Ask Ping!
Friday, May 20, 2011 | 9:10 AM
ODI dates back to the 1980’s as the leader in grip manufacturing. Focusing primarily on the bmx and mountain bike industries through the 90’s and early 2000’s, ODI re-entered the motocross scene when they developed the patented lock-on grip system that eliminates wire and glue. Continuing to advance the way riders hold on to their bikes, ODI has worked closely with the teams they support such as Troy Lee Designs to create the product that is now being used by some of the top teams in the industry.
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Ping,
I guess I should start off by getting the usual stuff out of the way; I'm a wussy, if I can't take the heat I should stay out of the kitchen, golf would be better for me, etc. That being said, I just finished reading the injury report from racerxonline.com and it's shocking to see how many and how severe the injuries are to SX riders. I know there is a small percentage of 'gore' people who like wrecks and then go home and rent Saw movies, but I think that is a small percentage. Most of us would feel much better walking away from a stadium without feeling sad for the young men and mature boys who just shattered their vertebrae, wrists, pelvis, leg bones, etc. They don't have to go to those extremes to entertain the majority of us.
Thankfully most of the local tracks get it and have a more common sense set up that knows most of us have to be able to walk to work the next day. Why can't some kind of common-sense approach be used in SX? I'm going to ask for your opinion in a minute, but my opinion is that SX doesn't need to move towards an eventual double back flip coming out of turn three. I know that the young riders are tough and they know they can do these jumps. We as spectators also know these same riders crash and destroy their bodies and futures in front of us and it's an ugly thing to watch.
If you were instructed to use your vast knowledge and insight, whether you wanted to or not, is there any kind of solution here that you can think of besides telling people like me to quit paying attention?
Fat man on a little bike,
John B.
St. Helens, Oregon
Must be a motocross guy.
I appreciate your concern for the well-being of the athletes who make supercross such a great show. I’m not going to call you a wuss or insult your masculinity or tell you that maybe you should chat with your primary physician about checking your testosterone levels because you come off a little fruity and sensitive. I’m not going to do that. You have a sincere compassion for the riders and their safety and that is just sweet as pie.
The thing is, supercross tracks have actually become tamer in the last decade. In my opinion, the technicality and difficulty peaked around 2000 or 2001. They had whoops that would literally swallow you up if you dropped in and they even toyed with transforming triples into quads. They had a quad at Anaheim in 2000 that was probably over 100 feet long. Since then, whoops have gotten smaller and safety has become a priority when designing and building tracks. The injury report may not show it, but the guys at Feld and Dirt Wurx make every effort to keep the riders safe all season long. I’ve said before that whoop sections should be on the exit of tight, slow corners and never after a triple or a section where riders have speed built up. That is just bad design. Right-hand first turns don’t work (ask Villopoto) and usually cause crashes, but they rarely show up anymore. All in all, I think they do a great job of blending safety and entertainment. The injuries just come with the territory. It sucks, but that’s how it is.
PING
Ping,
What ever happened to J-Law? Is he going to ever race again or is he doing five to ten in the pen?
J-Law 2013?
I haven’t heard of any new stints in jail or ear biting sessions or anything else. I really haven’t heard anything. The rumor is that he is going to be racing this season for the ARMA Energy/Suzuki City/Nitro Circus team aboard an RM-Z450 with number 54, but I’ll believe it when I see it. I would be less surprised to see him working at Chevron. The dude has skills if he can ever get his poop in a group. Again, the gig at Chevron seems more likely.
PING
Dear Mr.Pingree, im 15 and im really struggling with mx when i read your column i see a lot of people asking for relationship advice a lot but im just wanting some advice on moto. i spend every day riding week days i come home ride till sundown on weekends ill head to the track and race. im not gonna say im a terrible racer but im not the best ether and i accept that 100% my problem is deciding which way to go in mx do i stick with racing or break off to fmx. the reason im questioning this is because i dont get noticed very much like once out of 15 races someone will come up to me but...how do i get noticed more and what road for mx do i take? i ride a 2007 yamaha ttr125L and my family just cant afford a bigger bike so...any advice for any of this would be greatly appreciated. sincerely John Burchfield sp;
$50 says this moron hits a tree.
I’m really not sure where to start here, John. I have to be honest, I can’t see you cleaning house at Loretta’s this summer on a TTR125. I also can’t see you jumping more than about 12 feet off an FMX booter without snapping that little trail bike of yours in half. I know bikes aren’t cheap, but maybe if you sold that thing, mowed some lawns and begged your parents, you could get a YZ125. That would be a much better start. I can’t tell you which way to go with motocross, but I will suggest that you don’t lose sight of the reason you ride in the first place… for fun. Not everyone makes it to the professional level and that’s okay. Enjoy your time on the track and the rest of that stuff will work itself out.
PING
Got a question for Ping? E-mail him at [email protected]. You can also support his retirement by going to www.motocross101.com and buying a few of his DVDs.
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Check out LAST NIGHT
in our Latest issue of Racer X available now.
Ryan Villopoto may have locked up his 450SX title a week early, but the 2013 Monster Energy Supercross Championship finale still had drama and excitement to spare. Page 124.
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pry my favorite. not because they were the funniest but because he showed that he can also take a question seriously with out ruining the kids dreams.
still my favorite mx personality.
FREE J-LAW!! hahahahaah i actually hope he does good this weekend. he's an idiot but he makes things interesting...remember how he used to jack with RD when they were on 250's? Even RV Park would crack a smile on the gate listening to it.. we'll see how it goes.. I guess The Dunge is getting the last laugh right now though
Ping has a hint of journalistic ability that seems so lost in todays mx scene. And Ping is spot on with the advice to the TTR rider......
In response to John B. about the mx tracks being safer; I don't think it would matter a whole lot if the tracks were more tame. Riders always find ways to get faster lap times and try crazier things on the tracks. Point in case would be Stewart and Windham in Vegas. That probably wasn't the intention when the track makers laid out the format, but they found a way to step it up. Anything to be faster.
Hey pump me in 2 gallon of tecron 91 for ping, Say, aren't you the guy that
fought off and on the track more then rode the bike?
Poop in a group.... love it. I'll be using that one with my coworkers and kids. Thanks Ping. Nice write ups this week.
Please do not use "RV Park" in reference to me. Acceptable names are the following:
RV2
RV1
Poto
Villy
Villomoto
Killomoto
Fast Mutha Trucka
The shorter the time frame in racing the more urgent the risk. If you wanted to see
some real carnage lay out a course without jumps or hoops and make it 8 minutes.
We all remember how RC had those battles in Supercross then destroyed everyone outdoors especially on rough tracks.
RV2 is my favorite just as RC4 is. Thanks for all the Supercross memories this year and coming to Hangtown just to see you ride that track on a 450.
Always a laugh.
Last year there was a quad at the ATL supercross. It had a forgiving landing and didn't seem to cause any more harm than an ordinary triple. Not that I would have jumped it . . .
Good advice to the young man on the TTR.
As far as the injuries, the problem is not as much the track design as it is that the bikes have simply advanced too far.
a 450 at a supercross track is like a 600 road racer at your local kiddie go cart track.
The entry level class should be a 150 class for two stroke or four stroke bikes.
The premier class shhould be on 250 F machines.
Racing would be tighter and the injuries would be cut drastically.
I think there are too many jumps on supercross tracks. But then a gain, I really don't care for supercross racing all that much. I still watch it tho' because it's racing. I'd like to see a whole new format to supercross. How about two motos like the outdoors? Real racing starts this weekend....which is what I have been waiting for all winter.
joe, I disagree on the 250F as the premier class machine.
The riders would be pushing that bike so hard the injuries would more than likely stay the same, or increase. 450s may be too much, but KTM and their 350 could be on to something; maybe even update the YZ400's design. Either way, the top local guys and national pros seem to be throwing down on 450s just fine.
They aren't riding because they want to entertain you..they are riding because its what they love to do and have done it their whole life and can now make a living doing it. Not 1 person out there doesn't understand the risks they are taking..
You could make a track full of singles, someone is still going to eat it dragging bars off the face trying to scrub to go faster, or casing it and flipping when they try to double or triple the singles that were built.. and these days with the crap economy guys have to push it to get a pay check... sad but the injuries arent going away regardless. try golf.
All this RD5 and RV2 stuff really is geekish. What about VillaZilla the Crowd Thrillah, or Trey "Golgotha" Canard? We could also have Chad "Ice" Reed, and Kevin "whippersnapper" Windham as well. The PR people need to inject some personality into their charge's handles...
I agree with the injury part on supercross. First thing that frustrates me is the way tracks are built. Narrow, one line, jumpocross. Decoster said years ago that there would be headon with tracks being built right next to each other. Frustrating to see a track built with unused floor space. Make the damn thing wider, maybe you will get more lines. I agree with the need for multiple moto format. I will not pay $75 dollars for a 15 minute race. Could care less about opening ceremony BS. I laugh when I hear the big pros say I got tired toward the end!!!!!!!!!. I had arm pump!!!!!!!!. Ask Decoster about 45 minute outdoor motos times two. Eventually supercross will have a start line and a finish line . Jump everthing in between and you have the winner. Circuscross.
Too the young guy with the TTR150L, Just enjoy yourself buddy. Its why we do this anyway. Make sure your grades are good, that comes first. And then have fun. If you can, get a job and save some money, When you get a good pile, sell your bike and find a new one. BUT JUST HAVE FUN..
I really believe alot of the track maintenance is to make the night of racing longer. If you go to a race and pay attention, the track will get groomed after the first four motos. Then again after each LCQ. Then in between the two mains. That makes the night of racing 3 plus hours long when it really is about 45 minutes to an hour of actual racing. Like I said, I love racing. But I DVR the supercrosses now and watch just the racing. I really don't give a sh!t about the pit party coverage! Directv should be the title sponsor.
LOL @ BigUglyManiac... "Golgotha"... hilarious!
Ping, good advice for the 15 year old. Clearly he needs a reality check. Only other thing you could have said was "Pay attention in school, especially English, especially punctuation."
@Villopoto... what about Viillopodium?
Wow Ping was very humble with the TTR kid. I just knew he was about to tear him apart. Go ping
Pings response to Mr. Burchfield and his TTR125 was Fn Perfect! As I was reading the letter I was picturing in my mind a really fast 15 year old tearing up the tracks and busting out big air and whips all over the place, but just not quite finishing in the top 3 even though he was working his ass off. Then comes the desire to perhaps focus more on FMX. Makes sense, alot of FMX guys are fast as hell on the track, but perhaps aren't the fastest.
Then BOOM! Here's come the "I ride a TTR125 statement". My whole image of young 15 year old tearing it up just gets torn to shreads :-(.
Mr. Burchfield needs to get a text book on grammar and punctuation. Learn the language or get out!
Favorites (click) Racer X (click) Let's see...Hangtown...Justin Brayton...MotoConcepts bla bla bla...40 Day Countdown (again?)...ASK PING, YES!!!
I would like to lodge a complaint with RacerX.
With regret, I must demand my money back from this free article; it simply wasn't bad enough and didn't have any satirical wisdom, putdowns, or the normal fine display of toolmanship. I opened the article in good faith, expecting the normal disaster. Imagine my disappointment when it was good. The first writer bore an eerie resemblance to a skipping record, but, sirs, this was not enough. A catastrophe I expected and a catastrophe I expected to see. One concedes that it is not all the Ping's fault. Being subject to both the wit and intellectual deficiency of the writers-in is a dangerous business. However, I feel that I, and several other innocent parties, were tricked into reading this article, and, against our will, forced to endure an enjoyable one. I'm sure I speak for many when I say I exit this page wholly dissatisfied with how incredibly satisfied I felt.
Good article, Ping. ;o)
I can't believe people are still complaining about the "RV2" stuff. They're not nicknames, people; THEY'RE INITIALS, with a number stuck on in case there's two riders with the same initials.
There's probably a great chance this trend originated on message boards and comment sections. Half the people on here can't even spell Villopoto--they spell it Villapoto or Villipoto or Villypotoe. How do you think they'll handle it when Adam Cianciarulo turns pro? Not too well is my prediction.
As for real nicknames, try Ryan "Villofrodo", Kevin "Wind Over My Hammy," or Josh "'Sup guys I'm A Massive Douche" Grant.
Or try my personal favorite, Butt Metcalfe.
Let me know what gas station J Flaw is going to be working so i can warn customers to cover their ears from being bit off ! LOL.
Just remeber, if you have to put a helment on, before doing something, your doing something STUPID !
when you push the edge, sometimes you will get hurt.
Also how many times have all of us went out to ride, and said, I'm just going to cruse today? Then your buddy passes you, then it's on! Brain shut's off, wrist twist!
Hey John "Fat Man" B,
The fact that you are a quivering fear freak was not lost on the insurance companies, who control track design to a high degree. From your local motocross track to Supercross, the insurance dweebs hold the sport down. You might notice at your local motocross track that there are these big, weak tabletops. Thank the insurance company that underwrites the motocross promoter. They are the ones with nads that resemble ticks. What used to be doubles, triples and quads are generally filled in from peak to peak to form tabletops.
Now go get a big spoonful of creamed carrots, you nutless wonder.
And as for you, Burchfield, listen and listen good.
I assume your letter to Ping was the fabrication of a jokester or a madman, but for an exercise in postioning my fingers on the home row of my keyboard, let me tell you a few things. Do you want the 125 that Ping wisely advised that you procure? I'm about to tell you how you can do it.
Certainly you were joking about racing that bike. You don't race, you GET raced. I don't think you actually pay the entry fees and race in sanctioned races. You're just going out and riding around some kind of trail or track, but not with numbers on your plates, not abiding by a sanctioning body's rules and racing for points.
That said, it's time for you to get serious. If you do this, riding will become ten times more fun. Want that 125? Here's how you can do it. Here's how I got the bike of my dreams when I was your age.
At some point, when I was about 14 years old, almost 15, I decided there would be no more excuses. I would ride the bike of my dreams.
I pushed the lawn mower around the corner to the next street and knocked on the first door I came to. When the lady of the house answered, I said, "I'll mow your front yard for a dollar."
She replied something like this: "Well, I already have a guy who mows my lawn, but hey, even if you do a bad job it's worth a dollar. Go ahead!" I mowed her front yard in 15 minutes. Then I knocked on her door again.
"I'll mow your back yard for a dollar!" She looked around, saw that her front yard was mowed well, and said, "Okay, do it!" In 15 minutes, it was done. I knocked on her door again.
"I'll wash the outside of your car for a dollar!" She told me to go ahead. I washed her car, then knocked on the door again. "I'll clean the inside of your car for a dollar!" Yes was the answer once more.
And so I would go, through the sweltering heat, earning my dream machine one dollar at a time.
Nowadays the amount you charge would be higher, but you catch my drift. I got practically every single job I bid on, and made money all day long. Before I knew it, my roost-o-matic was in my hands, and before I knew it, I led the points in the local sanctioning body in the 250 Expert class when I was still 15.
Get rid of the TTR, get a serious game plan, don't take no for an answer, and make it happen. Are you ready to absolutely go out there and do it, no B.S. about it? Your future is in your own hands. I believe in you! After you get that 125, practice until you get used to it, then go to actual sanctioned, real races, pay the entry fee and race! Your skills will skyrocket much faster than ever before! You'll jump high and far! Believe me when I tell you, you're playing yourself trying to ride that soft-sprung, gutless TTR. You'll never learn to jump or go fast on that thing. You will become a whole new rider on a 125 two stroke motocross race bike, and you can find them at a great price used.
If you charged $5 for each of the things I used to charge $1 for, in one day you can make $100. If you took the money from selling your TTR and combined it with the money you earn, how long would it take to have $2500 in your hands? Do the math and believe in yourself, Burchfield.
I wanna see racing and passing not jumping and crashes. Present courses force riders to pass in corners which is the only place where your rear wheel is on the ground causing lots of crashes. When the top racers in the world have an injury list as long as your arm things are out of control. Max bike size should be 300cc. Just about all forms of racing have had to reduce engine size/output to counter tech advancements for safety. While I am on the soap box, get rid of those expensive 4 strokes and bring back clean, easy to work on, cheap, FI 2 strokes. I feel better already.......
Jairtime,
I worked for other promoters for 10 years and have run over 400 race events of my own.
Not sure where you get your info, but I have never had an insurance company inspect a track other than pictures of fences showing setbacks and other details relating to spectators.
I suspect even professional events are only reveiewed to make sure there are steps taken to keep bikes from going into spectator areas.
I seriously doubt they have ever told dirtwurks that an obstacle needs to be changed based on how it effects participants.
I've worked with promoters in the '80s who complained that if they didn't change the tracks to include more tabletops instead of doubles or triples, the insurance company that covered their races would jack the rates up.
Gotta agree somewhat with joe. The 450 is a beast and is way too much bike for the stadiums. On top of this when the bike lands on you bones break everywhere. Fonsecas spine was actually bent from the 450. Ktm tried to introduce the 350 thinking this displacement would work good for sx but it continues to get killed from the 450's. We kind of screwed ourselves with the heavier bone breaking 4 stroke. Not sure what the answer is but maybe a weight limit might help. Whatever cc's you could cram in a 170 pound bike for example.
Name for Trey Canard: "Holy Duck".
With Jlaw missing from Hangtown, I am guessing he may be in Italy with the cast from Jersey shore !