Motocross racing returns to Caroline Bay sand

Sounds as if getting mx tracks open in NZ is as challenging as getting them open in the US. However, more and more attempts are being made around the world to open new tracks. Why...just look at the smile on this boys face for the answer.

 

Mytchall Bransgrove/Fairfax NZ

South Canterbury Motorcycle Club event organiser Andrew Richardt gives Harvee King-Brookland, 9, some tips for riding.

Motocross racing is returning to the sandy setting of Caroline Bay for the first time in 13 years this Saturday.

The South Canterbury Motorcycle Club has been given permission by Ecan and the Timaru District Council to hold one of its monthly motocross club days on the Benvenue Cliffs end of the beach.

After it being on an almost annual basis from 1996 to 2002, a club day has not been held at the beach since, but some of the new blood to the club encouraged them to have a go at doing it again.

Event organiser Andrew Richardt said the novelty factor would mean there would be close to 150 riders, some who were coming from Christchurch, turning up to test their skills on Saturday.

"A lot of people have never rode on sand before and it's very different to riding on dirt. To get your bike around a sand course is very, very physical. Not only that, but every lap is different because the track changes in every lap you do."

Part of the reason Richardt has campaigned to bring motocross back to the bay is to get it into the public eye and he encouraged anyone who wanted to have a look to come down to see what it was all about.

The day would not be too competitive, with kids as young as 4 and veterans as old as 60 turning out in nine different classes, he said.

Three classes of mini-motocross bikes will be going, two junior classes, two senior classes, one veterans class and one clubman's class for those who do not have much experience at riding a motocross bike, he said.

To appease neighbouring residents concerned at the noise, the club had to do a letter drop beforehand, as well as advertise the event in the paper.

Richardt had initially wanted to hold it at the end of January when the drought had dried out most of the motocross dirt tracks in the region, but was turned down because of fears it might disturb Timaru's little blue penguin colony.

With the birds now out at sea, April was as good a time as any to hold it, he said.

"We weren't sure what the council would be like when we went in to suggest this, we were a bit worried about red tape, but they've actually been pretty good about it."

With low tide forecast for 2.30pm, the event would begin at 1pm and run to 5pm. About half the beach will be taken up with the bikes racing around inside a cordoned area, Richardt said.

 - The Timaru Herald

New From Fly...Summer Riding In Style!

Summer is just around the corner. Temps will be rising and the new Kinetic Mesh Gear is exactly what you need to keep cool during your hot motos.

Visit Fly Racing for a look at all the new cool riding gear from Fly.

Tube Saddle...The Beginning!

One of the great things about our sport is all of the innovative ideas that spring up from guys just wanting to solve a problem. Many times the big companies don't even recognize the problem exists. I'll bet no matter what kind of riding you do you have experienced "pinch flats". I've had plenty and their not much of a problem if I can see my truck. However, if you are 25 miles from nowhere they are a big problem. Here is a little background on the evolution of a new product that solves the pinch flat problem. #33 is testing the tubesaddle as I write this. A report will soon follow.

Tube Saddle

For the last 30 years I have been riding and racing Off-Road Motorcycles. In my early days as a beginner, I didn’t know much about tire pressure, and would just run whatever tire pressure my friends told me. Like many of you, I would be out on a ride and occasionally hit something that caused an immediate flat tire. While replacing or patching the inner tube, I was surprised that often the inner tube would have a leak in a spot on the inside of the tube adjacent the rim. It seemed odd to me, but somebody eventually explained that on impact it is the bead of the tire pushing into the center of the rim and catching the inner tube, causing a “pinch flat.”

As I progressed from beginner to expert, I started experimenting with running low tire pressure, usually about 10psi. I loved the improved traction and the fact that the bike would not deflect or bounce when hitting rocks. However, from time to time I would still get the classic pinch flat, even with running heavier duty inner tubes. Everyone told me not to run the low pressure, to stay up around 12-16psi with heavy duty tubes to avoid pinch flats. So I went along with the conventional wisdom for some 16 years, putting up with the poor traction and deflection issues, wishing there was a way to run low tire pressure.

Along came the solid foam insert, or Mousse Bib as they are known. I thought about going this route while racing, but I never did. For me, they were expensive and looked like a real pain to install. I also found out that they generally only last for about 400 miles or so, as they break down they become softer and softer. Like most riders, the solid foam insert was not for me.

Then came along tire balls. The concept looked pretty sound, and in fact I raced the Baja 1000 in 2004 with tire balls in the front tire. It worked great, however there were some things about tire balls that kept me from using them. For one, it looked like a pain to install, and if you did not like the “pressure” after you installed it, you’d have to disassemble the whole thing and adjust the pressure in each individual ball. Because of the non-friendly adjustability of tire balls, I never went this route.

After tire balls, along came the “tube less” system. It seemed like a well engineered and thought out product, but the more I heard from people who had tried it, I learned its drawbacks. First, it only really works well with a brand new tire, not a good used tire. Second, if it does fail out on the trail, you might not get the pneumatic seal to seat again out on the trail. I have heard of dual sport riders who, on a two day ride, end up packing up and leaving on the first day because their “tube less” system failed.  My confirmation of this was when I saw one abandoned way out on a trail.  Being able to service a flat tire on the trail is important, not just to you, but to your riding buddies. So I never went this route either.

So for years, I raced and rode with heavy duty tubes at tire pressures much  higher than I really wanted.

Something came to me. Why not solve the pinch flat problem that occurs with conventional inner tubes? Every previous attempt to solve the “low pressure pinch flat dilemma” involved getting rid of the inner tube, which necessitated an entirely new learning curve for mounting whatever system you try. Making thicker and heavier inner tubes doesn’t always work, and quite frankly is a very lame approach to the problem.

About five years ago I started experimenting with an insert to solve the pinch flat dilemma. It was such radical thinking at the time, most of my riding buddies thought I was nuts, and so did I. However, after riding and racing with my inserts for five years running 8psi front and rear without one pinch flat, I knew I was on to something.

In 2014, I made the commitment to develop my “radically nutty concept” into a product. My goal was to keep the price as low as possible so as to reach the widest market of riders. After extensive testing with numerous materials, prototypes, and riders, I finally developed a product ready for sale. It is reasonably priced, extremely light, easy to install, easy to adjust the pressure to your liking, and serviceable on the trail. This is what I have been looking for the last 20 years, and now it’s here.

I firmly believe those who try my product won’t be disappointed.

Sincerely,

James Curry
Inventor of Tube Saddle ^®

You can learn more by visiting Jim's site at www.tubesaddle.com 

Easter Break

With a break in the Supercross schedule I thought this video I found on the internet might hold us over until the action returns.

This All-Action Edit Encapsulates Every Single Reason We Should All Love Motocross 

There are some edits that make you want to get back on your bike immediately. There are others than make you so glad to be a part of motocross you go outside and start stuffing your face with dirt, despite the fact it’ll probably make you projectile vomit later.

Some edits meanwhile make you appreciate how sick the pros really are, and others just leave you with a giant grin after watching some of the best in the world stomp jumps that you know for certain would leave you in hospital.

 

This video comes from Derek Hallman. It’s an edit clipped together from some amazing moto moments from recent and past times, and it pretty much fits into all of the categories I’ve listed above. We seriously don’t advice that you eat any dirt though, no matter how overwhelming the urge may be.

Seriously, this edit is packed with so much style it should be designing suits for Armani. This, people, is why we love motocross – and we reckon after watching, you’ll definitely agree:

1.7 Cleaning Products Enters Third Year

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The accessories include microfiber clothes, sponges, and brush kits that help to access small areas and leave the cleaning experience stress free! Check out the complete line and make your own opinion with our complete satisfaction guarantee policy on all of our 1.7 products. 

1.7 has also formulated a full line of cycling cleaners and lubricants. For those who spend there off-time riding and racing road or mountain bikes, the line incorporates ten user-friendly formulas that will leave your bike protected and clean. 

View and purchase 1.7 Cleaning Solutions & Lubricants today at https://www.matrixracingproducts.com/1-7-cleaning

New Riding Gear From Fly

Take a minute to watch this high energy look at the new spring release of Fly riding gear.

Visit Fly Racing for details

Dick Burleson to be Honored at Detroit SX

The Legends and Heroes Tour proudly salutes AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame member Dick Burleson during a special pre-race ceremony Saturday evening March 21 during opening ceremony for Saturday evening's Detroit Supercross.

Dick Burleson didn't follow the normal route to motorcycle racing stardom by learning to ride at a very young age as many of his contemporaries did. Burleson was born in 1948 in Johnson City, Tennessee and at age 2 his family relocated to St. Joseph, Michigan, but it wasn't until he was 18 and purchased a used Honda 90 to commute to his summer job that he finally started riding. Soon he and his bike were off to college at the University of Michigan where he connected with a group of off-road riders that had taken over a gravel pit near campus. Not knowing any better, Burleson joined in, riding his little 90cc Honda street bike at the gravel pit. A competitor by nature, it didn't take long for him to discover his natural talent for off-road riding.

By the late 1960s, Burleson had entered the burgeoning sport of motocross, winning several district and national amateur MX championships before turning Pro and entering the Trans-AMA Motocross Series in 1970. In his first season as a professional motocrosser, Burleson finished fourth overall in the Trans-AMA - top American in the series. This earned him the title of "American Motocross Champion" (this was in the years preceding the AMA National Motocross Series).

Having excelled in motocross, Burleson began competing in AMA National Enduro events, which at that time were equal, if not greater, in importance to motocross racing. He enjoyed this different form of competition that tested his bike skills, fitness and analytical abilities. In 1971, John Penton invited Burleson to race on the American Trophy team that was competing in the International Six Days Trial (ISDT) at the Isle of Man. Despite the fact that a mechanical failure resulted in a DNF, Burleson was enthusiastic about representing his country in international competition.

The following year, Burleson was invited to participate in the ISDT again, this time in Czechoslovakia. Burleson finished impressively with a bronze medal and the American team was awarded the Watling Trophy for its improved performance.

After graduating from college, Burleson moved to Ohio to take a job as eastern service manager for Husqvarna. In 1973, Burleson was a part of the US team that earned America's only ISDT Silver Vase victory. After the ISDT, which was held in Massachusetts that year, Burleson began riding a prototype Husqvarna 350cc that had been left behind by the Swedish team for the US Husky distributor. Burleson, who had been accustomed to riding 125cc and 175cc bikes, found the more powerful 350 perfectly suited to his riding style. He ended the 1973 season by wining three-straight AMA national enduros. By his retirement in 1981, Dick Burleson had captured a record-setting eight AMA Naitonal Enduro Championship titles.

Saturday evening's pre-race ceremony Dick Burleson will be presented with the Legends and Heroes award on the Monster Energy Supercross Podium. King Richard will also be presented a personally monogrammed Rockwell watch to commemorate the event.

For more information on the Legends & Heroes Tour, contact Alex Moroz at: alex@legendsandheroestour.org or visit www.LegendsAndHeroesTour.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LegendsAndHeroesTour

Inaugural Rockwell Watches Pro-Am Motocross Event This Weekend

 

 

TOOELE VALLEY, UTAH — Miller Motorsports Park will host the inaugural Rockwell Watches Motocross Pro-Am event this weekend, March 20-22. This event will allow amateur and professional motocross riders to race on the same track that the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will use for the Utah National, scheduled for August 15.

"We have made a major commitment to motocross at our facility," said Brian Smith, General Manager of Miller Motorsports Park. "Since we hosted our first professional motocross event in 2013, we have had hundreds of inquiries from local riders who want to compete on our track, and this event was created to help accommodate that interest. We have made some adjustments to the track layout since last year, and we're looking forward to a fun and competitive weekend."

The Rockwell Watches Motocross Pro-Am is sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), and all participants are required to hold an AMA membership. AMA memberships can be obtained on the track's website. There will be a total of 32 classes competing, with riders as young as four years old. Racers will be restricted from competing in more than three classes during the event.

The inaugural Rockwell Watches Motocross Pro-Am is a full three-day, double-header event, with a practice day on Friday and motos on Saturday and Sunday. The practice day is priced at $20 per rider, and class entry fees will be $30 per class entered. The gate fee will be $10 per person, per day, or $15 for the weekend. Kids aged five years old and younger will be admitted free of charge.

The Rockwell Watches Motocross Pro-Am will be the first of four motocross events to be held at Miller Motorsports Park in 2015. On May 23-24, the track will host a prestigious Super Area Qualifier for the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship. On August 14, the second annual Rockwell Watches Amateur Motocross Showdown will be held, followed the next day by the Utah National, Round 11 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.

The next event at Miller Motorsports Park will be Round 1 for the Utah Region of the National Auto Sport Association (NASA Utah) on March 28-29.

For more information about Miller Motorsports Park or the Rockwell Watches Motocross Pro-Am, call 435-277-RACE (7223) or visit the track's website at www.MillerMotorsportsPark.com.

By John Gardner, Miller Motorsports Park

Maize track gains ground with motocross racers

By Joe Stumpe

Wichita Eagle correspondent

 

 Bruce Richardson bought Bar 2 Bar MX Park on 61st Street near Ridge Road to give his son a better place to ride. Now he and his track will host one of the biggest motocross races in the Midwest, with nearly 800 competitors. Bruce Richardson is a big fan of Loretta Lynn, and it has nothing to do with country music. Lynn, as not everybody knows, hosts a national motocross championship on her ranch in Tennessee. Richardson, who owns the Bar 2 Bar MX Park in Maize, is hosting a preliminary qualifier on March 27-29 for Lynn’s championship.

“Any time you can say, in our world, that you can get on the Loretta Lynn National Championship series, that constitutes a national caliber race,” Richardson said. “It makes people stand up and listen.”

About 800 riders in 38 different classes are expected to take part, he said. Last year – the track’s first to hold the qualifier – the event drew racers from 32 states and two foreign countries.

Holding such races was one goal Richardson had when he bought the track. He was also looking for a place for his son, Conner, to ride and train. Conner, now 18, will take part in the qualifier.

The track itself has been around in some form or another for about 20 years, with several different owners. Richardson bought it in 2012 and has since added 20 acres to the grounds.

About half of that is used for the track; the rest is for parking, concessions and a grandstand.

Richardson stages several amateur races a year. The track is also open three or four times a month for motocross riders to train on for a fee. The track features a variety of big jumps and small jumps, straightaways and turns, and series of mounts known as “rhythm bumps.”

Richardson uses bulldozers and an “expert track builder” named Kim Holden to change the layout monthly. One feature that doesn’t change is a tunnel under one jump that spectators can walk through as the race is going on.

“It’s a neat view, and it’s fun for the riders,” Richardson said.

But Richardson said the track’s soil condition “is what makes it so inviting for everybody. It’s a soft, sandy, loamy soil because we’re right on the river.”

It’s 1.4 miles around, with the average lap time being about two minutes. That can vary greatly, though, as the ages of riders in this month’s qualifier will range from 4 to 60.

Many riders will arrive for the event next Thursday afternoon and on Friday, March 27. Friday will be a free admission day for the public, and people can watch the racers practice.

Admission to the races Saturday and Sunday is $10 per day. There will 38 races each day. Some may feature only a few riders; others will have a couple of dozen racers.

“When you get that many motorcyclists on the track, the ground just shakes; it’s crazy,” Richardson said.

Richardson said he recently beefed up concessions at the track by bringing in food from the Blue River Mexican Grill, owned by former Papa John’s franchisee Terry Newman, who Richardson said is a big motocross fan. Attendees are also welcome to bring their own coolers and lawn chairs “and make a day of it.”

There will be a concert Saturday night sponsored by Red Bull.

Richardson said the track makes him feel a little like the Loretta Lynn of motocross racing in Wichita – well known to riders, but not to the general public.

“I bet if you were to ask 20 people in Wichita, only one would know about it.”

He said the track has been voted Kansas’ best track by motoplayground.com.

“We just kept building it and building it, and the next thing you know, it’s taken off,” he said.

Website: bar2barmx.com

Part 6 of the 2015 YZ250FX...As Ridden by 21J

Looks pretty good after all the different rides Doug put it thru!

Looks like Part 6 is going read like a diary I’m going to fill it in as the rides accumulate.

Since the big mud fest CC event I’ve ridden the bike a number of times, at Mammoth Bar again and for the first time I made no adjustments or changes, just rode it. After beating the crap out of myself there I went to Chalk bluff which is very tight single track trails at about 5000 foot altitude in the high Sierra mountains. Made no changes there either and for the first time rode the bike on those very tight back and forth trails, which this day was very wet, snotty, rocky and the trails were full of debris and downed trees as result of recent rain and wind storms. This made for some real technical riding and again the bike worked great. I had a few tip over’s as well and the side number plates now look like that of a year old bike.

The reworked suspension has taken all the twitchiness out of the chassis it’s now very stable and planted and worked very well in those conditions. I’m using the clutch a lot more now especially riding in this area, the bike pulls well even when it’s at lower RPMs but to get it going just fan the clutch a little and it comes to life. But it’s a very controlled coming to life, not a holy shit hang on kind of hit, just starts pulling stronger and since the motor revs to the moon you can leave it in second or third and ride at this place. And again the stock gearing seemed to work very well for these types of trails.

I am going to make one change to the bike before I ride it again. I’m going to move the foot pegs from the back and down position the stock position. Not sure if it’s the peg position or just a new, but I’ve noticed my shoulders are getting sore and I’m not sure what’s causing it. In some ways it feels like I have to reach farther out to pull myself forward or something.

Well I went a mile up the trail and a mile back with the foot pegs stock. It just didn’t work for me, I felt cramped. I put the back and down pegs back on and finished my ride.

Wayne and I went up to Georgetown (El Dorado National Forest OHV Trail System) and put in about forty miles. We thought we had gone a lot further than that, unfortunately Georgetown is now about as bad as Mammoth Bar is, in other words if you want to beat the crap out of yourself go there. Although today we came across a couple of guys who are working on the trails and the parts we rode where they had repaired were a huge improvement. We need to spend time looking for the seldom used trails up there and I know there are some.

The bike was once again great, rock solid did everything very, well the only problem I had was on some slow steep rocky, snotty up hills. I haven’t figured out how to modulate the power yet, I know the bike will lug up those getting the power to the ground without spinning the rear tire but I didn’t trust it (Or what I should say is me) and spun the rear tire loosing traction, thus coming to a complete stop.

I haven’t until today touched the compression settings, but I backed them out and the bike responded in a positive way. The bike feels light and is easy to change direction and flick around; it works very well in the rocks.

I haven’t had any drag races yet to see how it stacks up against other bikes but Wayne has a KTM 350 SX and said he couldn’t gain on me in any of the straight a ways where we could open it up a bit.

The only issue I’ve had mechanically with the bike so far is it’s started puking out coolant; it was good that it wasn’t that warm. I think it might be a faulty radiator cap, I’ll change it and we’ll see.

I went to Georgetown today for two reasons, one to have my first ride on the new bike on those trails, which are more open than Chalk Bluff (You can use all the gears) but also one of my former colleges’ brother-in-law passed away and he was an avid trail rider, the family asked if I would spread some of his ashes on the trails up there for them, which I was very honored to do. Some of the panoramic pictures are in the area where I spread his ashes.

The next day after the Georgetown ride I went to MMX (The sand MX track in Marysville) this weekend there will be a CC event held there. They combine the two MX tracks plus put you through some bushes, sand washes and rocks as the tracks are located right next to the Yuba River. The course will be a little over four miles, so there will be lots and lots of laps.

I installed a new radiator cap and that seemed to solve the coolant issue, but I bottomed the forks enough that I blew a fork seal. My fault, I stiffened up the compression damping but forgot to close off the Air Cells. Off with forks and over to Bucky at SBB to replace both seals before the weekends race.

My intention is to report on this weekend’s CC event and then go to Arizona the following weekend for the first Old Timer International MX race of 2015 and report on that one as well. After that I think you’ll probably have had about enough of me and my stories.

The fourth race in this year’s District 36 CC (Cross Country) series was held in Marysville at the MMX motocross facility. Two of the first four races this year have been held on courses that were a little over three and a little over four miles in length, very short by CC standards.

I had a command performance late Saturday afternoon and evening. My wife had passed her black belt test a few weeks ago and Saturday was the belt awarding ceremony. I dared not miss that if you know what I mean.

I had planned to race Saturday but by the time my race would have finished and I got home desert would be served after dinner at my house and that just wasn’t going to fly. So I raced on Sunday instead, I moved up one class from what I normally race giving away a few years in the process, five or six years at the very least. I did quite well I won by two and a half minutes over second place. My race was an hour and a half of mostly sand and I had enough gas to left to do a couple more laps. The longest trail ride I’ve done (Our trail rides aren’t leisure) was fifty miles and I’m not sure I would have wanted to see if I could make sixty. Hopefully someday someone will come out with a larger tank, 2.9 would be great but because of the electric start and the location of the battery and all I’m not sure if they’ll be able to get one that large.

 

The course lay out was very good and fun, but the back sections were very, very difficult, lots and lots of soft sand woops and river rocks as part of the course ran next to the river. My arms pumped up the first two laps and I felt like I had used all my energy, but by the third lap I started loosening up and by the end only my knees were getting tired. The bike just doesn’t pull on you and tire you out like a big bore does.

I didn’t change any settings on the bike other than close down the Air Cells and the bike once again ran great, handled great and except for the occasional short run up a soft whooped out sand hill had enough power for me. The rider who finished third overall in the AA class was riding a 250FX a testament to this new bike.

Off to Arizona for first round of the Old Timer International Moto Cross season, with a stop on the way in Havasu to see #33.

It’s a long way from Northern CA to Havasu and after a short visit with #33 it was off to the ACP (Arizona Cycle Park) which is between Buckeye and Gila Bend (Pronounced He-la Bend) and both of those places are about an hour outside Phoenix.

The track is located behind a Federal Prison in a big pit. The pit is big enough to put two motocross tracks and an Endurocross course in it. Since it was in a pit I assumed it would be a sand track but it wasn’t. It did have sand but mostly it was kind of hard packed. It had some nice short up and down hills and I really liked part of the track, but the rest wasn’t what I’d call Old Timer friendly. It was very jumpy and the faces were peaked and valleys between them meant if you didn’t do it right you could be in a world of hurt. (And there were more than a few who didn’t do it right)

One of the things I was curious about was how the 250 would fair against 450’s off the start. The start was a slightly up hill left hander and the first race I got a great jump and was second into the first turn. The second race I stood the bike straight up after the gate, the third race was a mid pack start and the fourth race I was dead last into the first turn. From great to lousy in four starts, that’s progress. Conclusion, I would have to do almost perfect starts every time in order to beat a 450 into the first corner. (Probably not going to happen) The other thing I noticed was in order for me to feel comfortable jumping the jumps I did jump I needed to carry a lot more speed through the corners to make sure I had enough momentum. With the 450 I don’t need to be as perfect through the corners because of the power. Not sure if this feeling was because of the faces on the jumps or if this is just the way it is. (Going to Prairie City and the Hangtown National Track in a couple of days, we’ll see if that feeling carries over) But the 250 definitely didn’t wear me out as much as the 450 and that’s a big plus.

Time to wrap this up, every part or accessory I put on the bike was to help me and they did. There isn’t anything I’d take off or exchange for something else, the goal was not to make the bike better but rather to make it better for me and that I accomplished. There are plenty of riders who could ride this bike totally stock much faster than me.

As I remember in Part 1 I wondered if this bike could give the KTM 250 XCF a run for its money, I still haven’t ridden a KTM 250 XCF but I believe the answer is yes and then some. Except for those occasions when pure horse power is called for this bike can hang with anything.

As I’m finishing up this six part series I now have 21 hours on the bike and Roseville Yamaha has checked the valve clearances and given the bike the once over for me and all is well. There’s really nothing more to say about it, it has far exceeded my expectations.

Once again thanks to everyone at Roseville Yamaha for their support and to Bucky at SBB suspension.

Maybe at some later date I’ll do an update, but until then, this is…. The End.

Doug 21J