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.
Thanks!
We all love the works bike stories, but can you please talk about the transition back to the productions bike in 86?
I remember the production Honda in 86 was a great bike, but it must have been a big change and a lot of testing.
Q1 What's your thoughts on Team USA not winning the MXDN these past 3 years? What's it going to take for Team USA to stand on top of the box in Maggiora?
Are you coming out to Maggiora?
Q2 What's your favourite story of your Honda team mate Magoo?
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
http://m.vitalmx.com/forums/Hall-of-Fame,25/David-Baileys-Crash,6304
Huge fan here! I was born the year you were injured but I tried to emulate your style by the time I started riding and still try to be as silky smooth as you on a bike. I watched the 1986 MXdN so many times I wore the tape out. My question is what was your favorite MXdN memory and also what is your take on Jonny O' on a 125 back in 86 at the MXdN?
Mr. Bailey. Huge fan from when I started watching moto back in the 80's.
My question(s) to you is: What was it about the 500 that you loved so much and how tough
was it to hold a national race (literally) in you backyard?
Thanks again for coming here and answering questions...
Honestly I'm at a loss for words right now. I'll come back around later and try to formulate something good to ask. Thank you for doing this David.
You used to have a website in the early 2000s that I enjoyed very much. Any chance something like that could come back? I'm sure I'm not the only one that would enjoy reading your stories and thoughts about MX past & present.
Thanks for doing this. All the best!
Has your perspective changed since that time and/or have you seen anything that would lead you to reconsidering your perspective?
Thanks for your time.
Nothing to ask, just a big thank for stopping by, looks like Vital is impressed by your contribution !!!
Big thanks also because your style changed MX/SX and gave France JMB !
Great seeing you here David! We need to catch up sometime, its been forever.
David:
Hopefully these pictures bring back a memory. The helmet was one you sent me when Chase Borders was injured. Happened when you and I spoke about the accident and the idea for me to help out.
The signed picture is from 1987 when you visited our Crippled Children's Charity Race in Wichita Falls, Texas. Jason Upshaw's claim to fame, other than the Flying W down the LA Coliseum Peristyle.
Glad to see you doing this. Always will be a fan!
wb173
I had a poster of you when I was younger (purchased at a record store), I think it was Unadilla (though it looked rocky), sort of laying it over a bit going over what looked like a step-up or small tabletop that was awesome and epitomized what I loved growing up. I haven't been able to find the image of it for years, but it was pretty neat!
Anyway, thanks for opening up to the Vital gang, you are definitely still a hero to many of us.
Pit Row
In late 1985 you started working with Dr. Dennis Medsker. How much did he contribute towards your success the following year in '86? By the MXDN in Maggiora a year later you were pulling Rick Johnson by 3 seconds a lap and at one point had over a 40 second lead.
I Always enjoyed your insight when commentating on the races. also the stuff your Dad is able to spot by just looking at a video of a rider riding . My question is , Have you seen any changes in technique now that riders are on 4 stroke vs 2 stroke. ie like riding more on the back of the bike, elbow down etc. Or do you think the basic technique pros are using is still the same
..Hope you know you've been an inspiration for many, many superfans.
*From your perspective, name your top three riders, that you've raced, that were sorely under-rated, and just had plain bad luck, but had the talent be a champion.
What are your memories of the motocross track at Road Atlanta, and how would you rank it against other tracks that you raced on? Thank you, and best of luck to you and yours in the future!
Of all the teammates you had over the years who was your favorite and least favorite. Do you feel that each rider having there own box van to pit out of helped with teammate friction vs. the semi transportation of today.
I'm proud to say I played a small part in a bike project a friend of mine did for the auction, Quite a few people donated items, paint work being mine on a Honda XR75 that nearly fetched the top price of the night. Good times, good people and a great cause. Hoping your health is doing well!
I did land this very cool autographed poster someone had put together for that evening outlining your career.
Thanks again for coming over.
I was a little young to remember lots from your prime... fast forward to being a bit older, i'd fallen out of the sport, gotten back in and watching/reading everything MX...
When I found out more about your career and of course how it had prematurely ended, but opened other doors, I was shocked and then inspired... So, through your website, I sent an email, basically just saying, you're a bad dude, loved reading your story as much as watching you ride in old vids etc...
Anyways, I got a great email back from you, and honestly, it was awesome and you're just as humble and amazing as anyone could imagine a person to be.
Thanks for making a young moto-fan's day, I've told my friends many times and really, you're all class.
It seems to me that you and Johnny were among the very 1st to get very (read: VERY) serious about training. Especially when it came to "off track training" & dedicated endurance training. Most notably, I recall you guys doing it together. I think I remember you guys doing some running and bicycle races...if my memory isn't messing with me.
And, then, there's the "Relax and Win" era which really helped me learn to get good starts. Heck, I even remember going from just another guy responding to the gate falling and evolving into a rider that's seeing the gate as it falls...some of which you really helped with, conceptually, due to a question I was almost too embarrassed to ask in... '83? Your answer was along the lines of "I know it's hard; but, you've got to try to stay calm & you've got to focus on 'how' you get off the line". Funny, I'm sure that sounds obvious nowadays; but, it was cutting-edge at the time.
So, what I'm wondering is: as someone who was at the forefront of serious training for the sole purpose of being a better Motocross/Supercross racer, what do you think about most modern MX/SX training "mentalities" or the popular concepts at the top of the sport?
What are your feelings about "over-training"?
What are your thoughts on the modern nutrition concepts or the diets pro-athletes utilize?
Oh, and...what about "Recovery" (post race)?
Hope all is well for you and yours,
Manny
1. What young riders do you see coming through the ranks that you think will be the next big thing? Webb? J Mart? Forkner?
2. What are your thoughts on guys like Dungey, Roczen, Tomac, Musquin and how they have elevated their game / the sport?
3. Stewart - Is he being too stubborn and should he walk away at this point or should he keep trying? No athlete really ever wants to be forced to walk away and they all want to go out on top. But can he do it?
And like others have said. You and Art Eckman were absolutely the best!!!
Hi, and like everyone else has said, thanks for being here and doing this. Thanks also to GuyB for putting this together. You and I are within a few months of each other age wise and given the fact that I grew up racing in D29 (NC), you were always my favorite pro.
I never made it out of the B class myself, so even though I never lined up against you (which would have been futile anyway), I have lots of great memories of watching you fly around Rolling Hills and Lake Sugar Tree on that blue 'taco. It's no wonder you were so silky smooth on the Hondas because you had so much practice taming those Bultacos! I can still see you leaping into and out of the pit on the front side of Rolling Hills with that classic style of yours. I think you might have even cleared the whole thing a few times. One day at RH I came to your pop up trailer (that thing was cool btw) and asked if I could buy a bolt that I needed to keep my bike going that day from you and you wouldn't let me pay for it. I have always appreciated that!
In '83 I came to the school that you and your dad did that Mike Goodwin, Marty Tripes and Jeff Spencer were at. Wow, talk about an interesting week! Fun times for sure! I still have that panoramic picture that was made of the group where you and your dad ran around to the other side of the picture and posed on the opposite end before the camera panned around. In '09 I brought that picture to Budds Creek, hoping to get you to autograph it. You were doing TV that day, so every time I got close to where you were I could see you were busy doing your job, so I decided to wait until the race was over to approach you. In the mean time I did get your dad's autograph on it while he was there promoting the book he had just released. As fate would have it, there was a rain storm of biblical proportions at the end of the day so instead of tracking you down for an autograph I was running for my life to get back to the parking lot trying not to drown! Hopefully some day I can track you down at a race somewhere and get the pic signed.
Thanks for being such an inspiration to so many people through the years. Giving up and quitting would have been the easy road to take but you have shown what it means to be a champion in the game of life! I hope for the best of everything for you in all you future endeavors.
Much respect, olds cool
I didn't have much trouble with riders. If I did it was my own fault for being behind them. There were a couple motos in the '84 500's when I was around Magoo and he scared me because he was so agressive and unpredictable, but you can't blame a guy for trying hard. I just gave him tons of room - in case
Post a reply to: Vital MX Forum QNA: David Bailey