Whether or not you ride, there is probably a form of motorcycle sport that you find interesting. Baja, dirt track, roadracing, hill climbing, LSR… pretty much any form of auto racing has a two-wheeled equivalent. Plus, there’s unique bike events such as grass track racing and speedway. Beyond racing, there are other forms of competition not judged with a stopwatch, such as freestyle and observed trials. Bikers have come up with a bazillion ways to stress their bikes, abuse their bodies, and pummel the planet’s surface: which one intrigues you the most?
Image credits: Wikimedia Commons (1, 2, 3, 4); Hooniverse (5, 6); ARRC (7); ActionshotsNH (8)
Hooniverse Asks [Two-Wheel Edition]: What's your favorite form of motorcycle competition?
About
18 responses to “Hooniverse Asks [Two-Wheel Edition]: What's your favorite form of motorcycle competition?”
-
I love me some MotoGP but Moto2 and Moto3 are usually way more entertaining to watch. This years Moto3 Italian Grand Prix was bonkers. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dc301597e0a7bbcd389a4668a8ea7cc91d9f70a633df1c26be9f1d6876c0adaf.jpg
-
Motocross with sidecar. https://youtu.be/j2IuOnkTHK0
-
Does this count? https://youtu.be/zFFNla_Vpjg
-
Motoball ALMOST makes soccer interesting. https://youtu.be/mXX7-MEAGkA
-
Thumbs up for almost
-
I only know about motoball because I passed the town of Seelze everytime I visited my grandparents 30 years ago, the local motoball club had a practicing ground next to the train tracks. http://www.mscseelze.de
-
I only know of Motoball because of the 1986 Goodwill Games. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwill_Games
They preempted my weekday afternoon cartoons.
-
-
-
I’m most impressed by trials.
-
Racing is best as a spectator if you have someone you root for. Whether you have a favorite rider or a favorite manufacturer, you become emotionally invested in the outcome. That can be a lot of fun.
I don’t have a favorite. When I watch racing, I’m not rooting for anyone in particular. I’m just watching in awe at the skill level on display. The outcome of the competition is largely irrelevant to my spectating.
I prefer competition where the exhibition of skill is isolated from the competition itself. Exhibition “sports” like freestyle motocross are showcasing the abilities of the riders. If I cared about the competition, the subjective nature of the scoring would irk me, but the scoring is just incidental. It’s only there to try to justify the exhibition.
I think my favorite would have to be trials. Incredible exhibitions of skill isolated from objectively scored competition is the best of all worlds to me. I don’t have a favorite rider, but I don’t need one, because it doesn’t matter. I can root for each rider to clean the section. -
-
“Camelot is a state of mind” – now I’m intrigued.
-
-
Enduro, the bikes aren’t quite as fragile as motocross bikes because they have to last for longer races, The premier event, effectively the Olympics of offroad biking, the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) has been held since 1913, and it is the oldest off-road event in the FIM calendar.
In some places the bikes must be road legal as well. A motocrosser with lights is IMHO the ideal dual purpose bike.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Ktm-525-exc-racing-2007.jpg/800px-Ktm-525-exc-racing-2007.jpg
Back when they were brand new, I used to race one of the brand new Honda XR500s, and then ride it home.http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/Gallery_A-L_16/Honda%20XR500%2002.jpg -
Flat track is my favorite but indoor trials is the scariest thing I’ve ever seen and is addictive to watch.
-
Honestly it depends on the way I’m watching it. For TV viewing I don’t mind motocross or track racing (Superbikes is more interesting than MotoGP by the way) because the cameras capture all the action, but for live viewing I prefer everything to happen in one spot so I’m leaning towards hillclimbs which have the added benefit of being very widespread, you only need a steep hill or old quarry. Trial looks interesting as well, but I’ve never been to an event. It shall join my to-do list. Flat track racing doesn’t seem to exist here, and neither does salt racing since it requires a salt lake.
We have one unique motorcycle sport in Germany though, and that’s unicycle sled drag racing. Google Friesenfighter to find more photos and videos. -
Honestly it depends on the way I’m watching it. For TV viewing I don’t mind motocross or track racing (Superbikes is more interesting than MotoGP by the way) or rally raid for that matter because the cameras capture all the action, but for live viewing I prefer everything to happen in one spot so I’m leaning towards hillclimbs which have the added benefit of being very widespread, you only need a steep hill or old quarry. Trial looks interesting as well, but I’ve never been to an event. It shall join my to-do list. Flat track racing doesn’t seem to exist here, and neither does salt racing since it requires a salt lake.
We have one unique motorcycle sport in Germany though, and that’s unicycle sled drag racing. Google Friesenfighter to find more photos and videos. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b56162bba78e57cbd8d76a57e80450ad87286f80611fd06bc737e5199a2ed211.jpg -
I like motorcycle hillclimbs because laughing at that split secong of bewilderment as the bike flies from underneath a rider turn to panic as he realizes the bikes upward trajectory has finally hit that apex where its lost its battle with gravity and must now run away from his own motorcycle never gets old…well for at least 10 minutes anyway.
I am a simple man. -
My favorites are trials and anything involving sidecars. But I also like road racing of all sorts, supermotard, speedway and motocross.
-
Club-level road racing and motards. I volunteer for a motorcycle racing club – usually driving the recovery vehicle, but I’m occasionally race control on the track days and sometimes I’m flagging and doing whatever else needs to be done around the track.
I love the Motards because the riders are having so much fun. In the slower dirt section you can sometimes hear them egging each other on and calling out, and I love watching them back their bikes into the tighter corners by locking up the rear wheel and sliding.
I like the smaller capacity bikes because in a tight pack it is almost like a high-speed game of chess with the race leader changing almost every corner.
I love classics events where old bikes are being ridden (and ridden hard) rather than being viewed in a museum.
I want to love the sidecars because of the passion and sheer immaturity of the riders. But they do tend to blow up and spray oil all over the track. As recovery it usually falls upon me to direct the clean up…
I probably prefer the club-level racing because I can see the passion for the sport and the bikes up close, I’m involved with the riders and coaches and love the camaraderie of the other marshals. I enjoy the happy banter in the back of my van when I pick the other marshals up from their flagpoints at the end of the day. There’s less attitude and politics at the club level. No brolly dollies or media either, we’re there to race.
Leave a Reply