Behold, a track that isn’t Glen Helen.

By Kyoshi Becker

“Congratulations on purchasing the best pre-printed MX DeCals on the planet for one of the worst side plates.” There it is in writing. We got our decals for the 2017 Honda CRF250 bike test from DeCal Works and that was the first line in the instructions. While last week was primarily a production week, we ran to Milestone on a dreary Tuesday morning to test and shoot the not-so-new 2017 Honda CRF250. There is not much different with the 250 four-stroke, but you can see the updates here. The current CRF250 engine is pretty much the same as last year. While capable, it is more than a few ponies behind the competition (especially the KTM 250SXF and Husqvarna FC250).

While we have yet to throw a leg over the highly anticipated 2017 Honda CRF450, it lhas huge updates and we hope the trend trickles to the 250 class bike. Something else that needs to be updated are those darn number plates. Apply the decals to the CRF250 is like trying to wrap Saran Wrap around beeswax using two left hands.

Decal application at its finest.

Dennis Stapleton blows out a berm.

Sand surfing is possible at Milestone.

At this moment Stapo realized he was going to roll in the dirt.

The lazy man scrub.

People wonder how dust gets in my lenses. This is the killer sand. Much finer grain than what you find on the beach.

But the sand makes for huge roost.

Milestone does have a smattering of green backgrounds.

How about a real scrub.

Milestone also has jumps that Stapleton is willing to commit to.

“That’s a wrap.” Travis Fant ends a live shooting session using his cell phone. Okay, not really.

ALL-AMERICAN RETROCROSS

Some men want the latest and greatest–the Wil Harpers of the world with souped-up factory machines. Bikes that will never race their full potential as they are beyond the ability of the riders atop them. Others yearn for their glory days..the first steed dad plopped their eager bottoms onto as they got to hold onto the handlebars while he rolled around the pits. Many like the simplicity, the nostalgia or just the hassle of owning and racing a spitting sputtering antique of a motorcycle. American Retrocross is a race series that races approximately once a month. This last year they have raced mainly at Competitive Edge and Glen Helen. Unlike Hell on Wheels, this series is a little more specific about what you can race and have classes specific to era as well as age. Comp Edge is a great track for classic races, as it is more of a motocross style of track. While there are tabletops and whoops, the meat of the track follows the land. The racing was fairly good and it was interesting to see what people brought out of the woodwork.

Michael Johnstone racing atop a BSA.

Larry Hipp was able to hold off Chad Zamora atop his Maico.

Kevin Montgomery goes for the holeshot.

Douglas Farren is rocking an old school Shift jersey.

Can you jump an early 1980’s RM500? Kevin Montgomery can.

Look at that pipe on Ryan Voznick’s Bultaco.

Joe Vita races on a late 1970’s YZ.

Kevin Montgomery rips through a corner.

A classic red Maico.

There appears to be some newer bikes on this start.

Flashy O’Neal gear on a Villopoto-inspired Kawasaki.

Fierce battles.

What could be retro about Broc Bonham’s bike? Wait 20 years. 

There are many great passing spots at Comp Edge.

ESR’s Ron Shuler raced in a class of his own. He beat everyone in every other class on the track.

Michael Wismer passes Frank Maney.

Alias Gear and a Honda machine. Where else do we see this combo?

It would be safe to guess that this TT500 is much heavier than it looks.

Yellow Yamahas are a common thing here. Matt Tiedy demonstrates.

Can a Can-Am can an am? We may never know, but it can get flight time.

KTM is the one European bike that isn’t all that retro–especially this thumper.

This Husky is not a “White KTM.” It was made back in the Swedish days. Its modern counterpart is still a great machine.

Chad Zamora racing his Suzuki.

A really old bike and an old trail bike.

Taking the beast through the pits.

OVER THE HILL GANG AT LACR

This weekend there were races everywhere in Southern California. LACR, Glen Helen, Perris, Comp Edge you name it. “There are no races” wasn’t an excuse that could be legitimate in SoCal. While Retrocross continued at Comp Edge, I went over to LACR to check out the Over the Hill Gang race. LACR is a great track but the prep was sorta wonky Sunday. It was well watered but there were braking bumps everywhere. Road to Recovery came out to do a raffle for Jessy Nelson. While I had stopped at Glen Helen to watch some of the WORCS races, this is probably the least amount of time I have spent at my “second home” in a long time. Below are some of my photos of the race at LACR.

RICK JOHNSON 1984 CARLSBAD 500 MX GRAND PRIX

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TIM GAJSER 2016 MXGP SEASON STATS

Tim Gajser racing at Glen Helen for the final GP.

In 2015, the 450 rookie Romain Febvre would break Tony Cairoli’s champion streak. Febvre however did not have a 250 Championship, making his victory that much greater. His victory may have overshadowed Tim Gajser’s 250 Championship. Gajser was not to be ignored. Entering the 2016 season the Honda rider moved up to the 450 class. His primary rivals would be Romain Febvre, Tony Cairoli and Max Nagl. The Slovenian would not disappoint. In his first race at Losail, Qatar, Gajser dominated, running away with a 1-1 finish. While he would finish off the podium in the following week, Gajser had set the pace. Gajser wouldn’t win the overall again until round four. He was quick to close the points gap on Romain Febvre in the following weeks and take the points lead. For the rest of the season everybody tried to catch Gajser with little success. The result was a second championship for the 20 year old rider. See our interview with him here.

TIM GAJSER 2016 STATS
Total Starts: 36
Total Overall Podiums: 16
Total Overall Wins: 9
Total Moto Wins: 15
Total GP Points Earned: 731

MXA’S WEEKEND WINNERS

Justin Brayton’s season isn’t over yet. He went to Australia and won.

Maxxis British Motocross Nationals 450 Class: Shaun Simpson.
Maxxis British Motocross Nationals 250 Class: Martin Barr.
Maxxis British Motocross Nationals 450 Chanmpion: Tommy Searle.
Maxxis British Motocross Nationals 250 Champion: Adam Sterry.
125 Dream Race: Carson Brown.
Australian Supercross 450 Class: Justin Brayton.
Australian Supercross 250 Class: Gavin Faith.

MXA CLASSIC AD: SEPTEMBER 1985

Everything you have heard about those Boyesen reeds is true. You’ll never go back!

PHOTOGRAPHIC RAMBLINGS

Eli Tomac leads Josh Grant over the peak at Thunder Valley.

If you have been reading this long enough you may know I like shooting film. During the first few rounds of the AMA Nationals I cranked out a bunch of expired (and a few fresh) rolls of slide film. While I initially processed a few of the rolls, I held off given the cost. $12 bucks per roll is a pretty penny. Upon getting the second batch, I noticed most of the images were tainted pink, probably due to exposing the roll to heat. The problem is not having a tinted image but scanning it. Most modern scanners still rely on archaic software to import the image. The controls are far and few, and have little latitude. The most frustrating part is that this part of the process is the most vital in collecting the most data of an image. If an image cannot be scanned optimally, it cannot be edited optimally. I cannot be too frustrated however. I did choose to shoot with slides and scan them.