Elstar Jap Grasstrack

Key facts

Year

1965
Country

Great Britain
Capacity

344cc
Cylinders

1
Output

32hp @ 6,500rpm
Maximum speed

Not recorded
Price new

Not marketed
Manufacturer

Elstar

Grasstrack became an organised discipline when the Auto Cycle Union in Britain banned racing on public roads in 1925. Motorcycle racers turned to privately owned fields and in 1927 the Whitgift Club held the first recognised grasstrack meeting on an old golf course near Croydon. Outwardly similar to Speedway machines, grasstrack bikes have two-speed gearboxes and different engine capacity limits for each class. The JAP unit, manufactured by J.A. Prestwich Industries Ltd of Tottenham, London, was ubiquitous and very successful in this type of machine.

Elstar was run by Alf Ellis and made its name building speedway, grasstrack and later trials frames. Just as the trials versions were becoming popular, Ellis was killed in a car crash and the project ended.