Last week, our good friend Jason McCune, over at Inside Line Connect, put together a collaborative ride day at Zaca Station, in Buellton, California, with a handful of companies they represent to fill us in on what’s new. It’s a good way to get some face time with the brands we work with and a great excuse to get together and ride one of the most picturesque tracks in the country.
In the motocross industry, it’s common for larger companies such as motorcycle manufacturers to put on a ride day to showcase their new products. They typically rent out a track and invite various media outlets to join. There is usually a presentation, along with an opportunity to get firsthand access to the designers and visionaries behind the products. It’s a fun way for companies to educate the media about their products so we can pass on that knowledge to consumers. This is the perfect platform for us to ask questions and relay the needs of their customers. After the presentation, samples are shared and we test the products ourselves, as we’re let loose on the track to draw conclusions of our own. We then relay what we learn to our readers, and the world goes round and round.
What if you’re a smaller brand and can’t afford to fly the media across the country, put them in up in a hotel, and rent a track out for the day? You team up with several brands and make it happen another way, like how Jason did with the companies Inside Line Connect represents: FMF Racing, 6D Helmets, Rekluse, Boyesen Engineering, and Viral Brand. Jason invited the motocross media to join these companies at Zaca, and we did a “speed dating” rapid-fire info blast. Each company set up a booth, and we spent about 15 minutes with each to find out more about them and what’s new.
Below is a summarized list of what we learned from each of the five companies and how you can find out more information yourself:
Rekluse
- New deals with race teams.
- Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna (250 and 450).
- Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha Racing.
- MotoConcepts Racing.
- 2018 CRF250 product is now available for order (Core Manual TorqDrive, Core Manual, Basket kit and RadiusCX)
Boyesen Engineering
- Continues to make leading edge performance products for your motorcycles.
- New RC2 Series Rad Valve was recently developed for 2017-18 KTM and Husqvarna 250/300cc models for $179.95.
Viral Brand
- New motocross goggle brand—established in 2015 with roots in racing.
- Entry-level goggle: Rookie Series, $34.99.
- Premium goggle: Factory Series Pro3 Kit is $74.99.
- 30-day risk-free best fit challenge.
FMF Racing
- Continues to build exhausts all in house except for rivets and a side panel bracket.
- Powercore 2.1 silencer gives your two-stroke a modern four-stroke exhaust look with all the performance you expect from FMF.
- FMF has been using a third-party company to manage their apparel, but they recently brought it all back in-house and have some cool new stuff in the pipeline for spring 2018. Check it out in photos here.
- Offers a single pipe system for new CRF250R and CRF450R, but Honda only pays contingency if you run a dual pipe system. [Update: Honda does reward contingency for single pipe system. Our apologies.]
- Offering custom sticker packs for silencers.
6D Helmets
- They have three new colorways coming to their moto lineup.
- 6D recently won $750,000 in grant money for winning the Head Health Challenge. It’s an amazing achievement that they were recognized for by the NFL, GE, Under Armour, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the technological advancements in the materials used in their helmets.
- We recently toured 6D’s office in Brea, California. You can check it out here.
