Top Secret
Communication from the Top Brass.
January 17, 2008
Why do four-stroke riders get so mad....
...when you mention anything about two-strokes?
Could it be that they know in their hearts that the two-stroke is better? Or could it be that they never could race a two-stroke well and the easy-to-ride four-stroke makes them feel like real racers? Maybe they need anger management courses?
And it does not matter how many facts are quoted or who says that comparable sized two-strokes are faster than the four-strokes, these guys act as though you killed their dog! It would be funny if they were not so serious and angry.
I posted some tidbits containing facts and not my opinion on some of the message boards and the four-stroke guys freaked out. Some of these small news clips will be repeated here for you to use when talking to your four-stroke brothers.
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The first is a letter written to Motocross Action magazine. A reader wrote in to ask why MXA defended two-strokes so much, here is the letter in it's entirety.
Dear MXA
Why does MXA always defend the two-stroke? It's obvious that four-strokes are better than two-strokes.
The rise of the four-stroke has nothing to do with four-strokes being better than two-strokes. In fact, they aren't better than two-strokes.
The two-stroke is the ultimate racing engine. A two-stroke engine weighs less, has fewer moving parts, has a significantly reduced maintenance cost, revs quicker, is cheaper to manufacture and produces more horsepower per liter than a four-stroke.
So, why are four-strokes dominating now? Politics and displacement.
Under AMA rules, four-strokes are allowed to be almost twice the size of a comparable two-stroke. It is comparable to allowing Lennox Lewis to fight for the Featherweight World Championship.
Without the extra displacement, no one would be racing a four-stroke today.
The italics and bolding are mine but all the words are directly from MXA.
The guys from MXA have been in the motocross industry for over 35 years. They don't mince words and at one time or another each and every manufacturer has stopped advertising with them.
While not everyone agrees with the guys from MXA, they do care about motocross and want to see it grow and thrive.
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The next tidbit is from an interview on Racer X online with Rick Johnson and David Bailey. The talk was centered around the Anaheim throwback race. They were asked a bunch of questions about the 1986 race, the track and how today compares with everything back then.
Here is one question posed by David Pingree for Racer X to both of them, but I have only included David Bailey's answer here.
Tell me about your bike back then. How would it compare to a production bike of today?
DB: It was lighter and handled nice. The suspension was much softer. The power was so temperamental; you had to make the power. A 450 now you just gas it and the power is there. You don’t even need to have a finger on the clutch anymore.
The bike does more of the work now. You really had to ride the bike hard back then; it’s a lost art form. That isn’t too take anything away from the guys today because the way they are riding them is incredible. It was just different back then and I liked the technical aspect of riding those bikes.
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The next one is from Dirt Bike magazine online and is a poll on who people think is killing the two-stroke. The questions are listed below along with the answers as of January 17th, 2008.
WHO IS KILLING THE TWO-STROKE?
*State and Federal government - 346 (33.86%)
*Japanese manufacturers - 178 (17.42%)
*The AMA - 239 (23.39%)
*The motorcycle media - 84 (8.22%)
*Four-strokes are--they're just superior - 131 (12.82%)
*Who cares? Two-strokes are fossils - 44 (4.31%)
Total Replies : 1022
The AMA has pulled a fast one on this. They have bamboozled the manufacturers into believing that the EPA is responsible. But truthfully closed course racing (in this case motocross) is not regulated by the EPA.
Could you imagine emission controls on Formula One, NHRA or NASCAR? The EPA has a very long and difficult road if they want to introduce legislation for closed course racing.
Could you imagine the good old boys from NASCAR dealing with the EPA? The fans would be another story all together. Protesting and letter writing campaigns would spring up everywhere.
The old guard at the AMA love the old four-strokes and for a long time appeared that they hated motocross. They have apparently done everything in their power to destroy it.
In the stadiums and outdoor events far less fans attend the races. At the local level the attendance and participation are way down. Riding areas and tracks are being closed down due to noise issues.
Something must be done to correct this or motocross as we know it will disappear.
What can we do? First write to the AMA, the manufacturers and the motocross media and tell them we NEED quieter bikes. Also, let them know that you will only buy two-stroke motocross bikes. Tell everyone you know that two-strokes are the bike of choice for motocross.
Let's get out there and stand up for what is truthfully the best power plant on the planet for motocross. If you attend Pro Supercross or Motocross races bring signs supporting two strokes. And chant as loudly as you can over the thundering four-bangers "BRING BACK TWO STROKES"!
Together we can change the world!
November 12, 2007
Have you sent an e-mail to the AMA regarding what should be done about the unfairness of their current rules? If not send it to oneama@ama-cycle.org
Here is the letter that the General sent.
Dear Rob Dingman
I have extremely high hopes for the AMA with you at the helm. Although I must admit to being skeptical of any real change happening. The AMA has a long history of not doing what is best for the sport. I sincerely hope that this changes under your guidance.
My comments and suggestions are about Motocross racing. They are made as a fan, racer and AMA member who cares about the sport as a whole.
First and foremost the AMA has a serious image problem. Unfortunately this has been brought about by many questionable decisions and bad calls on the part of the AMA. In fact at times it seemed as though the AMA hated Motocross and was doing everything possible to destroy it. That is not a very positive light to be seen in.
Consistency of Rules - This seems to be the biggest problem overall. It seems there are multiple sets of rules and they are applied differently depending on the influence of the party affected by the rule infraction.
Many pro racer friends complained about transponders not working when qualifying for National events. This is horrible. Whether this is a mechanical issue or outright cheating on the part of the AMA officials at the track is not known. But I'm sure it would not happen to any of the superstars and if it did the AMA would issue a new transponder and allow them an additional qualifying session. The officials ignored the "working class" racers paying their own way.
Fuel Rule - This one is a killer for the AMA. The few teams that had been "caught" by this rule were in no way cheating. There was a questionable amount of "extra" lead found in their fuel. But the AMA chose to stand behind their decision and penalized racers. A bad ruling for an insignificant amount of lead but at least in the beginning the penalties were consistent.
But then RC was found to have the same "cheating" fuel. And yet the AMA allowed that decision to be overturned. As far as I'm concerned that was a slap in the face to every rider that received a penalty in the past. And to every fan of Professional Motocross. James Stewart is the rightful owner of that title no matter what the AMA records currently show.
Noise - For years the AMA's slogan was less sound equals more ground. What the hell happened? The new four-stroke race bikes are louder than anything short of a jet fuel dragster and riding areas are being closed down at an alarming rate! I have stopped attending Pro-Motocross events because it's not fun when the sound from the track is just a loud booming roar. You can't talk to the person next to you and you can not hear the announcer. The sound carries for miles and it doesn't matter if bikes are right in front of you or not, they are LOUD!
I know that the AMA has a sound rule, but it MUST be updated to keep the sound of these machines under control. With urban sprawl at an all time high, we can not afford to anger our neighbors. Please pass strict rules about the noise before we lose more riding areas and racetracks.
Displacement Rule - The displacement difference between Two Strokes and Four Stokes borders on criminal! The Four Strokes have increased the cost of racing and will result in the working man being phased out of racing. These people are the backbone of all motocross racing at the amateur level. Something must be done to turn this into a fair rule.
How can the AMA allow the elimination of 125cc two-strokes? Our children must go from racing 85cc mini racers to 250cc four strokes? This is a recipe for injuries and lawsuits. There needs to be a logical progression for our young racers to move up without having to both switch from a two stroke to a four stroke and a displacement increase of almost three times. Please make a rule that will allow our children to move up incrementally.
My suggestion here is to follow the lead of New Zealand. They have a 125cc two stroke class, a 250c class for both two stroke and four stroke bikes and an Open class consisting of all open bikes.
The displacement issue needs to be applied to both amateur and professional levels of motocross. As a suggestion the 125cc class could even be a class that does not allow factory sponsored racers.
In addition this would help with the nonsensical class names. The only reason the name change was required in the first place was because of the displacement difference. To the casual fan the current "Lites" and "Motocross" names do not make sense.
Bring back works bikes - The factory race bikes, while based on production bikes are light years better than what you can buy at your local dealer. Plus the rules surrounding this rule make it impossible for a small manufacturing company to develop a new machine over the course of a few years. By allowing full on works bikes manufacturers would have time to test new technologies before having to rush into production. This should bring the cost of production bikes down for the Amateur Racers.
My belief is that the AMA should be working to make racing viable for years to come. And as easy as possible to understand for new and/or casual fans. This is the way to get Motocross to grow.
Thank you for reading my comments and suggestions.
Welcome!
You have found your way into the TSM headquarters, stay sharp, enemies are all around.
The plan is to build support for our little grass roots movement. Once we have some strong support we will then take the fight to the manufacturers and the AMA.
In truth the only way this "war" can be won is by affecting the bottom lines of the manufacturers and the AMA. How do we do that? By getting as many people as possible back on two strokes and stop buying those cheater four bangers.
We need to build a base of support consisting of racers, fans and industry insiders to accomplish that goal. The only way we can do that is by spreading the word.
For instance how cool would it be for hundreds if not thousands of fans at any Supercross this year to shout in unison "Bring back Two Strokes!, Bring back Two Strokes!"
I think there is a cover up by the manufacturers and the MX media, not to allow underdog stories out into the mainstream. The AMA and Manufacturers are really shoving the four stroke agenda down everyone's throats.
For example at the US Open.... I wonder how many people know about the Past Champions race? Then did anyone write about the fact that Mike LaRocco won it on an '04 CR250? Or what about the crowd and industry response? From what I hear even the racers and mechanics were stoked about the two stroke!
Did you know that when John Dowd races locally at Southwick he he sometimes races a Suzuki RM250 two stroke??
Did you read the story that Rich Winkler from Dirt Wurx wrote on the Comments page?
All of these facts point to a big battle. We need to gather as many people as possible to support two strokes in motocross racing in order to become a force to be reckoned with.
This is the reason for the Two Stroke Militia. A place to gather the Two Stroke faithful together to make a stand.
The challenge is to encourage racers to buy two strokes and race them. Many will beat the racers that are competing on Four Stroke bikes. Every time this happens we will report it here for the world to see, which will forward our cause.
Petitions and whining will do nothing!!! By challenging the four-strokes on the local level and beating them at every opportunity, that is the only way to push for a fair rule change.
Right now using the path we are currently on, the AMA and the Manufacturers are turning motocross into an elitist sport. One that only the wealthiest will be able to afford on a regular basis.
We know that Professional Motocross racing is supported by the local racers. Without the folks that race every weekend there would be no support for Pro Racing.
From everything we have heard from many weekend racers is how the cost of racing has increased dramatically. The horrible fact of the matter is if the two stroke motocross bike goes away, the Manufacturers will "adjust" the price of the four-strokes.
Currently the price of four-strokes heve been kept artificially low to keep the price close to two-strokes so racers will buy them. Think about it, the cost to manufacture a four-stroke is much more than a two-stroke.
What will happen to the price of four-strokes when there are no longer any two-strokes? You better believe they will sky rocket and become even more expensive.
Affecting the bottom line of the Manufacturers by buying two stroke racers is the single most powerful way to support this cause. This will allow those on a modest budget to compete and continue to race motocross on a regular basis.
This is the path to victory!
The General