"Meet the Rider" is a new segment where Lyndall Brakes spotlights professional racers, stunt riders, and motorcycle enthusiasts who run Lyndall products in real-world, high-performance applications.
To kick things off, we sat down with Max Flinders, #88 in the Mission Foods King of the Baggers circuit, racing for M3 Mad Monkey Motorsports. Lyndall Brakes is proud to be a primary sponsor of the league and the M3 team for over three seasons.
This year, Max made the switch from an Indian Challenger to the Harley-Davidson Road Glide platform. In this interview, we talk about his background, racing bikes, and the Lyndall components he trusts on the track.
Question:
Hey Max, Happy to be here with you. Can you give our readers a little backstory on who you are, where you're from, and where you are today?
Answer:
Hey! I'm Max Flinders, I'm 28 years old and I live in Epsom, New Hampshire. I’ve been riding since I was three and a half, and racing since I was six. I started out riding dirt bikes and moved into motocross and grasstrack racing, which is similar to flat track. I’m currently racing in both World Superbike and King of the Baggers.
Question:
What’s it like racing both a Superbike and a “touring” cruiser? What are some of your most memorable moments in KOTB and your favorite part of racing?
Answer:
They’re very different machines. You learn speed control on the Superbike and transfer that to the bagger. Surprisingly, the bagger actually brakes harder than the Superbike. The speeds are very comparable.
The Harley-Davidsons are incredible machines, and the Mad Monkey team makes the impossible possible. My most memorable KOTB moments would have to be a tie between the New Jersey Motorsports Park race in 2023 and the Road Atlanta race in 2024. Both were podium finishes I’ll never forget.
My favorite part of racing? The adrenaline. Coming around a corner and scraping a knee there’s nothing like it.
Question:
What do you enjoy about racing the Harley-Davidson Road Glide in KOTB, and what’s your feedback on Lyndall Brakes, specifically the Venom F/X rotors?
Answer:
The riding style on the Road Glide is way more fun than the Superbike. It feels more connected to the rider.
The development and design of Lyndall’s Venom F/X rotors have been a game-changer for me. They’ve improved my braking, cornering, and overall control. The design keeps them cool under pressure so I can lay into them hard and they never overheat.
"They’re hands-down the best-performing rotors I’ve ever used on the track."
Question:
Tell us the story behind your signature yellow and black color scheme, seen on both your Superbike team (Thrashed Bike Racing) and your bagger team (Mad Monkey Motorsports).
Answer:
Tim Ivanoff, owner of Thrashed Bike Racing and Arrow Aviation, usually uses yellow paint for refinishing aircraft. The first yellow bike we ran used leftover paint from one of those projects.
Once we saw how visible it was on the track, we made it official. Brannon at Mad Monkey Motorsports loved the look too, so we kept the color scheme for the bagger team as well.
Question:
Let’s wrap up on a personal note. What’s your favorite ice cream flavor, are you a dog or cat person, and what advice would you give someone just starting motorcycle racing?
Answer:
Sugar Cookie from Dairy Queen a limited edition flavor! And definitely dogs. I’ve got two black labs.
My advice? Ride as much as you can. Dirt bikes, street bikes, track days. The more seat time you have, the better you’ll get.
“Speed is just the next level of comfort.”
We hope you enjoyed getting to know Max Flinders. Be sure to tune in to all King of the Baggers races at MotoAmericaLive and follow our newsletter and social media to stay up to date on #LyndallEverything.