Travis Pastrana is a psycho, seriously, but in the best way possible. He’s also one of the most genuinely nice human beings out there. There are few other people in this world who can seemingly bend the laws of physics to their will like he can, and then bounce off the ground like a basketball (or sack of potatoes) only to get up and do it again when things don’t go as planned. He’s revolutionized the sport of freestyle motocross, and all the other action sports he’s tried. From skydiving and base jumping, back flipping and front flipping motorcycles, to racing rally cars and demolishing anything in his path, all the while somehow managing not to die – there’s no end or limit to Travis’ abilities or creative ideas. He just landed this one trick – I don’t even think there’s a name for it yet, but it could easily be called the “what the fuuuh…” – and all the spinning and twisting while back flipping through the air, several stories above the ground is enough to puzzle even a Rubik’s Cube wizard.

 

A post shared by Levi LaVallee (@levi_lavallee) on Jun 27, 2018 at 5:59pm PDT

See what I mean?

We’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with Travis and his crew over the past month as he’s been preparing for his Evel Knievel world record tribute jumps in Vegas this Sunday. We’ll be there in person as Travis attempts three jumps over the Caesar’s Palace fountain, 16 Greyhound busses and 52 cars. One way or another, history will be made, and you can watch it all unfold live on the History Channel, 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern.

We also got to attend a special world premier with Travis at Red Bull HQ for his newest movie, Action Figures 2. He and the Nitro Circus crew elevate their shenanigans to a whole new level and it’s definitely a must see if you’re any sort of a motorsports fan, or if you like to see people do crazy shit. The Action Figures 2 trailer as well as a longer sneak peak can be watched below, but these clips only scratch the surface compared to happens in the movie. We hope everybody had a great Fourth and here’s to keeping the party going this weekend. Cheers!

‘Mericuh!

The post What In The World Is Travis Pastrana Up To Now? appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

Four years ago, Bell unveiled a state-of-the-art technology so profound it created a paradigm shift in the way companies approach helmet technology. Bell’s engineering team sat down to develop a solution that would effectively address all forms and speeds of impact, and thus FLEX was born. Despite being introduced to the industry nearly 4 years ago, Bell Helmets’ FLEX technology still stands as the benchmark of head protection technology in the helmet industry. FLEX continues to outperform anything developed by the competition with its exclusive “progressive layering” technology, protecting riders against low-, mid-, and high-speed impacts. Bell’s continued dominance over the last 4 years is why it has been the leader in head protection products and the go-to helmets for riders such as 2017 450MX champion Eli Tomac and Cooper Webb.

The informative video below explains the technology that offers a short an easy to way to learn more about how it works and why it has been such an important development in the industry.

The post Bell Helmets’ FLEX Technology – Progressive Protection for your Melon appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

Manufactured in Italy, Vertex has developed a reputation for quality aftermarket replacement and performance piston kits for dirt bikes, ATVs, and UTVs. The company employs both both cast and forged manufacturing processes so that it can supply a wide variety of replacement pistons to fit both performance needs and budget.

Each Vertex piston kit includes, the piston, rings, wrist pin, and circlips. The Vertex Honda CRF450R and RX pistons are forged from 4032 aluminum alloy, which Vertex has found to provide the right combination of strength and durability. The piston starts as a T-Box forging (similar to the F1-style bridged box pistons found in many modern four-stroke off-road and motocross engines). It is then heat treated with a T-6 hardening and tempering cycle, and the piston skirts are treated with a high-tech molybdenum disulfide (MOS2) coating to aid in a fast break-in time and longer piston life. Standard pistons and components are OEM replacements, but Vertex offers A, B and C sizes, so you can choose the proper fit for your cylinder, with A being the smallest and C the biggest.

Vertex manufactures Replica, High-Compression and GP Racer’s Choice piston kits. The High-Compression piston kit raises the Honda’s compression ratio from the Replica kit piston’s OEM 13.2:1 up to 14.4:1. The top-of-the-line GP Racer’s Choice piston features a different profile, combustion shape and a shot-peened dome to maximize power. Shot-peening is a process by which the surface of the piston is shot with round metallic, glass, or ceramic particles to strengthen and relieve stress in the piston by essentially hammering the surface to make it stronger. The compression ratio of the GP Racer’s Choice piston kit is 13.95:1

Vertex piston kits for the 2017-18 Honda CRF450R and CRF450RX start at $179.95 for the Replica piston kit with the stock compression ratio. The High-Compression piston kit is $219.95, and the GP Racer’s Choice piston kit is $265.95. For more information, visit http://www.na.vertexpistons.com.

The post Vertex Pistons Video: Kits for Honda CRF450R, CRF450RX appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

The lifestyle and clothing company says that the 14-year-old California native is a perfect fit for what it is all about. Not only does he absolutely rip on a motocross track, but he and his family also love to keep it fun, traveling to all the big motocross races, as well as some random off-road events, says Fasthouse.

Filmmaker Brendan Lutes has produced the following video, profiling this young star as he plays around at his family training ground, located in his own backyard. Hawkins said he remembers his first experience on a dirt bike.

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“My dad got me my first bike on my second birthday,” Hawkins said. “It was a JR50 and I’ve been riding ever since. He trained me with a little tie strap that he tied around the pipe to lead me around. I just rode off and it was super cool.”

Since then, Talon hasn’t stopped twisting the throttle, says Fasthouse. He may be just a teenager, but he knows the reason he swings a leg over a dirt bike.

“You have to take it seriously, but you also have to find that fine line of keeping it fun while also being serious about it,” Hawkins said. “I don’t want that spark to go out, because I love moto.”

With that adult perspective on riding and racing, Fasthouse expects him to do just that in 2018 and well into the future. Check out the Hawkins Nest video above. For information on Fasthouse, visit www.thefasthouse.com.

The post Fasthouse Hawkins Nest Video Released appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

Bogle suffered a crash while practicing for the season-opening Anaheim I Supercross, and the injuries he sustained have forced him to miss Anaheim I, the Houston Supercross and the Anaheim II Supercross as well. JGR Autotrader Yoshimura Suzuki has tabbed Malcolm Stewart to fill-in for the absent Bogle.

But watch the video of Bogle training at Ricky Carmichael’s GOAT Farm in Florida, and it appears that he is just about ready to return to action and take his place alongside teammate Weston Peick, who has put up consistent results aboard his 2018 Suzuki RM-Z450 through the first three rounds of the series.

There’s little question that Bogle was on the upswing prior to the 2018 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series. In 2017 the Oklahoman scored his first career 450cc moto win during Moto 1 of Round 3 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Series at Thunder Valley, Colorado. He also posted his first 450cc overall win with a 1-3 performance at the Budds Creek, Maryland, round. With the announcement that his RCH Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing would fold its tents at the end of 2017, Bogle soon landed a ride with the JGR Autotrader Yoshimura Suzuki team. He is clearly anxious to get back in action and prove that he is worthy of retaining a factory ride.

The post Video: Justin Bogle Preparing for Supercross Return appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

After suffering a terrible Stage 3 in which he fell 22 minutes and 45 seconds off the pace and then failed to put much of a dent in that time deficit during Stage 4, the Spanish rider showed just how fast he can go on a rally bike in Stage 5 yesterday, where he dominated the 266-kilometer timed special to make up a whopping 14 minutes on the leaders as he grabbed his 21st career Dakar Rally stage win.

Barreda was practically unstoppable on the route from San Juan de Marcona to Arequipa in Peru, a route that sent the riders through the Peruvian dunes for the last time before the 2018 Dakar Rally moves into the mountains that border Peru and Bolivia, with the 2018 Dakar Rally field making its next stop in La Paz, Bolivia, at the end of Stage 6. The last of the Peruvian sand routes proved to be challenging, with a technical track that forced riders to pay careful attention to their navigation as they negotiated the tall Tanaka dunes before finishing with a high-speed run over a rocky two-track section.

Starting ninth, Barreda navigated the Tanaka section flawlessly and blazed to victory with a stage time of 3 hours, 19 minutes and 42 seconds, a full 10 minutes and 26 seconds ahead of stage runner-up Matthias Walkner on the Red Bull KTM. Barreda’s teammate, Kevin Benavides of Argentina, finished third in Stage 4, 12 minutes and 20 seconds behind Barreda.

Even better, Barreda made up 14 minutes and 35 seconds on Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally’s Adrien Van Beveren, who finished fifth today, 1 minute and 35 seconds behind the fourth-placed man, fellow Frenchman Antoine Meo.

“I knew that today we would have to battle to make up the time as it was the final stage in the sand dunes,” Barreda said. “I went all out, at very high speeds, and it went well. I was able to pull back some minutes, and we are back in the top 10 that keeps us practically with the same options as the first day. This is really important, and I hope that we get the chance to make up even more time.”

Barreda is now fourth, just 7 minutes and 30 seconds out of the lead—a very manageable deficit, while teammate Benavides inched closer to the rally lead. Benavides is in second place overall, just 1 minute behind AVB, while Walkner is holding fast in third place, just another 14 seconds adrift of Benavides, making the 2018 Dakar Rally a real battle at the front.

“The idea was to go out and attack, and it went pretty well, but I had a slight mishap with the fuel and I lost some time fixing it,” Benavides said. “I went ahead, pushing hard until I had a scare, and then I took it more calmly. I finished third, and I think it was a good stage, as hard as it was. The dunes were very soft and there was a lot of fesh-fesh, and the second special was ruined by the cars and trucks that went before us.” (The 2018 Dakar Rally features a new system of inverted sections in some stages, which means that the cars and trucks will compete in one section while the motorcycles and ATVs simultaneously compete in the other. Then the classes switch sections.)

Stage 5 was a rough one for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla, who was hampered by motorcycle issues. The Chilean did the best he could, running steadily in the timed special before heing foced to stop just a few kilometers before the finish. Quintanilla was able to fix the issue and cross the line with the 16th fastest time, 28 minutes and 52 seconds behind Barreda, dropping him down to ninth place overall, 16 minutes and 12 seconds out of the lead.

“It was a tough day for me today,” Quintanilla said. “We knew it would be a tricky day to navigate. I started the special stage really cautiously, but five kilometers before the finish of the timed special I had a small technical issue that made me lose a lot of time. I am happy I managed to fix the small issue and went on to finish the stage. It was not our best day, but the race still has a long way to go. Nothing is lost yet, and I will keep racing and doing my best.”

American riders Ricky Brabec and Andrew Short put in solid results during Stage 5 of the 2018 Dakar Rally, with Brabec finishing ninth while Short was 23rd. Brabec’s time of 3 hours, 38 minutes and 58 seconds, 19 minutes and 16 seconds behind Barreda, and that was good enough to set him back into 10th overall, 25 minutes and 48 seconds out of the lead.

“The day was tough,” Brabec said. “There was a lot of sand dunes again, and the first special was really good for me with a lot of tracks to follow. The second special was horrible because all the cars started ahead of us, and that made it difficult for me to go to the dunes. I didn’t choose the correct tire. But we’re here, and we are ready to go again for tomorrow.”

Stage 6 into Bolivia will be the last before the rest day. It features 313 kilometers of special stage in a route that totals 760 kilometers.

2018 Dakar Rally
San Juan de Marcona to Arequipa, Peru
Results: January 10, 2018 (Stage 5 of 14)

Stage 5
1. Joan Barreda (SPA)-Monster Energy Honda Team / 3 hours, 19 minutes, 42 seconds
2. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:10:26
3. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:12:20
4. Antoine Meo (FRA)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:13:00
5. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA)-Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team / +00:14:35
6. Xaver de Soultrait (FRA)-Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team / +00:14:43
7. Toby Price (AUS)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:15:00
8. Gerard Farres (SPA)-Himoinsa Team / +00:16:54
9. Ricky Brabec (USA)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:19:16
10. Jonny Aubert (FRA)-Gas Gas Racing /+00:21:17

2018 Dakar Rally Overall Results (after 5 of 14 stages)
1. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA)-Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team / 14 hours, 37 minutes, 40 seconds
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:01:00
3. Matthias Walkner (AUT)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:01:14
4. Joan Barreda (SPA)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:07:33
5. Xavier de Soultrait (FRA)-Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team / +00:07:42
6. Toby Price (AUS)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:10:39
7. Antoine Meo (FRA)-Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team / +00:12:12
8. Gerard Farres (SPA)-Himoinsa Team / +00:15:24
9. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI)-Husqvarna Factory Rally Team /+00:16:12
10. Ricky Brabec (USA)-Monster Energy Honda Team / +00:25:48

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After blazing to the front of the field and collecting his 20th career Stage win during Stage 2 of the 2018 Dakar Rally yesterday, Barreda started today’s Stage 3 from Pisco to San Juan de Marcona in Peru, where he made a huge navigational error that may have cost him his shot at the 2018 Dakar Rally win, or even a podium finish. Barreda missed a waypoint and went as much as 9 miles off course before realizing his mistake. Barreda eventually got back on course, but he ended up finishing in 30th place, 28 minutes behind Stage 3 winner Sam Sunderland.

“I’m a little disappointed today because I was going at good pace, opening the track almost all the way through,” Barreda said. “When I reached kilometer 280, I took the one I thought was the good track, but when I saw that it was not the right one, it was very late and I had lost a lot of time. From now on we will have to work to try to make up this difference.”

Sunderland’s second stage victory of the rally was more emphatic than the first, and it distanced him from his competition, which continued to yo-yo up and down the leaderboard.

“It was good,” Sunderland said of his Stage 3 win. “On the first loop I felt really strong, but then the second loop was a bit tricky in a few spots. I managed to miss one drop in the dunes and had a small crash which was a bit scary. I was trying to push today; that was my plan. There were a few mistakes there and it was really difficult going on and off the common tracks from yesterday. It was really confusing and you really had to pay attention to the course in the road-book. But all-in-all it was a good day. The bike was good and we’re safe for another day. All of a sudden, I didn’t see one of the lines and I guess that was where he made a mistake, though I’m not sure at exactly which kilometre. It’s not easy to open, you know, it’s a difficult desert. As I say, we were on and off the tracks from the day before, so it was really tricky there. The Dakar’s like this, you have to try and be consistent every day. I’m a bit angry at myself for missing that drop there, but one drop out of a thousand is not so bad.”

If there is a consolation for Barreda, it’s that there are still 11 stages–hundreds of miles–left to go in the 2018 Dakar Rally, and the door isn’t completely closed on Barreda, as his competition could conceivably run into trouble, something Yamalube Yamaha Offical Rally rider Adrien Van Beveren experienced in Stage 3 as well. The Frenchman also got lost and wound up losing 13 minutes to Sunderland, which dropped him from second place to sixth place in the overall standings.

“It was a difficult day today but nothing is lost,” AVB said. “Being among the first riders to start the stage did not help today, but I did my best to remain focused. I had a few small crashes in the dunes. The sand was super soft and it was a physically demanding stage. Despite all the ups and downs during the stage, I am happy that I reached the finish without losing a lot of time. I managed to make the best out of a tough stage. My result might not be the best, but it’s not terrible. Tomorrow we have the motocross-styled start, and I will be within the second group of riders starting the timed special. If it all goes well I will be able to make up some of the time lost today.”

After finishing fourth in Stage 2, Barreda’s teammate, Michael Metge of France, suffered a navigational equipment issue, and he was forced to shadow other riders to the finish, ending up in 11th place. However, things were better for the other half of the Monster Energy Honda team as both Kevin Benavides and Ricky Brabec put together excellent rides that shot them up the leaderboard. Benavides of Argentina finished second, just 3 minutes and 3 seconds behind Sunderland and a mere 25 seconds ahead of 2016 Dakar Rally Champion Toby Price, who came on strong in third today and moved from 10th overall to fourth overall. Price said that he was pleased to see that he is able to run the pace of the 2018 Dakar Rally leaders after being laid off for nearly a year due to injuries.

“Today was not so bad,” Price said. “It was definitely difficult with the navigation and stuff. We had a couple of small crashes and I blew the end of my camel-back, so I’m a little bit dry at the moment. The navigation tower wasn’t rolling my road-book through, so I was having to do it manually sometimes. It was a little bit difficult in that second part, but we’re here and that’s the main thing, so we’ll just see how the rest of the rally goes. The pace is definitely here and we know we can still run at the front. We’re going to make sure we look after the bike, look after ourselves and avoid making those little crashes where the bike kind of chased me a little bit and landed on top of me a bit. But all-in-all, it was a good day. We’re here at the finish of day three, so now it’s day four to go.”

Brabec was right behind Price at the finish, however, and his fourth-place finish vaulted him from 11th overall to fifth overall, 8 minutes out of the lead.

“It was a good stage, with very complicated navigation; difficult too, because there were a lot of ruts marked out from yesterday,” Brabec said. “I think that I didn’t make too many mistakes, or at least I haven’t paid too dearly for them. I am quite happy to finish this difficult whole stage and am pretty satisfied with the position on the day and in the overall race.”

Fifth in Stage 3 today, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla moved from fifth overall to third overall in the 2018 Dakar Rally overall standings, the Chilean keeping himself mostly out of trouble as he settles in for what will be a long race that so far has not been short on action.

“I enjoyed it a lot today,” Quintanilla said. “It was a really fun stage to ride. Some of the larger dunes were really soft, and it was easy to get stuck. I felt really comfortable first thing this morning and was able to push right from the start. I recovered some time on the guys ahead but then ended up losing a couple of minutes when I made a small mistake with one of the waypoints. I feel a lot fitter today than I did yesterday, so that helps a lot, especially on the longer stages.”

Quintanilla’s American teammate, Andrew Short, still learning the ropes in the Dakar Rally, posted another decent 25th place finish, and he came across the line with another American, SCORE Baja 1000 veteran Shane Esposito, who finished 26th today.

Tomorrow’s loop stage will begin and end in San Juan de Marcona. As part of the 40th anniversary Dakar Rally, the top 15 motorcycles will start on the beach together before heading on to more dunes on a 30-kilometer route that goes from sea level to 2000 meters msl.

The post 2018 Dakar Rally, Stage 3: High for Sunderland, Low for Barreda appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

The 2018 season is an exciting one for Team Honda HRC, with Ken Roczen and Cole Seely both on the hunt for wins and podium finishes in the AMA Supercross and AMA Pro Motocross series. Check out American Honda’s official team video, which showcases the riders preparing for battle aboard their CRF450R race bikes at the famous Honda test track. Guaranteed to get you fired up for the races!

The post 2018 Team Honda HRC Supercross Preview Video: appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

The Italian is a six-time World Enduro Champion (he won the overall World Championship title in 1998), a four-time winner of the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) World Trophy with Team Italy (1992, 1994, 1997 and 2000), and he was the top ISDE individual overall finisher three times, in 1992, 1996 and 1997.

Sala won his first World Championship title in the 500cc class in 1993, and went on to claim 250cc two-stroke World Championsutitles in 1994, 1995 and 1998. In 1999, he won his final WEC title in the 400cc world championship. He retired from the World Enduro Championship after the 2004 season, but he went on to compete in the Dakar Rally where he finished third overall in 2006.

Now the Team Manager of Torrot’s GasGas Rally Team, Sala appears in this video to break down the keys to finishing one of the most demanding races in the world of motorsport, the Dakar Rally, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2018. Torrot had this to say about Sala:

Torrot confides the direction of the GasGas Rally Team to one of the most knowledgeable experts in this event on his return to the Dakar, Giovanni Sala. The Italian foresees a very tough edition of this race, with lots of sand and where navigation will play a key role. Sala has raced in this competition as a rider on 10 occasions and his best result was overall third, achieved in 2006. His extensive background added to his experience in the world of Enduro, will help him in his role as Team Manager of the GasGas Rally Team.

The 2018 Dakar Rally begins January 6.

The post Video: The Dakar, According to Giovanni Sala appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

The 2017 Red Bull Hard Enduro season began with the Red Bull Minas Riders event in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of southeastern Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. The race came down to three riders, including hard enduro god Graham Jarvis, defending event champion Alfredo Gomez and former FIM and AMA EnduroCross Champion Cody Webb. Jarvis would take the win over Webb and Gomez.

From there the Red Bull Hard Enduro season headed to one of the most famous of all hard enduro locales, Erzberg, Austria, for the Red Bull Hare Scramble at the Erzberg Rodeo. Even with 500 riders filling the grid, the battle for the win once again came down to Gomez, Jarvis and Webb, with Gomez stepping up to collect his second career Red Bull Hare Scramble victory.

Sibiu, Romania, provided the backdrop for the hellishly gruelling Red Bull Romaniacs, an event that got the better of many of the sport’s top stars, such as Gomez, Wade Young and Jonny Walker, who all suffered injuries and had to exit the race early. Jarvis, meanwhile, had no trouble and cruised to his fifth career Red Bull Romaniacs win.

Red Bull 111 Megawatt in Poland was next, and it delivered a thrilling finish as Walker barely held off Red Bull Romaniacs runner-up Mario Roman to claim a third Red Bull 111 Megawatt title. Roman very nearly caught Walker right at the end of the race, only to come up short. Jarvis was third.

Jarvis then came back to win the Red Bull Sea To Sky hard enduro in Turkey in memorable fashion, passing Young on the final climb after crashing earlier in the race and braking a clutch lever.

The Red Bull Roof of Africa hard enduro in Lesotho, South Africa, closed out the 2017 Red Bull Hard Enduro season, and local riders Wade Young and Travis Teasdale battled for the win. Teasdale would crash, giving young the breathing room he needed to claim his third Roof of Africa title.

With these events and more returning as part of the an even more interesting year for the world’s top hard enduro stars.

The post Red Bull Releases 2017 Red Bull Hard Enduro Recap Video appeared first on Dirt Bikes.