Red Bull X-Fighters returns to America this weekend after a two week absence. The FMX event will take place at SoCal’s historic Glen Helen Raceway, which effectively birthed the sport as a spinoff of motocross racing. To promote the race, Ronnie Renner, Danny Torres, Keith Sayers and Maikel Melero (seen here) staged a little exhibition on Venice Beach. Sure beats roller bladers.
Photos: Garth Milan :continue:
Four wheels like a car, but handlebars and a saddle like a motorcycle. With quad bikes, it’s almost like someone took the most awesome part of driving — drifting — and combined it with the most exciting thing about riding dirt bikes — jumping — to create a vehicle with a single purpose: hooning. We take off into the Hungry Valley OHV park of the Los Padres National Forest onboard Suzuki Z400s and a King Quad to try and get as dirty as possible.
At lunch on Saturday, Sean said he couldn’t understand why I was being so positive about this Honda CRF250L. His argument was that it weighs over 300lbs and makes only 23bhp. Therefore we should dismiss it as irrelevant; it just won’t be capable off-road. My argument in return? CBR250R. If Honda can bring that kinda quality and that mix of performance to a dual sport, at the same price point, then this is going to be a great bike. Now with more detailed photos and action videos, it looks like that’s exactly what’s happening. :continue:
I’m getting a bit sick of events telling me I can’t come because my bike isn’t the right age, or didn’t come from the right country or this or that or the other. I don’t fit in a neat, little pigeon hole and the people I like spending time with don’t either. Dirt Quake is a race event in a big city, in the heart of the English Midlands. It’s been put together with the spirit of ’It’s not what you ride, it’s how you ride it’. :continue:
Flat track racing is awesome, affordable and accessible. But, this Saturday in Ventura, California, it’s going to be more awesome, affordable and accessible than usual. Iron and Resin is organizing a true Run Whatcha’ Brung class at Ventura Raceway, that’s literally open to any bike (or moped or scooter or whatever) and any rider, for just $45. We’ll be there and so should you. Heck, even if you don’t want to get your bike all dirty, come watch. I can personally guarantee crashing; I’ll be doing the racing. Details here.
Motorcycles are probably the most exciting consumer good in the world. But, right now, they’re a hard sell. Races take place a long way from the cities where people live. The people that race are nothing like the people with the cash to buy. The actual racing is boring to anyone without a complete grasp of the physics involved. So, how do you involve a non-endemic crowd with something as alien to their lives as dirt bike racing? Auckland’s City Scramble looks like a good start, bringing motorcycles to the people with a city-center location and the kind of track and obstacles they can comprehend and appreciate. Running last weekend, it drew 10,000 spectators.
Photos: Graeme Murray :continue:
“You really shouldn’t be in the wilderness alone with no phone reception,” read the text from my not-a-girlfriend. But I didn’t get that until the next afternoon, back in Lone Pine, gassing up for the ride home. That’s because there really is no cell reception in this remote northern corner of Death Valley National Park. “The most remote location in California,” there’s no water, no pavement and, most importantly, no people in Saline Valley either. A perfect destination then for an impromptu bit of wanderlust on a Friday afternoon. Especially when there’s a knobby-equipped Yamaha Super Tenere calling your name. :continue:
What happens when you take a Triumph Street Triple stunt bike, complete with cage and short gearing and fit it with knobbies? Good things happen. Very good things. :continue:
If the zombie apocalypse were upon us, the Suzuki DR650 is the kind of thing I’d steal to ride off into the hills. Its old-school steel frame construction and air-cooled single mean it’ll run forever, even if you beat it into the ground. And, at $6,000 for a brand-new one, the DR650 is pretty attractive even if you’re not fleeing a blood-thirsty hoard.
Photos: Grant Ray :continue:
What you can’t see in this photo is that Grant, aboard the KTM 990 Adventure, is actually flying past me on the Yamaha Super Tenere, through a water crossing. Nothing to do with the capability of either bike, just as a relatively new dirt rider, I find riding a 637lbs behemoth absolutely shit-my-pants terrifying. I’m basically going to be comic relief in this first episode of our new show, RideApart, debuting next month on DRIVE.
Photos: Sean “Gimp” Smith :continue:
