Accurate statement about our skills?

ttugrad1793
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ttugrad1793
was chatting with a buddy the other day and somehow we ended up debating this statement:

"Guys that line up and are competitive in motocross are in probably the top 5% of motorcyclists on earth."

This does not include the squid that putts around in last place...I'm talking about those that can line up and possess the skills to be competitive. From the Friday night race to LL's...I argued that the guys that can competitively race on a dirt bike have skills that make them some of the most skilled motorcyclists on earth.

No other discipline requires the skill that motocross does, and in order to do it, you become one of the top % of guys in the world that can handle a bike like is required.

Random Monday morning discussion for you guys.
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Harry Backmon 3/20/2017 8:45am
3/20/2017 8:45am
I don't know. Maybe? What about those enduro-cross dudes? Jumping logs, rocks, etc. To me, those guys are amazing with their balance and use of throttle, clutch, etc.
F150Motocrosser 3/20/2017 8:47am
3/20/2017 8:47am
Just because they wear open faced helmets, don't discount the uber insane amount of talent Trials riders have. Like motocross, the disparity between the top 5% and the top 1% is a huge, huge gap
RandyS
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RandyS 3/20/2017 8:48am
3/20/2017 8:48am
Riders who are motocross only have a pretty limited group of skills on a motorcycle, I would think as a whole off road guys are overall much better riders. I've ridden with off road guys that I was sure I was going to leave and they kicked my ass. I would say I'm middle of the road on both but I think I'm a better woods rider than motocross, not spectacular in either but I can hold my own.
ttugrad1793
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ttugrad1793 3/20/2017 8:51am
3/20/2017 8:51am
agree with each of you.

I suppose that if you take the whole population of motorcycle enthusiasts and then put enduro, trail, mx, sx, and real off road guys in it...........you are still probably in the top 5%.

When you figure that the Saturday night main event SX guys are probably in the top .000000001% of the population, the rest of us fall safely within the top 5%

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Motofinne
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Motofinne 3/20/2017 8:57am
3/20/2017 8:57am Edited Date/Time 3/20/2017 9:04am
Our sport is so small. This might seem a bit weird but i think we overrate the difficulty of it also. You can put any dude from the street on a bike 2 times in the week and he will be a decent weekend warrior after a year. That logic can be applied on pretty much everything. I mean we all can see every spring a new person at the local track that rides for the first time and 6 months later that person is already decent or at least jumping all the jumps and has some kind of corner speed..

I rank MotoGP riders as the cream of the crop in motorcycling. Not only because it's way more demanding and difficult than the average person understands(the classical "the tracks are always the same" statement is just as stupid as "mx riders just sit on the bike and twist the throttle") . Road Racing is way bigger, way harder to succeed in because of the larger number of people doing it compared to our sport.
Moens_Andy 3/20/2017 9:02am
3/20/2017 9:02am
I think he meant riders in general, any competitive racing on 2 wheels with an engine on dirt. That in itself places us directly in the 5% range of all humans on the face of the earth. So pure mathematically he's correct
Motofinne
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Motofinne 3/20/2017 9:03am
3/20/2017 9:03am
Moens_Andy wrote:
I think he meant riders in general, any competitive racing on 2 wheels with an engine on dirt. That in itself places us directly in the...
I think he meant riders in general, any competitive racing on 2 wheels with an engine on dirt. That in itself places us directly in the 5% range of all humans on the face of the earth. So pure mathematically he's correct
Yeah haha, that is true.

TXDirt
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TXDirt 3/20/2017 9:08am
3/20/2017 9:08am
RandyS wrote:
Riders who are motocross only have a pretty limited group of skills on a motorcycle, I would think as a whole off road guys are overall...
Riders who are motocross only have a pretty limited group of skills on a motorcycle, I would think as a whole off road guys are overall much better riders. I've ridden with off road guys that I was sure I was going to leave and they kicked my ass. I would say I'm middle of the road on both but I think I'm a better woods rider than motocross, not spectacular in either but I can hold my own.
Not sure I agree with you. Would Eli Tomac have a better chance of winning a GNCC race if he decided to switch to off road or would a GNCC race winner have a better chance of winning a 450 main event?

Both series have amazing riders and there has been some riders who have successfully crossed over from each side.

From a purely technical perspective, I think Tomac has a better shot winning an off road race then an off road guy winning a 450 main.
SVT-Cobra
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SVT-Cobra 3/20/2017 9:32am
3/20/2017 9:32am
RandyS wrote:
Riders who are motocross only have a pretty limited group of skills on a motorcycle, I would think as a whole off road guys are overall...
Riders who are motocross only have a pretty limited group of skills on a motorcycle, I would think as a whole off road guys are overall much better riders. I've ridden with off road guys that I was sure I was going to leave and they kicked my ass. I would say I'm middle of the road on both but I think I'm a better woods rider than motocross, not spectacular in either but I can hold my own.
TXDirt wrote:
Not sure I agree with you. Would Eli Tomac have a better chance of winning a GNCC race if he decided to switch to off road...
Not sure I agree with you. Would Eli Tomac have a better chance of winning a GNCC race if he decided to switch to off road or would a GNCC race winner have a better chance of winning a 450 main event?

Both series have amazing riders and there has been some riders who have successfully crossed over from each side.

From a purely technical perspective, I think Tomac has a better shot winning an off road race then an off road guy winning a 450 main.
Agreed, the skills necessary to go fast off-road are much more relevant when coming from motocross than the other way around.
RandyS
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RandyS 3/20/2017 9:34am
3/20/2017 9:34am Edited Date/Time 3/20/2017 9:37am
Comparing the national Pro classes you're correct. But the question was "Friday night race to LL's", also many of the local racers at least in the vet classes ride everything. I was referring to riders who do nothing but track practice/racing, I don't believe that as a whole those riders are as skilled as riders with a more rounded set of skills. If I was to raise a kid to be a SX/MX champion I'd make sure the had plenty of seat time away from the track.
ttugrad1793
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ttugrad1793 3/20/2017 9:38am
3/20/2017 9:38am
ya'll are thinking too hard.
75% of all motorcyclists are simply Harley guys that ride on Saturdays. That right there puts you in the top 25%. Then you add the difficulty of competitive racing and you're in the top 5%.

Don't underestimate the skills necessary. From a total body activity, motocross is about as gnarly as it gets.
JBecker 72
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JBecker 72 3/20/2017 9:41am
3/20/2017 9:41am
Disagree. I've met road racers who are fast as shit on a dirt bike, they just don't really care to ride one competitively.

If you're fast, you're fast. But just because you race C class at the local level does not put you in the top 5% of riders across the board.
flymoto
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flymoto 3/20/2017 10:39am
3/20/2017 10:39am
Motofinne wrote:
Our sport is so small. This might seem a bit weird but i think we overrate the difficulty of it also. You can put any dude...
Our sport is so small. This might seem a bit weird but i think we overrate the difficulty of it also. You can put any dude from the street on a bike 2 times in the week and he will be a decent weekend warrior after a year. That logic can be applied on pretty much everything. I mean we all can see every spring a new person at the local track that rides for the first time and 6 months later that person is already decent or at least jumping all the jumps and has some kind of corner speed..

I rank MotoGP riders as the cream of the crop in motorcycling. Not only because it's way more demanding and difficult than the average person understands(the classical "the tracks are always the same" statement is just as stupid as "mx riders just sit on the bike and twist the throttle") . Road Racing is way bigger, way harder to succeed in because of the larger number of people doing it compared to our sport.
Disagree. It's natural ability for the most. That's like saying if I rode everyday and got trained by Aldon I'll be as quick as dungey?

Moto gp riders are extremely talented, of course. But then, it says something when Jonny rea wsbk champ, was a very good Mx racer. That can be said about a lot of the road racing guys. The skills are transferrable. I know guys, who are terrible at mx, and have moved onto road racing and have done pretty good.

The Dakar guys are hugely under rated in my opion. To be able to read the terrain and have the mental ability to stay concentrated for that long takes skill.

I'd think we would cope a lot better with a transition to road racing then a road racer would do with Mx.
racingfortheson 3/20/2017 12:37pm
3/20/2017 12:37pm
Ben Spies, motogp racer, is unreal fast at motocross. I've rode with him before and I know for a fact he was faster then local pro at the time (Factory Suzuki would have been pissed to know he was throwing whips completely flat, lol). I think it has to go on a cases by cases thing. Some guys are just good on anything with 2 wheel and somega are sport specific.
IWreckALot
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IWreckALot 3/20/2017 1:12pm
3/20/2017 1:12pm
I'd be curious to see a study to see driving records of motocross racers. Specifically the wrecks and the speeding tickets. I have a feeling there is a disproportionate high number of speeding tickets and low number of wrecks. I know the awareness of getting around mx and cross country races carries over to driving a vehicle.
Matt6505
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Matt6505 3/20/2017 1:28pm
3/20/2017 1:28pm
F150Motocrosser wrote:
Just because they wear open faced helmets, don't discount the uber insane amount of talent Trials riders have. Like motocross, the disparity between the top 5%...
Just because they wear open faced helmets, don't discount the uber insane amount of talent Trials riders have. Like motocross, the disparity between the top 5% and the top 1% is a huge, huge gap
Amen to that, look at the trials riders that have moved across to the Enduros and dominated.
I rode trials for a bit when coming off a busted femur and got buckets of respect for those guys, takes so much precision and bike skills.
brimx153
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brimx153 3/20/2017 1:29pm
3/20/2017 1:29pm
Motofinne wrote:
Our sport is so small. This might seem a bit weird but i think we overrate the difficulty of it also. You can put any dude...
Our sport is so small. This might seem a bit weird but i think we overrate the difficulty of it also. You can put any dude from the street on a bike 2 times in the week and he will be a decent weekend warrior after a year. That logic can be applied on pretty much everything. I mean we all can see every spring a new person at the local track that rides for the first time and 6 months later that person is already decent or at least jumping all the jumps and has some kind of corner speed..

I rank MotoGP riders as the cream of the crop in motorcycling. Not only because it's way more demanding and difficult than the average person understands(the classical "the tracks are always the same" statement is just as stupid as "mx riders just sit on the bike and twist the throttle") . Road Racing is way bigger, way harder to succeed in because of the larger number of people doing it compared to our sport.
tottaly disagree , Motocross is way bigger than Road racing . where did all these guys start off ,motocross. plus MONEY is huge in rode racing . Ie put Rossi on a terrible bike he will not finish anywhere near the front . I know of tons of guys who are good riders but not the best ,but had huge money behind them ,who just buy there rides .Theres loads of better riders who cant get a ride ,because they have no money behind them . World Superbike at the moment is a joke imo . the top 5 or 8 are good riders but the rest are ex motogp riders in the 40s or riders who never made it . The BSB in england has prob 10 riders who could jump straight into the world superbike champ and could top 3 ,but they dont have the money behind them !!

plus have you been to local road race scene , its way way way way smaller than MX . Because it costs around 20 times more than MX
PracticeChamp141 3/20/2017 2:30pm
3/20/2017 2:30pm
This is being taken way out of context. I believe what he is stating is due to his ability to be competitive on a motocross bike, that puts him in the 5th percentile out of a compilation of anyone who rides any kind of motorized vehicle. Road races, street bikes, barn field riders, third world county scooter slayers. Therefore compared to everyone who has ever thrown a leg over any kind of bike he would be in the top 5% of skilled motorcyclists. Hes not saying hes better than Dungey with practice, or a GNCC rider.

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gsxr6
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gsxr6 3/20/2017 2:38pm
3/20/2017 2:38pm
I Kno I suck on a dirt bike, had a few kids on 85s teach me that. One of them gets top 25 at the Nationals ever so often nowdays lol. Bought a crotch rocket, found myself outriding experienced buddy's right away. After riding dirt since a kid, the endless traction feel of the street was interesting . Also don't understand why people get headshake sitting down from wheelies( attack position takes care of that haha) . Don't ride street anymore as it's boring unless on a wheelie or past 100. Won't ever get bored with the dirt. I think it should be law that u have to have 10 hours on a dirt bike in the dirt before u ever touch a streetbike.
omalley
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omalley 3/20/2017 2:39pm
3/20/2017 2:39pm
I believe that "skill" is a difficult thing to quantify. That said, I believe that if you took the top 5-10 from SX/MX, MotoGP, drag racing, NASCAR, and F1, and made them swap disciplines, I would be surprised if the MX/SX guy's weren't closer to being competitive in those other disciplines than any of them were in SX/MX.

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