TEN THINGS ABOUT MXA’S TEN MOST COMMON QUESTIONS

(1) Photogenic. “Can I be the guy who gets to ride the bike for the action photos in the magazine?” This is a hard question to answer. We haven’t seen you ride, but we can tell you that looking good in photos has nothing to do with if you can do freestyle tricks or are the fastest guy in Wichita. The great photo riders, like Pete Maly, Lance Moorewood, Larry Brooks, Dennis Stapleton, Josh Mosiman and Daryl Ecklund, are few and far between. We don’t want to break your heart, but more times than not, the talent doesn’t find us; we find the talent.

(2) Finders keepers. “Can I buy one of the numerous bikes that you guys have in the MXA arsenal for a killer deal?” MXA does have one of every motocross bike sold in our workshop, but we don’t own them. They belong to the manufacturers, and we will exchange them for next year’s models when they come out. Plus, you don’t want our test bikes after they have been raced virtually every weekend for a year.

(3) Sponsor me. “You guys get unlimited free stuff. Could you sponsor me?” It may seem like the MXA crew has a factory ride with every manufacturer, gear company, helmet designer, goggle brand, boot supplier and aftermarket company, but unlike factory riders who get paid beaucoup bucks to use products, we get zilch—unless you consider getting a nasty phone calls after writing a bad review is a perk. The truth is, we sponsor 7 riders of different abilities to serve as endurance test riders, and that is the most we can handle. Plus, we are the wrong people to ask. If you have the work ethic and speed, all of those bike, gear and aftermarket companies will be willing to sponsor you. Call them directly.

(4) Pumpkin head. “I want an orange MXA helmet. What does it take to get one?” The answer is simple—you have to become one of us. If you think that sounds easy, think again. There are very few openings in the motocross world for test riders. Everyone who graduates to the MXA orange lid has dedicated his life to the sport. The orange helmet is our “Red Badge of Courage.” Of course, you could join the large number of racers who take the easy way out and have their helmets painted orange.

(5) MXA is rich. “It is hard to believe how much money you guys dump into your project bikes. MXA must think its readers are made of money.” We do go over the top with our project bikes. They are always way over their projected budgets. But, that is because we don’t want to leave anything off a project bike that someone might want to know about. You don’t have to buy every part we use, but we think you should know your options. Our project bikes may be opulent, but our trucks are beaters.

(6) Typing. “You guys are so lucky. You get to ride for a living.” Just like Superman’s secret alter ego Clark Kent, the MXA wrecking crew spends more time on a computer typing than riding. If we had to choose between doing a perfect scrub or typing 80 words a minute, we’d take typing speed every time. Our job is awesome, but magazines and websites don’t write themselves.

Deep in the MXA catacombs.

(7) Best bike. “I am looking to buy a new bike. What is the best bike for me?” The real question is, would you really want to hear the answer? Maybe you have a deep love for Yamaha, or your favorite color is Honda red. For many, the best bike isn’t the fastest one; it’s the yellow one. It isn’t the best-suspended one; it’s a green one. It isn’t the best-handling one; it’s the cheapest one. If you ask us what the best bike is, we will tell you. That is why we do shootouts. But, we don’t expect you to agree with us.

(8) Ride this. “Can you ride my bike and tell me what I should do to make it better?” We would love to personally fine-tune each and every one of our readers’ bikes for them, but, unfortunately, we can’t ride your bike. Lucky for us, we are getting paid while at the racetrack. That means that we are on MXA time. If something went wrong while we were riding your bike, not only would we feel bad, but we’d be in trouble back at the head office for goofing off instead of riding the bikes we were supposed to be testing. Ask us questions. Tell us your bike’s symptoms. Go on our website or read the mag, but don’t ask us to ride your bike.

Bikes that are making news—make the cover. The 2023 Yamaha YZ450F was on MXA’s November 2022 cover because that is what people wanted to see.

(9) Bleed orange. “Why do you guys always have KTMs on the cover of MXA?” We don’t. We try top put bikes on the cover based on what people want to see. That meant a Yamaha YZ450  when it was first released, The Stark Varg during its overblown ballyhoo, the KTM 300SX two-stroke when the news of it first broke, Factory Editions, Rockstar Editions and Works Edition when they came out and of course, shootout covers, for the 125, 250 and 450 shootout—and shootout covers have every brand on them.

However, even if there were more MXA covers featuring KTMs, that would be easily explained by the fact that there are 11 different KTM motocross bikes that MXA tests on a regular basis—while there are only 4 Yamahas, 3 Kawasakis, 3 Hondas and 2 Suzukis to test. Plus, since GasGas and Husqvarna come under the KTM umbrella, the number of available motocross bieks from Austrian is  close to 30 models. Over our lifespan we have been called Honda Action, Yamaha Action and Kawasaki Action (based on when each of those brands were winning shootouts), so we are not surprised to be called KTM Action.

(10) Perfecto mundo. “In a perfect world, what would be the best bike?” Let’s see. If we could combine the Suzuki’s turning ability, the Yamaha’s suspension, the Honda’s ergos with the KTM’s light weight, Belleville washer clutch, Brembo brakes, broad powerband, Pankl transmission, balanced chassis, braided steel lines and two throttle cams, we’d have the perfect bike.