MOTOCROSS ACTION MID-WEEK REPORT

#WHIPITWEDNESDAY

Rider: Christian Craig
Bike: 2022 Star Racing Yamaha YZ250F
Place: 2022 Anaheim 1 Supercross
Photographer: Trevor Nelson

TWO-STROKE TUESDAY | STEVEN JENKINS SUPER EVO HONDA CR500

“I just wanted to share my Super Evo Honda CR 500 build. It’s a labor of love and a continuous work in progress. I think your readers will enjoy this as well.” —Steven Jenkins

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ANAHEIM 1 SUPERCROSS IS RIGHT HERE

Do you know how to watch it? When it watch it? Who’s in and who’s injured? Do you know what the track looks like? Do you know what the race day schedule is? If you to ask yourself any of these questions click here.

MXA SWAG NOW AVAILABLE FOR LIMITED TIME WITH CHAMPION APPAREL 

 

 

 

RACING WITH A ONE-ARMED SOLIDER

MXA YOUTUBE CHANNEL | HIT THAT SUBSCRIBE BUTTON

The MXA wrecking crew is everything moto related. Check out our MXA YouTube channel for bike reviews, Supercross coverage, rider interviews and much more. And don’t forget to hit that subscribe button.

MXA MINI TEST // LEATT MOTO 2.5 X-FLOW V22 GLOVES

Nothing is more personal than a motocross glove. Leatt’s gloves are pre-curved to fit your hands, and they are extremely soft. They remind us of high-end golf gloves. The “thin glove” ideology matches perfectly with modern, “athletic fit” motocross gear trends. The 2.5 X-Flow gloves are light, minimalistic and comfortable.

VERDICT: Some gear manufacturers skimp on the quality of their gloves to save money or because gloves come as an afterthought in their gear line. Leatt’s gloves don’t fit in either category. The 2.5 X-Flow gloves are light with excellent airflow and have a supple feel on the grips.

ITALY’S MATTIA GUADAGNINI HOLDS UP MXA HE IS FEATURED IN

If you don’t already know who Jim Kimball is, he is a big part of MXA even though he works full time with WPS. Jim is MXA’s interviewer. He is very passionate about interviewing the most interesting people in the industry and getting the most out of the conversation. He does it because it is something he loves, and we are very fortunate he does it for us. So, what does this picture of Italy’s Mattia Guadagnini holding up the January 2023 issue of MXA have to do with Jim? Everything! Jim interviewed Mattia at the 2022 MXDN. Jim got six more interviews of European riders that raced the MXDN that we put in the January 2023 issue of MXA. Mattia got ahold of the January issue because Jim sent one to him in Italy. In return Mattia sent this photo to Jim and he sent it to us. Thanks Jim and Mattia.

2023 SUPERCROSS SCHEDULE

2023 AMA SUPERCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
Jan. 7…Anaheim, CA
Jan. 14…Oakland, CA
Jan. 21…San Diego, CA
Jan. 28…Anaheim, CA
Feb. 4…Houston, TX
Feb. 11…Tampa, FL
Feb. 25…Arlington, TX
Mar. 4…Daytona Beach, FL
Mar. 11…Indianapolis, IN, MI
Mar. 18…Detroit, MI
Mar. 25…Seattle, WA
Apr. 8…Glendale AZ
Apr. 15…Atlanta, GA
Apr. 22…East Rutherford, NJ
Apr. 29…Nashville, TN
May 6…Denver, CO
May 13…Salt Lake City, UT

2023 SUPERMOTOCROSS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Sept. 9…TBA
Date TBA…TBA
Oct. 14: Los Angeles, CA

DID YOU MISS MXA’S 250 SHOOTOUT?

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.

MXA MOTO TIP // WHAT ARE BLISTERS AND WHY DO WE GET THEM?

MOTO TIP: Believe it or not, blisters form to protect the body. When you ride, raised areas of your hand’s palmar surface are susceptible to friction from your gloves and grips. This friction turns into heat. The irritated skin becomes red, and the layers of the skin begin to separate. Your body then gets a signal to protect itself by creating a buffer between your palm and the handlebar. This buffer is filled with fluid that diffuses out of the cells to form what is called a friction blister.

Read a bunch more tips on blisters and how to minimize them here

MXA | MOTO | TRIVIA

Who it this rider and what year was it taken? Answer at the bottom of the page.

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MXPERTS: DO THE CIRCLIP PRONGS HAVE TO BE AT THE BOTTOM?

It doesn’t matter what position you put the circlip in, just as long as you put it in correctly.

Dear MXA,
My dad insists that I put the prong end of my YZ250 piston circlip at the bottom of the wrist pin groove. He says that if I put it in any other position, the centrifugal force of the piston moving up and down will make it fall out. I don’t see how it matters where the open end of the circlip is. Is he right? Do the circlips have to be at the bottom

Your dad is wrong, but we love that he threw in “centrifugal force” as justification for this long-standing old wives’ tale. Centrifugal force is a pseudo-scientific way to say that a body in motion stays in motion. Your dad and lots of other people believe that since the circlip moves upwards with the piston, when the piston gets to top dead center and starts to move down, the centrifugal force will want the circlip to keep moving upwards—to the extent that it will jump out of the circlip groove. Not true. Circlips that fall out are either put in wrong or are being reused after they have been tweaked.

How you put the circlip in is more important than which way you put it in. Grab the circlip’s prong end with needle-nose pliers and slightly angle the clip into the wrist-pin bore. Set one end of the clip into the groove and gently force the other end into the groove. Use a small screwdriver to verify that the clip is fully seated in the groove. Do not grab both prong ends at the same time and squeeze the clip fully together. The clip loses its retaining spring when the clip collapses like this.

Do you have a question for MXA? Send it to [email protected].

HONDA TRAIL 125 // IT IS THE SAME CLASSIC BIKE FROM FOUR DECADES AGO?

CLASSIC PHOTO

Bob Hannah (39), Pierre Karsmaker (8), Akira Watanabe (143), Scott Gillman (223), Gerritt Wolsink (106), Rick Burgett (261), Graham Noyce (10) and Gaylon Mosier at the Phoenix Trans-AMA in 1976. 

MXA TRIVIA ANSWER: Mike Kiedrowski in 1989 racing for team USA at the MXDN in Valkenswaard. The team of Kiedrowski, Stanton and Ward went on to win.