Suspension Tips From Buck at SBB

Here are a couple of tips from Buck that many riders never think about. Small maintence tricks can keep your suspension in tip top shape.

Suspension By Buck

916-910-3532

Watch: 'MX Nation' Episode 2 - The Season Begins

Red Bull does a great job giving an inside look at the different approaches these riders take. Explore the curious contrast between the 2015 AMA Pro MX title contenders Ryan Dungey & Ken Roczen. Be sure to click on Episode 2 of MX Nation at the end of this write up to see the Red Bull video.

In Episode 2 of the 'MX Nation' series, the gate drops on the 2015 AMA Pro Motocross Championship, where again we see two polar opposites in a head-to-head battle for the 450 no. 1 plate. Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen battled tooth-and-nail for the championship in 2014, and their rivalry has only continued into 2015. Dungey and Roczen have brought a duality to the motocross series that we have not seen since the early Ricky Carmichael vs. James Stewart days - the workhorse against the natural.

Dungey was not a star as an amateur racer until he was 16, when he won his first major title at Loretta Lynn’s in the Schoolboy class. It was not until Roger DeCoster gave him an extremely unexpected shot at a professional factory ride that Dungey really started to shine. Roczen, on the other hand, was a prodigy on a minibike, a world-renowned name by the time he was 12. and is the youngest rider ever to win a FIM World MXGP race, at just 15 years old. But each have met now in the same arena.

Roczen bested Dungey in 2014, but 2015 has marked yet another chapter in Ryan Dungey’s saga of hard word paying off, and he has proven to be the rider to beat throughout the year.

The 2015 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross series did not start out with either rider out front. Instead it was Honda’s Eli Tomac who put in five straight demoralizing (for his competitors) performances in the first five motos of the season, racing unchallenged to crushing victory each time. But a massive get-off for Tomac in the second moto at Thunder Valley spelled the end of his season, and blew the door open for the Dungey-Roczen battle to continue. Check out Episode 2 of MX Nation as we explore more into the dynamic and contrasting personalities of Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen as they fight to yet again to reach the pinnacle of American motocross.

RV Says Goodbye

Farewell
by Ryan Villopoto

It is with gratitude, humility, a bit of sadness but without regret, that I announce my retirement from motorcycle racing today. 

As many of you know, I experienced a pretty horrendous crash back in April that left me with multiple fractures in my tailbone along with soft tissue damage. My initial thought was that I could be back riding in a few weeks if I just stayed quiet for a while. That has not proven to be the case. Follow-up X-Rays have made clear that I also suffered severe compression of multiple disks in my lower back. I am still in significant discomfort and I realize that even if I start my fitness program and training now that I been cleared by my physician, I will not be able, prior to the end of the MXGP season, to achieve the fitness necessary for me to compete at the level I have always striven for.

I am grateful for having had the opportunity to do something I have loved since I was a kid and turn it into my livelihood. I am grateful for the support of my family for all the years they spent hauling my bikes and me around to races, interrupting their lives in the process.

I am grateful for the support of my many sponsors through the years. What people don’t often think about, when it comes to individual “action” sports like motocross, is that we rely on sponsors to compete. In motocross, the sponsors aren’t just a name on your jersey – they are part of your racing team. If they are good, they are sponsors in the truest sense of the word. They are involved in building the best bike, putting together the best team, supporting your training, and so much more. So, with that in mind, first and foremost I want to thank Kawasaki, which has been my bike of choice since my Team Green days. They have been with me through ups and downs, serious injuries and great successes. They’ve always cared about me and I’ve been successful in large part because of it. THOR/Parts Unlimited and Monster Energy Company have been with me through it all as well. Thanks also to DC, GoPro, Oakley, Alpinestars, Atlas and Mobius Braces. Each of you has been an integral part of making this an amazing career.

I want to thank my long-time agent, my friend, Bobby Nichols, and his agency The Sports Syndicate, for the strong guidance and support they have offered my entire career.

But most of all, I’m writing this retirement note to my fans. I am grateful for the hundreds of thousands of fans, not only in the U.S., but throughout the world. It is amazing to know that you have cared so much and been so supportive along the way. 

That gets me to the sadness about making this decision now. I was so stoked to make the decision to be a part of MXGP racing. It has always been important to me to ride my best and to be in the best possible position to give my best, in part because of wanting to give back to you, the fans. I am sad that this year did not work out the way I had hoped in that regard. I wanted to be at my best, to compete with these riders who are among the very best in the world and leave it all out on the track as each of them does every race. The sadness is that I only got to do that for a few races.

I am grateful to have had the chance to race with the very best in world, my competitors in Supercross and Motocross in the States as well as those who make the MXGP what it is. I am grateful to know that our competitiveness helped to continue the growth of our sport. 

I leave with no regrets. I have been blessed to experience so much of life through my racing. I have never wanted to disappoint my fans nor my supporters and my hope is that for the most part I have lived up to that.

Again, thanks to each and every one of you who have been a part of my team.

Sincerely,
Ryan Villopoto

The Return of Speedy Working Motorcycles?

SWM Motorcycles unveils first new lineup in 30 years

By Spiros Tsantilas - July 5, 2015

Speedy Working Motors (SWM) has used the Italian round of the World Enduro Championship (WEC) in Bergamo to introduce its new range of street and off-road motorcycles. With seven new models in the pipeline, the Italian company plans to start production this month with a 650 cc enduro bike.

Founded in 1971, SWM manufactured Trial, Enduro and Motocross bikes with Sachs and Rotax engines until it went into liquidation in 1984. Its honors include several national Trial and Motocross titles as well as a Trial World Championship.

The resurrection of SWM was first announced at the 2014 EICMA Milan show after securing funding from Chinese motorcycle and ATV manufacturer Shineray, a.k.a. China Chongqing Shineray Motorcycle Co.,Ltd. The new company’s CEO is Ampelio Macchi, a former Cagiva, Husqvarna and Aprilia engineer and renowned figure in Italian motorcycling history.

Production is set to begin this month in SWM’s new manufacturing facility in Varese, Italy. The 2016 range presented during the Italian WEC round includes three enduro models, RS300R, RS500R and RS650R, two supermotos, SM500R and SM650R, the Silver Vase 440 scrambler and the Gran Milano 440 roadster.

Shineray acquired the rights to the SWM brand name as a vehicle for expansion to western markets. The Chinese company also bought a factory in Varese, Italy, that produced Husqvarna motorcycles under BMW ownership until 2013, when the Germans sold the brand to KTM. With the Austrians poised to abort operations in Italy, Shineray stepped in to acquire 10 Husqvarna models designed by BMW engineers, a fully operational plant and all the expert personnel required to run it.

The enduro and supermoto models run on older Husqvarna single cylinder engines, updated to 2016 standards by the same R&D engineers that curated them in the pre-KTM period. Frames and most of the running gear come from the relevant BMW-era Huskies as well.

What is more interesting though is the power plant of the scrambler and roadster models. The air cooled, fuel injected, 445 cc single is a novel appearance in Shineray’s European lineup, which until now comprised of small displacement engines between 50 and 250 cc. Since Husqvarna had nothing of the kind in its production line, this is probably the first sighting of a new Shineray unit.

Apparently SWM has big plans for the future. The first model to come out of the Varese production line will be the RS650R on July 8, followed by the SM650R in August, the rest of the enduro and supermoto models in September and the two "classic" 440s in October. May 2016 will see the introduction of a 125 cc model, August will bring a new 250 and there is also a 450 motor in the making. The latter will be an important step for the company, after formally declaring its intention to go Motocross racing in Europe by 2016. And there’s a lot more to come; Shineray envisages a range of off-road racing, street and adventure models, including a 900 cc multi cylinder engine available by 2018. If we are to speculate, an evolution of the Husqvarna Nuda 900 twin inescapably comes to mind.

The enduro RS650R is the first new model on offer, with production starting on July 8

SWM motorcycles will be initially available in Europe; Australia will be next and North America will follow soon after. In China, South America, Asia and Africa the same motorcycles will be sold under the Shineray logo, which is more recognizable there.

It's Not Moto... But It Is Wild!

Truly amazing what a talented rider can do on two wheels even a road bike. The downhill shots in SF are stunning.

YZ 325 A Year Later

Mike, puts in a few laps on his YZ 325 at the Mammoth Bar track along the American river near Auburn, CA. Watch for a one year update on this bike coming soon.

Jeff Emig and Twitch Cruise Chile for Shift

 Urban Marketing

Red Bulls Presents MX Nation!

'MX Nation' Series Premiere: Roczen Switches Teams

Ken Roczen is confident, but his former team manager questions the German's move from KTM to Suzuki. When a rider makes it to the top of the motocross racing world, all eyes rest on him. Although the sport requires loads of support from mechanics to trainers, the pressure to perform ultimately rests on the shoulders of the person twisting the throttle out on the track.

In the series premiere of "MX Nation," German-born Ken Roczen discusses his switch from the Red Bull KTM team, the team that helped him in his move from Europe to the United States. To leave an outfit that brought Roczen to the pinnacle of racing not only put doubt in the eyes of his fans, it also cast uncertainty among his former team members including his old team manager and mentor, Roger De Coster.

A Look Back At The Moto Episode 21...Ryan Dungey

 Here is a quick look back at Ryan Dungey and the attitude that he brings to the races.

Alaskan MX on the Kenai Peninsula

State motocross at Twin City Raceway all about family

By Jeff Helminiak

Peninsula Clarion

The flash of vibrant colors bouncing through the woods and over the jumps, and the ripping sound trailing them, makes it easy to overlook what the State Motocross Races at Twin City Raceway this weekend are really all about.

Family.

For Lacie Kelly, the secretary and treasurer of the Kenai Peninsula Racing Lions - Motocross Division, families arriving Tuesday to camp out for the weekend and kids playing at the track at midnight are as much a part of the event as the dizzying swirl of bikes and dust during the races.

“They come from all over,” Kelly said. “It’s a big family. Everybody knows everybody.”

The 60-plus riders at Twin City Raceway on Saturday andState motocross at Twin City Raceway all about family today come mainly from the Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage area and Fairbanks.

There are four state weekends throughout the season, two in Anchorage and one apieceState motocross at Twin City Raceway all about family in Fairbanks and Kenai. KPRL also hosts eight city races during the summer at Twin City Raceway.

Kelly’s family is heavily involved in racing. Her husband, Jesse Kelly, races, as does Jesse’s father, Mike Kelly. Lacie’s daughter, 9-year-old Danica Farrar, recently got a bike and is not racing yet, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see her out there before the season’s end.

Lacie is in her second year on the KPRL board, while Jesse just became president this year. Along with Phil Celtic, vice president, they are trying to grow motocross numbers in the area again.

“It can be difficult,” Lacie said. “Sometimes it’s hard to make everybody happy. We try our best, especially since it’s a family sport.

“Over the last number of years, we’ve lost a lot of people and we really want to try and get that back. We want there to be two rows of racers at the start.”

Jesse, now 29, started racing when he was 14 and can remember when state races had 150 to 200 riders. He hungers for those days.

Jesse was in the Pro and 450 Expert classes this weekend, and said riding with less riders is not as fun.

“In my last race, there was nobody around me,” he said. “I was in fourth place, and the top three were way up there. The fifth-place rider was way behind me.”

Jesse rode until he was 21 before taking a break and getting back into the sport three years ago.

While he guesses the economy had something to do with the drop in numbers, his father, Mike, confirms that fact.

“The attendance dropped in half when the economy crashed in 2008,” Mike said.

Jesse said the plan is to make riding appealing to younger riders.

“It keeps them active instead of sitting inside all summer long playing video games and using their phone,” he said. “All the kids have a tablet or iPhone these days.”

Thus far, the plan seems to be working. The state races this weekend had 16 riders on 50cc motocross bikes, which is the kind used by the little kids.

And Mike says the little kids are where it ball begins.

“Each of the little guys has to have their family here,” he said. “After they’re old enough to be here by themselves, the parents keep coming anyway.”

But the parents mostly keep coming to watch. Very few get on a motocross bike themselves and start tearing up the track.

But that’s exactly what Mike did, at the age of 41, after watching his son have all the fun for years. At 54, Mike is still at it, competing at Vet Intermediate and Senior Vet this weekend.

Why?

“That’s a good question,” Mike said. “I have no idea. I still enjoy it.”

Isn’t that rough on the body?

“You just get used to it,” he said. “It becomes second nature. All summer long you are sore, bruised and hurt.

“I don’t know how to explain it.”

Mike says riding keeps him in shape, and it also gives him goals to chase. Jesse said his father is faster than ever.

“I was moving up at the end of last year, but this year I’ve started at the end of the pack again,” Mike said. “I’ll get faster.”

Jesse said his dad is part of the reason he got back into racing. He said the sport also gives him motivation to keep fit, and he lost 40 pounds this winter.

“They’ve been doing it for so long,” Lacie said. “They just love it.

“They’re not really in it to be No. 1. They’re in it for the love of the sport itself.”