We NEED works bikes again

And equal displacement limits. 😏

Having few limits could open up some aftermarket companies making frames and rolling chassis using existing engines. BBR comes to mind when making frames and trick parts. 

An unlimited budget bike under a factory rider is a huge advantage. I’m a fan of the production rule, and I think it should be stricter. We need privateer riders to be as competitive as possible, the skill gap should be the reason a privateer gets beat, not equipment gap. 

However..

If we allowed works bikes, but gave them a handicap, maybe we could have the best of both? 400cc works vs 450 production? 200 vs 250? 

Hmmm…

we'd probbaly end up with dallara and ligier type companies for sure. or kalex engineering from moto2. 

https://www.kalex-engineering.de/en/moto.html

Idk even if there works bikes allowed do you actually think we’d see anything like the early 80s again? 

I don’t. Honda and Yamaha (only two companies I could see doing works bikes) likely don’t have the budget for it. It might have been justifiable in the early 80s for a variety of reason but in 2026 dollars, the race programs already likely cost millions to run a year and adding in development costs of ground up works bikes is probably DOA

The oems are in favor of the production rule, in AMA, it depresses the engineering parity cost for manufacturers. 

If AMA restrictions were removed, what kind of works machines would be expected?  

The level of improvement to be wrung out of ICE powerplants is slim and marginal.  The motor updates we've been seeing are based on trimming weight and moving the COG.

 With no restrictions I would expect the OEMs to put the engineering investment into innovations in e-motor powerplants, battery and sensor packages. We would see additional advancements in launch control, telemetry and gps based "tuning" or other types of rider aid.  Electro magnetic suspension controlled by the ECU.     

The first thing you'd see is ride by wire. There would still be a small cable internally in a throttle housing but it would be attached to a hall sensor and woukdnt protrude from the housing. The throttle body will have a solenoid turning a throttle plate. There is probably a bit a ridability to be found in that set up in moto.  Right now we just put a different profile aluminum  Cam on the end of the throttle tube.  

That will probably be the next big step on production motocrossers.  You'll be able to change the ramp up throttle profile on your cellphone to reduce the amount of elbow drop/wrist movement in your riding.  

There’s nothing in the technical rules now that prohibits ride by wire.

Even if full works bikes were to make a return, the net effect over a 10 year period on the production bikes will never rival this 10 years again. Ever. 

30 years ago I would have agreed. Mx bike power and suspension has exceeded the physical limit of the human body. Bring back works bikes, sure. No manufacturer will spend much on works bikes