Last night I had a nightmare and you were in it with me. We were at a track hiding in the back woods waiting for a 2-stroke to come by so we could smell the exhaust. We got busted and the cops arrested us for smelling 2 stroke exhaust because the Government said it causes cancer.
I woke up and laughing and wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget to write you today. What do you think it means? Am I suffering withdraws from Bean Oil? Or do you think I am suffering from all of the hard hits I have taken over 35 years of riding?
I also want to let Trey and Ryan and the other injured riders know our thoughts are with you as you recover.
Dave Dayley
Dear Dave,
That smell is so awesome that I almost think that could happen. Of course being hunkered down in a back wood with someone I don’t know seems really inappropriate no matter what the circumstance. I’m sure you’re a great guy and all but let’s do our two-stroke exhaust huffing out in a public place to keep things on the level. I guess I’m just a little gun-shy after all the drama in the news lately. The scale of how much you like young people is now being measured from Casey Anthony to Joe Paterno and I’m just not comfortable with either end of that spectrum. That said, I’m a Maxima 927 kind of guy so hopefully that brand and model suits your palette. See you on the business end of a silencer in an open pit area soon.
PING
Dear Ping,
I think the notion that motocross will ever be “mainstream” is stupid. Of course it won’t be. But that’s okay. While I love to see MX/SX gain ground and get better TV packages, more and better sponsors and some mainstream media coverage – my hometown media still treats our annual Supercross like a variety act on the Johnny Carson show. But it does get coverage and that’s okay. Any publicity is good, right?
Anyhoo, I have this uncanny ability to spot a dirt bike in a pickup truck driving the opposite way on the freeway in six lanes of traffic. I can usually tell the make, model and year of the bike within a jiffy too. My eyes are also drawn like magnets to dirt bikes on TV, in advertisements or anywhere else.
Recently, I came across an item at the grocery store that made me do a double take as I walked past. My moto-hunting eagle eyes saw a picture of this bike (attached) on a box of MaxxDry Shoe and Boot Dryers. Fine I thought – that bike is only a few decades old. At least we’ve got some mainstream acknowledgement, yeah! Well, upon closer inspection, this bike looks like it had one inverted fork and one conventional fork. That can’t be right, can it? It’s just that one of the lower fork guards was ripped off and there’s a shiny reflection on the other upper fork leg, right? I can’t tell! I couldn’t find a bigger picture than this one online but I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind taking a gander and telling me what exactly this thing that caught my eye at the grocery store is. Is it some crazy works bike from the days when men were men and MXA editors weren’t AARP members? Is it just a reflection? A bad photoshop job maybe? What is it?!
Thank you for your help, best wishes,
Paul Nash
Dear Paul,
Good eye, Paul. Way to spot the obscure motorcycle ad sitting in isle nine above the Mop-N-Glo. This image is about as grainy as anything ever shot of the Loch Ness Monster so trying to identify exactly what we have here is difficult. Judging by the shape of the front fender I would guess it is a Yamaha from the early nineties. The fork could be conventional with those accordion rubber boots that used to cover the slider. Maybe the left one is missing and the right lower leg is still clean. More likely it is an upside down and he is missing a fork guard on the right. The left upper fork could be wiped clean from the fork guard housing. Much like spotting a penis on those Big Foot photos to determine the beast’s gender, I don’t really have a solid answer for you on this one. Two things I can tell you for certain:
One-Nobody cares. You need to let this go.
Two-After looking at this guys handlebars and muddy eyeballs I think wet boots are the least of his problems.
Thanks for the letter.
PING
Dear Ping,
I live here in the overcrowded ashtray that is the San Fernando Valley. And, no, I don’t direct, produce or act in pornographic films. My question is why does James Stewart, and at times Chad Reed, get booed by so many fans during opening ceremonies? I went to A1 and the LA round and I was literally embarrassed by all the boo-birds in the stands. Maybe this is just normal fan behavior but it seems like everyone could at least respect his talent and sit quietly instead of booing. What’s your take?
Scott Sidders
Dear Scott,
Motocross fans are a fickle bunch. I don’t care how much I dislike a rider I would never boo him during an opening ceremony. What I would do is scream like a little girl putting on her first bra when I see him get knocked over a berm by another rider. That can be written off as enthusiasm for good racing. I think the issue with James stems more from his off-track antics than his riding or results. He quit racing the nationals for the past several years, a move seen by many as the easy way out. Though I don’t see Kevin Windham losing any fans over skipping the summer races. James was arrested for impersonating an officer. This is awesome at a Halloween party but inexcusable when pulling people over on a highway. His Bubba’s World show portrayed him in a pretty ugly light, in my opinion. Between the Lamborghini, Sorby and all the time off he took due to injuries and not racing the nationals it was off-putting for fans. On top of all that he has been distant with the media over the years. He is reclusive and difficult to reach for the most part and that doesn’t help with fans. The funny thing is if he starts winning and races all the nationals this summer people will be back onboard the Bubba train. What will all the beer-soaked idiots in the stands do when they don’t have him to crap on anymore? I don’t know but if I were Chad Reed I’d be very careful.
PING
