You do not need to spend $10,000 to enjoy ooffroad racing. $700 bikes work too!

[stroker]

 

Watch this guy on a vintage $700 craigslist special RMX250 take on a pack of $10,000 bikes and run them down one at a time.

 

Proving yet again that the new bikes are grossly over rated.  The old bikes are grossly under rated.  Anyone can buy a low priced dirt bike off craigslist and go racing and have fun!!

 

Don't let the yuppies on their new toys intimidate you, buy what ever you can afford and get out there and join in the fun!

 

 

 

 

[Beau 88]

Exactly why i sold my 05 cr and bought the 01' to rebuild . The 07 was the last but the 01' is the last of the best from Honda 

[dirteta]

That's very cool and very true. I KNOW I wouldn't ride any faster on a newer bike.

[handreasen]

 

Watch this guy on a vintage $700 craigslist special RMX250 take on a pack of $10,000 bikes and run them down one at a time.

 

Proving yet again that the new bikes are grossly over rated.  The old bikes are grossly under rated.  Anyone can buy a low priced dirt bike off craigslist and go racing and have fun!!

 

Don't let the yuppies on their new toys intimidate you, buy what ever you can afford and get out there and join in the fun!

Please note at the begining the 1 AA on his number plate, evidently racing at a very small local squid race!

[Qqqqqqqqqqqq]

Expert rider on a decent bike anyway .

[not_again]

Decent bike and supported by a bike magazine. Which, if history holds true means that they bought a junky bike for cheap and then completely rebuilt it. Not to take away from the capabilities of the RMX but I bet it was in competitive shape and with several thousand invested. And raced by a pro against amateurs.

[stroker]

Considering we have no idea where this race is, who the rider is, who he is racing against, pretty tough to say he is a pro sand bagger squashing squids. 

 

No matter who he is and who he is racing against, that old antique RMX250 is slam dancing around the track cornering well, accelerating like a top fuel dragster and the guy is obviously having a lot of fun.

 

That is only reason why we are here.... FUN !!!!! 

 

Our ego's may be fooled into believing we are almost pros that could quit our day jobs to race for our dinner.  In the eyes of a true full time pro racer 99% of offroad riders are only ever going to be "squid wannbes" sadly, many of them with over inflated big egos.  I have been racing at a high level for a very long time, I was once delusional, I now undestand where I fit in the part time weekend warrior food chain.  I really wish I figured it out many years ago.  Now I sometimes feel saddened and even shock and disbelief that we ever pushed that hard I actually lost one of my best friends.... dumb.... pontless..... plastic trophy?   my friend is gone forever..... a bad crash,    we were fools chasing a mirage that really had no tangible meaning....

 

Maybe had I understood this sooner, some of my scars and permanent injuries would not exist or would be less severe.  I have paid a very high price personally for this hobby. sport, addiciton.....The years have granted me some wisdom, I only wish it had come sooner, cause my buddy would have been riding beside me today, not just his memory. 

 

I finally feel like I can totally relax at the races and just enjoy the experience of hanging out with friends and enjoying a great day of racing for a plastic trophy, to throw in the big box of plastic trophys.  I used to get mad at lappers that "had the nerve to get in my way", now I smile as I watch them struggle and learn and improve their skills.  I appreciate their tenacity in a tough race.  Face it.... Win every local race you enter, big deal.   2 years from now.... no one will remember you, no one outside our tiny little circle of racers will even care.  Perspective comes with experience and age.

 

Bottom line is: there are a ton of cheap bikes available that are more than capable of putting the smack down on a new "wonder bike".  The bike can win..... can you?

 

As new bikes have gotten lighter, they have gotten more fragile, require more parts, more maintenance etc.  Been racing at the "A" levels for longer than I care to admit, 54 bikes later of every major brand available (from Gas gas all the big 4, ktm and berg, 2 stroke and 4) I stand behind my opinion, and I have the maintenance records of all these bikes to back up my claims.

 

New is new, not necessarily better! many new models have been steps backwards, occassionally there is a big advancement worth buying (disc brakes, liquid cooling etc) many "advancements" are just marketing hype .

 

We humans are suckers for anything shiny, new and different.....yes, I have bought plenty of them!!!

Edited May 1, 2014 by stroker

[boof_]

^^^^^^That may be the best comment I've ever read on here

[not_again]

Considering we have no idea where this race is, who the rider is, who he is racing against, pretty tough to say he is a pro sand bagger squashing squids.

 

 

Maybe read the header and text next time?

 

Motosport.com

 

6 Hour GP Eddieville

 

"Published on Mar 28, 2014

It's not very often that you get the chance to mix things up and go out for a long distance race. It's also not very often that you get the chance to do it on a $700 dirt bike with Brett Cue! A few months ago we teamed up and entered this 6 hour race in Eastern Washington which we featured in

Check it out as our start doesn't go as planned for Joel Ard! Special thanks to those who laughed at our '92 RMX250, we couldn't pass you without smiling."

 

Following the link leads us to another set of this race:

 

"Usually when you agree to a off-road race that lasts six hours late into Fall, fun isn't always the first thing that comes to mind. Luckily for Brett Cue keeping it fresh and trying something different is what it's all about for these guys. Check out what 2 strokes and almost 20 laps looks like in smiles for Brett Cue, Joel Ard and Josh Gray."

[katoom64]

10% bike 90% rider. With proper tires and suspension set up, most older bikes are capable of performence that out weighs most riders ability.

[Mtrain730]

Very cool thread. I agree I see people bashing different bikes all the time average or even novice racers putting bikes down and I think too my self you don't even have the skills too push these bikes too the max. I know this isn't the same and I under stand when there is a specific issue some one has about a bike but I have one of the dreaded 2010-2012 yz and I think it's funny when I hear some say there horrible. Like there even close too skill level too push any of these bikes over the edge. 99 percent of the time either they don't know how too set a bike up or there not as good a rider as they think they are. Same goes for a bike that's a couple years old.

[YZPaGuy]

10% bike 90% rider.

 

Exactly!

 

Smoker's post is awesome too, my wife and I will never be AA, my son may never be AA. But I will tell you one thing we are AA at. Being a family and having a ton of fun at the races! That's all the AA classes I'm worried about.

[katoom64]

I ride a 99 KTM 200 MXC. Granted it's in great shape for a 99, but in the dirt bike world this bike is bordering on vintage. That being said, it will go much faster over any terrain that I myself would want to try. I have a friend who has a 2012 KTM 350 EXC, great bike, he had a KDX 200 before this. He swears he rode faster and was less tired after riding in deep woods with the KDX. He even made the comment on another forum that " a $10,000 bike isn't that much better than a $3000 bike.

[travelgear]

10% bike 90% rider. With proper tires and suspension set up, most older bikes are capable of performence that out weighs most riders ability.

 

Indeed, its the rider and proper parts.

[bin007]

Couldnt agree more, i ride an 87 kdx and my buddie on his 09 150sx cant keep up. Then I have friends who scoff when I show them a badass 96 or whatever on craigslist. They think anything over 10yrs old is junk, lmao

[Hans Schmid]

So you're cool if you show up with a beat bike and do well but an dick if you show up with a "fancy" bike and do well?

[zotis777]

Gotta remember the riders back in the day were just as good as us. So when the old bike is set up the same why wouldn't it do well, or at least as well as their technology allowed? Which was built for trails back in the day, which aren't different from now. Brand new enduros seem like you're buying the shiny part, and not much else

[katoom64]

So you're cool if you show up with a beat bike and do well but an dick if you show up with a "fancy" bike and do well?

I don't remember anyone saying anyone was a "dick" or "cool". The point of this thread ( I believe anyway) is that old bikes with proper set up and a competitive rider onboard can still do very well.

[Hans Schmid]

I don't remember anyone saying anyone was a "dick" or "cool". The point of this thread ( I believe anyway) is that old bikes with proper set up and a competitive rider onboard can still do very well.

 

Oh sorry, I meant "yuppie"....

[DBMX 925]

Having money is good. How do you think all those next to new bikes flood the market.