Desert sleds…a bike that few know much about. Ironmen like Steve McQueen and thousands upon thousands whose names have not been recorded in history loved to race them, but what exactly is a desert sled? Is it simply any heavy 500cc or up bike with a skid plate and sundry tools slapped on, or is it a spirit, a need to conquer?
Perhaps Bill Bryant of Chop Cult said it best:
“Long before modern heroes backflipped for TV cameras and energy drink contracts, tough men thrashed modified street machines in the lonely deserts of the Southwest USA and Baja.”
Early Desert Sleds
Early desert sleds were built by a rider concerned with only himself and his ability to finish a race. Even when built on the same platform, each bike turned out with a distinct personality provided by a wide spectrum of lucky charms, religious medallions, and kisses from a beautiful girl. All this in hopes of warding off the evil spirits, hidden rocks, and obscured mine shaft openings that could end a race–or rider–prematurely.
These bikes could have been Harleys, Indians, or any type of home-built contraption that a rider could piece together. British rides made rare appearances, but struggled to finish. No homologation rules to worry about, so zero f#*ks given. During early competitions, no one worried about getting there fast, just getting there. As Matt Cuddy of Super Hunky says:
“These machines were not so much about going fast through the mighty desert, but just finishing the ride without a major break down, or crash.”
The British (Sled) Invasion
No one worried about getting to the finish line quickly because the lightweight British bike had not invaded the desert sled culture yet. The few that came around early were too quirky to be reliable in the sand. Eventually, many fans of the desert sled recognized the benefits of a sled that could be picked up easily and was faster than the old style American bikes. That led to a wave of 650cc twin-cylinder Brit rides hammering around the desert during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Even with the majority of the bugs worked out, the most important tool in a riders kit was a tow rope.
The Desert Sled: An American Icon
During this time, Steve McQueen developed his love and loyalty for the Triumph brand, earned in the lonesome, unforgiving deserts of Baja. In the filming of The Great Escape, McQueen famously would not allow anything but Triumphs on the set. Using a BMW for the stunts and filming was out of the question. Elvis himself was photographed on a Triumph desert sled, further solidifying the sexiness of the ‘sled.
Two-Stroke Desert Racers
An ever evolving and adaptable breed, desert sledders are always on the prowl for the next edge…the bike that will not only let them finish a run, but in the best possible time. What out does a lightweight twin-cylinder? A two-stroke of course, or so it seemed at the time. Soon dirt bikes like the Yamaha 360, Pursang 360, and the Husqvarna 400 were dotting the dry landscape like it was their sole purpose in this world. These bikes ushered in a heyday for desert racing. These were the years when true men of the sand ran from Barstow to Vegas, hammered through the Moose Run, and beat themselves up to win the Elsinore GP. The scene was totally dominated by bikes sporting Curnutt rear shocks, Don Vesco fuel cells, and the heaviest ply knobbies imaginable. One thing remained the same, though. Every bike had a tow rope onboard!
Desert Racers Today
Irony rules the desert today. Harken back to an earlier paragraph…we told you how the four-stroke was replaced by the two-stroker. Well, the four-stroke has taken over again. Granted, these are far better bikes than the original, but a caterpillar lays dormant before emerging as a butterfly.
The new four-strokers can cost a fortune to maintain, with the engines barely making it through 30 hours of run time before a factory-trained tech has to tear them down. Today, desert sleds cost a small fortune to maintain, the Bureau of Land Management is clamping down on events, and housing developments are popping up where races used to be run. Hopefully, this is not a death knell for the sport.
Vintage Desert Sled Builds
Currently, we are seeing two types of desert sleds in the custom scene. First, there are the traditional sleds, typically built on vintage Triumph platforms to look and perform like they did in the 60-70s heydays. They typically have high-pipes to protect the exhaust from rocks and flung debris, skid plates, fork brace, number plate, and often a clunky seat that nevertheless protects the rider’s posterior over endless miles of rough terrain. Examples include this Xcrambler Triumph Sport Tiger and Steven Robson’s 1978 Triumph T140 Scrambler.
Modern Desert Sled Builds
We’re also beginning to see a trend emerge, a new genre of modern street sleds inspired by the vintage desert-racers of old. Examples include the MX EVO Bonneville and this sled-inspired British Customs Scrambler. In fact, British Customs has an entire guide on how to build a desert sled. Perhaps our favorite modern desert sled is the Stasis Scrambler 900 by Cliff Fisher of Stasis Motorcycles, which he describes as “long-legged, knobby, cattle-guard jumper for the rural Texas dirt roads.”
What is a Desert Sled: A Definition
Most great works of art defy classification, and the same can be said of many of the best custom bike builds we see. That said, it’s a human need to classify and label our world–and hell, it can be fun. Here’s our definition, which applies both to vintage and contemporary desert sleds, and helps differentiate them from similar machines.
“A desert sled is a non-dirt bike based custom, typically in excess of 650cc, which has knobby tires, skid plate, enduro bars, a number plate or caged headlight, and high pipes. Often, it has a larger gas tank than a comparable scrambler or enduro, and/or a toolkit for trail-side repairs, and does not have the fairings and windshield of an adventure bike.”
Desert Sled Motorcycles
MotoWorks: Royal Enfield Bear 650 Desert Sled - Bike Shed Moto Show Raffle Bike from Fastec Racing x Bike Shed MotoWorks… In late 2024, Royal Enfield introduced the Bear 650, a retro-style scrambler that utilizes the same 650cc parallel-twin as their Interceptor and […]
Kawasaki Meguro S1 Desert Sled - BSA-Inspired Meguro Desert Sled from LEMBinc… Based on the Kawasaki W230, the Kawasaki Meguro S1 is a tribute to Meguro, Japan’s oldest motorcycle manufacturer, which Kawasaki acquired in the early 1960s to help them enter […]
KICKBACK 2026 Round III: Scramblers, Trackers, Supermotos! - The 33rd KICKBACK Custom Classic Bike Show wasn’t exclusive to superbikes, streetfighters, and cafe racers — many machines with “knobblies” were in attendance, too. Desert sleds, scramblers, street trackers, even a motard or two. We […]
The Tiger: 1973 Triumph TR5T Desert Sled - Trophy Trail Desert Sled from France… Triumph produced the original TR5 Trophy from 1949 to 1958, a 500cc Speed Twin-based machine named in honor of the manufacturer’s team trophy that Triumph brought home (along with […]
Yankee 500Z: 488cc Two-Stroke Twin Enduro - The 488cc Dick Mann-Developed Two-Stroke Twin Desert Racer and Enduro… In the late 1960s, before “adventure bike” was even a phrase, a small company in Schenectady, New York set out to build something radically different: […]
Top 10: Best Scramblers of 2025 - Here at BikeBound, we’re big fans of scramblers, desert sleds, dirt bikes, rally bikes, and adventure machines — pretty much anything with knobby tires, skid plates, and an appetite for the dirt. So are you, […]
Patina A-Plenty: 1970 Triumph Trophy T25W Desert Sled - Triumph Trophy 250 Desert Sled from Scott Verrall… The Triumph Trophy T25W (W for ‘Woodsman’) — aka the Trophy 250 — was a lightweight single-cylinder scrambler born from the company’s tight relationship with BSA. The […]
Baja-Spec Honda XR650R from a Factory Dakar Rider - Desert-Ready XR650R from Factory Honda Rally Racer Skyler Howes… Introduced in 2000, the Honda XR650R is widely regarded as the “King of Baja.” Honda developed the machine expressly to dominate desert racing, and dominate it […]
Desert Jaguar: Royal Enfield “Yaguareté” 650 Desert Sled - Interceptor 650 Desert Sled from Argentina’s LBC Motorcycles… The Interceptor 650 — aka INT650 — is Royal Enfield’s modern classic roadster, a British-designed parallel-twin built in India and introduced in 2018. The legendary chassis builders […]
War Machine: Honda XL125S Baja 1000 Racer - Greg Gilson’s 1980 Honda XLS 125 “War Machine”… Today we’re back with a follow-up piece about the 1980 Honda XL125S desert racer of Greg Gilson (@greggils42), whose 2025 Baja 1000 experience we profiled in our […]
Desert Sled 55: 1963 Triumph Speed Twin - Built for for £4K: Dan Steward’s Triumph 5TA Desert Sled… Ed Turner — Triumph’s legendary designer and director — launched the original Speed Twin 5T at the 1937 National Motorcycle Show. The 500 parallel-twin […]
Bike Shed Moto Show: Round 4 - It’s time for another round of coverage from the 2025 Bike Shed Moto Show, which boasted more than 250 custom bikes and 20,000 visitors. As in recent years, the show took place at London’s East […]
Mushman Runner: Yamaha XS650 Desert Sled - What if Steve McQueen aka Harvey Mushman decided to build and race an XS650? In a strange twist of fate, the Yamaha XS650, introduced in 1969, took up the standard of the British twins […]
One Moto Show 2025: Best Scramblers, Trackers, & Fighters - Straight Outta PDX: Scramblers, Trackers, Streetfighters, and more! The 2025 One Moto Show was the biggest yet, featuring more than 300 custom, rare, vintage, and just plain strange bikes from all over the world. The […]
Spitfire-like Howl: Kawasaki W650 “The Last Sled” - The Last Sled from Dirty Dick’s Motos — For Sale! Several years ago, Rick Hannah of Walton-on-Thames, England, picked up a pair of Kawasaki W650’s for a good price. He soon fell in love with […]
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Pretty accurate description.
One thing an old desert sled had that very few modern versions show is a thicker seat.
With the lousy suspension our sleds had the seat was extremely important.
Most of us old riders laugh at the stupid ironing boards people call a seat on the modern customs.
And IF we ran a front fender it was low mounted, not up high.
That second bike shown above that belonged to Steve McQueen is a Rickman Metisse, the best sled to be had until Husky and the other 2 strokes entered the scene weighing about half as much.
I still have my Triumph 650 Rickman Metisse…