Dirt Bike FAQ

Bultaco from Spain..I always rode a Yamaha

More than a daredevil, Evel Knievel combined sportsmanship and show business to become one of the most famous performers in America. The perils of his sport—making a motorcycle "fly" over a row of vehicles—clearly were not for the average rider. Many of his jumps were successful; but in some spectacular crashes, Knievel fractured 35 to 40 bones. His visually stunning, suspenseful performances were perfectly suited to television and were especially exciting because of the chance that he might crash. Knievel's shows were a celebration of America's love affair with motor vehicles. His pre-jump show featured motorcycle "wheelies" and off-beat vehicles, and he jumped almost exclusively over rows of automobiles, trucks, and buses. By performing at stadiums and coliseums, Knievel perpetuated the tradition of live thrill shows for local audiences. But national and international media coverage of his jumps placed him in a league with some of the world's best-known entertainers. Knievel rode this motorcycle during some of his most spectacular jumps. By carefully coordinating his angle, thrust, and speed, which reached 90 to 100 miles per hour at takeoff, he remained in the air for as far as 165 feet. He chose (and customized) this motorcycle, a 1972 Harley-Davidson XR-750, because it was a light, dependable racing machine. Made of steel, aluminum, and fiberglass, it weighs approximately 300 pounds.

His first motorcycle was a BSA-125 Bantam(His Dad gave to him)
He use to race Norton Scramblers(AMA Circuit)
He use to use Triumph T-120 Bonneville and 650 Bonneville(Early Jumps)

After racing off-road most of my life I find myself at a loss here… What exactly is a "Semi Pro"?

I professional semi truck driver?

A pro that only gets paid part of the time?

99.9% of all sanctioning bodies I've raced with and am familiar with basically break the classes up into C (or beginner), B (novice), A (expert) & Pro or AA (money class). A few run both AA and Pro with the AA being a trophy paying class for fast riders who want to retain their amature status.

Most organizations will allow anyone off the street to sign up in the faster classes, especially and in particularly the pro/money class, so the easiest answer to your question is simple.

Go sign up.

Then, unless your a truely gifted rider whom the likes of come around one in a life time, be prepared to have your ass handed to you on a platter. These guys don't play. In fact, I'm convienced that most of them change into thier riding gear in phone booths… (Look! Up in the sky! …)

Train, ride, race. Repeat.

If your good, folks will notice. If your average, the worse thing that can happen is you have a ball and spend a wad of money.

Good luck!

1924 in britain or south england.it was called a scramble velocetto was the bike it had a 250cc two stroke engine. 80 bikes started 40 finished.

Well I would honestly think its not about the bike being fastest as it is the rider. If someone is stronger and more technically sound than other riders he would probably be faster.

You also have to consider do you want to put all your money into the lightest weight bike out there and take the chance that you break it as your learning to ride or do you want to go with a heavier bike and let it stand up to the abuse but slow you down a bit because of the weight. You have to take all of this into consideration, since I'm not really into dirt bike racing I really don't know a lot of the lines out there so I can't really recommend anything. Might try asking other BMX racers out there what they are racing on to get their opinions.

Or if your looking for questions on MOTORcycle dirt bikes you might want to try the MOTORcycle section since this is the bicycle area.

Depends where you are riding and how big you are. I had a KX125, and it was great. I rode on mountain bike trails and powerlines. I had no problems handling it, so I thought a 250 would be no problem either. I sold it, and bought a KDX220. It was a little bigger and heaver, but had more power and was more of a trail bike as opposed to a motocross, so I figured there would be no problem handling it. But it was just too heavy for me. I could handle it going fast on straightaways, but going slow on narrow trails around trees was a problem. I'm 6' tall, but I only weigh about 150. If you're getting back into it and not riding all the time, I would recommend a 125 or 250F.

If you are serious about dirt bike racing etc……..ask the riders at a race meeting about their experience and go from there….If you just want a dirt bike for riding around local fields etc then take advice from the bike shop as you would not need anything special.

I Used Kawasaki its a Kool raceing Kid…
but Expencive maintance.

Yahama is the best for OF road drive..

But… HONDA is all over the best. in all waysss. I love it I Already have Honda CG-125 and not can STOP ME!!

Simply……please may i have a dirt bike………!

Those bike are apples and oranges. First off there is a big difference between the size of a KX65 and an 85 so you should already know which of those two fits you. A 65 is generally for someone under 10 years of age or so. The Kawasaki KX line is an all out race bike. The Honda CRF-F line is a play bike. You cannot compare the two. If you are planning to race get the KX, if you plan to trail/play ride get the CRF.