The motorbike we are featuring today is a badass custom Buell flat tracker called ‘Hot Shoe’, it was inspired by Todd’s passion for the Speedway and Flat Track Racing. Todd Silicato is a custom motorbike builder and founder of Todd’s Cycle, based in Huntington Beach California.
Prior to the establishment of Todd’s Cycle, Todd had extensive experience in the custom car / motorcycle industry. He has spent time as a race engine builder, chief mechanic for Performance Machine’s GP race team and a custom bike builder / head of R&D for Performance Machine to name a few. Not many custom bike builders posses the talented gift of race engine building.
The build started with a donor power plant from a 2001 Buell Lightning, producing 1200cc of monstrosity power and with right-side drive and the transmission in the case. Todd built the intake with a Holley cover for the 42mm Mikuni carburetor, he also added a custom built industrial looking 2-into-1 exhaust system. The rigid frame on this flat tracker is from Chassis Designs and features 26 degrees of rake. The custom Buell also has a pair of HDW 60-spoke wheels attached to the chassis, 21-inch front and 18-inch rear both shod in Pirelli knobby tires and ISR braking system courtesy of LA County Choprods.
Our favorite; the speedway-style leading link front end was a joint project between Todd’s Cycle and Alloy Art. It helps absorb bumps on the street and would be hard for you to find something like this on any other custom bike.
Todd wanted to build this flat tracker ‘Hot Shoe’ using as many of his own parts as he could. The Low Moto Bars sitting on Dual Bone Risers, shooter Mirrors and Moto Grips are all from his own shop. The Martini headlight and Martini taillight are also from Todd’s Cycle, as well as the license plate mount, gas tank, oil tank, rear fender and the mini front fender. The boys from Color Zone did the paint job, the frame was painted in metal-flake gold and a few other parts were red-anodize.
Looking at these pictures you will see there are not many dirt tracker bikes that look as good as this one and also perform great on the racetrack!
