Ask Ping!
Friday, August 26, 2011 | 10:45 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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Hey Ping,
Long time reader, first time writer. Always love the quick wit and humor you come out with. So, what is the deal with Stewart and Brooks? Do you know the truth? Do you think it may have lent a hand to him not winning the SX title?
Cheers,
Luke Rowan (Canada)
I’d like to take this opportunity to clear things up about Larry Brooks. There is no lawsuit going on. I made a comment about legal issues between the two parties in last week’s column and immediately felt the wrath of Larry’s texting fingers. He was irritated that I was making assumptions and not acting like a professional journalist. I assured him that I’m no journalist and in this column I rarely act like a professional. Still, if he says there is no lawsuit, I believe him. Here is what we do know: Larry and James decided it was better to part ways. James is operating his own team now. Larry is starting a new team to be announced when his “family time” comes to an end. Honestly, this is all I know. Only JBS knows if the distractions during the season affected his performance. Remember though, this guy lives with Eric Sorby, the ultimate distraction, and let TV crews follow him around all year so he is used to chaos. Still, a stable and calm environment is certainly better than losing your manager mid-season and dealing with more drama than the Kardashians. Maybe next year he’ll have things settled down.
PING
Hey Ping, how's it going? First, a brief background on myself: I'm an old school MX-er and longtime MX fan from the Rick Johnson/Jeff Ward/Broc Glover/David Bailey days. I used to race MX at Carlsbad Raceway and I also raced desert races out in District 38 (Ocotillo Wells, CA). Now, I'm old, semi-fat, and pasty white. Currently, I ride a stock 2006 CRF450 (at relatively meager speeds) and my passion for riding dirt bikes goes way back. Additionally, I'm a former law enforcement officer and served as a city cop for about ten years, which leads me into the topic of this e-mail. As I cop, I saw a lot of crazy and wild things. However, I'm not sure I've seen anything as off-the wall as what you'll see in the photo I'm sending you. A fellow law enforcement buddy of mine snapped this gem near Tacoma, WA, about a week ago. He subsequently posted it on his Facebook page. As soon as I saw the pic, I knew it was destined for your laptop at Racer X. Now, I've been reading your weekly 'Ask Ping' segment for a long time and I understand the Q and A format. Typically, the Q and A ratio limit is 1:1, but every once in a while, readers bombard you with 'multi-question' e-mails which you so kindly answer. Well, doesn't the attached photo raise a multitude of questions? For instance, how did the driver/owner get the bike on top of his chariot? Did he use a crane? Did he have a couple of gym-rat buddies dead lift it onto the roof? (Based on the missing paint on the passenger side door, I suspect this is a possible scenario.) Also, is the embarrassment of this setup worth the fun of a good day's ride? (I say yes.) More debatable, does owning a Husaberg and a Miata together mean anything? Although I wasn't a state trooper, I suspect this guy is violating some sort of traffic statute listed in the RCW (Revised Code of Washington)....don't ya think? Nevertheless, as a patrol officer, if I came across this setup, I'd just smile and let him be on his way.....because I know what the addiction of MX can do to a man! Anyway, feel free to visually analyze this transportation arrangement so that you may offer a personal diagnosis of the awesomeness contained therein!
Cheers,
Craig Wattson
Vancouver, WA (So. Cal. transplant)
PS...From one public safety person to another…good luck with your Firefighter/Paramedic career! Much respect!
Really? A Husaberg on a Miata, Really?
I guess I’ve been spending too much time at Wal Mart because this type of hot mess doesn’t even shock me anymore. Seriously, this whole scene just screams, “Hey, everybody, look at what a complete disaster I am! Yeah, that’s right… I’m rocking a Miata with a Husaberg on top of it. Suck on it!” And yet, for some reason, I’m completely unmoved. I guess I’m more perplexed by the car/bike pairing. Every Husaberg owner I’ve known drives a beat up truck at least a decade old. And every Miata owner I’ve met is either a 17-year-old girl or a charter member of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance. This match is the equivalent of a Sierra Club leader driving a monster truck to work. Or a Prius owner throwing trash out his window as he drives down the freeway. Things just don’t add up. Maybe he borrowed his girlfriend’s car? To that I say: Why are you dating a 17 year-old? Maybe he stole the bike? To that I say: That still doesn’t explain why you are driving a Miata.
Thanks for the entertaining pic.
PING
Ping,
Will you ask Davey Coombs if I will ever be able to watch an AMA Outdoor National Motocross race without having to drive 8 hours to Budds Creek from upstate SC? Do you think the reason Davey has no races in the Southeast is because of the success of his sisters and Jeff Russell’s GNCC series and he is afraid that she might beat him up for stepping on her turf? Any help would be appreciated, I'm gettin' to old to drive 8 hours for a motocross race.
Thanks,
Danhutch in upstate South Carolina
Googled Alabama motocross and this popped up: The worlds nastiest butt whip, circa 1978 Flying Wheels MX Park
Due to his busy schedule I get about as much face time with DC as I do with the pope. But I think I can safely answer both of your questions on this one without clearing them with the boss. First, I can confirm that fear is an issue. Carrie Jo is a shark of an attorney and if she decided she wanted to own you then she could probably make it happen. I’m afraid and I live on the opposite coast. Secondly, I know DC would like to add an event in the southeast. There is a huge void down there and for a couple years I’ve heard rumblings about Alabama or something in that area. The problem is that he can’t just add an additional round. In order for a race to be added, one has to be removed. None of the facilities want to give up their spot so it’s a tough situation. Have you considered air travel? In 60 minutes you could be landing in DC or Baltimore and cut your travel time significantly. Just watch out for the TSA guy with the wandering hands. #awkward
PING
Got a question for Ping? E-mail him at [email protected].
P.S. If you haven’t already, purchase a copy of his Motocross 101 DVD at www.motocross101.com. His children’s educations are counting on it.
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LOL good as always
if i had a bike on top a miata i would kick my own a$$
Loading ramp in the passenger seat.
Whew! I was a little worried there for a second that there wasn't going to be an Ask Ping! column today. That would have seriously and simultaneously depressed, pissed, irritated, annoyed, and confused me.
Long live Ping, may he continue to write about our sport.
OK that Miata and Husaberg or whatever leaves no expanation maybe Ping did it best? No I wont tell you about the time I hauled my 72 DT 100 Yamaha all the way from Northeast corner of MO to Aamogordo New Mexico on the rear bumper of a 1970 Ford XLT 2 door on vacation and got back to find out the frame on the xlt was broke? nope I never told you that story. It is a figament of you imagination.
Well Ping as always you have some pretty good stories and I like your comments. Keeeep up the good work here and in the Racer X Mag!
I thought DC has said there will be a National in the SE next season. I sure hope so!
High Point and Steel City are an hour apart in PA. One of them has to go.
@ping, you are familiar LEMX, well a guy rolls in with a Hummer and two bikes on the top. They had a which that lifted the bikes up and off the top. Well was that guy cool or what? Just kidding! What a frickin dweeb,
@Welker, I remember the old days at Saddleback guys would roll in with backs of cars cut out, just to load there bikes in. If it wasn't an EL Camino yet, when they got done torching it, it was. I used to think it was funny, bu now realize guys will go through great lenghts to follow their passion.
I agree about one thing, High Point and Steel City are only an hour apart, and if you are going to take away a National, that is the fair place to do it. But I hope they dont do that and take another out west. I am sick of the powers that be thinking everything needs to go west. The largest crowds are Mid-west and East coast. Look at Atlanta, huge supercross crowds. And the biggest National is Red Bud in southern Michinga, about 15 minutes from the Indiana line. There is well over 40,000 there every year. The Southeast NEEDS a National, it is only right, and they need to pull a few supercrosses from Cali. and take one east. Syracuse would be a good spot. they have a huge indoor stadium.
@ I knew a guy who worked with my wife who made fun of another co-worker who drove a Miata, called him alot of names behind his back, nerd, dork , all kinds of stuff, until he found out he was sleeping with his wife. True story, his wife cheated on him with a guy who drove a miata, sad!!
a hehehehe
BD200- If only the guy had driven a truck it wouldn't have been that bad. Knowing that his alimony is going towards service bills on a Miata is soul crushing.
I’ve seen some pretty interesting rides to the races over the year. My favorite is the guy who rolls in on a Gold Wing, pulling a single rail trailer.
I knew someone back on the day who would stuff two bikes, gear, and many tools and spares into the old-style VW microbus. You didn’t want to be behind him on a hilly road. He’d be lucky to be going 30 mph at the top of big climb.
Someone I knew pretty well rolled in on a Pinto with his bike on a bumper carrier. That wasn’t that unusual, but what was cool was that he kicked everyone’s butt in the 125 Expert (A) class that day, beating a lot of bigger budget “motorhome guys”. Good memories.
If the owner Miata had replaced the motor with a Viper V10, then I could completely understand... Stock fourbanger - then he bust ve fromn ze faderland or ze Austria und live near das Oystersvistern
Yougoforesale, we may have seen the same dude. Rolls up on a nice white wing pulling a nice CR 500 on a single rail trailer.
Guys,
Back in the day (2004) I bought a 1979 Chevy C10 van for $200. Doo doo brown!!!
It was in such a bad state that when I put my 03 and 04 125SX's it dropped and blew the rear tires!!!! the engine cover inside was craked and the heat burned my right foot.
Those memories are never going to fade, the love for MX took made me drive that at up van everywhere!! I even cut the side door and put hinges to prop it up instead of regular slide. I had to buy a 98 cavalier seat and weld it to the seat frame!
It was a super dooper custom POS, but it took me ridin! Good life!!
Just wondering about the 'butt whip' picture. What direction did that guy come from? Doesn't look like he could get any air unless he came up that hill !!
hahaha!!! BD200, that is a doozy!!!!!
The top of a Miata is no taller than the back of my pickup bed.
Why are some soooo afraid to think outside of the box?
I think it's cool.
Hey, maybe we could get Mrs. Lynn to open up one extra weekend a year!!! Justasayin...
Im just wondering: Isn't that buttwhip on a Husaberg? Im pretty sure there is a white Miata parked next to the track...
I stuffed my '87 CR500 in the trunk of my Volvo 740 a couple times. Ya gotta do whatever it takes sometimes when you're in a pinch!
Monster Mountain in Alabama is a Pro-caliber track and more than capable of holding a national. The problem is that it is in Alabama and the nationals run from May to September. The surgeon general has advised AGAINST being outdoors in the southeast during those months. You could get heat stroke just unloading your bike out of the truck.
If 'old school' MX'er is from the time Johnson, Ward, Glover and Bailey, what are we that raced TM 400 Suzuki's against Barry Higgens (of course got lapped a couple or maybe 3 times) before making jump to Maico's?
LOL BD200.. Thats Classic!!. Guy was prolly thinkin laugh all ya want I am banging your wife dumb ass
What you drive says a lot about you. Driving a Miada says, "I'm not afraid of decapitation".
Word on the street here in NC is that DC was looking near Morganton NC to hold a national. They already have a GNCC at this location. The way I understood it was that the deal was done and the property owner backed out. Would have constructed a brand new track on the property.
Who knows? Hear alot of rumors.
Maico25 - Does that make us a fossil?
You, sir, are either a hero or a dammed fool for racing a TM400. I remember riding a friend's TM400 - thought I was going to die. Although I must had a deat wish because I rode it many times. I guess at 12 years old I figured I was immortal. My brothers '78 MC400 - now there was an awesome machine. Loved racing that bike.
@Maico25...we are the guys who raced against Wyman Priddy, Danny Doss, Jeff Kring, Steve Stackable, Kent Howerton. Ya we got lapped, but Lake Whitney, Mosier Valley, Austin Motocross Park, Azle, Rio Bravo those were real motocross tracks!!!!!! Now thats old school........
Get rid of Pala! gogogo!
I saw a guy roll into dayton mtorcycle club for a mx race in the 80's,he had the front wheel of his kx125 in the trunk and the back wheel on the road rolling.His tire was toast when he got there,he did at least take the chain off.
Thumbs up on monster mountain .It is an awesome track but needs some infrastructure to hold a national.
You give Monster Mtn a national and we have people in place that can fix the "infrastructure" thing. Barbers has more money and with that probably more pull. Maybe just not enough intrest. I heard DC went there before to scope things out and feel the people out?? Big Daddy MacWilliams has put Millcreek on the map with the Spring Classic, maybe he can make something happen for us? I would enjoy a national 30 min from the house. Or even a couple of hours!
Point is we need a National SOMEWHERE in the SE!!!!!
why cant they add a national? there's been one race in the last month. loretta's is an excuse for one weekend. ponca is not an excuse. what was last weekends excuse. still recovering from unadilla???
I guess there will be a lot of Miatas for sale after that comment. I still want one, they remind me of the original Lotus sports car Chapman sold over here in the sixties. I not a girl, not 17 and not gay. Does that make me a bad person?
It all boils down to greed! its, absolutly unacceptable that the to biggest mx markets,cali,they have thiers.The southeast doesnt have national.there are so many tracks n.florida georgia n.c .s.c. etc. gatorback,aonia,monster,pellcity on and on.my guess is the parties involed cant come to terms.i am willing to bet attendance would be record setting!
i'm a gay and drive a Miata.....you'll never see me on a dam Husaberg!!!!!
+1 on getting rid of pala - They have no idea how to park cars, the track is lame, any motorcross park that adds a pool w/ fake grass should be shut down.
Makes changing the Husaberg's oil a breeze...
I once put a Maico in the trunk and back seat of a Nova. {Some reassembly required.)
Talking about men with a passion taking no prisoners to go and ride. Try crossing the Brenner Pass in the Alps from Germany to Italy in a '81 VW Passat wagon sporting a 55hp Diesel engine, a trailer with two bikes, a complete camping kit for a weeks stay, gear for two, spare tires, tool box and so on and so forth. That sucker blew a Diesel cloud so thick it wasn't even funny. The cool thing is that if a cop was to give us a ticket for pollution he wouldn't even have ask us to stop because he could walk right by the driver's window while I was forcing the accellerator pedal straight for the oil pan. Yeah, thats right now we are talking speed!