Vital MX Pit Bits: 2026 Indianapolis - Supercross - Motocross Feature

Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Supercross

Most years, the Indy Supercross is tied to cold weather, even snow in the pits. But shockingly, other than some rain on Saturday morning, it was t-shirt weather out in the pits.

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Indy marked the second Triple Crown of the year, and with that, it was spare bike city.

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If you're a gold rim Honda fan, the Phoenix team has you covered.

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Not really sure what to make of this.

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Motocompactos aren't too common at motorcycle dealerships, but you may have seen one at a Honda automotive dealership. They fold up and can be taken on an airline, we need one.

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Hunter Lawrence isn't just a dirt bike racer; he also holds the title of Co-Creative Director at Santos Studios. A clothing and lifestyle brand you'll commonly see him wearing.

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Speaking of Hunter, we found his CRF450R to be a bit interesting in Indy.

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Hunter's "spare bike" had the kit fork tubes with Works Edition 25mm fork cartridges (kit or works is usually 27mm).

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While his main race bike actually had a fully production 25mm fork cartridge and were slid inside a set of tubes and lugs off a works edition CRF450R.

The works edition tubes also had stock/cast lugs on them. This isn't the first time we've seen the Lawrences go this direction.

Hunter's backup bike (yes, it's on Jett's stand) had a works shock with the BC (big compression adjuster), and an 18mm shaft, which is what he had been using up to Indy.

The bike he raced, though, had a works edition production shock, with an 18mm shaft. What we found most interesting about this whole setup was the lack of Showa spec stickers on the suspension. Take from that what you will; we have a theory we need to dig into more.

HRC's 250 program is a great example of how a racing program shapes an aftermarket company's product, as Yoshimura has developed multiple headpipe iterations for the race team. Over that time, they've updated their consumer product to match some of those changes.

Jo Shimoda moved from long-time sponsor Scott, to Oakley for the 2026 season.

Jordan Smith mentioned on press day that leading into Indy, he had the longest day of testing in his entire career.

Well, this bottle has something to do with it.

Caption this.

After racing on KYB PSF1 air forks in 2025, he started 2026 on spring forks, only to now go back to the air fork to help improve his bike's balance and head back to what he's used to.

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See that paper there? A few teams pack a printed-out note with suspension, clarifying the rules that TSA has and proving that yes, suspension is safe and allowed to be checked under a plane...

Wether its an Ogio Rig T3 or a 9800, you can find them in pretty much every pit full of parts for that weekend. Most mechanics refer to this as their "build bag".

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Marchbanks logo can be found in some unique places around the Kawasaki truck.

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If you're ready to race...

...clap your hands.

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We kinda dug the chipped tooth look, oh well.

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Red Bull KTM's Jorge Prado made his return after missing two rounds out of action. In speaking to his crew, Jorge was not only back on the bike the week coming into Indy, but actually rode two full days of Supercross on a Triple Crown simulation, along with one day of Pro Motocross doing three 30-minute motos. It sounds like from here on out this season, Jorge will be mixing in at least one day of motocross riding for what should be a statement series for the Spaniard when we take things "outside".

WP's new works shock has received much praise from the US riders who have it, however, between the US and MXGP, there's still a big mix of WP shocks being used in racing conditions. Within the top KTM and Husqvarna teams, this new shock, along with the single adjuster prior works version are in use. With some riders still even using the consumer Pro Components shock, and even one or two on modified production shocks. Such as the one Simon Langenfelder used to win the opening round of the MX2 class in Argentina.

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DID Ace wheelsets can be purchased directly through DID USA.

While these are on Prado's bench, they represent another piece of info. After starting the season on air forks, Aaron Plessinger has returned to spring forks to aid in his issues with lack of front-end feeling and needing traction on a setup that was just "too choppered out" for Supercross.

All of the Red Bull KTM bikes had letters from the KJSC riders on them. Is this normal? Not usually...but the team's spare bikes for Triple Crown were hauled on the KJSC rig and when the kids saw them being unloaded alongside their KTM E5s, they got stoked and wanted to send messages to their heroes. Tomac, Plessinger, and Prado's bikes all had letters on them.

Just some spare Renthal bars at the KTM truck.

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Daxton Bennick's Pro Taper bars are cut down a little in width.

Daxton also likes a bit of extra grip on his Husqvarna.

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That top engine mount is just drool worthy with the machining marks.

The Pro Components shock we mentioned above.

Fox has had their riders in some new spring line kits, with Shimoda being one of the only ones on the roster we get to see in matching helmets.

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We did the new Flexair kit.

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Drip drip..

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After his neck injury that nearly ended his career, Kyle Peters adopted a neck brace. He's one of very few to race with one at the pro level these days.

The MX6 team KX250s have some interesting goodies on board. With the team being headed up by ex-Pro Circuit crew chief/mechanic and ex-TLD crew chief Olly Stone, it's no surprise they have some top-end machinery for such a young team.

Hmmm, a GET LCD light for starts...

Tied to a Vortex ECU, we haven't seen that trick in a bit.

The first time we saw this brace was last year with the Pro Circuit team. The rigors of Supercross, primarily the pressure put through the rear structure of the bike and subframe during aggressive seat bounces, are unlike anything the normal consumer puts a bike through. For decades now, it's been common to see different teams and bikes need some extra support put in depending on the design of the bike.

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CMT USA makes this rear brake cover/frame extender. They also make pretty much all the carbon on the HRC machines, and more goodies on the PC bikes. Even better, it's made in the USA right in the High Dez of Southern California.

We've heard the KX250 is a tough bike on clutches when the engine is fully built and in Supercross conditions.

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Seeing Showa A-kit on a KX250 that isn't Pro Circuit spec for parts (like lugs) is almost unheard of in the US.

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Olly knows how to source the good stuff, like this billet Nissin caliper.

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Akrapovic went from being a rarity only seen on Factory KTMs in the US, to something that isn't surprising to see on any OEM in the pits.

Motion Pro supplies most of the paddock with tools and helpful goodies.

MX6's pit cart.

Justin Cooper is running ARC's complete hydraulic clutch master cylinder, while Webb uses the Brembo unit from the old GYTR hydro kit. Neither is using the Nissin unit found on the 2026 YZ450F.

Another Works Connection holeshot device sighting.

Chiari Malformation is a condition in which brain tissue extends into the spinal canal. It occurs when part of the skull is misshapen or smaller than is typical. The skull presses on the brain and forces it downward. Oakley is a little guy near the Indy area and if you'd like to help him, you can learn more here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-oakleys-journey-through-brain-surgery

The three men who control the goggle industry. Okay, maybe that's a bit much but they sure do at the races. Dave Ginolfi of 100%.

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Justin (Triple J) Jennings of Scott.

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And Aaron Cain of Oakley.

Most riders have their mechanic on the line, while Cole Thompson has his wife pulling pitboard duty.

It's still a bit crazy to see Twitch's brand that started out with some T-shirts head into a full gear line with Fly Racing. Congrats on the success to everyone at dbk.

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Coty Schock went to the line in the first moto with a scoop tire. Brave man.

Truck drivers always working.

Yeah, that means you too Cory.

Again, always working.

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Get back to work.

In Indy, the riders' motorhomes were in a corral away from their respective rider's semis. So you might have spotted your favorite top rider zipping around the pits.

Otter, whatcha doin there?

We NEED these Fox boots. Please and thank you.

Seth Hammaker.

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At any Triple Crown, you'll find the PC or Factory Kawi guys with this white stripe on the bike.

Just a cool shot.

Pro Circuit has so many little goodies throughout their bikes that they have made. Shifters are one of the many items they make that you can buy for your bike as well.