.... the Evo and Pre '85 classes are currently a country mile from reaching their potential. Theoretically I reckon that those classes should be presenting full grids in all capacities and age groups.
I think that's an unrealistic expectation. We don't see consistantly full grids in ANY class nowdays.
The timing of a class' introduction is also significant - if we leave it too long then the target audience grows too old to achieve the participation levels of the early 1990s. We made this mistake with pre-85 and have already let (what would have been) the best years of pre-90 slip past us.
Also worth noting that VMX had a high-profile in the mainstream dirt bike media at the same time that VMX was at its strongest. If we need to grow the sport, then that's the first thing to improve.
There's zero doubt that VMX mag has been brilliant for us 'serious' old dirt bikers - but its existance has also meant that we didn't notice/lament the loss of regular exposure in the mainstream bike media. In reality, that loss has meant that we've disappeared under the radar for the average punter.
I reckon that every trip I've made with a VMX bike on the ute/trailer, someone always comes to me and has a chat about old bikes and how much fun they had on their old [whatever]. When you mention the whole VMX scene, you're usually met with some apprehension, because you're introducing a whole new concept to them - most people need to be familiar with a concept before they make the leap.
I have no delusions that every single one of the people I've chatted to at various servos/Maccas/traffic lights would become active VMXers, but even if you got 1% of them actively involved, then the scene would be a hell of a lot stronger.
I agree with most of what you've said, Firko, but I think that it's relevance to pre-90 is very limited.
In response to Dan's figure of 5% of the membership owning pre-90 bikes, I wonder what percentage have (and use!) pre-70 bikes? If its less than 5%, then you'd have to argue that pre-70 should be combined with pre-75 and replaced with pre-90...
And remember that pre-70 has a class to race them in - everyone who currently owns a pre-90 in NSW has bought
despite the fact that there's not a class to use it in. This should say a lot about the enthusiasm that's out there for them.
Wasp, what's a 15 year old vehicle got to do with it? Even the very newest pre-90 bike is about to turn 22, and the oldest are now old enough to get histroic rego in most states.
(Edit: Fast typing is shit typing, apparently).
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