MXA’S WEEKEND NEWS ROUND-UP: HOW WILL TEAM FRANCE DO AT THE MONSTER CUP?
MXA PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: HUNSAKER 5-GALLON FUEL JUG
The Hunsaker 5-gallon fuel jug looks odd with its tall breather tube (right), but the large breather tube allows the fuel to flow faster out of the spout.
Hunsaker Products is most famous for its 11-gallon quick fill gas jugs used in offroad truck racing, but they also offer 5-gallon jugs for motorcycles and 8-gallon jugs for UTVs. All feature stepped pour spouts and Hunsaker’s signature 1-3/8-inch breather tube that doubles as a handle and as the fill spout to put fuel in the can. Hunsaker offers several custom option, including a tapered spout, threaded spout and hoses sizes from 1-1/2 inches, 1.75 inches and 2-0 inches (plus 3.0 inches for offroad trucks and buggies). The big plus of a Hunsaker fuel jug is how quickly the fuel flows. It can fill a motorcycle tank in half the time of the typical gas can. The retail price is $49.00 (5 gallon). For more info go to www.hunsakerusa.com or call (805) 650-2525.
EVERY MONSTER CUP WINNER—ALL 7 OF THEM
MONSTER CUP WINNERS
2011…Ryan Villopoto
2012…Justin Barcia
2013…James Stewart
2014…Davi Millsaps
2015…Ken Roczen
2016…Eli Tomac
2017…Marvin Musquin
WHO SIGNED UP FOR THIS YEAR’S MONSTER ENERGY CUP
Eli Tomac probably won’t need the umbrella in Las Vegas, but the way it’s been going lately for him, he better keep it handy.
CURRENT 450 ENTRANTS:
Eli Tomac…Kaw
Dylan Merriam…Hus
Blake Baggett…KTM
The Monster Cup will be Joey’s first race on the factory 450 Kawasaki.
Joey Savatgy…Kaw
Marvin Musquin…KTM
Vince Friese…Hon
Cooper Webb will make his KTM debut on Saturday night.
Cooper Webb…KTM
Malcolm Stewart…Hon
Jordon Smith…KTM
Chad Reed is like the phoenix—he keeps rising from the ashes—this time with Joe Gibbs Suzuki.
Chad Reed…Suz
Benny Bloss…KTM
Tyler Bowers…Kaw
Justin Barcia came to last year’s Monster Cup as a privateer on a Honda CRF450—this year’s he’s a factory Yamaha rider.
Justin Barcia…Yam
Justin Starling…Hus
Ryan Villopoto…Yam
Other notables: Cole Martinez (Suz), Alex Ray (Yam), Austin Politelli (Hon), Robbie Wageman (Yam), Deven Raper (Kaw), Colton Aeck (Hon), Tyler Enticknap (Hon), Gared Steinke (KTM).
THIS WEEK’S BIRTHDAY BOYS: ALBEE 46, JIMMY D 27, TORSTEN 79 & EVEL 80
Oct. 12…Dan Alamangos
Oct. 13…Mike Shield
Oct. 13…Greg Albertyn 1972
Oct. 14…Todd Lentz
Oct. 14…Ron Joynt
Oct. 15…Jimmy Decotis 1991
Oct. 15…Matt Walker 1981
Oct. 16…P.J. Larsen 1990
Oct. 17…Torsten Hallman 1939
Oct. 17…Evel Knievel 1938
Oct. 18…Marcus Hansson 1969
Oct. 18…David Vuillemin 1977
Oct. 18…Matt Boni 1987
Oct. 19…Vince Friese 1990
Oct. 19…Jimmy Ellis 1955
MOTOCROSS ACTION’S 10 MOST POPULAR VIDEOS
NUMBER ONE: 1,300,000 VIEWS
NUMBER TWO: 1,300,000 VIEWS
NUMBER THREE: 1,100,000 VIEWS
NUMBER FOUR: 812,000 VIEWS
NUMBER FIVE: 804,000 VIEWS
NUMBER SIX: 724,000 VIEWS
NUMBER SEVEN: 695,000 VIEWS
NUMBER EIGHT: 578,000 VIEWS
NUMBER NINE: 559,000 VIEWS
NUMBER TEN: 515,000 VIEWS
No surprise. Eight of the top ten videos in MXA’s YouTube Channel are about two-strokes, three are about two-strokes versus four-stroke comparisons and one is a video of MXA’s Daryl Ecklund jumping Ironman Raceway’s triple step-up on a 125. To see these Motocross Action videos and many more CLICK HERE.
2019 AMA 250/450 NATIONAL MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
The 2019 AMA National motocross schedule is exactly the same as the 2018 schedule — if you deduct one day from every date and drop Muddy Creek from the schedule for the WW Ranch in Florida on June 22.
2019 AMA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
May 18……………………Hangtown, CA
May 25.…………………..Glen Helen, CA
June 1..………………….Thunder Valley, CO
June 15..…………………Mt. Morris, PA
June 22.………………….Jacksonville, FL (replaces Muddy Creek,TN)
June 29..…………………Southwick, MA
July 6.…………………….Red Bud, MI
July 20.…………………..Millville, MN
July 27.…………………..Washougal, WA
Aug. 10..………………….Unadilla, NY
Aug. 17..………………….Budds Creek, MD
Aug. 24.…………………..Crawfordsville, IN
MXA TEAM TESTED: PRO CIRCUIT 2017-2019 SHOCK LINKAGE
WHAT IS IT? Pro Circuit’s 2017-2019 linkage not only lowers the tall rear of the CRF450, it also stiffens the initial part of the shock’s stroke for better control and less wallowing in the rough. A longer shock link can alter a bike’s rising rate, kick out the head angle and lower the seat height. Since the 2017-18 Honda CRF450 has a stinkbug stance and tends to wallow in the initial part of the stroke, a lower shock link can address these issues. The link arms are 1.5mm longer than the stock 144mm link arms. The Pro Circuit link lowers the rear of the bike by 12mm.Shock linkages work by compressing the shock from the bottom while it is being compressed against the top shock mount by the energy of the bump. By altering the speed of the shock per millimeter of stroke, damping is increased as the shock moves upward. The speeding up of the shock as it moves upward is called rising rate. It is common practice for the manufacturers to change the rising rate to solve suspension issues. For example, if a bike bottoms excessively over big jumps, the engineers will make the shock resist bottoming by making the shock move faster in the final third of the stroke. Conversely, if a shock is too stiff at the end of its stroke, the engineers will go to a less progressive rate change to make the suspension feel plusher.
Before MXA resorted to a longer link, we were shortening the CRF450’s Showa shock. This was a drastic solution for a shock that was already 45mm shorter than the previous model. The Pro Circuit link lowered the rear of the seat, increased compression damping in the initial part of travel and gave us more tuning possibilities. With the link installed, we slid the forks up 2mm to keep the same head angle, lightened the high-speed compression and reset the sag. Overall, every MXA test rider preferred the 2017-2019 CRF450 with the Pro Circuit link.
DIGITS: $224.95 — www.procircuit.com or (951) 738-8050.
MXA RATING: It no secret that the 2017-19 CRF450 has suspension issues, both front and rearMany of these ills can be alleviated by fork and shock valving, but springs don’t address the seat height, chassis setup or wallowing problems. The Pro Circuit link does.
MXA RACE POSTER UPDATE: WHAT’S ON DECK IN MX
2018 MARSEILLE SUPERCROSS ON OCT. 12-13
For more information go to www.supercrossinternationalmarseille.com
IDAHO “FREECROSS” ON OCTOBER 12-14 IN CASCADE
For more information go to www.imopromotions.com
AIM EXPO MOTORCYCLE SHOW IN LAS VEGAS ON OCT. 13-14
For more info go to www.aimexpousa.com
POLICE & FIRE MOTOCROSS ON OCTOBER 15-16 AT GLEN HELEN
Civilians are welcome to come out and race the Monday-Tuesday event. Pre-enter at www.firepolicemx.com
DAVI MILLSAPS “DIVISION 18” MOTO CAMP: OCT. 29 – NOV. 1
It will be held in Ft. Pierce, Florida, at the Xcel training compound. For more info email to [email protected]
REM OCTOBERCROSS (FORMERLY THE COMMOTION-BY-THE-OCEAN) ON OCT. 27
For more info go to www.remsatmx.com
2018 JAPAN SUPERCROSS ON NOVEMBER 3
Dylan Ferrandis, Malcolm Stewart, Aaron Plessinger, Justin Brayton, Christian Craig, Jimmy Decotis and Weston Peick have signed on so far. For more info go to www.japansupercross.com
2018 DUBYA WORLD VETERAN MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP ON NOV. 3-4 AT GLEN HELEN
For more information go to www.worldvetmx.com
2018 PARIS SUPERCROSS ON NOVEMBER 17-18
For more info, brush up on your high school French and then go to www.supercrossparis.com
THREE PALMS “MOTO GAMES” ON NOV. 24-25
For more information (although they seemed to have squeezed everything short of “War and Peace” into their poster) go to www.3palmsasp.com
2018 ROBBIE GORDON OFFROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ON NOV. 30—DEC. 1
$20,000 to the winner of the 450 class and $7500 to the winner of the 250 class. For more info go to www.stadiumsupertrucks.com
MXA COVER OF THE WEEK: TRAVIS’ MAY 2002 STARRING ROLE
The MXA gang loved this cover, but that’s because we love Travis Pastrana. He wore No Fear and was a vision of Yellow and red.
MXA AD OF THE WEEK: “AMERICAN EAGLE IS COMING AT YOU”
You might think that the American Eagle was an American made motorcycle, but nothing could be further from the truth—read the “Classic Iron” story below to find out the real truth.
By Tom White
American Eagle arrived on the USA motocross scene in 1967 with a big ad budget and small racing team (that included a young Brad Lackey). But, in truth, there was no American Eagle motorcycle factory. The American Eagle was a private-label bike built at Sprite Developments in Oldbury, England, by former racer Frank Hipkin. Brits could buy the bike as the Sprite 405 Talon. Americans were offered the bike as the American Eagle 405 Talon. Australians knew it as the Alron 405, and Belgians thought it was the BVM 405. All the bikes were identical, with the exception of the American bikes having “American Eagle” cast into the engine case. Amazingly, all the different national distributors tried to pretend that the Sprites were designed in their home countries. It wasn’t until many years later that each country learned the truth about the “other” Sprites.
Originally, Sprite sold a kit bike that was a rolling chassis, sans engine, to avoid Great Britain’s purchase tax. But, switched to fully assembled machines for export. Sprites were offered as trials, scrambles and motocross machines. There were three American Eagle models—the 125 Sachs, 250 Kawasaki or 405 with a Husqvarna engine or Italian Husqvarna clone engine. Some had aluminum tanks and some had orange plastic-style tanks.
What was most distressing about the clone engineering behind the $1195 American Eagle 405 Talon was that the engine itself was a clone. It was an Italian-built copy of a late-1960s, four-speed, 399c Husqvarna engine. Many Husqvarna parts would fit in the Italian engine, but not all. Additionally, the Talon had a Sprite-built fork that was a direct copy of a Ceriani fork. Sprite Developments in England experienced rapid growth from 1964 to 1974. Owner Frank Hipkin started building lightweight Reynolds-tubing frame kits for Villiers, Triumph 500 twins, Triumph Cubs, Husqvarnas, Maicos and Sachs 125s. Motorcycle production ceased in 1974. Sprite Development still exists today, but it builds RVs and motorhomes.
WHAT HAPPENED TO AMERICAN EAGLE, ALRON, BVM & SPRITE?
Amazingly enough, if Frank Hipkin had kept the Sprite motorcycle company small, he might have lasted longer. Success killed the Sprite, Talon, Alron and BVM. When Hipkin started exporting Sprites in large numbers, the British government closed the tax loopholes that Sprite was using and, following the collapse of the U.S. American Eagle distributor (Galaxy Wholesale in Garden Grove, California), the financial losses were too great for Sprite Development to absorb.
2019 MOTOCROSS ACTION 450 SHOOTOUT VIDEO
2019 RACE SCHEDULE: FOR THOSE WHO CAN’T WAIT
The 2019 Motocross des Nations will be held at the Assen road race circuit in Holland. It is a man-made sand track built on the front straight.
2019 AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES
Jan. 5…………………………….Anaheim, CA
Jan. 12………………………….Glendale, AZ
Jan. 19………………………….Anaheim, CA
Jan. 26………………………….Oakland, CA
Feb. 2……………………………San Diego, CA
Feb. 9…………………………..Minneapolis, MN
Feb. 16………………………….Arlington, TX
Feb. 23………………………….Detroit, MI
Mar. 2……………………………Atlanta, GA
Mar. 9……………………………Daytona Beach, FL
Mar. 16………………………….Indianapolis, IN
Mar. 23………………………….Seattle, WA
Mar. 30………………………….Houston, TX
Apr. 6……………………………Nashville, TN
Apr. 13………………………….Denver, CO
Apr. 27………………………….East Rutherford, NJ
May 4……………………………Las Vegas, NV
2019 AMA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
May 18……………………Hangtown, CA
May 25.…………………..Glen Helen, CA
June 1..………………….Thunder Valley, CO
June 15..…………………Mt. Morris, PA
June 22.………………….Jacksonville. FL
June 29..…………………Southwick, MA
July 6.…………………….Red Bud, MI
July 20.…………………..Millville, MN
July 27.…………………..Washougal, WA
Aug. 10..………………….Unadilla, NY
Aug. 17..………………….Budds Creek, MD
Aug. 24.…………………..Crawfordsville, IN
2019 FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Feb. 28……………………………TBA
Mar. 10……………………………Argentina
Mar. 24……………………………England
Mar. 31……………………………Holland
Apr. 21……………………………Italy #1
Apr. 21……………………………Hong Kong
May 1……………………………..China
May 12……………………………Russia
May 26……………………………Latvia
June 2…………………………….Germany
June 16…………………………..France
June 23…………………………..Italy #2
July 7……………………………..Indonesia #1
July 14……………………………Indonesia #2
July 28……………………………Czech Republic
Aug. 4…………………………….Belgium
Aug. 18…………………………..Switzerland
Sept. 1……………………………TurkeyBulgaria
Sept. 15………………………….Portugal
Sept. 22………………………….Italy #3
2019 MOTOCROSS DES NATIONS
Sept. 29………………………….Assen, Holland
SUBSCRIBE TO MXA & GET A $25 CHAPARRAL GIFT CARD—YOU MAKE A PROFIT BY READING MXA
If you had subscribed to Motocross Action, the November 2018 issue of MXA would be in your mailbox, computer or iPhone already. It has tests of the 2019 KTM 450SXF, 2019 Husqvarna FC450, 2019 Yamaha YZ250F, Retro-Test of Jeremy McGrath’s 1999 Yamaha YZ250 and a special ClubMX KTM 150SX. Plus, a Ken Roczen interview wher ehe tells the world that he will give up his German citizenship and become an American. All that and everything that you ever wanted to know about moto.
Do you subscribe to MXA? You should. We know that you think that print magazines are dead and that the internet will fill the void, but most of the stuff in the current issue of MXA won’t appear on the web for several months, if at all. Luckily, you can get all of MXA on your iPhone, iPad, Kindle or Android by going to the Apple Store, Amazon or Google Play or in a digital version. Even better you can subscribe to Motocross Action and get a $25 Chaparral gift card to spend on whatever motorcycle parts or products you need. You can call (800) 767-0345 or www.hi-torque.com/product/motocross-action or click on the box at the bottom of this page.
JOIN MXA’S FLIPBOARD PAGE
If you use Flipboard make sure to subscribe to the Motocross Action page for all the updates on our website. Click HERE to check out the page.
TALK MOTO WITH ON MXA’S FACEBOOK GROUP CHAT
We love everything moto and want to bring all moto junkies together into one place to share their two cents, ideas, photos, bike fixes, bike problems and much more. To check it out first you must need to or already have a Facebook account. If you don’t, it isn’t much work and you could even have an alias so nobody knows it is you. To join click HERE. After you request to join we will accept your request shortly after.
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SAVE THE DATE! THE LAST RACES OF THE 2018 MOTOCROSS SEASON
2018 MONSTER ENERGY CUP
Oct. 13……………………Las Vegas, NV
2018 MARSEILLE SUPERCROSS
Oct. 12-13……………….Marseille, France
2018 RED BULL STRAIGHT RHYTHM
Oct. 20…………………….Pomona, CA
2018 REM OCTOBERCROSS
Oct. 27………………………..Glen Helen, CA
2018 DUBYA WORLD VET CHAMPIONSHIP
Nov. 3-4…………………..Glen Helen, CA
2018 PARIS SUPERCROSS
Nov. 17-18…………………….Paris, France
2018 THOR MINI OLYMPICS
Nov. 19-24…………..…….Gainesville, FL
2018 DAY IN THE DIRT
Nov. 24-26…………………….Glen Helen, CA
2018 ROBBY GORDON OFF-ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP
Dec.1-2………………………..Glen Helen, CA
2018 REM GLEN HELEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Oct. 20……………………Glen Helen, CA
Oct. 27……………………Glen Helen, CA (National track)
Nov. 17……………………Glen Helen, CA
Dec. 1……………………..Glen Helen, CA (Canceled)
Dec. 15……………………Glen Helen, CA
Dec. 22……………………Glen Helen, CA
Dec. 29…………..…….…Glen Helen, CA
2018 WORLD OFFROAD CHAMPIONSHIP (WORCS)
Oct. 19-21………………….…Adelanto, CA
Nov. 9-11………………….…..Primm, NV
2018 OLD SCHOOL SCRAMBLES CHAMPIONSHIP
Dec. 9………………………..Glen Helen, CA
2018 ENDUROCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
Oct. 20…………………………..Denver, CO
Oct. 27…………………………..Everett, WA
Nov. 3……………………………Boise, ID
Photos: Debbi Tamietti, Brian Converse, Jody Weisel, Travis Fant, Ray Archer, Daryl Ecklund, MXA, MXGP
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