Interesting post about the state of our sport

2/3/2025 11:05am
Last I knew, the AMA hadn’t secured insurance yet for amateur MX events for 2025.  They sent a letter to all tracks about that a few...

Last I knew, the AMA hadn’t secured insurance yet for amateur MX events for 2025.  They sent a letter to all tracks about that a few weeks ago.  Anyone know if they figured it out yet?

AMA is good on insurance for 2025

2
shortty761
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2/3/2025 11:29am
PNWMXer wrote:
I see a great solution-ban pit vehicles. All of them. One warning, then pack your shit. I’ll be damned if I’ll lose my favorite sport because...

I see a great solution-ban pit vehicles. All of them. One warning, then pack your shit. I’ll be damned if I’ll lose my favorite sport because some ass clown wants to drive around in his SxS, or golf cart, or let his kids run around unsupervised in these vehicles or a pit bike.

Why are SxS's necessary in the pits? Leave em home

It’s what probably what attracted so much attention to pit vehicles in the first place. Sure people complained about it some, but no one really said much until all the SxS and Surrons popped up. I guess that’s when people really started getting hurt 

cwel11
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2/3/2025 11:58am

Whole heartedly agree with this thread. One thing. I cannot tell you how many times we’ve been at a race weekend and heard empty threats repeatedly over the PA system about pit riding. Some of these track owners are the equivalent of the parent that says “no” all day long and the kid keeps doing whatever they want and knows the word no will never be enforced. Drop the hammer track owners! Kick one person out with no refunds and make them the example. Everyone else will fall right in line. And let’s be honest, the ones that don’t come back aren’t the ones you want at your facility anyway. 

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JazzyJJ
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2/3/2025 12:35pm
cwel11 wrote:
Whole heartedly agree with this thread. One thing. I cannot tell you how many times we’ve been at a race weekend and heard empty threats repeatedly...

Whole heartedly agree with this thread. One thing. I cannot tell you how many times we’ve been at a race weekend and heard empty threats repeatedly over the PA system about pit riding. Some of these track owners are the equivalent of the parent that says “no” all day long and the kid keeps doing whatever they want and knows the word no will never be enforced. Drop the hammer track owners! Kick one person out with no refunds and make them the example. Everyone else will fall right in line. And let’s be honest, the ones that don’t come back aren’t the ones you want at your facility anyway. 

I agree, but the worst are the kids on their KTM/Cobra 50s. I'd rank them right up there with the drunks on SxSs

3

The Shop

blakey32
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AU
2/3/2025 12:36pm Edited Date/Time 2/3/2025 12:37pm

I see this issue everywhere - public transport, movies, shops, mx track... Somebody, usually kids, is doing something wrong and nobody stops them. 

Not sure if it's always been like this but it definitely feels more...carefree then when I was a kid

1
sorbee
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Fantasy
2/3/2025 1:04pm
blakey32 wrote:
I see this issue everywhere - public transport, movies, shops, mx track... Somebody, usually kids, is doing something wrong and nobody stops them. Not sure if it's...

I see this issue everywhere - public transport, movies, shops, mx track... Somebody, usually kids, is doing something wrong and nobody stops them. 

Not sure if it's always been like this but it definitely feels more...carefree then when I was a kid

Totally agree. In my humble opinion I think the biggest problem here, and everywhere else as you said, is education.
Why could we in the 90s, 2000s and 2010 have reasonable insurance policies, yet we had a lot of riders and pitbikes? Because people were educated, and if they weren't; someone was there to remind them not to be dumb.
Nowadays tracks have employees and schedules so when a kid (or a grown up) does dumb shit, nobody wants to handle it. And other riders are too busy on their phones to do anything.

On the other side, let's not be too docile either and accept eveything the insurance policies push on us. Cause the same way they would sue your buddy's hometrack, they would also keep raising fees and conditions every year you accept to agree with them.
A solution would be to regroup all the tracks and create their own special insurance company. A French youtuber did it here as he couldn't insure what he wanted to do/film. Seems to work and he makes his own conditions!

1
2/3/2025 1:29pm Edited Date/Time 2/3/2025 1:30pm
kirkavery wrote:
Sometime in the 90s myself and 2 racing buds from  nova-scotia went  down to  an NESC race late in the season. There really were no pit...

Sometime in the 90s myself and 2 racing buds from  nova-scotia went  down to  an NESC race late in the season. There really were no pit bikes back then but they had a strict policy of absolutely no riding in the pits. After a practice one of us jumped on our bikes, dead engine and side saddled down a slight hill back into our pit area. Our neighbor came right over and warned us that we would be asked to leave immediately if anyone saw that. We quickly understood the zero tolerance, and had no issues with it . Great day of racing with zero pit bullshit.

Same with 90's era MN District 23 here.No pit riding at all. Dead engine.  No pit vehicles. Push your bike to the line and from the...

Same with 90's era MN District 23 here.

No pit riding at all. Dead engine.  No pit vehicles. Push your bike to the line and from the finish.

Seemed just fine and no noisy bikes ripping through the pits.

What a well written memo!

Recall Kellogg in the mid 2000's?  When some tracks started allowing pit bikes?  And he would  take them away and  would lock them up?  Best zero tolerance enforcement I have ever see.  Boy did he get crap.

2
MX45
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2/3/2025 2:39pm

Some of you never got kicked out of Dade City by a boiling hot Mr. Randy Yoho for pit riding, and it shows!

2
Nairb#70
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2/3/2025 2:51pm Edited Date/Time 2/3/2025 2:52pm
kirkavery wrote:
Sometime in the 90s myself and 2 racing buds from  nova-scotia went  down to  an NESC race late in the season. There really were no pit...

Sometime in the 90s myself and 2 racing buds from  nova-scotia went  down to  an NESC race late in the season. There really were no pit bikes back then but they had a strict policy of absolutely no riding in the pits. After a practice one of us jumped on our bikes, dead engine and side saddled down a slight hill back into our pit area. Our neighbor came right over and warned us that we would be asked to leave immediately if anyone saw that. We quickly understood the zero tolerance, and had no issues with it . Great day of racing with zero pit bullshit.

Same thing happened to me in 1992 at NESC event in Greene, ME. Side saddled my bike down a hill about 10 feet, imediately heard the president Andy Calizewski, a former marine, blow his whistle and threaten to kick me out. Couldnt even ride a bicycle i n the pits then.

cwel11
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2/3/2025 4:04pm
cwel11 wrote:
Whole heartedly agree with this thread. One thing. I cannot tell you how many times we’ve been at a race weekend and heard empty threats repeatedly...

Whole heartedly agree with this thread. One thing. I cannot tell you how many times we’ve been at a race weekend and heard empty threats repeatedly over the PA system about pit riding. Some of these track owners are the equivalent of the parent that says “no” all day long and the kid keeps doing whatever they want and knows the word no will never be enforced. Drop the hammer track owners! Kick one person out with no refunds and make them the example. Everyone else will fall right in line. And let’s be honest, the ones that don’t come back aren’t the ones you want at your facility anyway. 

JazzyJJ wrote:

I agree, but the worst are the kids on their KTM/Cobra 50s. I'd rank them right up there with the drunks on SxSs

Yes! And it’s just bad parenting. From the time my kid started on a p dub I told him slow in the pits and if I caught him ripping in the pits he was done riding. I was not a parent that said “no” and didn’t back it up and he knew it ha

3
2/4/2025 7:33am

The pits are more dangerous than the racing. I'm glad tracks are saying no more pit bikes, quads, SxS, etc. I noticed last year my local tracks are cracking down on pit riding and this year their websites say, no more pit riding. You can use a bicycle or ebike, which ebikes are an issue here too. Gangs of Surron kids wreaking havoc. I'm sure ebikes will see their day, eventually.  

RichieW13
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2/4/2025 10:14am Edited Date/Time 2/4/2025 10:14am
Last I knew, the AMA hadn’t secured insurance yet for amateur MX events for 2025.  They sent a letter to all tracks about that a few...

Last I knew, the AMA hadn’t secured insurance yet for amateur MX events for 2025.  They sent a letter to all tracks about that a few weeks ago.  Anyone know if they figured it out yet?

SlowOldGuy wrote:

AMA is good on insurance for 2025

I was surprised the premium "only" went up 30% since 2024.  I was expecting 100% or more.

RichieW13
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2/4/2025 10:25am
sorbee wrote:
Totally agree. In my humble opinion I think the biggest problem here, and everywhere else as you said, is education.Why could we in the 90s, 2000s...

Totally agree. In my humble opinion I think the biggest problem here, and everywhere else as you said, is education.
Why could we in the 90s, 2000s and 2010 have reasonable insurance policies, yet we had a lot of riders and pitbikes? Because people were educated, and if they weren't; someone was there to remind them not to be dumb.
Nowadays tracks have employees and schedules so when a kid (or a grown up) does dumb shit, nobody wants to handle it. And other riders are too busy on their phones to do anything.

On the other side, let's not be too docile either and accept eveything the insurance policies push on us. Cause the same way they would sue your buddy's hometrack, they would also keep raising fees and conditions every year you accept to agree with them.
A solution would be to regroup all the tracks and create their own special insurance company. A French youtuber did it here as he couldn't insure what he wanted to do/film. Seems to work and he makes his own conditions!

I don't think it's education.  I think insurance is more expensive for other reasons.

Probably the biggest is just that our society is getting more litigious all the time.  Another is that health care is getting more expensive, so when there are injuries, it's just going to cost the insurer more in medical costs.  Another one is experience.  As time goes on, insurers and promoters just learn more about what things are risky.  Every few years some new tragedy happens, and lessons are learned, new safety policies need to be developed, and rates go up to pay for the old tragedy.

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