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Saddleback, Carlsbad all the major tracks in orange county are closed. The average person does not let her kid ride a dirt bike anymore. (Riders Union)
I don't know what planet you're on but it's not earth...
We need a two-stroke revolution and a riders union so parents perceive the sport as safe and affordable.
The Shop
Sheep mentality.........IMO
I have as much fun riding at 47 as I did when I was 10.....very few things in my life that I can say that about. I consider myself lucky that I got to be involved in this sport at its peak in the 80's and 90's......Its hard to explain to a kid the differences between then and now in Moto.......This sport used to be easy to participate in....tracks everywhere, prices reasonable, few regulations stopping you from riding, 100's of riders showing up on raceday.
When I'd line up in the 80's it seemed every class had full gates, we used to have to run qualifiers in some of the classes because too many riders showed up. Expert classes back then were mostly full and you could make some good money because of the numbers.....now I show up to race vet A and there may be me and another guy or two, so they line us with the expert class and then we have about 5 to 8 guys on a gate. Pitifull.
2. Stagnant wages for the last 15 years
3. cost to ride
4. It's become too super crossy and the injuries are extreme now.
All these have been mentioned in prior posts, but they all factor into it and are accurate.
#3 cost to ride stands out to me because if you look around at the big races they are expensive. Most have a no refund rule also? If someone pays before the race and then has an accident or something that prevents them from going to the race why should they not get a refund or a rain check? If they never used the services then any normal business would refund them.
Tracks have become more and more jumpy of course and when you combine that with bigger and faster bikes then you get more injuries and that scares parents.
All and all it is the sport itself pushing people away. The blame goes to from the top all the way down to the local tracks!
$4000 KTM 50s
$9000 450s
Gear prices
Unnecessary track fees
price of tires
hospital bills
to many classes in running order=long track days
Social media "pros"
Training facilities
Open practice days on top of other tracks races days
325,000,000 people in the USA and less than 20 are factory riders/ make a livingish
Price of the Loretta Lynn's system
The point I made is the kids haven't gotten any different, it's the parents thatve changed. Because of the media.
1990 cr250 msrp.
2017 crf450
Sure it's not dollar for dollar, but then again we ain't riding carb'd 2 strokes anymore. I don't think the $1000 difference is significant. Plenty of dirt cheap beginners bikes, and used bikes to fill that void.
We need our existing money to have more purchasing power, that's the key. You can have a wheel barrow full of money and it be near useless.
The dollars of 1980s and 1990s had more purchasing power which gave the middle class access to more activities. Hell everyone used to have at least ONE off road machine.
EDIT: Colintrax gets it
Pit Row
I am 29 and just recently got settled into my house, there were a few neighborhood kids who rode around me. Started the year with 6 or 7 of them in the 13-16 years old range. Now I think two have bikes left, they all traded them away on Facebook....mostly because they did not have the money, and their parents had no intentions of helping them out.
The youngest of them has a descent 2001 KX 250 that his old man bought for him, but knew nothing about the maintenance/costs involved with riding a bike. The kid cuts my grass and helps me out so I help with the bike. His bike is in my basement right now and I am teaching him how to replace a piston and a check the clutch, swing arm bearings etc. I offered his friends to bring all their bikes over and I would help them all out....and he says they are all home playing their Xbox. (It is only 20 degrees here).
Point is, there are still kids interested in the sport. But, I think video games are more appealing.
GasGas ekids
MSRP $ 2099
Gas Gas E Kids - A true powerful miniature all-terrain Motorcycle
The Gas Gas EC Sr. has been designed to offer all the safety guarantees as children learn gradually, with a motor that can be programmed from a smartphone and LiMnCo batteries, which weigh less and have incredibly more “kick” and autonomy.
With an adjustable power of 600W up to 1.500W, it is way prepared to promote kids fun and take out the best performance possible.
The EC Sr. range has the best components-design-features ratio on the market. There is nothing else remotely comparable to it available.
EC Sr.
• Frame Tubular CrMo steel frame
• Front Suspension Hydraulic fork (wheel travel 100mm)
• Rear Suspension DNM gas shock absorber, preload adjustment (wheel travel 125 mm)
• Brakes Hydraulic brake system 160 mm front & rear disk
• Motor Controller 48V programmable top speed, power, throttle sensitivity and regeneration
• Power 600 W-1500 W / Max. Speed 52 km/h
• Battery 48V LiNiCoMn 8,8Ah with BMS integrated (Battery Management System) removable
• Rims Aluminum 12” x 1.60
• Tyres Mitas C19 2.50-12 TT 37m
• Weight 30kg
• Max. Pilot Weight 40kg
• Charger 54.6V 2A battery charger (4 hours)
• Others Power train management software included (RS232-USB cable required)
Includes power switch 50-100%
• Optional Bluetooth module via APP (iOS/Android) Remote parameter programming and parental control
• Torrot inverter for car charge (lighter socket)
• Designed and manufactured in Europe
I started track riding in 2014 for about 3k. I didn't have the best stuff but if you get creative, ride a slightly older bike(thats still probably above your skill level), learn to fix stuff on your own, etc you can have just as much fun and do well for way less than the numbers in this thread. People can't just ride to have fun anymore, everything is way to serious and competitive. Most of us are never getting our pro card and even less will be riding pro in SX or MX. This is why Hare scrambles are getting extremely popular and track riding it suffering IMO.
$600 blown up bike
$1000 "resto" job
$600 in gear
$500 harbor freight trailer
$200 hitch for chevy cruze
Approximately $3000 ish and I had a blast. Wish I would have found track riding before 27 years old.
Just the way it is. People still buy em
Luckily I take out my collar bone and I have to pay 30$ for a sling and surgerys on the house up here
1) Buy a new bike that is one or two years old vs the latest model (could save $3000)
2) Buy gear that is 2yrs old and on big discount
3) learn to setup your bike without buying extra aftermarket parts (bikes are pretty good now)
4) talk about lower priced parts like tusk and cheaper tires like Artax.
I have talked to many riders before that did not even know some of this basic info. Helping get more riders into the sport or keeping riders into the sport is good for everyone.
My family has been pretty supporting of my racing but since I got off a 65 ('01 kx65) it kinda became my responsibility to purchase bikes and they would help with parts 50/50. I have since bought my own kx100( '08 with PC suspension), YZ125( basically stock '03), and just bought an xr 100. The XR has been my favorite, is cheap to maintain and a decent woods bike with a bit of modding. To give you an idea of my budget ALL IN race ready.
'03 XR: $1,100
BBR Springs: $200
FMF full exhaust:$220
BBR Cradle:$300
New tires(Dunlop mx52):$120
Various maintenance and lubricants:$50
I paid for this by selling my YZ and with money from working at the local track. I am lucky to have an avenue to make money and go ride as I please(we own 60 acres but I have 500+ I could ride on any given day) but I'm an anomaly. Most don't my age don't have a family to support their racing because they don't understand the sport, they don't have a job,or they don't have the ambition, not to mention finding an area to ride. Unless you are already in the sport, by the time you get ready to ride, much less race, you are $1,000 in on a play bike. However the play bike is what we should be marketing to people not a race bike. There is less risk on a play bike, less maintenance, and less money spent. It's better to get people into the sport at a lower level on the trails instead of trying to convince them to blow 5-7 grand on a 125 or 250f before they ever ride. Compared to my friends I am also incredibly money conscious, I have $1,000 in an investment account and am about to put more in. I doubt most of my friends could even save up to $1,000 without dropping it on shoes,a PS4, their girlfriend,etc. So that's another issue. There aren't many in my generation like me but it isn't because they don't wanna ride,its simply that they can't and that doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon.
RCB33
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