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How many of YOU have seen a struggling rider and helped them to ride better and eventually compete?
Why are you here?
My guess is that you're here purely for your own entertainment, or to see who you can poke in the eye under the guise of "helping" the sport. And yes, I clipped the other thread that you'd posted that was pretty much in the same vein, but that had all the names of various media members in the title.
As for trying to sustain/grow the sport, I think that falls largely on parents. They're a rider's first "sponsor". They're often the ones that get them into in the first place, because they've ridden themselves, or have some interest in it. They have to approve to let junior climb aboard a bike, buy the bike and gear, and encourage their child to do it. If they're not into it, it's not going to happen. For most, riding together as a family for fun is the goal, and that's really how it should happen anyway. Making the jump to competition happens later, if at all.
I think just about anyone involved in the sport would agree that it takes a very specific personality to even want to line up on the gate. It's not for everyone, which is maybe why it appealed to a lot of us in the first place. Encouragement is awesome, but you can't force anyone to want to race. Getting trail riders to make the jump up? On their trail bikes? I'd think most of them would want a class where you didn't have to have a full-race bike.
For the most part, I see the AMA as being much more interested in being the AAA of the motorcycle world, and they're spinning off the racing side.
The NMA has their amateur events, and MX Sports obviously handles Loretta's, which is the elite of the amateur racing. Racing at that level is well beyond what you'll find at the entry level, so I'm not sure how they relate to what you're asking.
Myself? I'd think a lot of the initial encouragement would fall to parents, manufacturers, dealers, and local tracks, rather than the entities you're pointing to.
WE are.
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
They have over 200,000 members, each paying close to 40 dollars a head.
MXSPORTS gives them a million a year.
I don't know how much Daytona Motorsports Group gives.
Let's just say the pull in 10 million dollars a year.
Anyone seen a TV ad on the virtues of motorcycling?
How about a radio spot on what's going on in your local area with bikes?
Anyone heard of them attacking the powers that be when a track is under the gun?
Where's the AMA?
Dealerships:
Stop listening to 20 groups and start stocking dirtbikes again!!! The reason they don't sell is you don't have any. Over the last 15 years dealerships have placed most of their efforts on selling V-Twins to baby boomers. Now the baby boomers are getting to the age where the door swings are getting less and less. My experience is a baby boomer may buy one or two bikes...then he's on to something else...his mid-life crisis is over.
If you get a family riding they come back for bikes over and over. My 12 year old daughter started trail riding when she was hust shy of her 4th birthday. On her next birthday she's getting her 4th new bike. She's had new boots, gear, helmets, tires, chains, grips nearly evry year since she started. After her and I started riding my wife got a bike...them my 4 year old son started to ride. Oil change day and gear washing day are a pain in the ass but today we have 7 dirtbikes in the garage.
Track owners:
Build safer tracks. You need professionally designed tracks that are safe for all riders. While you're at it build a small trail on your property for people that don't want to jump...this is an opportunity to get an entire family riding. Our sport is one of the greatest when it comes to family participation. My father in law started trail riding with the rest of us when he was close to 60.
And start working with the local shops. Don't just stop in when you are asking for hole-shot awards or a sponsorship. Stop in with a revenue generating plan that the shops can partner with you on.
Pass out some free race tickets to local politicians, non-profits, schools and media outlets. If you want new participants at the events...invite some new people. Get 100 new kids out for a race and 3-4 of them will be hooked.
What can we do?
Start spending money at your local shop again. Most consumers have shifted their business to mail order or e-commerce for various reasons. Support and growth will only come from the local level. If a shop owner has seen all of his gear sales go on-line he's not going to be too pumped to make a donation at Sunday's race. Open a conversation with the store owners about how you can help out with new riders. Offer to display your bike at open houses...you may even meet a new sponsor you hadn't thought of. Although it may be a little more convenient to click away when placing your next purchase...take a look at the local track and see where the sponsorships at your track are coming from.
When I was in college I parked my dirtbikes and started windsurfing...remember that? For a brief period it was all over TV and their was even a time that it was going to be added to the X Games. Then it became so specialized and expensive that it was too complicated and too big of a pain in the ass for new people to get started. Sound a little familiar?
DMG outbid all comers to the rights to race motorcycles under the AMA name maybe 5 years ago.
MXSPORTS bought what DMG didn't want, moto, xcountry, trials and hillclimb.
I believe the deal is for 10 years, at a million per year.
Anyone know anything different?
Tell me how to get in on that gig cause I'd sure as hell like for someone to pay me a million dollars per year to do my job.
anyone before or after the Dingman sellout.
Is it MXSPORTS fault that the AMA was gonna sell us down the river?
Do you think it's a cakewalk, having to improve the tracks the way everyone says they should be, or getting the royalty
fee the AMA has thrust upon them?
As far as getting a gig "like that", all you need to do is run races and award championships to the top riders in the nation for, I dunno, maybe 100 years.
Sorry guy, I thought you were diggin on MXSPORTS.
Thing is, Dingman was tired of AMAProRacing making money one year, losing the next.
He wanted steady income from the racing to pump the other side, namely street bikes.
I tell them that if they pay for the 1st class I will pay for them to run a 2nd class. This does 2 things. First it gives them more track/race time.Secondly it helps the local organization/promoter. Only thing I ask in return is that they are respectful to their Parents,fellow racers and track officials. Been doing this for over 20 years with various kids. And I have had no regrets.
There is a huge different between just recreational riding & racing...
"I think just about anyone involved in the sport would agree that it takes a very specific personality to even want to line up on the gate. It's not for everyone, which is maybe why it appealed to a lot of us in the first place. "
So very true...
Coming from the PeeWee class (or begger class) in this sport all the way up to the A/Local Pro Class is a huge task
and I think for the majority of racers from the start, that is their goal.With trying to achieve that goal comes injuries of all sorts,from minor broken bones,life changing injuries to even death at times. I cant say I have ever met anyone who has made it to the A /Local Pro Class that has not had some form of injury from racing or practicing...on a MX/SX/AX track. However,I do know plenty of recreational non-racing riders that have been riding for years and never sustained anything but a few bruises and scrapes.Now don't get me wrong recreational riding is dangerous and freak accidents happen....but I don't think the danger level is as high as racing,especially with the way the tracks are these days.
As for trying to market the sport to recruit new people into racing....I think the sport sells it self for what it is.
It's dangerous but also very rewarding to some and dedication is must.
Just don't forget to bring your wallet to the track.
O'yeah...on a side a note,while on the topic of marketing & recruiting.
I always thought that the High school Motocross events were a great idea in a marketing sense
in general for attracting new fans at the local level & also recreational riding and even AM racing.
That is something that I always wished would grow to more of a national level type event with
a national televised championship race.
Ryan never hurts to hold hands.
"Encouragement is awesome, but you can't force anyone to want to race." You're right, no one can force anyone to do anything... but we can change people's perception on motocross and influence them to want to race. Perception is reality Gibby.
Pit Row
Thought it funny that Guy B sees the AMA for the bunch of fucking buffoons that they are. A towing service for street bikes.....LMAO. His comedy skills are improving. And this was not a jab at any of the AMA guys who are actually at the track trying to serve the sport well. To them I offer my thanks.
Who is responsible? Well, the whole group of us, you, me track owners, dealers, mfgs., promoters.........
Tracks ? Funny how I see local tracks that are geared towards 10% of the people who ride there. Our local track has a pro level rider come from the Houston area to "tune up" the track. Blind jumps, jumps with kickers on the faces, doubles, triples, whoops........ It really cracks me the hell up when they have to shut the place down because not enough people come out to support it. Not because they are stupid beyond all comprehension, but because not enough people come out to support it.
Dealers? My local Yamaha dealer tried to upsale me to a YZ450 that they had in stock when I went in to buy a new YZ125 for my 14 year old kid coming off a CR85. Didn't even offer to get me one. Stupid beyond belief.
Mfgs.? They spoiled the hell out of people with contingency for years and years. There was a lot of pissing and moaning when they tried to cut back. Should have cut back and lowered bike prices at the same time. How did they sell so many bikes back in 1974 when there was no contingency??
S
There are lots of different people and groups working on lots of different things. Is this about general dirt bike riding and access to lands? Is it about creating fans of racing that might want to take it up? Is it about making it easy for a newbie to show up at the gate.
D36, dealers, BRC, MIC, the AMA all are involved in a ton of that stuff out here in the west; I can't speak for the east. There are private and public (PAL and the OHV parks) groups that can provide bikes and lessons in riding. DC and the AMA and others have spent a ton of time over the last few years on the lead law issue. The OEM still make a ton of easy new rider bikes that are cheaper than mx'ers. The major criticism people had of the OEMs a few years ago was the lack of a DT1 type entry level bike. Those bikes exist now. Honda used to have a riding stall with 50's and 70's at SX. There are so many elements to it that to ask who is responsible for it has only one answer: all of us, in the ways that we can. Wringing hands and calling out people on a web site doesn't qualify. In fact, if someone feels no one's doing anything, it's probably because that person isn't doing anything and isn't helping the people who are.
The reason I say this is because there are different types of riding in our sport. (Trails, MX, and dare I say it freestyle). When the outside world thinks of motocross or dirt bike riding in particular freestyle is the first to come to mind and that is where our sport is seen as bad IMO.
When I first started riding it was super low key. Me and my friends started making trails in the woods. As we met more and more people who rode, we heard about MX and what it takes to race. Coming into the racing side of things I was completely unprepared. My family and I thought my little XR 80 was perfect to go race, but we learned quickly what a stupid idea that was
What sustains our sport IMO is the community, not the industry. My friends and their families are what got me into racing and its what opened my eyes to the different types of motorcycle racing. Until the world gets an invitation into this little community of ours, our sport will always struggle to break into the mainstream.
I don't think contingency was ever a marketing ploy to get people into racing mx in general.
It was more of a way to get avid racers to switch brands & buy a new bike each year.
I think Suzuki was always the best when it came to contingency.
In 1990 we had gotten all the big am race contingency they had offered & also had a deal set-up through Suzuki with a local shop that paid $30 for 1st all the down to $5 for 7th at local races.They also gave us 25% discount on parts, labor,oil,fuel etc...at their shop.It sure did help a lot racing twice a week year around.
So I can see why some people pissed & moaned when they started pulling it.
I also think most people that get into the sport for the most part (60cc's through 450/500's) start out with a used a bike.
However,you do see a lot of peewee dads buying new bikes for their kids when they first start.
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