mxa@hi-torque.com
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
Dear MXA,
After reading MXA for a couple
years, I get the strong impression
that the MXA wrecking crew is
opposed to sound limits. In the
March 2015 issue you said, “[…]
sound limits have gotten out of
hand.” Don’t you know that the big-
gest problem facing offroad riders
around the world is the noise issue?
It gets land closed down. You should
embrace the AMA sound rules.
Greg Morrow
via motocrossactionmag.com
We would embrace the AMA
sound rules if they would just stop
BEHIND THE ORANGE DOOR
Dear MXA,
I loved the “Innermost Secrets of
Next Year’s KTM” story. How MXA
got KTM to allow you access to the
normally hush-hush R&D department
is probably a very interesting
story, but what I want to know is
whether or not KTM will be offering
an adjustable steering head, like the
one shown on page 58 of the March
issue, for 2016?
Jim Catallio
via motocrossactionmag.com
No. KTM’s adjustable steering
head frame was a one-off, hand-built
test frame designed to allow KTM’s
test riders to try different steering
head angles. It would be very
expensive to put into production
and, in truth, very few riders would
ever use it. Back in the 1970s, Can-Am used eccentric races to allow the
fork angle to be adjusted by Can-Am
owners. They discovered that 99. 9
percent of riders selected one
basic setting, so they dropped the
adjustable races and put that setting
in all future bikes. ❏
AMA Supercross restart rules than
ever before. My question relates to
the AMA Nationals. Do they have a
staggered restart rule?
Chris Royer
via motocrossactionmag.com
No. Here are the AMA National
restart rules: (1) If there is a start-ing-gate malfunction, the race will
be restarted with every rider in his
original gate position. ( 2) If a race
is red flagged on the first lap, say
for a massive first-turn pile-up that
can’t be cleared in time, the race will
be restarted with every rider in his
original gate position. ( 3) If a race is
red flagged after two laps have been
completed, the race will be restarted.
The riders will get placed behind the
starting gate based on the order they
were in on the lap before the red
flag. ( 4) If the race is red
flagged after 20 minutes have been
completed, it will be considered a
complete race (and the official results
will be determined by the rider’s
position on that final lap).
changing them constantly. Need
examples? This year the sound rule
is 112 dB (at 2 meters). Last year
the rule was 115 dB (at 2 meters).
In 2011 it was 94 dB (at 20 inches).
In 2007 it was 99 dB (at 20 inches).
And from 1980 through the 1990s it
was 105 dB (at 20 inches). Plus, the
AMA Amateur sound rules are 94 dB
for four-strokes, 96 dB for two-strokes
and 101 dB for vintage bikes. It’s no
secret that the aftermarket pipe builders have stopped playing hopscotch
with their exhaust systems. They
have settled on 94 dB at 20 inches
as the standard. The pipe gurus will
make a 112 dB two-meter-max system for an AMA Pro, but that isn’t
their primary focus. So, based on a
constantly moving target, “[…] sound
limits have gotten out of hand.”
