17-year-old motocross champion killed in crash

Bobby Barracuda wrote:

As the Japanese race back to the engineering department to see how they can make the sport even more deadly!! 

EAmato88 wrote:

This may be a hot take, and certainly is not aimed at this particular situation, but just what I have noticed. In recent years I have...

This may be a hot take, and certainly is not aimed at this particular situation, but just what I have noticed. In recent years I have noticed a serious influx in riders riding over their heads. Now, I am looking for input on this from other viewpoints, but in my opinion I blame social media. Look at the trends... It started with photographers back in the day, now we have how many "media" guys at every single race? They solicit the riders, 100 bucks for a 60 second edit for your instagram page. Awesome! But what happens when the camera comes out? Usually the throttle gets twisted a little harder. Is this the end all be all reason for injuries? No, im not saying that. But, I do believe the desire to earn likes and social media attention is pushing our young riders to do things they arent completely comfortable with. Our problems in this sport are multi-faceted, and most of those problems arent going to change any time soon, but I just cant help but feel like the desire for social media fame is a driving force in these injuries. As parents, I believe we should be explaining the severity of what this sport could potentially bring to our families in terms of devastation. Ive had this talk at the dinner table, tears in my eyes in front of my family after Aiden Zing died. I made sure both of my boys knew without a shadow of doubt that no one is pushing them to ride out of their comfort zone. I also explained to them that sometimes accidents happen, and the consequences are irreversible. Just talk to your kids, let them know how this works and the potential hazards of the sport. Nothing in this world brings the joy of watching my kids succeed on a motocross track or in the woods, but if either of them wanted to walk away tomorrow I would 10000% support that.

JMCR250 wrote:

This is a great point.  If we expect our kids -- who, after all, haven't been on this planet that long -- to practice safe riding...

This is a great point.  If we expect our kids -- who, after all, haven't been on this planet that long -- to practice safe riding, even when riding and racing motocross bikes, a large part of it has to come from us.  When my son was first starting to ride his 50, I endlessly reminded him that we ride for fun, and that going to the hospital is not fun.  It didn't prevent every crash (or even a hospital visit -- that was not his fault), but I think it planted in his noggin the idea that he is principally responsible for his well-being while on the bike.  He's never gone to Lorettas, but he is a fast, strong, skilled rider and greatly enjoys riding/racing his dirt bike 20 years after his first Z50 ride.

EAmato88 wrote:

You did it right! imagine being the fuck boy that disliked this comment. Bunch of clowns hiding in the shadows on this forum

JMCR250 wrote:

This is a great point.  If we expect our kids -- who, after all, haven't been on this planet that long -- to practice safe riding...

This is a great point.  If we expect our kids -- who, after all, haven't been on this planet that long -- to practice safe riding, even when riding and racing motocross bikes, a large part of it has to come from us.  When my son was first starting to ride his 50, I endlessly reminded him that we ride for fun, and that going to the hospital is not fun.  It didn't prevent every crash (or even a hospital visit -- that was not his fault), but I think it planted in his noggin the idea that he is principally responsible for his well-being while on the bike.  He's never gone to Lorettas, but he is a fast, strong, skilled rider and greatly enjoys riding/racing his dirt bike 20 years after his first Z50 ride.

EAmato88 wrote:

You did it right! imagine being the fuck boy that disliked this comment. Bunch of clowns hiding in the shadows on this forum

Smuffers wrote:

Not the place to be name calling and throwing around accusations regarding social media. This is a post about a young man who lost his life...

Not the place to be name calling and throwing around accusations regarding social media. This is a post about a young man who lost his life doing what he loves. You likely have no knowledge of what motivated this young man to ride, his skill level, or even what contributed to the incident. This kid paid the ultimate price doing what we all love. Have some respect. Start a new thread if you must. 

Ride in peace.