Main image courtesy of Mitch Kendra.
AMA Pro Motocross returns this weekend in Unadilla which means our man Phil Nicoletti is ready to get back after it. But before he hit the track on Friday for press day, he took the time to answer some of your burning questions heading into the final three rounds of racing.
Send more questions via phil@racerxonline.com and he’ll be back next week to answer.
(Note: Some questions have been lightly edited for clarity.)
Filthy,
Crazy that Jett Lawrence has a perfect season going but is still running around like a kid at these races. It seems like there’s no pressure there! I know you have been friends with Jett, is he really like this or does the race face turn on at some point?
Mike L
Mike,
Yeah, Jett is free spirit. He’s a good kid. Young and dumb and enjoys riding his dirt bike. I always take 30 minutes to go over to the Honda truck every weekend to shoot the shit with Jett, Hunter and Lucas Mirtl after practice. Gives me a disconnect on race day. Normally they are just bullshitting, playing golf simulator, or working on their salsa dance. Some guys are strict on race day, some guys aren’t. Even CW2 always has time to bring the boys together for a few minutes of guy time on race day. It helps lighten the mood. I wish I could be a lot more like Jett on race day. But reality is, I don’t have the skill to be that much of a free spirit. But when it is time for him to buckle down and put the game face on, he and Hunter do. Some athletes can bring themselves in and out of the zone quite easily, and some can’t.
Hey Phil,
It’s interesting to hear you guys talk about suspension settings and all that. I’m trying to teach my son some things about bike setup. When did you start to “learn” what a bike is doing? Did you purposely turn the clickers all the way one way to see how it feels? Did you play with sag or fork height to understand how that impacts a bike? Did you have a suspension guru watch you and tell you what the bike was doing? How do I fast track the learning of the bike?
Tim Gale
Tim,
Back in “my day,” it was just Pops and I. We would get motors from engine guys on 60cc and 80cc with base jetting specs. Then we would take it upon ourselves to fine tune the bikes. I grew up on quite a bit of property. We had a “dyno” field. My father and I would spend hours going between race bikes, stock and mod, dialing them in. I can’t begin to tell you how many runs I’ve had up and down this field from 60cc to 450cc dirt bikes. Pilot jets, needle positions, main jets, leak jets, air screws…IT’S WILD TO THINK ABOUT! I mean, we’re talking about a 12-year-old kid trying to feel the difference between 138 main jet and a 140. Mental. So for me it started young. Really young. Same goes with suspension. Turning clickers completely one way, and then completely the other way. All the way soft, stiff, fast and slow. Just to get the feel, so you can understand the characteristics. It is a double edge sword though, because over time, you constantly change things. It’s not like car racing. The rider has to adjust a lot. The bike will never ever be 100 percent. EVER. I can admit, sometimes that’s a fault for me when it comes to “racing.” But when it comes to actually testing, and making an engine the best or chassis, I have a pretty good feel. I’ve worked with some great engine and chassis guys that have helped me along the way.
The best advice I got when I was a kid was, “If you can’t feel anything or didn’t notice a change, just tell them”. Too often you just feel like a dumbass and feel like you have to say something, anything. But the guys want real feedback, not stuff you’re making up. So if you don’t notice the difference, just tell them that.
Phil,
We’ve had a lot of fun watching you complain about getting fitness back, losing your legs at Southwick, etc. With two weekends off, were you able to put in a bootcamp to get ready for Unadilla?
Real Guy
I had a great three weeks of training. My week after Washougal was one of the best training weeks I’ve had in two years for outdoors. I had to go to Loretta’s for two days, so that took it out of me a bit when I got back to riding. Last week on Thursday and Friday I felt like I took three steps back because I was on my feet for two days at Loretta’s. This Monday/Tuesday I had really good motos with Marchbanks, Brayton, Noren, Kilroy. So it’s been a blast actually. As much as you’re stroking out in the Carolina heat at ClubMX, it’s been fun. It’s always good to see the gains too. Where I was 2 months ago when I started, to now, it’s quite a bit of progress. We’ll see how it goes.
