Motocross questions
Discussion
Do any of you gents ride motocross at all?
My scenario is that I love bikes and can ride but have talked myself out of road riding and doing my licence. I fancy buying a motocross bike for a bit of fun on days off as I am hankering for some fun after selling my EVO 6.
Questions are -
Any good UK based Mx forums?
Any good pay to ride tracks around Cheshire/Staffordshire?
Best/most reputable place to buy Mx gear?
And last of all bike suggestions... Ideally I want a 2 stroke (Yamaha YZ-125) and don’t want to spend more than £2k.
My scenario is that I love bikes and can ride but have talked myself out of road riding and doing my licence. I fancy buying a motocross bike for a bit of fun on days off as I am hankering for some fun after selling my EVO 6.
Questions are -
Any good UK based Mx forums?
Any good pay to ride tracks around Cheshire/Staffordshire?
Best/most reputable place to buy Mx gear?
And last of all bike suggestions... Ideally I want a 2 stroke (Yamaha YZ-125) and don’t want to spend more than £2k.
IMO you would be best to get an enduro bike, competition style one, but it allows a few things. 1) most are registered, so you can insure it cheap and easy. 2), you can greenlane on it. 3), they tend to be a little softer and bit better on longevity that a pure MX bike.
I'd suggest Enduro club practice days are a little more relaxed to learn on, the tracks are bigger so bit more room, less "jumpy" man made stuff, that is great when it goes right, but can go wrong easy when learning, and for £50 you can ride all say, so good value. It also helps get your endurance up, as some laps will take longer to complete than some whole MX races!
There's some forums but most MX and Enduro stuff is now on facebook.
BUT, be warned, sadly, such forums and media are also used by the gangs of guys that target off roaders for dubious purposes, so do be aware of that when you start interacting on them.
Bike wise, a 2T is lighter and some would say easier to spanner, but the thumpers are v reliable now and some think easier to ride as they have more engine braking, which helps the less deft feet off road!! Basically you can welly it into a corner, bang it down two gears, and wack it in, whilst on a 2t, you'd be on the rear brake quite a lot more to balance / back it in. I rode both when I raced and tended to do the longer events on the 4t, and the 2t for more frantic stuff.
Oh, and don't overdo your first few sessions, you wont be able to walk two days later, even if you do like 15 mins! Incredibly hard sport physically, so take it easy and build up!
I'd suggest Enduro club practice days are a little more relaxed to learn on, the tracks are bigger so bit more room, less "jumpy" man made stuff, that is great when it goes right, but can go wrong easy when learning, and for £50 you can ride all say, so good value. It also helps get your endurance up, as some laps will take longer to complete than some whole MX races!
There's some forums but most MX and Enduro stuff is now on facebook.
BUT, be warned, sadly, such forums and media are also used by the gangs of guys that target off roaders for dubious purposes, so do be aware of that when you start interacting on them.
Bike wise, a 2T is lighter and some would say easier to spanner, but the thumpers are v reliable now and some think easier to ride as they have more engine braking, which helps the less deft feet off road!! Basically you can welly it into a corner, bang it down two gears, and wack it in, whilst on a 2t, you'd be on the rear brake quite a lot more to balance / back it in. I rode both when I raced and tended to do the longer events on the 4t, and the 2t for more frantic stuff.
Oh, and don't overdo your first few sessions, you wont be able to walk two days later, even if you do like 15 mins! Incredibly hard sport physically, so take it easy and build up!
I too would suggest enduro
Perfectly fine to do MX practice, you will get more track time, but events are fairly low in terms of track time, and MX is very difficult to master, and if you want to improve you WILL fall off and WILL hurt yourself.
Enduro offers the same in terms of practice, is just as cheap and you can usually ride fairly close by. Excellent value, very friendly, and you can totally go at your own pace, sod the aliens who moan at you, just let them be miserable, stupidly fit and fast. If you are that good ride somewhere ore competitive I say!
Perfectly fine to do MX practice, you will get more track time, but events are fairly low in terms of track time, and MX is very difficult to master, and if you want to improve you WILL fall off and WILL hurt yourself.
Enduro offers the same in terms of practice, is just as cheap and you can usually ride fairly close by. Excellent value, very friendly, and you can totally go at your own pace, sod the aliens who moan at you, just let them be miserable, stupidly fit and fast. If you are that good ride somewhere ore competitive I say!
+1 for Enduro; rather than MX.
As for building up stamina and endurance - my first ever Enduro was a 4hr event down near Chichester; 2hrs 12 mins for the first lap!! I started on a kick-only YZ400; pop stalled it about 50 yards after the start and things got no better from there on....... absolutely loved it!! That bike ended in a fiery inferno stuck in a boggy rut when some damp leaves on the header pipe caught fire and melted the plastic tank!!! Toasty!
Really do think I would still be riding enduro if I hadn't gone for big heavy bikes - after the Yamaha 400 I had a 426 then a 450; then a TM400 - far too much bike to be honest; all the quick guys were on 125 or 250 2T bikes
As for building up stamina and endurance - my first ever Enduro was a 4hr event down near Chichester; 2hrs 12 mins for the first lap!! I started on a kick-only YZ400; pop stalled it about 50 yards after the start and things got no better from there on....... absolutely loved it!! That bike ended in a fiery inferno stuck in a boggy rut when some damp leaves on the header pipe caught fire and melted the plastic tank!!! Toasty!
Really do think I would still be riding enduro if I hadn't gone for big heavy bikes - after the Yamaha 400 I had a 426 then a 450; then a TM400 - far too much bike to be honest; all the quick guys were on 125 or 250 2T bikes
Edited by Pope on Sunday 31st March 20:10
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