Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but Premium users receive great benefits. Premium benefits include:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
Donny Delgado
Randy Yoho
Kenny Yoho
Vince Devane
Jeff Frisz
Brandon Cunningham
Best thing you could ever do is have some guys teach you
The Shop
Free shipping: VITALMX
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Anyway, we rehydrated and went on to get our degrees in jumping orange cones and pvc pipes...
I went into this school pretty negative and not thinking I could take much from it and apply it with good results, after all, I had been racing moto a long time. I was so wrong !!!
I learned amazing things that improved my overall riding and racing. It was also cool to see Donnie demonstrating jump technique on my YZ 450 with no helmet on....lol. I have pictures somewhere.
Donnie posed a question to us that I and no one else had an answer for.........and we had a local pro in the class with us. Randy Childers 471
He asked
"When do you know when to apply the brakes?"
I was spell bound.......I was like......huh????
The answer and application made a lot of sense.
Let's see if ya'll know the answer???
Jason
Jason
The actual school for me at that point was just okay. There were a lot of kids there and only a few instructors so it wasn't all that personal but I think the school was mostly aimed towards more of the beginner side. I will say though, that I was riding the track much faster at the end of the day but I think that's just because we got to spend a lot of time on the track and it was during the week, though they did offer me some good advice here and there after examining me in a certain section.
Would I spend money on one? No, probably not.
I've been sat looking at the feedback over the last 24 hours and i've been amazed by the feed back that you have give me.
I will go into a bit more detail over why I am doing this research. I've noticed over the years of riding the lack of teaching this sport has, it seems to be the only sport where from a young age you can just throw your leg over a dirt bike and ride, if you look at something like golf, the amount of hours people put into perfecting there swing to become better, in motocross it isn't an essential task for a rider to perfect their technique. Again using golf as an example if you're not getting enough distance when you tee off lets say, someone would say they need to use their hips more (I have no idea what I'm talking about, I don't do golf) where as motocross if we are stuggling in a section of the track we tend to go towards blaming the bike and not our technique, which I'm not saying it isn't the bike that's an issue, as motocross is the perfect bond between man and machine, but people seem to blame machine more than man.
To some up what I'm getting at, I'm concerned at the safety of our sport, or the lack of it. I think it needs to be easier for people to access proper technique wether that be riding schools or how to tips online, especially for the younger generation so that when they get on the bigger bikes they're some what prepared technique wise to handle them.
From what I've seen from your guys feed back, a lot of you have gone to a riding school, a lot of feed back has come from the USA and I must admit, riding schools over there come in better quantities than here in the UK, and along side your training facilities, Amatuer Racing programs and events like Mini O's is why I think the US is creating better riders for the future of this sport.
Feel free to comment your opinions on what I have said, do you agree with me or do you think I've gone mad.
Thank you very much for your feedback.
Gary studied every top rider and picked up new techniques constantly so there was always something new to teach you.
I talked to Gary and although he is retired he said he would put on a small 10 riders Vet school for me.
Pit Row
Did as Gary Bailey school in 1969...it really set the bar and the hook for me. I still practice the skills he taught me.
In Germany (73 -75) I got schooled by some excellent riders at practice tracks
Did a Russ Darnell school in the early 80's
A Tony D school (yes I bought a Suzuki that year) Bob H was there
Did a three day private Dick Burleson school out of Traverse City in 1989...very good school
The best schooling was riding side my side with Malcolm S for thousands of miles. Learned so much!
I would strongly recommend a MX School as a must do. A 2 or 3 day school or longer is the best as it provides time for reinforcement. Most of us are Rote Learners and repetitive training is a must
Even if you leave with just one new skill - it was a success
Mark Blackwell was the chief instructor when I was there and AC Bakken was his assistant. Great program. A real MX fantasy camp. I still have the certificate and the notebook.
Learned a lot (was still slow - not Mark or AC's fault!) and had a blast. Still see Mark today on occasion...though most recently at horse events.
When I went to his class back in 1992 (I think?) he put me on the spot, because I was the only person on a Kawasaki in his class. Everyone else was on Suzuki's because they got in free as well.
He was in his wheelchair and brought an amateur rider with him. Half way through the day he brought us all together in a section of the track that was a S-turn. He told me I was to go up against his rider. As me and the other guy got ready to race each other in the section he told my good friends who were in the class half jokingly 'Watch this, he'll regret not having a Suzuki'. Well, after about a dozen times of beating his rider out of the S-turn he gave up and took us to another section of the track. I will hand it to him though, he did kind of apologize to me in front of the class and told me I had good cornering technique.
If a guy wants to get better, faster, he needs some schooling in any particular sport. Many pro golfers in the past and many pro riders never got a lesson.
Again lessons and schooling just speed up the learning process, many are happy with the speed of their learning so they don't seek professional help.
Also much schooling comes from friends, I learned to surf from my friends, my friends helped me be a better rider prior to ever getting a lesson.
Personally I think your not understanding that not all riders care about lessons and for good reason they don't really need them, because they are happy just riding.
Being faster and going bigger for many people doesn't translate into more fun!
Couple of standouts for me were related to starting technique (a few simple tips he gave, which immediately resulted in multiple holeshots at races I attended following the class, when I had never holeshot a single time previously), braking and body-position made me realize just how much later and harder I could brake into a corner. Lastly was conquering rutted corners. I had always avoided the ruts, but when given proper instruction and forced to hit the same corner 25 times in a row, receiving feedback from Doug each time, I was super stoked on feeling 100% more confident taking the inside lines on the track after that day.
On top of that, Doug was just a super nice guy, and getting to watch him effortlessly spin some laps on his own while we ate lunch was awesome as well.
Highly recommended!
Post a reply to: Have you been to a riding school?