Is the Motocross Economy Recession-Proof?

November 20th, 2008 • My Thoughts

There is no denying that America is currently in a time of economic downturn. The stock market continues to fall, people are loosing their jobs left and right, and major companies are crumbling. As motocross racers, we rely on an elaborate system of organizations, tracks, and companies to keep our sport going. However, as the economy continues to crumble, an increasingly prominent question in the minds of motocross racers and industry members will be “Is the motocross economy recession proof”

Motocross is a Luxury

-Photo by Paul Buckley.

The first step in analyzing whether or not the motocross economy is recession proof is the realization that motocross is a luxury. The people who truly pump money into the motocross economy, the hard core amateur racers, race because they enjoy it. They are not getting paid, and the truth is that motocross costs these riders a lot of money each year. A lot of serious amateurs may think that motocross is a crucial part of their life, but the truth is, when the going gets tough economically, expensive luxuries such as motocross are the first to get cut out of family’s budgets. There is no denying that motocross is a very expensive sport. From the bikes, to maintenance and safety gear, to entry fees, racing motocross can cost a family thousands of dollars a year. As a result, as more and more americans loose their jobs or get their paycheck cuts, they will look to cut the fat out of their budget, and motocross is basically a slab of bacon.

If the american economy continues to worsen, many riders will look to cut racing out of their motocross activities. This transition from racing to practicing is one we have already begun to see throughout New England. The past few years, attendances at races have dropped significantly, however, many shops are still reporting good business, and practice tracks are generally pretty busy. Practicing provides riders with the adrenaline rush of racing, but without the travel, entry fees, and other expenses of racing. In the past few years average attendances of races has dropped from the mid 3 and 400s to right around 200. This incredible drop is due to the added expense of racing, people’s desire to save money while still enjoying motocross. The decrease in racing will, and already has, hurt many racing clubs/organizations. They main source of income, race entry fees, has been nearly cut in half, while their expenses have stayed constant.

However, if something is not done in our country to reverse the economic downturn, many riders will be forced to cut racing out of their lives totally. While this is surely not something that most riders would enjoy doing, when motocross comes between putting food on your families table, the choice is clear. The problem that the motocross economy will have if the American recession worsens is that motocross is a luxury in most peoples lives, and something that they would be willing to give up in order to better provide for their family.

Everything Revolves Around the Riders

In the past few paragraphs, I discussed how motocross is a luxury activity for most participants, and could and would be cut from peoples lives if the economy worsened enough. However, I have not mentioned how essential the motocross economy is on the participation of riders and racers. While this may seem like an obvious statement, many people fail to realize how essential riders and racers are to EVERY motocross related business. If motocross riders stop racing because of economic problems, clubs and organizations will quickly crumble. Then, as riders cut motocross completely out of their lives, tracks will began to close, as will motocross shops, and aftermarket companies and finally, the OEMs (Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda, KTM, Yamaha). This domino effect could potentially be disastrous for the motocross industry. Furthermore, if this recession goes deep enough into our country’s economy, the current wide range of motor builders, pipe manufacturers, gear companies and bike shops could be reduced to a much small number. This possible economic “cleaning” of the motocross industry is one that has never been seen before in our sport, and could reverse a lot of the progress that has been made recently to bring motocross into the mainstream.

Going Green

In addition to the possibly tough future economically, the motocross industry is going to have to survive the largest technological transition in its history. It is possible that the current eco-friendly frenzy is fueled by the poor economy, and rising oil prices (except for the past few months). However, the truth is that there is only so much oil left in our world. The sport of motocross has to change sometime within the next 50 years to green technology based bikes. Whether this is electric or another radical technology, it will revolutionize our sport. It will completely change the way tracks are designed, and riding styles of both top and amateur riders. It will also change the modification and customization of motocross bikes totally. Motocross bikes have always been internal-combustion based, but sometime in the next half-century this will have to change.

The problem with this “green” transition is that it is timed wrong. In a strong economy, this change-over would be difficult enough. Shops are going to have to retool, track designers rethink their designs, and riders relearn how to go fast. However, right now is not a strong economy. Motocross companies are going to have a hard enough time surviving our current economic struggle without spending thousands in R&D money redesigning new bikes. But environmentalists are pushing extremely hard for greener technologies, and this idea is definitely spreading throughout our country. It has recently reached the auto industry and is only a matter of time before it has swept the motocross culture. Once this change of mind happens, motocross consumers are going to demand cleaner technologies, and demand that OEMs begin producing 0 carbon emission dirt bikes. Regardless of the economy, consumers want green technologies, and the motocross industry will not be able to escape this transition in the culture of our sport, our country, and our world.

Conclusion

Our country may possible be approaching one of the worst economical crisis since the 1930s. As our nations economy potentially crashes, the motocross industry will also have to survive the recession. Because motocross is a luxury for the majority of motocross riders, many will have to give up motocross in order to survive. This will cause a domino effect that could potentially take down the entire motocross industry. Furthermore, the growing pressure from inside and outside the motocross industry will place a huge burden on motocross companies to completely redevelop their products. In conclusion, it is clear that the motocross industry is far from recession proof and that if the economy does continue to decline, it could potentially take down the motocross industry as a whole including tracks, organizations, clubs, local shops, and OEMs.

Tags: depression, eco-friendly, economy, green, motocross, My Thoughts, recession, recession-proof

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