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Knoxville, IL
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Edited Date/Time
3/11/2016 6:50pm
I know that this has been asked before. Although I would like to hear some opinions. I am 27 I have a wife, 8 month old, and a great job. I have a blast riding moto and racing here and there I would say I'm still a top 5 B rider locally but with my job and my family I am considering switching to Harescrambles and/or grand prix style of stuff to try to take some of the risk out of it for me but keep it fun. I have broke my femur, collarbone and had a shoulder redone because of moto. I know some of you have done this switch so lets hear the opinions. Thanks
It doesn't eliminate the risk, but because there are no jumps, I would say it definitely reduces the risk drastically.
I wouldn't make the decision out of fear though (fear of getting hurt in Moto)...id race a few (I tell everyone they have to race three of them in a season before throw in the towel on it) and see how you like it. If you like it, do it more...if you don't, then keep racing Moto....but keep you ego in check, maybe buy a 125...or whatever it takes to reduce the risk.
Just my $.02.
The Shop
And as far as offroad being "safer", I don't buy it, at least not for east-coast riding where you're buzzing trees at mach 2.
In the same boat as many of you more or less. Got into MTB from moto in the mid 90s and it's been my thing ever since. Bought a bike in 2008 thinking I'd do some trail riding and just never did. I'd do laps burning in corners on the ruins of my old practice track. Finally went and did a HS and had a good time. Now I still MTB primarily, and do a few HS's a year with basically no other moto riding. I like the lower risk environment of off road, as in big jumps aren't critical and fitness is an asset. The local events still use moto tracks as part of the course, so there's still a bit of moto. It's highly unlikely I'd ever go spend the entire day for two short motos again. HS is much better at having a set start time, show up, ride, leave.
Lower risk? Well... that I don't know. I never did this during my moto days.
Forearm, meet downed tree.
OP, Titan gave you some good advice. I started riding when I was 19 and all I wanted to do was hit the motocross scene and then a buddy at work asked me to race some cross country events. I hated it the first year or two that I raced. But as time has passed and I've gotten older (30 now), motocross is just not what I want to do on the regular. I like having more obstacles in a loop. Rocky sections in trees are always a good challenge especially in the heat of a race. Give it a few races and don't quit after one or two races. Find a buddy or two to go race with you. It's always more fun when you have friends there.
There's some technical stuff and gnarly climbs that you'll want the 250 grunt for.
Having to keep a 125 revved to the moon in the tight stuff can get sketchy.
I felt moto was more dangerous because of the jumps, and not because I worried about crashing on the jumps, but because I worried about getting landed on (or landing on someone else who rolled the jump and didn't hold their line). So I say off road is safer for that reason.
So though the pro riders certainly assume a ton of risk as a result of their speed...its an entirely different story for your average off road racer. Maybe you are a pro rider-I don't have a clue-and you'd be going Mach 2 through the trees...but the average rider is going slow enough that they aren't "buzzing" the trees...they are just riding past them at a moderate to slow pace. It's just a reality of the talent gap in dirt bike racing. Those slower speeds mean significantly less risk.
Pit Row
There is definitely risks for both though...but that's why we do it...if there was no risk it would be as exciting as knitting...
I switched to woods racing (enduros/hs) in 2010 and loved it. I've gone in stages where I need a moto fix, and I'm sick of single track but it's nothing a few practice days can't cure.
point is, dirtbikes are dangerous regardless of the discipline. Look at what happened to Kurt or Danny Hamel.
Off road is cool as you get more bang for your buck. $40 gets you anywhere from 40-100 miles, where as $40 gets you 8 laps at a motocross race.
Both are fun. Both are gnarly. Both can hurt.
That being said the offroad group is more open and supportive than moto in my opinion, especially the offroad racing side of it. I still ride track days, to prep for offroad races and get seat time in but I could never justify spending $40 to waste a day waiting for motos and only doing about 10 laps. Plus the things you get to see and experience while riding off road are way more interesting and exciting than spinning lap after lap all day.
And hey, you can still hold it wide off the track too
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