Anyone have a backyard track in here? (Purchasing a home with 4 acres advice.)

You have enough space. Think daytona type track.

Im looking forward to doing something similar when I buy 4-10 acres. If you want some track design ideas hit me up. I've been drawing tracks for fun for 30 yrs.

No idea on the cost to cut down trees. Hopefully you can get some timber $ though to offset the cost to cut down some trees.

Cut down as few trees as possible to keep the noise and dust down and provide shade, make a turn track in the woods and ride it before you commit to anything major.

I know nothing about private tracks, but every small neighborhood track I've ever ridden has been fraught with hassle from neighbors. My suggestion is to leave a dense line of trees around your property line; at least that way you'll knock down some of the noise and dust. That neighbor behind you may be cool today, but change his mind tomorrow. Or worse, he could sell to an environmental activist who hates motorcycles and freedom. Having a tree line will at least block the view. 

I don't know how Alabama treats grading and water runoff, but you may also want to consider using natural features instead of building massive SX jumps. 

Great advice in this thread.  I see a Stark Varg in your future....that'd be so sweet!!!

You may be able to get some sort of deal on the trees if you find somebody that wants to mill them .  A logger VS somebody that is clearing a lot  will often not result in the same level of finishing. Loggers will cut and take the useful parts of the trees and may leave brush piles or more of a mess than a company that is coming in to clear land. 

 I've had good luck with being friends with contractors and offering  them a place to ride in return for help working on or building the track. I worked operating an excavator and dozer for 11 years so I normally rent a machine  for the machine parts. And I have a lot of experience with clearing land so on my person project I've just been picking away at it a little at a time.   On other tracks I've been involved in we all traded something and helped get the track built.   Sometimes it was me in a machine and the land owner with a chainsaw.  Or 3 or 4 of my buddies on machines or saws and a couple of the owners buddies . So I would  try and come from that angle if your trying to do it as inexpensively as possible. 

 Some states have laws that protect land owners from being sued as long as your not charging fees for the land use. It can be expensive to insure yourself properly to protect yourself from liability so some research and or chatting with a lawyer that knows how to protect you is always a good idea if your going to let others ride.   

 Paying to have somebody do everything  might be $20-$40k   where I live.  Ramtrax is a local owned company but he travels. Robby Marshal , he was a really good local pro,  was a few corners short of a podium in the 450 class at Southwick in  a moto. but crashed and finished 4th. I've seen him build tracks and clear the land, do everything start to finish in videos he's posted.  That price range is a rough guess based on some prices I've seen and heard. It could be way off from where you are.

 If You do pay somebody to design and build it. I would recommend finding somebody who can show you other tracks they have built so You know what to expect. An average general contractor might get lucky and put a decent layout together for you. But more likely it would not be a great track. Its one thing if its a buddy that Your trading riding time for. They would likely want to make changes if it ended up not so great . But if Your paying for it, make sure its gonna be right. 

 Other than the learning curve of learning to run the machines, I think somebody that rides , but has limited machine time would be a better builder than somebody who has never ridden or jumped. Knowing how the jumps should be shaped can make or break them. And what kind of jump to put where. 

 The first time I thought about building my own track I thought about how I would factor in the sun and not build sections that I would be blinded by it.

 Another thing I try and do on my property, I have 5 acres and the way its shaped I have about 2.5 that I'm covering with a combination of MTB singletrack and motocross style "trails" . I am keeping as much cover as possible to help keep dust down, noise , and also helps keep moisture in the dirt. And the other benefit , not visible from the air so people do not find your track on google earth. I've heard of insurance companies using satellite images to find stuff they can use to raise the premiums. Old roofs, pools, trampolines, etc. The town I live in uses aerial images for tax assessments and finding unpermitted construction . So there are some really nice highly detailed images available that I used to plan out my layout. Leaving a lot of overhead coverage dose make more work, lots of branches fall  and of course you wanna make sure you have runoff in certain areas so You do not run into a tree.  So the canopy concept may not work for you. 

 I also try and make it so sound gets directed away from any directions that I have a neighbor and try and make the louder parts of it as far away as possible and so the sound exhaust is pointed in the opposite direction.  Slower more technical stuff closer to houses and then faster or harder on the throttle areas father away.  

 The type of dirt you have is one thing You should figure out before You get too locked into a layout.  It looks like its pretty sandy there. pines trees tend to grow  over rock or sand. They have a shallow root system and do better in the sand than a lot of other deeper rooted trees and over the years I've found that its normally sandy  or gravel under them.   If its sandy then You may need to bring in material to help firm up some jumps. Jumps built from sand will not last and will need to be regraded much more often than jumps with some loam or clay mixed into the faces. 

 If you can clear a layout and then ride it before adding jumps and berms in, that could help save you time. If You are doing a lot of it yourself and with buddies. If You hire a pro builder than they will normally have their own process for that stuff.  But try and ride it before they leave so if jumps need to be reshaped they are still there and its easier than getting them to come back.

 Be careful and congrats on the property!  Building new sections of track and trails has become as fun as riding them for me!  I'm sure others will have a lot of helpful info. There have been a bunch of threads similar to this that You can find if you search for them .  

I had a small track that was just over an acre on 4 acres, and a big tack when I had 80 acres.  The small track was on a street of 2.5-5 acres lots.  I suggest you become friends with the neighbor before floating the cool idea.  Grease the wheels.  One neighbor had horses so I was worried.  I made that side a lower rpm part of the track.  After the first ride then one horse would trot to the corner and as I came around it would run/race me down that side.  2 stroke at the time helps sound not carry as bad.  I now have land in the mountains and an electric bike like a Stark is in the near future.  Sound echoes up the valley bad.

 Talk to the lumber company.  They will possibly clear them for the lumber.  Free exchange.   You will still have to remove stumps and that ain’t easy.  Could cut to ground level and cover.  Start shopping skid steers at auction and marketplace.  You won’t have much more then single track width if you want any length to it….which since you aren’t racing anybody is fine.  You will want length because that small of a track gets repetitive.  As for letting others ride?  Be careful.  You might think they are friends, but if they get hurt and their income goes away then they get desperate and…..lawsuits are too common….and your insurance will absolutely not cover it.  Release forms are almost useless.

Have fun!!!

Congrats on living your dream

Trees + electric dirtbikes for the win, no one would even know you have a backyard track.

I don't have any advice but I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. Great advice from others so far. Definitely a Stark Varg in my future. We're about to start building here. 30 ac between my dad and I. Little family compound coming together. It'll be fun to get my dad back on a moto track after a few years. 

The County Code requires combustion engines to be inaudible 50' away from your property. There is also nuisance law. I recommend talking with the neighbors first.

Here's the Code:
SHELBY COUNTY COMMISSION ORDINANCE NO. 03-12-22-11 
AN ORDINANCE TO REGULATE NOISE LEVELS OR OTHER ACTIVITY OR CONDUCT CREATING NOISE WITHIN THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF SHELBY COUNTY, ALABAMA; TO PROVIDE FOR PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE ORDINANCE, AND MATTERS RELATED THERETO.
Section 6.
(c) The discharge into the open air of the exhaust of any machine, of any stationary internal combustion engine or motor vehicle, except through a muffler in good working order which contains baffles or similar devices to prevent excessive or unusual noise and/or annoying smoke, or other noise abatement device, is prohibited. The operation of any such machine or stationary internal combustion engine or motor vehicle in such a manner as to be audible from the distance of fifty (50) feet from the building, structure, or premises upon which machine, is located shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section. The operation and maintenance of a properly muffled internal combustion engine for the purposes of generating electrical power or for the purpose of lawn or property maintenance shall not be considered a violation of this paragraph.

I would leave many trees as possible and get couple Stark bikes. Longevity your dream is what will make you happy. 

I know you're not concerned now, but 4 acres might seem big enough to not be heard from, but in all reality 4 acres is 420' square. I understand that this tract is not square but you can literally hear conversations being discussed from one 4acre tract to another. This is coming from a surveyor that has dealt with land and landowner issues for 20+ years. When the neighbor or new neighbors if they ever decide to sell get annoyed with the noise, it'll be an issue. Trees or not. Just be aware is all anyone is saying. Sadly 100 acres with a track dead in the center can still be an annoyance to adjoining tracts. 

I know it's a bit apples to oranges, dirtbikes are obviously loud and I'm not trying to get away from that.... but you can hear most engines at 50 ft. That's not much at all. Even the little tiny predator/honda inverter generators are audible at 50 ft.

You're at the mercy of anyone who wants to complain with this very strict code - a violation is if they even hear you. That could be a mile away.

I'm an acoustical engineer. Cell phone recordings might be all the proof a neighbor would need for legal action.

Electric doesn't have the same inaudibility code. Hope it all works out.

Make a woods loop instead of a moto track. Moto tracks are labor intensive, better off paying $30 to ride someone else’s maintained track. If there is a couple open areas in the wooded area throw a couple jumps in the loop to get your moto fix. 

Big enough for an awesome 50cc track, not big enough for a Thumper.  

I have a roughly 400'x600' rectangle lot. (~5ac)  Zoned agricultural.  House in the middle.  I have a thousand ways to get around it via 'walking' and compact 4wd tractor trails. I mulch them for weed control and erosion resistance.  Neighbors can complain, but can't do anything about it if I'm reasonable.  I have ridden it with all types of bikes and gocarts and mountain bikes for 20 years in a now urban area.  Its best for gocarts and mini bikes, like crf50 and klx110s.   Don't clear cut it, just build some berms in key locations to facilitate use as a track.  Good luck.   If you ask neighbors for permission, you won't get it. Be nice to them, but not deferential. Just create something based on a plausible/defensible position..

It is loosely enforced because it is loosely reported.
Nobody is going to complain about a lawnmower unless it is running at inappropriate hours because it is to their personal benefit that the neighbors' yard is tidy and weeds knocked down. They derive no benefit from you getting your moto fix.

I hate to be a debbie downer but invest as little money in it as possible because there is a 100% chance your neigbors are shutting it down. leave as many trees as possible/buy a stark and find a way to water it so the dust stays down 

I had a 4 acre track and decided $40 to go ride somewhere else looked awful darn good.  The equipment upkeep, lack of watering, and track maintenance was too much for my tastes (although I was doing it all alone).  At the end I turned it into an arenacross layout to minimize the maintenance.

If I had it to do over again, I'd have a practice "area".  Small turn track and some multi-purpose trails. Just a place to go ride around, and save the motos for the public tracks.  I'd also have a very quiet bike.

?
Lawn mowers explicitly exempt in the section I posted.

There is no question if there will be a violation. The question is if anyone will call the cops on you.