Is there any motorcycle genre more evocative than the ?desert sled?" The very name conjures up images of blasting across the sandy shrublands of Baja. ?Dual sport? or ?enduro? just doesn?t cut it.
For Brit bike fans, the heyday of the desert sled was from the mid 50s to the early 70s. Triumph twins ruled the proverbial roost, taking over from stripped down Harleys and Indians?before Huskies and Yamahas became the weapons of choice for the high plains and dunes of the western United States.

This Triumph TR6 captures the vibes of those good times just perfectly. It?s mostly period correct, but a few well-judged mods elevate its performance beyond the norm for the air-cooled twin.
The builder is Paul Hartman, an art director for a skateboard manufacturer. But when he?s not designing decks, Paul is spannering on motorcycles. ?Building bikes is a hobby for me,? he says.
?I live in Bonsall, California and I’m lucky to have a nice workshop at my house. I spend my down time restoring or building bikes?mostly vintage racing stuff.?
Paul?s San Diego County shop is currently home to a selection of in-progress flat trackers and desert sleds?plus this completed but appealingly rough-and-ready TR6.

?It’s a 1959 Triumph TR6,? Paul reveals. ?In the 50s and 60s Triumph dominated the deserts and the ?dirt bike? scene, but around the mid 60s Husqvarna started coming into the mix.?
?Long story short: I’ve always loved the Husqvarna Cross bike?like the one Steve M...