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Suzuki and Ricky Carmichael teamed up to give amateur Suzuki riders a chance to ride with Ricky at his private training facility in Tallahassee, Florida.
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Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda’s Cole Seely is a man of many talents— skateboarding, BMX, import drifting … and he’s pretty good at this motocross thing, too. Page 156 .
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great ricky, nobody can afford to go racing anymore.there aint no "grassoots" anymore.have you seen the lack of turnoutat local races very few kids with new bikes.your parents could not have afforded todays cost of riding racing!
There ain't no more money! Ain't no more racers! Ain't no more credit card advances! Ain't no more ref inancing yer house to get a mo- home! Got damn! We gonna have to start sleeping in tents again,riding on worn out tires, not worrin about what yer our gear is, and get back to some grass roots ya all!! Where it all started!! Image has gotten to many of us!!
I think that the writing has been on the wall for off-road racing in general for some time now. With all the increased interest in environmental protection and conservation, we were always destined to be the easy prey that would get eaten first. Switching to four-strokes hasn't slowed our death at all. While four-strokes run cleaner, their obnoxiously loud noise is now what is being targeted. I think all the manufacturers knew it was going to be over soon and switching to four-strokes was their last hurrah to suck as much money as they could out of us before the end.
try disc golf. really cheap and lots of fun
RC im a huge fan of yours, keep doing what you are doing and hey man, start working out and eating right again- it gets harder the older you get but you know if you can get back into the right habits you will feel better and live longer. im 49 and still race
I raced two cycles so my cost of racing was much less than the cost of the four cycles. They were so easy to repair. Yes the four strokes run cleaner but get someone new to the sport that has a four stroke suffer a meltdown . The cost of repairs is astranomical . My biggest cost was tires. The thing never broke and could put a piston or just rings after a season.
Plus it is an economical social issue as well. The middle class is there but dwindling. It takes two incomes anymore just to survive. Let alone race. The payscale has actually declined which leaves less spendable income. I worked at an employer that used a lot of engineers. Because of the flood of engineers that walked thru the door looking for a job they were able to lower that pay to less than $40,000 a year. Try to pay rent and go racing on that. No with a family try to survive. Before you say it I will . Many people are grossing $20,000 a year before taxes . They are in survival mode not race mode.
Last but not least is health insurance. I am self employed and pay my own . The preimium is not cheap and the deductible is $5000 per year. So if Jr. comes up short on the double and gets to ride in the ambulance that probably will be the end of his season. Not because he won't get better , just because you now are trying to pay medical bills. Also when I applied for my health care I was asked if I participated in any dangerous activities like motorcyle racing , car racing , etc.
I would like to see motocross grow and flourish but not sure if four strokes were good for the sport. And with the disappearace of the middle class motocross will probably suffer as well. Or just a few rich guys riding around.
Don't be hating on Ricky for putting on some weight. He was always chubby kid and we when he racing, he probably was burning 10,000 calories a day. It's a tough transition when you stop. Just look at how football players balloon out when they quit.
To the point of racing being hard to afford. I agree with all the points made. It always takes a certain amount of irrationality to race, but now you almost need to be crazy, or rich.
Not sure why this iPad puts random spaces in.
Who gives a crap what kind of shape RC is in now?? Why does anyone care?? He was and still is the Greatest of all Time.. He hasnt earned the right to enjoy himself and relax and not work himself to death for once?? Get over it people and look in the mirror, what kind of shape are you in??
Yes Ricky has been eatin' good in the neighborhood.Hell he deserves it.I never was really a fan only of his accomplishments.
He is still young,hope he don't looks like Tripes in 5 years.(love ya Marty but do something)
I'm out, no way I'm paying the price there asking for bikes these days let alone send my kid to RC University, wonder what that costs?
I Love the sport but it really makes no sense any more.
awesome program! great job Ricky!
Im just getting back into the sport. Rode two strokes before, and just bought myself a ktm 150. The deal for me is, its all about fun. 2 strokes are super fun to ride, they are affordable if you look after them and put in the time, and im working out alot to make sure that if i do crash, my body is ready for the impact. In any event, i dont ride over my head. Its about being smart. Crashes might happen and i might get injured, but ive accepted that. I couldnt do this if I had a family to support. 4 strokes were a big mistake, both for the safety of riding, and getting tracks closed cause of the noise. its gonna turn into a kind of formula 1 sport soon...only for the elite.
for all ya'll out there giving RC a hard time for doing what he did and how he put this on well all i have to say to u is have u ever worked 1 hard day of work to earn money?