Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 8:50PM 2-Time Monster Energy Supercross Champion Eli Tomac opens up about the end of his 2023 season, what he saw watching SuperMotocross and Pro Motocross 450 Champion Jett Lawrence, and riding this offseason with Haiden Deegan. SMX insiders Jason Weigandt and Jason Thomas discuss the odd couple that is Tomac and Deegan
Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 8:46PM Joey Savatgy on his move to Triumph
Post: Alex Gobert
What's next leading into a brand new project for 2024 and beyond.
It’s been a relatively low-key, but successful year for Joey Savatgy, leading the three-round World Supercross Championship (WSX) into Melbourne and finishing second in the final standings. What’s next, however, is an incredibly exciting prospect, stepping back to the 250 class for the outdoors with Triumph in 2024 – and looking to ride their 450 the following year – and in a lot of ways, it’s a case of unfinished business. He spoke candidly to MotoOnline about all that and more in this Upfront feature.
Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 8:44PM Post: Alex Gobert
The plan to put Beta's new factory team on the map in Supercross 2024.
After winning the final race of the World Supercross Championship (WSX) season in Melbourne as part of Rick Ware Racing, Colt Nichols has quickly turned his attention to leading Beta’s factory Monster Energy Supercross Championship program entering the 2024 season. With a timely uplift in confidence on his side, hear from him in this First Person interview
Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 3:13PM
By Jody Weisel
Rick Sieman, better know as Super Hunky, and I had a bond, even though we didn’t actually ever work together. It is true that Motocross Action and Dirt Bike Magazine were both owned by Hi-Torque Publishing, but each magazine was independent, from corporate control in what we chose to do or how we chose to do it. MXA’s offices were right across the hall from Dirt Bike’s in a high-rise office building on Ventura Boulevard in Encino, California. But, we rarely socialized, with the Dirt Bike guys. However, I had a warm spot in my heart for Rick Sieman that went back to the early 1970s. I was from Texas, that is where I started racing and that is where I made a name for myself—so when I became a SoCal magazine guy, I was a outsider. I remember flying to the New Orleans AMA National on a plane that had every magazine editor of any importance in the 1970s on the same flight. I wasn’t one of them. They didn’t speak to me or even glance my direction. I didn’t really care for their magazines, their personalities or the things they wrote about bikes, so I was fine with it.
This is the only existing photo of Rick and I racing together at Saddleback Park. Rick was, of course, on his beloved Maico.
The only person on the plane that I thought was worthwhile was Rick Sieman. I was, without a doubt, a big Super Hunky fan. However, I didn’t work for Hi-Torque at the time, so I didn’t try to talk to him. So, I was surprised when he walked back to where I had chosen to sit and sat down next to me. He was a ball of fire, with rapid fire jokes, unlimited insights, wild stories, perhaps a touch of fatherly advice, and scathing reviews of the other magazine guys sitting a few rows in front of us, who he called “pencil-necked geeks,” We chatted for most of the flight. I liked him right away!
A year later, I was offered jobs at virtually every motorcycle magazine in print in the mid-1970s. I turned them all down until I got an offer from MXA. They didn’t offer me the most money, but I didn’t care about the salary, I wanted to race, test motorcycles and make Motocross Action into the best magazine possible—and it didn’t hurt that Rick “Super Hunky” Sieman, would be just 20 feet across the hall from the MXA enclave.
A fuzzy photo of Rick (left), Jody (center) and Vic “Mr. Know-It-All”Krause (right) dressed in Tuxedo’s at the Cincinnati Motorcycle Show.
But “Super Hunky” was a lightning rod for controversy, and that was the thing that would make him a great fighter for off-road rights, but not the greatest employee. And eventually, Rick elected to leave “Dirt Bike Magazine” and I fell out of his orbit. He was an ex-power lifter, who lived in the Valley and was the ultimate story teller—I would alway say to him after he told me one of his fantastic adventure tales, “That was a great. Was any of it true?” He’d laugh out loud and act offended, but he was always ready with another outlandish tale.
When he wrote his “Monkey Butt” book, he told me not to worry about what he wrote in it because, “I left you out!” Thats’a the kind of guy he was. It’s not that I didn’t see Rick after he left Hi-Torque, we ran into each other all the time. We would see each other at press intros and the magic that was Rick was always on display, but eventually he moved to Mexico and then to Arizona to live out the off-road lifestyle. It’s a shame that the vast majority of modern motocross racers never had the opportunity to live through Super Hunky’s reign at the top of the motorcycle magazine world. Rick passed away after a long illness at the age of 83. For me Rick will always be the Rick Sieman who sat down next to me on a flight to New Orleans and made me feel like I had a friend.
Monday, December 11, 2023 at 8:10PM Eighteen years ago this month, a 1973 CB 175 was air lifted by helicopter out of the remote desert of central Utah, all because a man from back east traveled unprepared into the desert to take some pictures. Since that fateful day and after a recap of the story marked down in history as “Mork of the Desert”, the belief has been held that street bikes can’t hack it on The Waterfall Trail, a single-track trail in the Temple Mountain Area of the San Rafael Swell.
Always on the lookout for a new challenge to conquer, Wes and Chance, two ambitious riders from the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC crew, decided to see if it really was impossible to take a street bike (or two) on The Waterfall Trail, or if it was just a lack of skill that lead to the airlifted CB 175 marking this trail as off-limits for the heavier, generally less-equipped-for-adventure road bikes.
Monday, December 11, 2023 at 9:04AM PERFECT SIX BRINGS MANUEL LETTENBICHLER (KTM) IN THE HISTORY ON FIM HARD ENDURO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
History has been made as Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) has completed the first ever FIM Hard Enduro World Championship perfect season with victory at the 24MX GetzenRodeo. Already crowned FIM Hard Enduro World Champion at round five in Spain, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing capped off an incredible year by remaining undefeated in 2023. In the FIM Hard Enduro Junior World Championship supported by KLIM, TTR Squadra Corse’s Mitch Brightmore claimed the world title.
With six wins from six starts in the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Manuel Lettenbichler has unquestionably confirmed himself as the rider to beat in 2023. Having clinched the world title with a round to spare at the 24MX Hixpania Hard Enduro, the German arrived at his home race with the goal of becoming the first rider to ever complete the perfect HEWC season.
Off to a perfect start by topping the Friday prologue, Lettenbichler backed it up by finishing on the top step in the Saturday morning GetzenRace. Sherco Factory Racing’s Mario Roman was feeling good in the technical terrain and placed four minutes behind in second, with Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Billy Bolt third.
However, the all-important 80 minute plus one lap GetzenChamp race quickly followed, and all eyes were once again on the German. With the traditional 24MX GetzenRodeo canon blast at the start, the race was soon underway, and it was time to battle in the woods.
Lettenbichler, Bolt, and Roman were joined by GASGAS’ Michael Walkner and ECONT Bulgaria’s Teo Kabakchiev as everyone fought to gain track position on the tight and narrow woodside course. At the halfway marker, most of the front runners had completed the mandatory Joker Loop, and as the classification balanced out, it was Lettenbichler in the lead.
With 27 minutes to go, Bolt was on the move and began to quickly reel the German in. With 13 minutes to go, Bolt pounced and took over the race lead. Suddenly, Lettenbichler’s hopes of a perfect season began to fade as the Brit pulled a small but critical advantage.
With nine minutes remaining, Bolt became stuck on a rocky climb. With Lettenbichler sailing passed, the German didn’t put a foot wrong for the remainder of the race. Scaling the final water fall section, he crossed the finish line of the 24MX GetzenRodeo to make it six wins from six in 2023.
Despite his best efforts, Bolt had no answer to the charging German and had to settle for second. Roman put in a strong ride and raced his way onto the podium for third.
Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM): “It feels incredible to make the perfect season of wins here in Germany. It’s been a hard race, but this race is unbelievable. I really had to dig deep in the final. Billy was pushing hard and when he passed me, I thought I might not get him back. Somehow, I found a second wind and came back to win. I’m so happy as the 2023 World Champion with a perfect season too. It’s been an amazing year!”
Monday, December 11, 2023 at 9:03AM Is it even fun without a challenge?
Is it even fun without a challenge?
There are riders who occasionally dabble in car stuff, and there are car guys who occasionally dabble in bike stuff. And then there's Superfast Matt, who summarizes what it's like to bounce between falling in and out of love with motorcycling on the same exhausting and exhilarating ride.
2023 marked the 40th annual run of the LA Barstow to Vegas Dual Sport And Adventure Bike Ride. It's an event hosted by the AMA District 37 Dual Sport Committee, and it draws a massive crowd of mostly road-legal dirt bikes each year. A GPS route is provided, with choices of both easy and hard options to get to the checkpoints. The idea is to have fun, but there are also bail outs along the way for those that need them.
Matt and his buddy Chris, who suggested running this year's ride, decided to do things the hard way. Riding 400-plus miles across varying qualities of sandy desert is probably never going to be a walk in the park, but Chris made it extra hard on himself by choosing to ride his Triumph Scrambler 1200 on this event.
Matt, meanwhile, had a Honda CRF250L Rally with an upgraded suspension and more dirt-appropriate tires as his chosen steed. While the Scrambler 1200 had a tendency to wallow and bury itself in the sand repeatedly, the CRF250L mostly did OK as long as Matt kept his speed up.
In both cases, it was several kinds of fun (including the miserable kind, which Matt gets into in this video), but it was also incredibly exhausting. He noted that he hadn't done much in the way of rider preparation for the event (such as doing much off-roading in the months leading up to this ride), and that definitely made it more difficult. His buddy noted that he might try it again on the Scrambler with more appropriate tires, to try to improve his skills from the experience.
As for the CRF250L, it did reasonably well once Matt got used to how it wanted to be ridden. In a few cases, it felt a little underpowered going up hills, but it was mostly a better choice for the ride than he let on in his opening narration. Happily, it was also likely a lot less expensive than many of the other bikes on the ride, which works out well if you're a perennial project planner like Matt seems to be.
Sunday, December 10, 2023 at 8:02PM
We are sad to report the passing of Rick "Super Hunky" Siemen, the original editor of Dirt Bike magazine, which first hit newsstands in 1971. Siemen was a gonzo-style writer and wordsmith who simply loved off-road motorcycling. One of the most influential journalists the sport has ever known, Siemen mixed humor with hard-hitting honesty. During the magazine's ascendency in the 1970s and early '80s Siemen used his bully pulpit and influential column "From the Saddle" to help fight land closures, promote unique events and also keep motorcycle product manufacturers honest. He even appeared on the television program "60 Minutes" to advocate against the closure of huge swaths of the southwest desert to off-highway vehicles because of an endangered tortoise.
Rick was also a firm supporter and regular participant in the Barstow-to-Vegas Desert race, along with his friend and attorney Louis McKey, also known as the Phantom Duck of the Desert, and together they were a thorn in the side of the Bureau of Land Management.
Siemen also became an early proponent of the Grand National Cross Country Series after attending his first Blackwater 100, hilariously entering the treacherous race on an over-bored 760cc Maico. He did not finish, but his feature article about this misadventure put the event and the series on the national map. Super Hunky also attended the first Loretta Lynn's AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship in 1982 and his constructive criticism had a similar effect on the event and its long-term future. Siemen, and his editorial staff that included Paul Clipper and Tom "Wolfman" Webb, set the standard for coming generations of moto journalists. Earlier this year Rick was nominated to be inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, where his name remains on the ballot in the category of Leadership & Rights.
Upon retiring from the magazine business Siemen published a book of some of his most popular columns called Monkey Butt. He also moved to Arizona and would host aspiring moto journalists who attended his writing and testing seminars.
Rick Siemen was 83 years old. Godspeed.
Sunday, December 10, 2023 at 2:57PM "Tony Needed a NEW Challenge."
