Thirty years ago, Cobra Motorcycles was born out of one minicycle dad’s frustration. Today, the Michigan-based brand is widely respected as the dominant leader in youth motocross.
WORDS: Sarah Whitmore-Smage
PHOTOS: JORDAN ROBERTS
The Cobra Motorcycles origin story reads like a true Cinderella story. The underdog Bud Maimone was tired of the lack of effort in the minicycle market after his son’s bike broke while in championship contention at the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s. So, he decided to fight the system by building and selling his own junior motorcycle.
As expected, this was met with controversy, as the next year Bud and his son Brett showed up at Loretta Lynn’s on their new Cobra motorcycle and won. Questions of the homologation rule came into play, protests were made, and Brett was stripped of his title. As with any great underdog story, the Maimones fought and won their case, and in the end the AMA and Dave Coombs Sr. drove to Ohio to present Brett with his number one plate. As a thank you, Cobra named their next motorcycle the DC65, in honor of Dave and the efforts he made to set things right.
We are deeply rooted in Moto—We’ve been here all our lives. Back in 1998 when we turned an underground newspaper into a shiny color magazine, it immediately changed the game with its unprecedented depth of coverage, sense of humor, and access to the sport’s biggest names. Today, our readers know they can go to Racer X Online for all the news, race results, and event coverage they need, and then enjoy even more detail and perspective in the pages of Racer X Illustrated. The mag offers a chance to learn something new on every page and stay connected with the people and personalities that shape our sport—the competitors out on the racetrack, as well as the ones behind the scenes—through our exclusive deep-dive stories and columns.
Our trademark has always been insider knowledge from the experts who are at the races and around the sport. We have long prided ourselves on our unparalleled race reporting and detailed storytelling. We go deep with the riders and teams to provide comprehensive coverage you won’t find anywhere else—all with first-class photography and design. It’s a full education in motocross past, present, and future.
Davey Coombs
Editor-in-chief & Founder
Racer X Illustrated
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