Home Archives About This Site Photo Gallery Advertise
|
Watching for Symbols
As motocrossers, we are symbologists as much as we are racers. Our choices in bikes, gear, graphics, grips and accessories telegraph signals of our values, preferences and insecurities to our colleagues. It is not difficult for a rider to glance at the guy next to him on the line and create a mental dossier on what is important to his competitor. Like it or not, a motocrosser in full gear is an easier read than Go Dog Go.
While that might sound shallow, it is nothing that everyone doesn’t do everyday in the regular world. After all, it is hard not to suspect that the 45-year-old guy with the pretentious sports car, overly flashy leather jacket and dated Oakley sunglasses is perhaps struggling with the passing of his youth. Categorizing of this sort is something people do to make the dizzying array of information in the world a little easier to digest. And while it does not always lead to correct assumptions, it works to some degree or else our species would have discarded it somewhere in our primordial past.
What makes motocrossers unique from much of the rest of the world is that our symbols are so blatant and so celebrated. Motocross races are a costume party as much as they are an athletic event, and the proof of that is in the amount of money the average hardcore racer spends on gear. And I’m not simply talking about actual clothing (most of which is necessary for protection), but also about all the other stuff we use strictly for fashion purposes. Graphics, for instance, make no functional improvement to a motorcycle, but they are the number-one accessory that riders add to their machines. And we usually don’t stop at the radiator shrouds: most bikes in the pits are layered with vinyl from end to end--often intended to match with whatever haberdashery the rider has chosen for his body.
But graphics and fancy gear aside, even the simplest choices we make send enormous signals to the initiated. My wife was surprised when I told her I can see a bike in the back of a truck in town and tell immediately whether its rider is serious or not. While this is an easy exercise for any long-time racer, she reveled in the seemingly small details that I pointed out as a means of identifying the weekend warriors from the serious racers. “Crooked numbers and mismatched plastic,” I told her. “No self-respecting racer would go to the line with symbols of that sort of carelessness,” I explained as we spied a ratty KX250.
Eager to further prove my skills of perception a little later that day, I zoned in on another bike--this one much cleaner and better-prepped than the previous one. “Likely a racer, but probably a Beginner or Junior. Still a little new to the sport,” I said casually, eyeing a late-model Honda. “How’s that?” she countered. “The numbers are straight, the plastic matches and it’s clean. How do you know he’s not that fast?” she asked. “Easy,” I said. “It’s the satellite-team graphic kit. He’s got his bike covered in the graphics of an entity that doesn’t know him from Adam. Pros and fast Intermediates don’t do that. They know that the only logo that belongs on their bike is from someone who is either paying him or at least giving him free product. Besides that, if you’re a serious Pro, how silly would it look for you to go to a big race and line up in that sort of livery next to someone who’s actually getting paid to do so? It’s not good to look like a sycophant to someone with whom you’re about to compete.” I sensed she understood my logic.
To those of us who might find themselves in the category of the fellow with the Amsoil/Factory Connection-billboard sitting proudly in the back of his truck (or, worse yet, the Crusty-Demons Kawasaki), this information might seem unsettling. No one likes to look out of the loop, myself included. So if you want to resemble someone who knows what they’re doing in motocross (even if you still haven’t located your air filter), here are a few simple tips to keep even the most sophisticated watcher guessing:
--Use stickers sparingly. There’s very little sense in turning your bike into a billboard to create that “racy” look. Stickers are fun, I realize, but when one comes in the parts box--stick it on the garage fridge instead of your fender.
--Unless you’re a freestyle star, skip the black plastic. The “Man in Black” look on a dirt bike is not as intimidating or mysterious as you hope.
--While I know that you’re new to the sport, and you think that it would be the cleverest counter-cultural move of all time, please know that every yahoo to enter a motocross race in the past 30 years has used the numbers 69 or 420--thus meaning that for you to do it would be the equivalent of hanging a sign around your neck that says, “Not only should you watch out for me on the track, but it would be wise to steer clear of me on the freeway on the way home too.”
--Finally, always be sure to replace your rear fender within six months of breaking it off. Same goes for your helmet visor. And if you’re a big spender or neat freak, it never hurts to grab a new one within three months. Those things are pretty important.
|
