Swapmoto Live Podcast

Presented by Fly Racing This week's Swapmoto Podcast is a little different in that one of my fellow journalists is our guest. For over seven years, Drew Rohde was an editor at Decline Magazine - a mountain bike magazine focused on the gravity side of the sport - but one day without warning, he and the rest of the staff were told that the magazine was being shut down. Sound familiar? Instead of finding work with another title or leaving media altogether, Rohde assembled a small group and launched The Loam Wolf, an online property that picks up where Decline left off. Sound familiar? TheLoamWolf.com has been an inspiration for all of us at Swapmoto Live, and we've often bounced ideas off of and compared notes with Rohde. At the end of the day, both Swapmoto Live and The Loam Wolf are two media entities that are fueled by passion and a love for all things two-wheeled. Enjoy!

Presented by 6D Helmets Mitchell Oldenburg has gone through a lot in the last few years, both good and bad. Widely considered one of the top riders in the 250 class, he claimed Heat Race wins, Main Event podium finishes, and top qualifier honors at various times in Supercross. That he logged the single fastest lap of the 250 class in practice at the 2019 Las Vegas Supercross, against both coasts, proved that "Freckle" knows what's he's doing on the bike. Unfortunately, much of his two-year contract with Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha was spent on the sidelines with injuries (a complicated collarbone break and torn ACL in 2018, a third-degree burn in 2019) and as a result, he was not re-signed to the team for 2020. Oldenburg could have easily walked away from the sport and started a new career as an electrician, but instead, he pursued a deal to race the 2019 Australian Supercross Championship with Penrite Honda. The ride meant a multi-month move to the suburbs Melbourne, Australia, in a house with his wife, infant son, and mechanic, Nathan Alexander. Through the five-rounds series down under, Oldenburg showed class-leading speed and won the three-moto overall at the 2019 AUS-X Open Supercross this past weekend. But the biggest perk came a few weeks into the series when the team told Oldenburg that they were going to run a full operation for the 250 West Coast Region of the 2020 Monster Energy Supercross Series with him as one of the two riders. Oldenburg has done a lot of reflecting in the past year and during my last night with his family at the team house we talked for an hour about the setbacks, breakthroughs, and future.

Presented by Fly Racing Michael Antonovich is down under this weekend for the Aus-X Open, and he grabbed some face time with the mechanics of the Penrite Honda team that is supporting Americans Justin Brayton and Mitchell Oldenburg in Australia. Listen in for some insight and perhaps a hint of what's to come in 2020...

Presented by OGIO Powersports Rocky Mountain ATV/MX KTM's Justin Bogle traveled to Barcelona, Spain, last weekend to compete in what would be his first international off-season Supercross in several years, and the former 250 Supercross Champion topped a field that included Americans Benny Bloss and Tyler Bowers, as well as a slew of fast French Supercross racers. Bogle phoned in to talk about the race in Spain, his recovery from Epstein Barr, as well as the season ahead.

Presented by 6D Helmets Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha's Colt Nichols had a breakthrough year of sorts in 2019, and the Oklahoman is looking forward to an even bigger and better 2020. Unfortunately, a broken foot and shoulder injury has put a damper on his off-season preparations, but he is still doing all he can to be prepared for the East Coast kickoff at Tampa. We caught up with Nichols this afternoon to see how things are going...

Presented by 6D Helmets With little racing on the schedule to discuss, we rang up Brett Smith of wewentfast.com for this week's episode of the 6D Helmets Kickstart Podcast. A career moto journalist, Smith's latest endeavor are a website and social media channels that share the stories of the sport, but with a focus on timeless tales and not the news of the day. A few months back Smith acquired the entire inventory of Terry Pratt's book, "Grand Prix Motocross: The 1972 World Championship Season." Filled with images and reports collected by Pratt during his year in Europe following the series, it's an incredible look at the early years of motocross. If this is something you'd like to add to your collection, we recommend that you act fast, because the inventory is limited and it will never be printed again.

Presented by Ogio Powersports There was no racing in the United States this weekend, so we phoned up Broc Tickle for this quick Ogio Powersports How Was Your Weekend Podcast to see how his preparations for the Tampa Supercross are coming along. Tickle's suspension will lift on 2/10/20, and he is planning to contest the last 2/3 of the Monster Energy Supercross series aboard a privateer Husqvarna with backing from AEO Powersports and FXR Racing. After we chatted about the Post Malone concert he went to on Saturday night, Tick got into the nitty gritty of what it's gonna take to make a serious return to racing in February.

Presented by Fly Racing He may be on the sidelines with a hip injury, but Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna Factory Racing's Dean Wilson is back in the spotlight again. Last year, Deano gave away a Husqvarna TC 50 to a deserving youngster, and this year he's bumped it up to a TC 65! We chatted with Deano about his desire to give back to the sport, as well as how his recovery from the dislocated hip he suffered at the Monster Energy Cup is going, and lots more!

Presented by 6D Helmets This was a busy weekend for the SML staff, and we were on opposing sides of the world covering events. Here in SoCal, we hosted the Seven MX Mini Major at State Fair MX and nearly 600 minibike racers showed up to compete in what has quickly become the most important mini race of the year. Seven MX COO Dennis Bloch joins us to recap the event in today's episode, and we also phone up Michael Antonovich, who just got home from the Supercross de Paris, where he watched Justin Barcia, Malcolm Stewart, Dylan Ferrandis, Jeremy Martin, Vince Friese and Justin Hill lead the way.

Presented by Fly Racing This week's episode of the Fly Racing Swapmoto Podcast is an hour long talk with RJ Hampshire. These last few months have been massive for RJ, as he left the GEICO Honda team with a year remaining on his contract to join Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing's 250 program. It was a deal that many knew about during the summer months, but per RJ, the ink wasn't dry until the last race of the nationals.The team change has had a major impact on Hampshire's life, because it comes with a spot in Aldon Baker's training program alongside Anderson, Webb, Musquin, and Osborne. To make the most of the opportunity, Hampshire has made the hour plus move from his home in Wesley Chapel Florida to Clermont, and has spent the past few weeks doing everything on bakers schedule to be ready for the East coast kick off of the Supercross season. As you'll hear, Hampshire is already seeing physical changes thanks to the intensity of the workouts and the diet.Hampshire was widely expected to be a constant contender in the 250 when he was signed to GEICO Honda, but things didn't go the way he and the team anticipated due to injuries or performance issues with the CRF250R. All is still good between the rider and the team, something RJ made clear when the topic of getting out of the contract came up, and that's a rare thing in our sport. But with a bike that suits his riding style and increased confidence, it's clear that he has his eye on a title in 2020.

The Dubya USA Vet World Championships went down today at Glen Helen Raceway and SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/Motoconcepts/Honda rider Mike Alessi made a last-minute decision to join in on the fun and showed up literally 20 minutes before the gate dropped on the first 20 Pro moto and went on to sweep the title with a 1-1 tally. On this week's 6D Helmets Kickstart Podcast, we chat with Mikey about his new Vet World Championship, the Monster Cup on a two-stroke, and reminisce about his long pro racing career. Enjoy!

Presented by 6D Helmets The summer of 2018 was a strange time for Phil Nicoletti. Despite having a number of top-ten finishes and even an overall podium to his credit, the New Yorker had no lucrative offers on the table to race in the United States. With all stateside options exhausted, he took a contract with the Rockstar Energy/OTSFF/Yamaha team to contest the Rockstar Energy Triple Crown series in Canada that promised two years of full support and a confirmed status as a front-runner in the very competitive field. It's a route that a handful of riders have taken in recent years, especially because the series offers a 100,000-dollar (Canadian currency, by the way) payout to the person with the most combined points from the Arenacross, motocross, and Supercross tours. After an eventful year that included race wins, podium finishes, and that impossible to miss incident in the post-race cooldown zone, Nicoletti clinched the title with a sizable margin over defending champion Cole Thompson. The move north has given Nicoletti a new lease on his career and at 30 years old, he feels that he has a few more years to stack wins over the border.

Presented by Fly RacingOne of the biggest storylines of this offseason is the JGRMX operation. A staple of the sport for over a decade, it is the only factory Suzuki motocross effort in the world and is always a place riders keep in mind when it comes to signing a contract for the next season. Unfortunately, this has been a very rough tear for the North Carolina-based operation has felt the effect of Suzuki's recent inner-company restructure and for a while, it was unclear if they would even be at Anaheim One in 2020. Although a number of riders rode the team's Suzuki bikes in 2019, Alex Martin is the only person with a confirmed contract from the manufacturer and team for 2020, and much of their future will revolve around him. The team resumed a normal offseason testing schedule a few weeks ago, with Martin back on the RM-Z250, so we rang him up to get the story straight. Always a good interview, AMart openly shared insight on the past race season, the current situation at JGRMX, and what he sees for himself in the future.

Presented by 6D Helmets It's been over a year since we've gotten to see the number-six machine of Jeremy Martin line up behind a starting gate. After breaking his back at the 2018 Muddy Creek National, the former 250 National Champion underwent three major surgeries to properly fix the damage to his body. With only a few weeks of training and testing under his belt, Martin made a last-minute decision to compete at last weekend's Monster Energy Cup and showed flashes of his old self as he raced to an eventual eighth overall aboard his GEICO Honda CRF450R. JMart called in for today's show after a long day of testing in Hesperia, in preparation for the upcoming Paris Supercross.

Presented by Ogio Powersports It's been an exciting few weeks for Adam Cianciarulo. After wrapping up his first 250 National Championship at Iron Man MX a few weeks ago, the Floridian has been getting his feet wet aboard his new Monster Energy Kawasaki KX450, as he will make his premier class debut this weekend at the Monster Energy Cup. For today's How Was Your Weekend Podcast, we phoned up AC to check in and see how he is getting used to the new bike, his new team, and his new teammate, and more! Enjoy!

Presented by 6D Helmets Did you forget that Cooper Webb won the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross Series championship? May feels like a lifetime ago and Friday's press intro for KTM's factory-backed teams served as a reminder to all about which rider will rep the number one plate through the 2020 season. A leg injury at the Unadilla Motocross put Webb on the sidelines and out of mind since August, but he's back aboard the 450 SX-F and the title defense will be his motivation through the upcoming offseason. We spent about twenty-minutes with Webb between practice sessions at KTM's private practice track on Friday and discussed some of what's gone in the past few months, his outlook for 2020, he desire to remain with Red Bull KTM for the remainder of his career, and what draws him back to the starting line every Saturday.

Presented by Fly Racing Erick Bartoldus has been a fixture in motocross for nearly two decades now, and in his current role at Yoshimura R&D he oversees the marketing strategies of the high-performance exhaust manufacturer. From his early days as a professional BMX racer to his pivotal role at GT Bicycles to his start in motocross as an editor at TransWorld Motocross to his instrumental role in rebranding Answer Racing, "Big E" has enjoyed every minute of his multi-faceted career. You may not have heard of Big E before, but chances are good you've enjoyed some of his work.

Presented by 6D Helmets The 2019 Red Bull Straight Rhythm is done and dusted and what an event it was! The two-stroke-only format has breathed new life into the race, and more fans than ever turned out at the Pomona Fairplex to watch Honda HRC's Ken Roczen, FXR Racing's Joey Crown and Triggr Racing's Tyler Bowers take the top spots. SML helped get Alex Ray to the event with a super-fun two-stroke Suzuki RM250 build, but after being matched up with Supercross Champion Cooper Webb in the first match race of the night, we were eliminated early on. Still, we invited our buddy to come cohost today's show with us!

Presented by Fly Racing This weekend's Red Bull Straight Rhythm at the Pomona Fairplex is sure to be a good time, as the sweet smell of two-stroke premix will fill the air as a field consisting only of two-stroke motocross bikes will fill out the starting grid in the tournament-style match race. Today was the practice day at the Fairplex, and cohost Mike Sleeter and I sat down with Red Bull's Jeremy Mallot, the guy who brainstormed the Straight Rhythm race back in 2012...

Presented by 6D Helmets The 2019 Motocross of Nations is in the books and Team Netherlands earned its first-ever MXoN championship. Michael Antonovich was on the scene for Swapmoto Live and this morning's 6D Helmets podcast was recorded on both sides of the world, as race fan extraordinaire and snack addict Dominic Gaytan joins Anton for a little race recap.

With the 2019 Motocross of Nations just days away, we took a minute to preview the top teams and riders ahead of the international event at Assen in the Netherlands. Will the French continue their run of dominance? Can the Dutch claim the Chamberlain Trophy for the first time in history, on their home turf? How will the extensive practice time in Europe help the American riders? Michael Antonovich and Dominic Gaytan share their thoughts, predictions, and stories of MXON past on this episode of the FLY Racing Swapmoto Live Podcast.

Presented by <a href="http://www.6dhelmets.com"><strong>6D Helmets</strong></a> With no races going on last weekend, we decided to pay a visit to our friends at 6D Helmets this morning to learn more about the men behind the brand and the creation of the helmet technology that changed the sport for the better. Bob Weber and Rober Reisinger are both former professional motocross racers who continue to live and breathe for the sport of motocross, long after their racing careers have come to a close. Eight years ago, the 6D ATR-1 helmet changed the way we all think about safety, as its patented Omni-directional impact reduction system was the first to ever address rotational impact brain injuries. Now, almost every premium helmet manufacturer has adopted some sort of new technology into their helmets to address the same rotational impacts. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the 6D offices, and this is one of the most interesting and educational podcasts we've ever produced. Enjoy!

Presented by Ogio Powersports With the Motocross of Nations less than one week away, we phoned up Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha's Justin Cooper for this installment of the How Was Your Weekend Podcast. Cooper is representing team USA on his Yamaha YZ250F in the MX2 class, and he has been in Belgium training in the sandy conditions since Monday. We were pleasantly surprised to hear how well he is adapting to the softy conditions in preparation for next weekend's showdown, and he had plenty to say about the European riders that he's been training with all week. Enjoy!

“MOTO: The Movie” showed viewers the rigors of motorcycle riding over the course of ten installments. But when the production wrapped on last year's video, the crew decided it was time to take things in a new direction. Longtime leader Taylor Congdon passed over the assets to partners Jason Plough and Dominick Russo, which allows the two young filmers to direct future projects as they see fit. After a long year of banking clips and cutting them up into an hour-long film, the guys are set to embark on a nationwide tour to hype the release of “This Is Moto.” Before the long travel started, we sat down with the duo at a Southern California coffee shop and talked about all that went into the film's creation, their equipment, and the bigger vision to the company.

Presented by 6D Helmets The Montreal Supercross went down in the Great White North last weekend and SML was on hand to capture all of the action. Justin Brayton finished third overall aboard his Penrite Honda CRF450R and had some of the most intense battles through the evening. JB10 joined us on this morning's Kickstart Podcast, presented by 6D Helmets.

Presented by Fly Racing Have you kept track of all that's happened to Joey Savatgy over the last twelve months? Things like his advancement to the 450 class via a ride with Monster Energy Kawasaki, the pack-leading performance at the Monster Energy Cup, a handful of top-seven finishes in Supercross, some mechanical woes outdoors, and an eventual departure from the factory team were the easy things to keep track of. But there was much more to all of those things than what one could see from the outside and now that the season is over, Savatgy has had some time to reflect about each. In this episode of the Swapmoto Live Podcast, we talk with the currently unemployed racer about the year, the Monster Energy Cup move over, misconceptions about reimbursement, the details of his departure from the team, and how close he is to inking a deal with another team in the pits.

Presented by Fly Racing Osaka, Japan's, Genki Watanabe is one of the most stylish guys you'll ever see on a dirt bike. Less than one year ago, "Wanky" suffered a badly broken leg that was further complicated by compartment syndrome. After nearly losing his limb, Watanabe worked hard to regain strength and rehab himself back to fitness and just a couple weeks ago he earned a silver medal in the Best Whip contest at Norway X Games. We heard that Watanabe would be visiting his sponsors at Seven MX last week so we met up with him to learn more about his career that started as a professional racer in the All Japan National MX Championships. Seven MX's Roger Larsen joins us as co-host of this show.

Presented by 6D Helmets We started riding our 2020 450s all the way back in June when we took delivery of the Husqvarna FC 450 and KTM 450 SX-F test bikes, and once we were allowed to pick up the Suzuki RM-Z450 a couple of weeks ago, we assembled a panel of six test riders and invited the manufacturers to join us for one final day of comparison testing. After hundreds of laps and dozens of hours logged on each bike, the Yamaha YZ450F came out as the overall favorite of the Swapmoto Live staff and earns 450 Bike of the Year honors. Today, Mike Sleeter and Pat Foster join us to talk about all six of the machines and the strengths and weaknesses of each. In the market for a new bike in 2020? You need to listen to this!

Presented by Fly Racing Of the handful of anti-doping violations in professional motocross, Cade Clason's case is one of the more mismanaged. Clason, a privateer that followed the US pro series for years, tested positive for a prohibited unless TUE-approved amphetamine in 2017 and had his racing career come to an abrupt halt. When news of the time the result became public, Clason immediately stated that the substance was Adderall, a medicine that can be approved by WADA on a case by case basis if deemed necessary, and that he had filed the paper but took it without hearing back from officials if the use was approved. The misunderstanding made no difference to the authorities that presided over the case and Clason was issued a suspension from competition in for the 2018 and 2019 seasons by the FIM. While Clason was kept from racing, he was approached by FXR's Andy White with a job offer to help manage the gear brand's growing list of supported riders, a job that kept him at events in North America. When a major shakeup in Canadian motocross pulled the National series away from the FIM-recognized federation, Clason was technically free to race the Rockstar Energy MX Championship and he did so in 2018 and 2019. In the middle of this past summer, Clason's suspension was lifted by the FIM and he was free to compete at AMA-FIM organized events again. Once his AMA membership was approved, he made it to the starting line for the Unadilla and Ironman rounds of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. Just before the last race of the year, we sat down with Clason and discussed much of what has gone down since 2017, how the time away helped him appreciate racing, his move to Arizona with his wife, and what the future holds.

Presented by 6D Helmets It's been a long road to recovery for Malcolm Stewart since he broke his femur in January, but the popular rider has been putting in some serious work in preparation for his return to racing. Though Anaheim 1 is the ultimate goal for the Motoconcepts Honda rider, he will compete in a handful of off-season events, starting with the September 14 Montreal SX. Malcolm recently returned to SoCal to start testing with the team, and it's always good to have him in the neighborhood. We caught up with Mookie to talk about just about everything. We had a good time, and so will you when you listen in!

Presented by Fly Racing Justin Bogle has always been one of the coolest guys in the pits, and catching up with the Oklahoman is always a pleasure. It's been an interesting season for the former East Coast 250 Supercross Champion, as he recently revealed that he has been suffering from the Epstein Barr virus all year long. His results on the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM 450 SX-F have been impressive nonetheless, and Bogle is hoping to stay on with the team for 2020 and beyond. Michael Antonovich caught up with Captain 891 in this episode of the Fly Racing Swapmoto Podcast. Enjoy!

Presented by 6D Helmets After graduating from the 2019 Loretta Lynn's Amateur Nationals, Jo Shimoda joined the Lucas Oil MX Nationals tour at Unadilla as a full-fledged member of the GEICO Honda team and turned in two top-15 finishes aboard his Honda CRF250R. Hailing from Suzuka, Japan, Shimoda is expected by many to be the first Japanese rider to have an impact on AMA Pro racing since Akira Narita finished third at the 2005 Anaheim Supercross. Jo joined us at the SML offices this morning for some bench racing before flying to his hometown tomorrow for three weeks of rest and relaxation. When he returns to California, it's wide-open prep for 250 Supercross!

Presented by 6D Helmets Multi-time Amateur National Champion Bradley Taft has been missing from the AMA Pro Racing scene for a while now, but he's hoping to return to action, starting next month. Taft stopped by the SML offices to bench race about last weekend's Budds Creek National, and also to fill us in on his new deal.

Presented by Fly Racing A few weeks ago we learned that Christina Denney will leave her position as Team Manager of CycleTrader/Rock River Yamaha after the 2019 Ironman Motocross. Denney's involvement in the team over the last 10 years has helped it go from a simple spot in the pit area to a competitive effort that allows riders the chance to learn the ropes of pro racing. Although her role in pro racing will change, Denney will still be close to the industry through Roost MX, the graphics company she and her husband operate in Georgia. At the Budds Creek Motocross, we spent a few minutes with her to discuss the decision to step down, the way the team developed over the past decade, and what's to come for herself and the squad.

Presented by Fly Racing We tried something new last night and did an Instagram Live broadcast with Jeremy McGrath from our condo in Whistler, Canada. The tequila was flowing just beforehand, so this is likely the "loosest" interview we've done with The King. Why are we in Whistler? Maxxis Tires brought us all here to join in on the fun at the annual Crankworx MTB festival, and we've been having a great time on two wheels.

Presented by Fly Racing We're in Whistler, Canada, at the Crankworx Mountain Bike Festival, and we sat down with Maxxis Tires' Chris Meyer to chat about all things Maxxis, from mountain bike tires to truck tires to the all-new motocross tires that have been developed by Jeremy McGrath. Coincidentally, The King is also in Whistler, so he sat down to help us co-host this show and this is definitely one worth listening to as it's packed with interesting information, great stories, and quite a few laughs. Maxxis Tires had made huge gains in motocross recently, and we're excited to bring the behind-the-scenes stories to you, the listener!

Presented by Fly Racing American Honda invited Swapmoto Live to Fox Raceway today to take delivery of our 2020 Honda CRF250R test bike. Our initial impressions of the bike are rock solid as the changes made to the little red rocket equal big performance gains. Pat Foster and Michael Antonovich run down the changes and the gains they yielded in this installment of the Fly Racing Swapmoto Podcast.

Presented by Fly Racing In 1992, Jeff Steber hand-built his first mountain bike inside his SoCal garage, a full-suspension MTB that he dubbed The Spider. Intense Cycles was founded one year later and made its debut at the '93 Interbike Show in a 10'X10' booth, and the rest - as they say - is history. Today, Intense Cycles is one of the most accomplished bike brands in the gravity sectors of racing, but with a giant selection of new mountain bikes in all categories, the brand is definitely making moves. And especially in motocross. Sponsor of the Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha and GEICO Honda teams, Intense continues to support the sport that we all love. We caught up with Steber at the Temecula, California, Intense Cycles headquarters to talk about the past, present, and future of the brand. Enjoy!

Presented by 6D Helmets Michael Antonovich and Chase Curtis recap the stories of the 2019 Unadilla Motocross round of the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship on the 6D Helmets Kickstart Podcast. Ken Roczen's big win, Eli Tomac's arm pump struggles, Dylan Ferrandis and Adam Cianciarulo's duel for the overall, Team USA's roster announcement for the 2019 Motocross of Nations, and talk of riders and their recent deals with teams for the 2020 race season.

Presented by Fly Racing Just before the start of the motos at the 2019 Unadilla Motocross, the AMA and MX Sports announced the lineup selected to represent Team USA at the 2019 Motocross of Nations will be Jason Anderson in the MXGP class, Justin Cooper in the MX2 class, and Zach Osborne in the Open class. For Osborne and Anderson, the selection is a much-desired second shot at the Chamberlain Trophy after their past experiences at the international event (Anderson in 2016 at Maggiora, Osborne in 2017 at Matterley Basin). For Cooper, it's an honor for a second-year pro that has shown class-leading talent. Osborne will serve as the Team Captain while Roger DeCoster returns to his role as Team Manager. On Friday afternoon, we sat down with AMA officials Mike Pelletier and Tim McAdams and Team USA coordinator Christina Denney to discuss the riders picked, the infrastructure that will go into this year's run at the Chamberlain Trophy, and how much time the riders will spend in Europe ahead of the event to prep for the sand at Assen.

Presented by Fly Racing The 2019 Kawasaki KX450 was all new and the green machine emerged from several shootout comparisons with Bike of the Year honors thanks to its strong, usable powerplant, excellent suspension package, and well-balanced chassis. For 2020 it returns unchanged, but is that enough? swap and SML test rider Pat Foster review the '20 KX450 and also talk about what they learned after spending a year on the '19 bike.

Presented by Fly Racing Japan's Taka Higashino has been a fixture on the American freestyle motocross circuit for over a decade now, but it wasn't until we sat down with him for this podcast that we realized just how cool hos story about coming to the United States is! In 2007, Higashino came to California with $6000 in his pocket and a dream, but no plans whatsoever! After riding at Lake Elsinore MX Park and hitting the same jump over and over, he set out to find some real places to ride FMX. With the help of Google Earth, he found a house with ramps, drove there, and knocked on the front door... Taka's English has improved massively since he first came to California, but this may be tough for some to understand. The longer you listen, though, the easier it becomes to understand his Jenglish!

Presented by 6D Helmets GEICO Honda's Hunter Lawrence returns as a co-host on today's 6d Helmets Kickstart Podcast. Sadly, Hunter has been on the injured reserve list for a few weeks now after breaking his collarbone in a practice crash when his engine let go on the face of a jump. Lawrence had just won his first couple AMA motos and was looking for his first overall win, but that will have to wait until next year. With a break in the Lucas Oil MX Nationals, our attentions were directed towards the AMA Amateur Nationals at Loretta Lynn's, as well as the Summer X Games in Minneapolis. Lawrence's younger brother Jett rides for the AMSOIL Honda squad and turned in plenty of impressive results, and was only held back from the A class championship by an engine failure in the final moto. We talked all about this and plenty more. Thanks to Hunter for coming back on the show!

Presented by Fly Racing We're at Gray's Harbor ORV Park for round seven of the 2019 WORCS Series, as KTM invited the media to actually race test the new line of 2020 KTM XC TPI bikes. After our race, we bumped into two familiar faces: TransWorld Motocross test rider, Supercross racer, and current SLR Honda team rider Tallon LaFountaine, and his team owner Mark Samuels who is himself a multi-time Baja 1000 Champion. Tallon has made a great transition into off-road in the past year or so, and we wanted to get some insight into the work that went into the switch in disciplines, as well as chat with Samuels about running a team and being a racer himself. If you know either of these guys, you already know that this was a good time. Enjoy!

Presented by 6D HelmetsWhat a week it's been! The SML crew has been spread all over the map over the previous seven days, and we have a lot to talk about! From the Washougal Motocross National, to Fly Summer Camp, to the Fox Racing HQ to see the new gear, to Whistler Mountain in Canada for some downhill mountain biking...we've been busy boys!

Presented by Fly Racing This week's Fly Racing Swapmoto Podcast is with my buddy Mike Sleeter, whom I've known for nearly two decades. During that time, we've tested bikes together, talked a whole lot about bike settings and handling, pedaled mountain bikes together, raced together, and even ridden road bikes together. I've watched Sleeter race Supercross events, mountain bike races, and even plenty of our own AMSOIL Swapmoto Race Series rounds. He's taught me riding technique, and I've taught him about photography. Needless to say, Sleeter is one of my best friends and he's also done a hell of a lot in our sport; most notably he's helped KTM progress to the powerhouse that it is today, during his 15-year tenure as a R&D test rider for the manufacturer. These days, Mike is busy running a new nutrition brand that he's launched, Pinnacle Nutrition Group. Sitting down to chat with Sleeter was a blast, though I must admit that a technical difficulty (screw up on my part, haha!) has left the third and final segment lacking in the audio department. It's still worth a listen...lots of good stuff in this one! Enjoy!

Presented by 6D Helmets Michael Antonovich, Chase Curtis, and Dominic Gaytan recap the wild and wet 2019 Spring Creek Motocross, plus discuss the MXGP championship, the SwapMoto Race Series, and some contract talks for the 2020 season in the 6D Helmets Kickstart Podcast.

Presented by 6D Helmets This past weekend was a nice break in the Lucas Oil MX National Championship Series, and racers and crew members alike took the weekend off to enjoy a little R&R. After spending the past couple days at the beach, Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha's Justin Cooper stopped by the SML offices this morning to join us on the 6D Helmets Kickstart Podcast to bench race with us about the 250 MX Nationals thus far. The New Yorker remains unfazed by his slip to third in the point standings and he is determined to do some damage in the second half of the series and close up the 26-point deficit he has to leader Adam Cianciarulo.

Presented by Fly Racing Last week, Husqvarna Motorcycles invited SML to test the 2020 Husqvarna FC 250 motocross bike at Milestone MX Park. We brought out our Pro-level test rider Rene Garcia to help us put the new bike through its paces, and he came away very impressed with the new Husky, even though only a few small changes were made to the bike for 2020. The new machine is already on dealership floors and carries a price tag of $9199. Is it worth the investment? Listen and find out!

Presented by 6D Helmets The Red Bud Motocross National saw some interesting twists and spectacular moments, and HEP Suzuki's Adam Enticknap drove down from Central California to join us on today's 6D Helmets Kickstart Podcast. The 722 is an absolute student of the sport and had a ton of insight to throw out there, but he wouldn't grant us a freestyle rhyme. Haha! This was a fun show to do, and we're sure you'll like it, too. Enjoy!