You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
By Steve Matthes<br />
So after a week or so of riding,<br />
a team will often run through<br />
some suspension components,<br />
transmission gears and valve<br />
train parts. <strong>On</strong>ce the riders settle<br />
on a preferable setting, the team<br />
places the order back to Japan<br />
and the wait to get the right<br />
parts gets started.<br />
It’s scary how little the sport as<br />
a whole takes time to smell the<br />
roses and relax. The championships<br />
are over, everyone moves<br />
on and there isn’t any real sort<br />
of celebration after the supercross<br />
or motocross contests are<br />
over. It’s just onto the next thing<br />
and for most (non-MXDN participants)<br />
people in the sport, it’s a<br />
case of getting back to work.<br />
The grind never stops.<br />
Meanwhile, with camshafts and<br />
other easily available parts, the<br />
testing continues in the offseason,<br />
normally it’s every other<br />
week for a couple of days. Back<br />
in my day the riders would take<br />
their bikes and ride on their own<br />
but more and more I’m seeing<br />
the teams control the process<br />
by sending team people out to<br />
the track every time the rider<br />
gets on the motorcycle. Every lap<br />
is timed, the hours ridden are<br />
monitored and the practice bike<br />
is maintained to perfection. <strong>No</strong>t<br />
all teams do this but more and<br />
more are.
Change language