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Its all the bollocks that costs the money.
Could not agree more.
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I'll start with I'm not flaming your post.Very valid points and I strongly agree that bouncing across the US is inefficient for everyone involved.
I'll just throw a different angle on the semi vs. box van argument.
Box vans are a thing of the past, sure they did the job back in the day but the sport and its surrounding support system has changed drastically since then. The ironic thing is that a majority of the costs associated with the semi's are creatively covered by sponsorship dollars. Not only that but the semi itself is now also used as a functioning tool, just like everything else. It is a billboard that brings the team money, it is a work area that mechanics desperately need, it is a space for the racers to rest and recover out of the elements of your average SX race, and the list goes on and on. If a high class team brought a box van to the races today, they would be putting themselves at a severe disadvantage.
Just my two cents, which probably isn't even worth that.
You have to understand, without a healthy grass roots this industry has no future.
One of my main points is, Dirt Biking in general is doing better than MX in particular if I were guessing. We could learn much from the offroad scene (Nobody knows GNCC better than DC). The class structure is vastly different, no homologation or production rules etc. In the Pro's no one cares what bike you choose to ride.
A lot less rules, a lot more seat time, a lot less dangerous tracks and a lot more amateur involvement has resulted in a lot of growth in the GNCC and similar Offroad events. Unfortunately, Offroad is not very Sponsor friendly since actually WATCHING the race is almost impossible.
I'd guess that traffic on this site is going south along with the industry based on my own observations?
Sure 2 strokes have always been available and never went away the last 10 years. But the options have gotten incredibly limited. People like to point out that TM's, Gas Gas's, etc, are available. Is there anyone on vital that can run down this afternoon to their local shop and even look at one of these bikes? There is really just Yamaha's and KTM's if you're an MX rider interested in 2 strokes.
Yes...2 strokes are allowed to compete in a huge variety of classes. Which is cool....but the local races have turned into a joke IMO when you can ride a 250 2 stroke in the 250F (old 125 class) and also race the 450 class with them. Why would a kid want to race a 125 in that class against 250 2 strokes or eat rocks from a 450. All the classes end up just looking like combined cc classes. Why even have the different classes?
In my opinion the local race organizers and promotors need to be creative about creating new classes to encourage 2 strokes and older bikes to come out. More entry level/beginner friendly categories. A kid could get a clean 02 RM 125 on Craigslist for $1000 that's a great piece of Motocross equipment to learn on....but if he wants to race he has to come line up against a home schooled kid with a fun mover and 2 $10,0000 250F's. That's discouraging. A lot of the 2 stroke specific classes that are offered are limited to Schoolboy ages. There should be a bomber type class that anyone can ride wether they are 14, 24 or 34.
It's sad to see local racing so dead after what I experienced in the 90s. I went through some old Cycle New's looking at Golden State results. Some weekends saw 5 divisions of 125 Junior!
Again, it's a very complex issue and it's not just the cost, cell phones or riding areas. And whenever we discuss it it seems it gets mixed up between Pro Racing and local racing.
One thing I will add. I started doing some "vintage" events about 4 years ago. You can race up to mid 90s bikes in the NW. The first few years it was mainly older guys who have raced their whole lives. But last year I noticed a lot of younger newcomers at the races. Total beginners. And it makes sense......you can get a '90s 125 cheap, you can get any part you need for it and don't have to worry about breaking something like on a CZ or Bultaco. The environment is mellow and the tracks aren't full of rhythm sections and triples. It's just a less intimidating experience than showing up at a Loretta Lynns qualifier. I think that was the sweet spot for Motocross as far as technology/speed/cost and that's part of the reason it flourished. Somewhere along the way it got a little too serious and expensive and needs to make some changes to be healthy at the roots (or just survive) To me the roots are kids and their dads in pick up trucks at local races, both of them competing, maybe sharing a bike or a pair of goggles.
'95 CR 125's aren't going to save local racing today....but electric start/traction control 450's definitely won't either!
It has nothing to do with 2t/4t etc, the sport is no more expensive than it’s always been, as motorsports go it IS cheap. Societies general laziness and desire for convenience has a lot more to do with it.
Imo the lack of or Declined amount of Kids riding dirt bikes for the past 25/30 years is now affecting street bike sales also
, the kids that Grew up Riding any type of 2 wheeled motorcycle, are the ones that grew up and bought street motorcycles also.
If there is no where to ride or race what is the point of them producing mx bikes?
Having available riding areas is very important for sure.
But to me you pretty much summed it up. Kids just don't spend as much time outdoors anymore.
They want easy. Not all kids, but a lot of them are like this.
When I drive around my neighborhood on a warm summer day, I see very few kids outside.
You just don't see kids throwing the football around, playing catch or shooting hoops. Most are inside with electronics.
The good news is amateur mx is alive and well in some areas. LTM in Casey IL routinely gets 4 to 5 hundred riders at a race. He'll have 150 to 200 riders on a good practice day.
This stuff ?
Or if they are just too busy dealing with all forms of motorcycles to even give motocross in particular the time and attention , I Know DC thinks about these things , but he is pretty busy too.
They've been in business since 1974.
He would say the same thing. Kids just aren't into dirt bikes as much now. He still sells some, just not as many. SxS's are his bread and butter.
Pit Row
They should get rid of their own factory team and give factory support to other teams like Suzuki is doing. Give it to two teams instead of having 1 Yamaha team. Let each brand have 2 factory 450 teams, why not? Im sure they can make room once theyre done doing all the shit that comes with running their own team. This could be better for the sport but in practice theyd probably just save even more money by just having only 1 team get factory support.
I dont see why not to do this. Joe gibbs handles all the team shit and they just give em the parts, much easier and your brand is still out there. Its cool too because I think JGR is the only team that handles both 450 and 250. I think this is the way though.
The biggest factor is the cultural change of people just not being into it and choosing to spend their time/money/credit doing other things.
And it's a fact that young people like smart phones
And the new tech stuff , but I still think a large percentage of young boys would want to ride dirtbike's if given the opportunity, they just arent being given the opportunity, and it's just naturally less because of less riding area's etc
You arent driving by seeing other riding on local neighborhood tracks , because there aren't many local tracks, at least not in my area , by local I'm talking just small tracks made in fields by local neighborhood kids.
That just dont seem to exist anymore.
I don't know the exact numbers so I'm not going to debate your 50%. However if I had to guess then I would say your 50% would possibly be there or thereabouts. It is just my opinion but I believe that sadly this number is only going to decrease. A hell of alot!!!
I have a question for you/everybody.....are boys becoming less boys? Hear me out. When I was a boy all I wanted to do was play in the dirt/mud and get dirty! I wanted a motorbike because I was a boy! And motorbikes were "cool". And motorbikes go really fast! I wanted to play football because I could tackle my mates in the dirt and mud. I wanted to play brandings because throwing a tennis ball at your mate as hard as you can usually from a really close distance was fun! I wanted to climb the tallest tree I could find, which sometimes resulted in me falling out of that tree and breaking my arm! I could go on and on with more really boyish things I used to do but you are no doubt getting the point I'm making.
Now skip to today....boys don't want to play in the dirt/mud like we used to. Boys don't want a motorbike just because they are a boy. Motorbikes are no longer as "cool" as they used to be to a boy. Far less boys want to play football because they might get hurt. I never see boys playing brandings anymore! And I can't remember the last time I saw a boy climbing a tree, let alone picking himself up, dusting his knees off and walking home with a weird looking arm!
Boys are now finding it more fun to stay inside. Motorbikes are being replaced with the new "cool" thing to do....sit on their ass with their hand-held technology that allows them to do everything they want to do right there in their hands!
I believe boys are becoming softer....boys are becoming less boys! And that is very, very sad!!!
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