MOTOCROSS ACTION MID-WEEK REPORT

“ON ANY SUNDAY” WAS THE CATALYST THAT SPARKED THE OFF-ROAD MOTORCYCLE BOOM IN THE 1970S. WERE YOU AWARE OF THE MONUMENTAL IMPACT THAT MOVIE WOULD HAVE ON THE INDUSTRY? I didn’t have a clue. “On Any Sunday” made a big difference for the motorcycle business. Even now I meet guys who tell me that “On Any Sunday” got them into riding motorcycles. Think of it this way; what would your life be like without motorcycles? Once you experience that joy of riding it’s impossible to get rid of. I thought the movie would play for six months and be forgotten. However, I can watch it right now and the movie will still excite me to go riding.

The cast and crew of “On Any Sunday”. Mert Lawwill (far left) with Steve McQueen next to him, cameraman Bob Bagley (center), Malcolm Smith (second from right) with Bruce Brown next to him.

IN YOUR MIND DO YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN STILL RIDE AS WELL AS YOU DID IN “ON ANY SUNDAY?” I wish, but I can’t ride like that anymore. I’m sorry to say that. I remember riding up a hill on a trials bike, pulling in the clutch, and coasting down backwards. These days, I could try it a million times, but I won’t be able to do it anymore. I used to be able to do it so easily! I would ride up, shut my brain off, and let my body do the rest. In my mind I think that I can still ride fast, but then I’ll go riding with my son and realize that I’m not fast anymore [laughter].

HOW DID YOU BEFRIEND FILM MAKER BRUCE BROWN? I worked on his motorcycles. Bruce had an old Husqvarna. He would bring it out from Dana Point. It was a 16-mile drive. I would work on his bikes, and then we would ride together. We would sneak into Camp Pendleton Marine Base and ride in there. It was a fun time.

WHAT’S THE MOST DIFFICULT PART ABOUT OWNING A MOTORCYCLE DEALERSHIP? I hate paperwork. Luckily I have people that do it. Alexander, my son, is running it now. Joyce, my wife, ran the shop for about eight years. I’m really good at seeing if things are going well, but she’s really good at figuring out how to fix problems. Joyce is much more organized than I am. My attention span changes a lot. I jump from one thing to another and sometimes don’t get things done. Basically I’m a typical motorcycle rider [laughter]. Alexander is a racer, but he took a lot of classes in International Banking and Finance. He’s really sharp.

Bruce Brown, Mert Lawwill and Malcolm Smith at the AMA Hall of Fame.

DO YOU LOOK AT FOUR-STROKES AS A GOOD CHANGE FOR THE SPORT? It’s a bad thing on the cost to keep them running, especially the 250 four-strokes. They rev so high and can blow up. Whereas a father and a son can buy a 125 two-stroke, get a new piston on a Saturday morning, do a top-end overhaul, and go race on Sunday. Now you see all these 250 four-strokes blown up and sitting in the back of a shop with a $2500 bill to fix the engine. It has pushed a lot of people out, because it’s not so affordable anymore. A 250cc two-stroke will run forever, and it doesn’t cost you a lot of money.

HAS MODERN TECHNOLOGY BECOME TOO ADVANCED FOR MOST RIDERS? You can buy an awfully good motorcycle now, which is great. Keep in mind that you can spend just as much money on a high-end mountain bike as a 450cc four-stroke, but you don’t have to pedal up the hill on a motorcycle. I don’t think the sport is too expensive for a weekend warrior who rides a few times a month. If you ride all the time and constantly need to replace tires and things like that, then it’s very costly.

Malcolm and Roger DeCoster.

WHO DO YOU THINK IS THE GREATEST RACER EVER? Roger DeCoster. He was a great racer, and he transitioned into a career as a successful team manager. He has gone to several different teams, and the team always won after he began working there. He’s still winning. Roger can pick the young guy that has the ability and drive and will to win. He’ll spend the time working with that racer and get him on top of the podium.

WHO IS THE MOST TALENTED RIDER YOU’VE EVER SEEN? YOU CAN CHOOSE YOURSELF IF YOU LIKE? No, I’m not even close. Compared to the motocross guys I’m not even in the ballpark. James Stewart immediately comes to mind. He had a lot of talent. Gosh, if he have could just control himself a little bit and known when he should go fast or back it down a bit. Ken Roczen is very talented, too. Ryan Dungey and Ryan Villopoto also come to mind. Those last two were so determined to win. To me, the magic was in watching Stewart ride a track. He made my heart pound. You haven’t experienced Supercross until you stand at ground level and watch what the top guys do. It’s unbelievable.

Malcolm Smith received the 2019 Edison Dye Lifetime Achievement Award.

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR MOTORCYCLE BIKE SALES TO RETURN TO THE GLORY DAYS, WHERE PRACTICALLY EVERY KID AROUND THE BLOCK WOULD RIDE? It would be very hard. It’s much more difficult now for a guy with a regular job and normal income to have enough money to ride and also afford bikes for his kids. I do think that vintage motocross is pretty cheap, and the danger isn’t there. Tracks are dangerous now. There are pretty big jumps on motocross tracks, and everyone is expected to do them. I never encouraged my son to race motocross for that reason. I wanted him to stick to off-road.

JETT ON 2025: “TO MAKE THEM HAPPY, I’D HAVE TO STOP WINNING, BUT SADLY, THAT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.”

ASK THE MXPERTS: ARCHIMEDES TELLS YOU HOW TO GET A STRONGER FRONT BRAKE FOR FREE

At what point on the brake lever you pull from can make a big difference in stopping power.

Dear MXperts,
The front brake on my 2020 Kawasaki KX450 doesn’t feel as powerful as I think it should based on past experience with four Kawasakis. I bled the brakes with high-temp brake fluid, measured the thickness of the relatively new brake pads, and roughed up the front rotor with 600-grade sandpaper. But, the brakes still lack pizazz. What do you think the problem is?

One of the problems with modern motocross electronics is the all hardware, buttons, switches and perches that end up on the handlebars. It is often the case of the handlebars  being too crowded to leave much room for moving all the assorted paraphernalia where you want it and, when you add in the handlebars downward curvature and increase in handlebar diameter as you move towards the triple clamps, space is at a premium.

So, when we got your email, we called Bob Barnett, the ARC lever fame, and asked him what the source of your brake problem was. Bob dropped this gem on us. “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” We recognized the quote from Greek mathematician Archimedes (287–212 BC), but told Bob that we didn’t know that Archie had ever raced. Bob said that the cause of your problem was most likely where you were pulling the brake lever from. According to Bob, via Archimedes, the difference between pulling the brake lever in the middle or farther out towards the end is 30 percent more leverage. Bob suggested that you slide your brake perch farther inboard on the handlebars so that you are pulling the brake lever farther away from its fulcrum—noting that with a long enough brake lever, you could “move the world.”

The basis of Bob’s simple advice is that your brake lever pushes against the fluid trapped in the brake line. The fluid moves easily when you first pull the lever, but puts up increasing resistance as it compresses the brake fluid in your front caliper. By using another Archimedes’ principle, which refers to the displacement of a fluid, you will be able to apply more force on the brake fluid with a longer lever (or by simply moving your finger farther outboard on the lever).

MXA PHOTO OF THE WEEK

This was a part of the MXA test bike fleet at the 2024 World Vet Championships a few weeks back. We had riders of all ages and skill levels racing in the 17 different classes. 

CLASSIC MXA PHOTO

Micky Dymond (6),  Ron Lechien (4)  Broc Glover (44) racing at the LA Coliseum 1988.

MXA Photo Trivia Answer: Kyle “Lucky” Lewis, who came onto the scene in 1987, winning San Diego SX in the 125cc West class.