engine is so solid that in two years they've never had to do much to it.

Ryan further went on to tell us about his KTM 450. His bike really is almost stock, based on a 450EXC. In his case, it's a testament to KTM's out the box racing capabilities. I'd always thought that dirt-tracking was just backing it in on a dirt track and as a result you just needed a good engine, but Ryan told me some circuits can feautre jumps, with one featuring a 120 foot jump. I guess that'll work the WP suspension hard.

For his part, Ryan started riding at the age of 4 and last year, at 17, he won his first AMA Pro Singles Flat Track Race in the 450cc class at Daytona. Unfortunately, shortly after, and with just a few points off the top of the standings, he broke his collar bone. Happily, he seems much better now and raring to go.

This year is a big racing year for the team: for one, it's the first year for official KTM sponsorship. Project K Racing is the first KTM sponsored team to complete in the AMA Pro Racing Flat Track series. Ryan is out to prove himself; he's going for Rookie of the Year and the odds and skill are in his favour to win.

In the future, Ryan Wells has his sights set on road racing. He also tells me he just got his drivers license and will see about a motorcycle license - street riding, he tells me, is a dangerous pursuit. Made me laugh.

If you're new to Flat Track motorcycle racing here's what you need to know. Flat Track takes place on a flat oval track usually on dirt or loosely packed shale. Riders use this surface to slide their machines sideways into the turns using the rear wheel to scrub-off speed while still providing the drive to power the bike forward and around corners. Flat Track motorcycles can have either two-stroke or four-stroke engines.

Four-stroke motorcycles dominate professional competition and depending on the venue, can be single or multi- cylinder. Flat Track bikes have front and rear suspension, and rear brakes. The brakes are what make it completely distinct from Speedway racing (no brakes), as the brakes allow for a different cornering technique.

Successful riders will often move to road racing, which is considerably more lucrative. Many top American riders in Grand Prix motorcycle racing began their racing careers as Flat Track racers.

Project K Racing is owned by Dave and Rhonda Waters, you can find more about the team here: http://www.projectkracing.com/about-project-k/

The Indianapolis Dealer Expo is happening this weekend, Feb 15 - 17, 2013, at the Indy Convention Centre http://www.dealernews.com/

Enjoy the ride, EatSleepRIDE!

[cid=13291,http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/rkeomGvGVME/hqdefault.jpg]