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I’m still here, sort of. The “good” arguments for mainstreaming are based around making the sport profitable for more of the players/participants. Like, not only should the absolute superstars make millions, but every professional racer capable of making the show should be making mid 6 figures. And that should trickle down to the team members. No more mechanics having to share rooms in order to survive.
I’ll let y’all point out the bad side of it.
Yeah the guy who complains about everything and doesn’t even watch the racing is claiming tHe kIdS tHeSe dAyS aRe sOfT. Nobody takes you seriously
Actual numbers no. 3 full gates of 125 beginners was not uncommon in the early 70's,250's and open was not far behind in numbers, The A classes usually all had full gates. Within 50 miles of my house there were 6 bike shops. There is one today, and he stays afloat with lawn mowers, side x sides and utility trailers. The tiny little town of Chinook Wa. population of about 200 there were at least 20 guys that rode .Every weekend there were usually 30 or more at the local riding spots, sometimes close to 50. There are 2 or 3 that ride today. The town of South Bend, Wa. put on a mx race every Labor Day weekend. Our local club put on hillclimb, cross country and motocross races. There were a dozen places to ride within 10 miles of my house, today there are none. No actual numbers, just 55 years of being a moto head.
Although I think that's a fair point it could be that the SX/MX has grown enough that it stands on its own so sponsors don't see the value in cross pollinating the viewers. Wouldn't it be weird for Monster Energy to have a commercial during a football game that was supercross specific?
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MC never got on the Wheaties box though!
That’s some good nostalgia. I wanna hit of that!
Let’s also remember how different the markets were back then. The bikes were way cheaper, largely because they were made cheaper. They broke more often and they all needed relatively significant mods to really race. I mean, when I first raced my XR75, I had to get better shocks and a pipe. Today’s bikes are just about as trick as they come.
Real estate development is also largely to blame for the loss of Chicken Licks and other local favorites.
But hey, if all it takes to fill 3 gates with 250F C racers is inexpensive bikes, there are plenty of Chinese bikes out there for next to nothing.
If you have to ask that, that you really dont know what the 70s and 80s were like.
Guess thats the problem of being a bit more experienced, knowing what it was like back in the day.
If anyone ever says growing the sport and refers to tv or promoters, is clueless. This sport Depends on riding areas...period.
I don't think the decline in your neck of the woods is enough for me to conclude motorcycling is dying.
From what I've seen, there are more participants than ever, there are multiple new regional series that have started in the past 20 years, and the existing long time amateur national promoters have seen record numbers (like GNCC, National Enduro, LL's).
What is happening in Chinook, WA area that's keeping people from riding when the rest of the US is full throttle?
I have often tried to figure out why more people were interested in riding dirt bikes in the 1970s. I'm sure at least a small part of it was entertainment options. In 1972, you had 3 channels of TV to watch, and the TV's sucked anyway. Now we have so many more entertainment options (addictions!) without even leaving the house.
I think one obstacle for newbies to get into dirt biking is figuring out how to start. My dad started riding when I was about 5, and he bought me my first one when I was about 8, so I've been around dirt bikes forever. And HE got started because a neighbor moved in who was already a dirt biker. But if he didn't get me started, I think it's unlikely I ever would have. Maybe I would have seen a dirt bike in some fields or on TV and been interested. But I'm not sure if I ever would have been willing to make the leap of spending thousands of dollars to buy a bike and trying to figure out how and where to ride.
I am impressed any time I meet somebody who got into riding on their own.
Spot on....but I would only add "affordability" to what this sport depends on.
I just want more tracks open. If there are more people riding, and thus more demand for places to ride, more people will open tracks.
Seems like some major regional differences. Unless you have some numbers to back up your claims, I'm going to write them off as an aging retiree that doesn't make an effort to get out and ride anymore.
Where I live there are plenty of places to ride, a ton of people riding, new race series started in the last 15-20 years, new tracks opening. The scene is bigger than it was in the 70's.
There might be fewer bike sales because now bikes are more expensive, more durable, and the gays have an option for ATV/SXS.
In the 70's you could ride pretty much wherever.
Over the years, the DOT, land use rules, and posted property put the brakes on that.
I suspect that's why e-bikes are gaining popularity in urban areas. Laws haven't caught up with them yet and the lack of sound helps in most situations.
It's way too clique buddy buddy behind the scenes. Not that you get rid of it by going mainstream, but I think it'd take a step in the right direction to get away from the Coombs and MXSports and Feld
I didn't race any D23 events in 1979, since I was chasing points in D22, but there were two complete sets of 125C races when I raced at Millville in 1977, so that's 80+ entries right there. That track has had full gates for every class for years.
My home track was Forest City, Iowa, which always had a huge crowd of D23 racers.
Why mainstream?
For me, #1 is pricing. If Honda sells half a million CR250s, they gonna be a lot cheaper, than if they only sell 20,000 of them. Same can be said about tires, chains, helmets, etc. Then there's... the more people that ride, the more voices we have to keep riding areas open.
For a pro rider. If SX/MX was live and free on YouTube, so that Everyone could watch, people like Sexton and Webb could become Household Names. But being stuck in some corner of NBC's app behind a paywall, is the opposite of that. If live and free on YT, riders would actually be asked to go on mainsteam podcasts/TV, be approached more often by large mainstream sponsors, etc.
If I'm a factory team... Factory teams get extra F'ed by the current NBC dealio. Hard to sell bikes when your product is hidden behind a paywall. Zero idea why they allow this to happen.
Marty Moates and Brad Lackey were probably much more mainstream names back in the 70s/80s thanks to Wide World Of Sports being accessible to Everyone, than Sexton/tomac/webb etc are today behind the paywall.
That's why our sport is better off mainsteam, than stuck as a niche.
It's about as far afield an example as one could imagine , nevertheless it may be an apt one.
Golf became very mainstream as a direct function of the Tiger Woods era .
More money for most everyone, more publicity, more ( lots more ) boorish, loudmouth & often drunk uh, fans.
The sport became so popular that even the Saudis have joined in by underwriting Liv Golf to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars having seen an opportunity to 'sportswash' their 8th century Image & gain legitimacy on the world stage.
None of these developments has made the game better in any way ( except $$ ) , in fact theres an argument to be made that the game has far less colorful & interesting characters, the demands of the modern game has replaced those types with relative sameness among the competitors.
Worst of all ; The game is played with less panache & courage than in the pre-Tiger eras.
It's already occurred in SX / MX to large degree in the post RC decades as fitness & constant training have become the norm, but it'd be a shame if SX / MX got any more homogenized than it already is. Watched a broadcast lately ?
Exposure & especially money tend to dilute & ruin .. most anything.
Sure .. progress & all that & theres no denying that riders & machines have improved exponentially, but is the modern sport really any better than a paddock full of box trucks & the smell of Castrol in the air ?
Dirt bikes were such a new concept that people didn't think of them as being dangerous. They were viewed like toys, similar to how Surrons are seen today. By the '80s everyone knew someone who had sustained a serious injury riding a dirt bike and that was the beginning of the end of it as a mainstream hobby. Having fewer and fewer places to ride over the years has not helped either.
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That's an interesting hypothesis that I hadn't considered before. 👍
You are so far off that it’s very obvious you weren’t around in the 70’s or 80’s. I’m 100% with racin macin and Kijen on this. Just about every kid in my neighborhood had a bike and it wasn’t uncommon to have 15-20 kids practicing after school on our practice track located behind some of the houses , currently you’d be hard pressed to find 5 kids in an entire High School that race ,let alone a single neighborhood. The late 70’s in western Pa had 10 quality tracks within an hour-ish drive from Pittsburgh. Now , I believe Cernics Pleasure Valley MAY be the only one . And not only were the B and C classes packed , many ,many times my 125 A class had to run qualifiers to pare it down to 40. Now , an A class typically has single digit entries ,unless it’s a special event (like the Pastrana race at PVR or a LL qualifier) . And these observations are coming from a 65 yo guy that’s been immersed in the sport since 1973. By the way ,I’m one of those “aging retirees” but I also still race —- a LOT . 20 weekends last year all over the East coast and won the +60 AHRMA National Championship and the AMA +60 Title . So I feel qualified to state that today’s MX scene is a FRACTION of what it was. And it’s really a shame . I can guarantee that if you are able to find a current Dealer that was also in operation in the 70’s and they were willing to share sales numbers from the 2 eras ,you would absolutely shit yourself . The local Yamaha/Husky dealer I raced for from 78-81 is still in operation ,and the founder/original owner is a personal friend of mine and he showed me numbers a few years ago,and the 5 year period from 2015-2020 ,MX bike sells were less than 20% of what they had been in the 1975-1980 time period, obviously that’s units sold NOT $ . Of course the quads and SxS sales more than made up for that decline , plus those pieces are more profitable . Any of you western Pa guys should know the dealer I’m speaking about . This decline is NOT just a regional issue. Is it possible that there are certain ,small pockets of the country that have an increase in participation? I suppose , but I haven’t known of one . The sport is in trouble at the grassroots level. I’m heavily involved in our local AHRMA Vintage series and our insurance for a 2day weekend race has increased 68% for the 2025 season , and that increase is industry wide ,not just our series. Pay attention to the tracks that are closing, due to crazy increases in costs and lack of entries to offset those costs. However…..I’m not ALL doom and gloom ,because our Vintage series is super thriving and growing every year. We had over 300 entries at multiple events last year …….maybe the answer for the future is to return to the past ?
Do you have any numbers to back that up?
Don’t worry OP it’s not going mainstream ever. It’s shrinking not growing. Enjoy it while it last.
There ate lots of numbers to back that up. Just Google bike sales in 1973. Look at the crowds on an old 1975 to 1985 you tube national or GP. Many more track and places to ride and just ask us old timers who.have been around since On Any Sunday came out.
It was Golden..........
Could ask this arsehole. All he thinks the sport needs is a Netflix series...
Umm Supercross is the #2 most attended motorsport in America usually, and Nascar is on the decline so. They would be wise to position themselves to be acting right when it becomes #1. No disrespect to Nascar or any other sport, but, this sport has the absolute Gnarliest athletes between all the different disciplines . We all know it, don't be surprised one day of it takes off in popularity to a level we all would be surprised at. Because the skill, the storyline, the spectacle is all very high level. With a more polished production there is room for much growth with regards to the non riding publics interest. And I'm all for whatever it takes to get these guys getting paid like the other sports pay. They certainly deserve more than what they get now, promoters included. Imho, Supercross and Motocross riders are the best athletes in the world. And again, something is gonna be needed to replace Nascar as it fades awaya
#2 most attended? I would've thought IndyCar would've been above SX.
Out of curiosity, do you have a link?
OK, what are some of the numbers?
and how do those compare to today's numbers?
NHRA? There's a ton of motorsports in the US, and I just don't see sx/mx as being the 2nd most attended motorsport in the country.
A quick check showed 2023 SX attendance at 850,000 for 17 rounds, and only 855,000 for the 2024 season . Certainly not any appreciable increase. About 50,000 average per race . Even NHRA averages 85000+ per race . I think Yamathumb may have some wishful thinking on his stats .
Thank you for the data. There's no way sx/mx is more viewed or popular in the US than NHRA. Maybe on par, but no way we are more popular than drag racing
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