Ready to Race: Yamaha WR450 Street Tracker

Street-Legal 450 Framer from Ted Gail… 

In flat track racing, a “framer” is a race bike consisting of a purpose-built frame installed with the rider’s engine of choice. In the old days, you often saw two-stroke motocross engines or Rotax four-stroke singles powering these machines, while 450 MX engines have become increasingly popular in recent years. Many framebuilders have come and gone over the decades. If you’ve been around a dirt track for long, you’ve heard names like Champion, Trackmaster, Sonicweld, Redline, and others.

Cycle Factory was a lesser-known builder of very high-quality frames out of Sacramento, California. The street tracker you see here comes from our new friend Ted Gail of Nevada, who originally raced this Cycle Factory framer with a Kawasaki F11M 250cc two-stroke engine in AMA District 36. In fact, the number 72n is still Ted’s active District 36 race number!

Ted started out as a factory-trained motorcycle mechanic in the 1970s and 80s before going into the casino gaming industry. Today, he has a very well-outfitted home workshop (check out the shop tour in our interview below) and has started his own YouTube channel, Gear Head Geeks.

Ted had been wanting to transform his framer into a street tracker for years, but the bike’s modified Kawasaki 250cc two-stroke race engine wasn’t suitable for the street. He originally tried to fit a Kawasaki KLR650 single, but it was too big for a frame originally intended for a much more compact engine. The answer arrived in the form of a Yamaha WR450 a buddy had for sale — plenty of room!

The WR450F, of course, is the enduro version of Yamaha’s potent YZ450F motocrosser — the bike that started the four-stroke MX revolution — and a very potent powerplant for its size. Most everything else on the bike is custom, and Ted did all the work himself: machining, welding, even restoring the paint originally laid down by artist Greg Flowers more than 40 years ago! No parts were sent out except for nickel plating.

The front end consists of authentic Ceriani road racing forks matched with a WR450 caliper, GSX-R disc, and 19-inch rim laced to a Honda 750 hub. The rear wheel is a Kosman unit, and Ted used a KLR650 caliper and WR450 master cylinder for the rear brake.

The stock WR pipe was chopped and re-welded with a stock silencer to keep it quiet enough for the street, while a Trail Tech Vapor digital dashboard sits between the Flanders-style bars.

The bike has electric start and all of the road-legal necessities — horn, headlight, turn signals, etc. Ted actually has several thousand miles on the bike. The WR450 motor makes around 60 horsepower, and the bike only weighs about 250 pounds. Combine that power-to-weight ratio with a steep rake and short wheelbase designed for short tracks, and this road-legal framer is one hell of a hoot on the street.

“I had to gear the thing up (approx. 100mph top end) because I was getting tickets for wheelies each time I turned the throttle in the first 3 gears.”

Ted even ran into the original painter, Greg Flowers, while at a gaming show in Las Vegas, where he was able to show Greg the restoration of the paint scheme he’d laid down more than four decades ago — talk about a special moment!

Best of all, Ted says the bike can be made race-ready in under 10 minutes. The front number plate with lighting and horn unplugs with a single connection, and both the side stand and taillight / rear indicators can be removed with just two bolts. If you need anyone to confirm this 450 could still tear up a dirt track, a few of the best have swung a leg over the bike:

“A few famous flat trackers have ridden it, Jimmy Felice rode it and said ‘I could go win races on this thing.’ Took me an hour to get Frank Gillespie off of it.”

Many street trackers we see are road bikes converted into a tracker style. Ted’s tracker is just the opposite — a race bike for the street, with just the bare necessities to make it road-legal. All in all, this is one of the most gorgeous and potent street trackers we’ve had the honor of featuring, and one with real racing history to boot. Thanks to Ted for sharing his story and build with us…and for braving the 10-degree weather to capture these photos of the bike!

Below is our full interview with Ted, along with more details, photos, and history. Enjoy!

Street-Legal 450 Framer: Builder Interview

• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.

I was a factory-trained Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Triumph, BSA, etc. mechanic in the 70s and 80s. After that I worked at Harrah’s Reno. After that I was Software/Hardware/Electronic engineer at IGT (world’s largest slot machine manufacturer in the world at the time). Currently I am the VP/CTO of Gaming Concepts Inc.

We built a shop on the side of our house and it is a wonderful place to spend time. See below for a YouTube video.

And now I am restoring motorcycles and doing some builds. Those can be seen on YouTube @GearHeadGeeks.

• What’s the make, model, and year of the donor bike?

This is a Cycle Factory frame (1974 era) with a 2005 Yamaha WR450 engine. The frame was originally built for a Kawasaki F11M engine. The donor bike was a 2005 WR450.

• Why was this bike built?

I always wanted to make a streetbike out of a flat tracker — they have a great look. So this bike sat for over 30 years waiting for the right engine, because the F11M was not practical for the street.

First I tried to shoehorn a KLR650 engine in and that just wasn’t going to fit. A friend had a WR450 for sale and upon measuring, I found there was plenty of room for the engine.

• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?

I wanted to retain the flat tracker look as much as possible.

• What custom work was done to the bike?

Most every part had to be fabricated, and I built it from scratch. The engine is stock. All machining and welding was done by me.

• The front end is an original Ceriani road race front end.
• Kosman rear wheel.
• The front wheel is a Honda 750 hub with a GSX-R disc.
• WR pipe, cut up and re-welded, and stock muffler to keep it quiet.
• Rear caliper is from a KLR650, MC from the WR.
• Front MC and caliper are WR450.
• Handlebars are Flanders bend reproductions.
• Gauges are Trail Tech Vector.
• Electric start, horn, etc. Completely street legal and has several thousand miles on it.

• Does the bike have a nickname?

Not really, I just call it my “Tracker.”

• Any idea of horsepower, weight, and/or performance numbers?

They say the WR has around 60 horsepower, and the weight is 250ish…

I had to gear the thing up (approx. 100mph top end) because I was getting tickets for wheelies each time I turned the throttle in the first 3 gears.

• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride this bike?

Riding this bike is strange; it is so narrow it feels like your knees are going to touch together. This frame has very little rake and was designed for short tracks, so it is inherently unstable and can pucker you up on freeway rain grooves.

Fuel range is nothing to get excited about — only holds a little over a gallon, so you are good for 50ish miles.

The power can be a handful, because it wants to wheelie especially coming out of corners, the best part of the bike.

A few famous flat trackers have ridden it, Jimmy Felice rode it and said “I could go win races on this thing.” Took me an hour to get Frank Gillespie off of it.

• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?

Retaining the true flat tracker look was important, and I believe I succeeded.

The one thing is this bike is ready to race in less than 10 minutes. The front number plate containing the headlamp, signals, and horn, etc. unclips with no tools, and unplugs with one plug — 30 seconds to remove. The side stand has two bolts — 30 seconds to remove. The taillight and turn signals are on a plate that has two bolts holding it in place — 30 seconds to remove. And it is ready to race.

• Is there anyone you’d like to thank?

The only one that did any work besides myself on it was a gentleman named Greg Flowers, a stunningly talented painter and artist. After I restored the paint I ran into Greg at a Las Vegas casino gaming show and showed him the pictures of the work he had done over 40 years ago and he was overjoyed to say the least.

Follow the Builder

YouTube channel: @GearHeadGeeks