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blackdiamond
5/29/2017 7:26pm
5/29/2017 7:26pm
Edited Date/Time
6/3/2017 3:06am
With the continued decline of entries in the 250 class at the nationals how long will it be before the AMA acknowledges that they have a major problem with the current class rule structure?
Is it the new normal that we are going to see entry lists that will barely fill the gate for the first moto without qualifiers?
Is it the new normal that racing has become so expensive that local pros have lost all desire to even compete when the big show comes to town?
Is it the new normal we now have race teams that can’t make it through a weekend without nearly ALL of their riders losing at least one engine?
Is it the new normal that someone talks about how “bulletproof” their new four stroke is because they have 25 hours on it without a catastrophic failure?
Is it the new normal that the racers just accept the fact the sanctioning bodies do what’s best for OEM’s and their bank accounts first and worry about what the racers can afford last?
Is this what grass roots, entry level motorsports are supposed to look like?
I don’t think so. The powers that be need to figure this out soon because the four stroke “revolution” is running the sport of motocross into the ground.
I hear everyone throwing around all these ideas and potential rule changes in search of ways to keep a 250F engine from failing in a 30 minute national moto. Why over-think the problem when the simple answer is hiding in plain sight?
Straight up 250cc motorcycle racing just like Canada and Australia.
Why are we NOT racing bikes that are:
1. Less expensive to buy?
2. Less expensive to maintain?
3. Much easier to work on?
4. Far more popular with fans?
5. Far more popular on social media?
Follow the money and you will find the answer.
Is it the new normal that we are going to see entry lists that will barely fill the gate for the first moto without qualifiers?
Is it the new normal that racing has become so expensive that local pros have lost all desire to even compete when the big show comes to town?
Is it the new normal we now have race teams that can’t make it through a weekend without nearly ALL of their riders losing at least one engine?
Is it the new normal that someone talks about how “bulletproof” their new four stroke is because they have 25 hours on it without a catastrophic failure?
Is it the new normal that the racers just accept the fact the sanctioning bodies do what’s best for OEM’s and their bank accounts first and worry about what the racers can afford last?
Is this what grass roots, entry level motorsports are supposed to look like?
I don’t think so. The powers that be need to figure this out soon because the four stroke “revolution” is running the sport of motocross into the ground.
I hear everyone throwing around all these ideas and potential rule changes in search of ways to keep a 250F engine from failing in a 30 minute national moto. Why over-think the problem when the simple answer is hiding in plain sight?
Straight up 250cc motorcycle racing just like Canada and Australia.
Why are we NOT racing bikes that are:
1. Less expensive to buy?
2. Less expensive to maintain?
3. Much easier to work on?
4. Far more popular with fans?
5. Far more popular on social media?
Follow the money and you will find the answer.
The Shop
" I don't know that I like the 250 four-strokes in the 125 class. It is too much of an advantage. They are double the size of our KX125's. Double! The legal four-strokes in the 250 class aren't double. The legal four strokes in the 80 class aren't double. You need to find a happy medium, and 250 ain't it. They are going to keep getting better, too. Right now, the 125's can run with them with momentum and speed in the corners, but what happens when you get behind them is that they slow down in the corners because they don't corner as well. They squirt the first ten or twenty feet, and then you have to try and run them down. That's hard. They get great starts too because of their traction. They have a big advantage here. You get little kids getting off an 80cc bike and they'll have to go to a 250. It is too big for them, too heavy and they can't start the things. All the manufacturers are working on them, and unfortunately we'll all be racing them in a few years."
Quoted in MXA, Sept. 2001.
I especially like the "unfortunately" part.
The sport in general is in a downward spiral and I'm not really sure what the answer is. Yea the electric thing is coming but I don't see where it's going to be cheaper.
Someone involved in the higher powers really needs to set down and have a discussion about this.
Thing is, the factories , well, all but orange, want to make and sell 4 strokes.
And without the factories, no big salaries for the top riders.
No big rigs at the track.
I've seen it in Roadracing, the factories split, the people don't come to watch.
As far as the AMA! All the greats have won AMA championships.
History wise, it's the AMA championships that count. They put a guy in another league,
You are one of the greats if you are an AMA Champion. Kinda like Motogp. You are remembered.
Hard combo to beat.
I think it's funny that this is starting to become such a problem now. 4 strokes are a lot more reliable than they were 10 years ago. The problem is the continued "advancement". The manufacturers get the bikes to the point where they are considered reliable and then the aftermarket goes and pushes past that point. Problem is, if one team does it every other team has to follow or get left behind.
It'd be interesting to see what sort of support and/or contingency differences there are between the bikes.
What's a hotrod / competitive 250F rebuild cost?
I agree...the rules need to freaking change! Canada made it work...so can the Nationals here and MX2 across the pond.
It honestly boils down to "Greed". The OEM's don't want guys being able to put a new top end in a bike for under $200.00. They want you to spend $1500.00 minimum.
People have been getting cornholed on this for over a decade. Sooner or later...you just price out all your competition. I'd love to have a 250F....but Gawd damn...I can't afford the proper upkeep.
Entry level dictates the pro market. If everyone quits buying four strokes tomorrow- two strokes will come back into pro racing.
Also, the homologation fee is heinous. If I want to race on a 06 RM 250- and it passes tech inspection... LET ME.
Pit Row
Would they go back and change the rules like Canada and Australia did?
Ride what you want. Buy what you want. Sales make a difference.
Right now the tail is wagging the dog.
What if one of the "powers that be" acknowledged what you are saying, agreed with you, and started to implement change?
Post a reply to: Make Motocross Great Again! Is it time to fire the AMA?