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Sons of Speed Vintage Motorcycle Race Debuts at 2016 Daytona Bike Week

The 2016 Daytona Bike Week will see the debut of what promises to a most entertaining event, the Sons of Speed vintage bike race. The action will take place at the New Smyrna Speedway, on the half-mile banked track and will comprise as much as nine riders competing in different heats.
Billy Lane's Sons of Speed machines 3 photos
Photo: Rise Above Consulting
Sons of SpeedSons of Speed machines by Billy Lane
But the greatest thing about the Sons of Speed is that the competition is reserved to custom motorcycles that are powered by pre-1925 1,000cc v-twin engines. Riders will go astride identical frames containing the said engines, and will be allowed to customize their bikes by fabricating handlebars, exhausts, pegs, tanks and all. In this respect, the bike builders are also expected to do their best and deliver the fastest and most aerodynamically-efficient machines.

It goes without saying that the Sons of Speed is inspired by the early 20th-century board-track racing. The event is aimed at bringing back the glorious early days of motorcycle racing, as well as provide builders with a great platform for showing off their skills. All these while offering a vintage racing show that's rather hard to come by these days.

The first bikes will be previewed at Sturgis

Sons of Speed is co-founded by veteran bike builder Billy Lane, and will benefit from the presence of other big names in the field, such as Jay Allen (proprietor, Broken Spoke Saloons), Tommy “Chibs” Flanagan of Sons Of Anarchy fame, Shelley Rossmeyer-Pepe (GM, Bruce Rossmeyer’s Harley-Davidson), Warren Lane and of course, Billy Lane himself plus many more.

Billy Lane has already built two Sons of Speed machines that will be on display at Michael Lichter’s Naked Truth Exhibit at the Buffalo Chip for the entire Sturgis week. Lane has built a vintage race bike with the Sons of Speed-spec frame powered by a Pope Model L engine from 1914.

It's possible that the Sturgis welcomes more Sons of Speed bikes on display, as the organizers of the vintage race want to get as much traction ahead of the race debut at next year's 75th Daytona Bike Week.
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