Now don't get me wrong, I love motorcycles. From the lowest moped, the worst Chinese knock-off, to the most advanced touring rig, if it has two wheels and a motor, it’s got my vote.
But when the back-room decisions of an officially sanctioned race organization, the manufacturers and God knows who else changed the formula in motocross, that's when it all went straight to Hell, in my opinion.
Let's look at the numbers, you know numbers never lie:
1973: Over one million dirt bikes sold in the United States.
2008: Two hundred thousand. With more ATV's sold than bikes.
And we all know why all that happened, right? In was in the name of nature. The environment. Wacky things begin happening when the tree-huggers start making the rules. What was once a relatively inexpensive motor sport is now a bucks-up proposition, to those few that can afford it?
Costs to ride and race a new competitive MX bike have increased tenfold from the "old days" (read that two stroke).
I was bench racing with ol' Super Hunky the other day, and the topic of four stroke MX bikes came up again, and we both launched into several minutes of anti-4 striker tirades that included...Costs too much...blows up after a few scant hours of racing...costs too much...blows up, expensive to fix...costs too much...blows up, slow, blows up......etc....etc...etc...
Now don't get me wrong, I think these new Japanese four stroke 450's are the pinnacle of engineering and metallurgy, mixed with radical works design theory, and are quite the race bikes. But have they caused the sport of Dirt Bikes to shrink in size, and become just another ultra-expensive sport where only the well heeled can compete?
Take for instance the numbers: In 1973 over one million dirt bikes were sold in the USA. In 2009 that number shrunk to two hundred thousand, with ATVs out selling dirt bikes for the first time.
Not a good thing. We all know why the AMA and the big Japanese manufacturers changed to the four strokes, the environment. The tree huggers didn't want all those smoky seemingly unbreakable two strokes stinking up the landscape with Maxima Castor and Yamalube R, so they gave us ultra-trick four strokes that seem to get faster, and more prone to exploding with every new model year.
In our ranting Rick said something very poignant with regards to the new breed of four stroke dirt bike: Hell, we should love 'em, just because they are what they are; super tricked out factory racers that are filled with unbelievable technology.
But all that trickness comes at a price. And can that price be shutting the door on the average dirt biker? One who can't afford to purchase a new dirt bike for nine thousand dollars out the door, and then in 15 hours or so, sink another two grand into it for a new top end? And god forbid if the bike blows up, and takes out the entire motor. That runs around four grand to fix.
This is also why old CR500's and KX500's are bringing in top dollars for a decent used model. I got $1,200.00 for my ratsy '87 CR500, no haggling. And since I bought it used in 1997 for $900.00, that's pretty damn good money for a 22 year old dirt bike. One that hauled ass and NEVER missed a beat.
So the sad fact is, the sport is shrinking, becoming more expensive, and specialized. You don't buy an MX bike anymore to play around on. And you don't take a play bike and race it. The time of the tinkerer and home taught grease monkey is over, an era gone.
But not forgotten.
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