proud panther 1,501 Posted June 14, 2018 22 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said: where does it say if you ride a speedway bike you have to make money at it ? costs to riders are what they are and that is vastly inflated by themselves having all the latest bling that isn't needed , ive seen riders lately buy a complete new set of rear sprockets and then sell them for another set because they changed the colour scheme ,not cause the sprockets were worn or in some cases even used but because hey the fans will pay for it, strangely you don't hear motox riders saying they want paying cause their costs have risen, I know exactly what the costs are but if you don't like it then go do something else, sick to death of hearing this costs this and this costs that, go do some other motorsport and tell the organisers you want paying because the price of diesel has risen or you just had an engine serviced, they will tell you to go away, we are talking about the lowest league riders and they want paying about £300 to do something they supposedly love, they should be greatful they have a league to ride in, ive tried to put forward ideas to reduce the costs to the riders but they are not interested and give a million reasons why they need this and that, if your big sprinter van doesn't do 40mpg get a smaller van that does or cant you fit the girlfriend in the back ? Dean, how old was you when you started riding speedway, & got paid ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
THE DEAN MACHINE 4,735 Posted June 14, 2018 10 minutes ago, proud panther said: Dean, how old was you when you started riding speedway, & got paid ? 23 I think Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
proud panther 1,501 Posted June 14, 2018 11 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said: 23 I think Did you ever have ambition to be the best, or was it a paid hobby for you ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
THE DEAN MACHINE 4,735 Posted June 14, 2018 1 minute ago, proud panther said: Did you ever have ambition to be the best, or was it a paid hobby for you ? I had Ambition to be the best up until I left Berwick in 2000 and then I just did it for fun after that Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waco 1,026 Posted June 14, 2018 I respect Deans opinion even though it is a while since he has ridden speedway ...But as in all sport to get to the top which is the aim of most sportsmen ,,firstly you need talent ,enthusiasm,dedication,,,and the best equipment you can get including the best tuners,,...This unfortunately in speedway costs loads of money ,,Many talented lads have failed because of that fact alone......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
THE DEAN MACHINE 4,735 Posted June 14, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, waco said: I respect Deans opinion even though it is a while since he has ridden speedway ...But as in all sport to get to the top which is the aim of most sportsmen ,,firstly you need talent ,enthusiasm,dedication,,,and the best equipment you can get including the best tuners,,...This unfortunately in speedway costs loads of money ,,Many talented lads have failed because of that fact alone......... Don’t get me wrong, although it may come across that I’m out to get at riders I’m not, this is about the bigger picture of the future of the sport, the fact is the crowds are getting smaller and the money is getting less, now we can all blame the bspa or cradley or Donald trump or whoever you want but the fact still remains we are where we are and now buxton are struggling to field a team because of riders demands , my angle on this far too much is spent on unnecessary equipment by the riders, there is no need for a lot of it but riders want it and believe they need it and so pushing costs up and who funds the costs? The fans who are not turning up, the sport as a whole needs to get a grip on costs and machinery but to get this to happen is like pulling teeth, there are many people in the sport who don’t understand or just turn a blind eye to just how bad things are financially at some clubs, we are slowly dying and as painful as it is, we need to take steps to address this and we are not doing anything and I can honestly say the sport I love and have devoted my life too sometimes deserves to die, it is it’s own worst enemy, I listen to riders talk about money from speedway and quite frankly they couldn’t care less if a club shut down as long as they got their money, i know it costs a fortune to race, when i was in the premier league I spent a fortune on engine bills with top tuners like blomfeldt and bullet and I still have the eye watering bills even by today’s standard and I was on piss poor money , infact it was less than national league riders today and I lost £1000s but that’s what I had to do, i didnt spend on unnecerary bits that I couldn’t afford , you could argue that I didn’t make it but it wasn’t through lack of ambition or money, I rode against some big names and rode in all 3 leagues but at the end of the day I didn’t have enough talent but I never set out to or expected to earn a living from speedway, I was in it to be the best, I suppose world champion in some fairyland day dreams and when that didn’t happen I just decided to change the way I approached speedway and had a blast , just want to add my finest moment was I beat Nicki Pedersen and there ain’t many riders in the sport who can claim that lol. One other point I have made before is you get the best 10 NL riders on the best bikes money can buy v Jason Doyle on a 10 year old GM who will win ? Until the day comes when it’s a NL rider wins then I will keep plugging my point about unnecerary costs, we could just ignore the whole thing and put £5 rise on admission for the fans Edited June 14, 2018 by THE DEAN MACHINE 10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
THE DEAN MACHINE 4,735 Posted June 15, 2018 As I’ve said before I’ve been crucified on social media from some quarters and that’s fine I’m not bothered by it but the bit that grates is I may be in the wrong and my thoughts my not be a way forward but nobody is doing anything, we are plodding on piddling about with rule adjustments, nobody is getting hold of the sport, so if your going to say I’m wrong then at least offer some alternative , the sport needs structure and strict machine and finance control 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waco 1,026 Posted June 15, 2018 One things for certain and i agree with Dean on this,,, costs in all areas of the sport need to come down dramatically if the sport is to survive.... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sings4Speedway 3,246 Posted June 15, 2018 2 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said: As I’ve said before I’ve been crucified on social media from some quarters and that’s fine I’m not bothered by it but the bit that grates is I may be in the wrong and my thoughts my not be a way forward but nobody is doing anything, we are plodding on piddling about with rule adjustments, nobody is getting hold of the sport, so if your going to say I’m wrong then at least offer some alternative , the sport needs structure and strict machine and finance control Certainly not going to get any arguments from me that the sport at all levels needs to change however there are so many hypocritical elements throughout that its going to need to be radical. Clubs will complain about riders demands but then take no interest in a rider unless they have new & flash looking bikes. Clubs will complain about not enough decent 3 pointers about then do nothing to support 2nd halves. Fans demand successful teams but don't want to see an admission increase to support it. Its no secret clubs need to cut their cloth accordingly. I for one would like to see clubs stand together and not bow to wage demands, set the limits, make them public and find out who really wants to ride. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raddog 9 Posted June 15, 2018 Yeah there needs to be a Gentlemans & Ladies agreement between the clubs ( yeah i know this sound like crazy talk n probably is ) regarding wages or else in a few years there will be a league with a hand full of teams involved . Surely the bigger clubs would see more profit if they werent paying a heat leaders 30 + and reserves 20 + a point ? Or more !! If every rider knows theres no free tyres n all the extras from a club then the clubs big and small can take a sigh of relief and see some sanity back in the sport . A good rider will always find ways with sponsorship etc to make ends meet , a reserve at a less well funded team does it every week . if they are lucky they score 3 points that almost pays for the tyre they just wore out .. my 2 cents .. let the ridicule begin haha Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
00000 1,279 Posted June 15, 2018 37 minutes ago, raddog said: Yeah there needs to be a Gentlemans & Ladies agreement between the clubs ( yeah i know this sound like crazy talk n probably is ) regarding wages or else in a few years there will be a league with a hand full of teams involved . Surely the bigger clubs would see more profit if they werent paying a heat leaders 30 + and reserves 20 + a point ? Or more !! If every rider knows theres no free tyres n all the extras from a club then the clubs big and small can take a sigh of relief and see some sanity back in the sport . A good rider will always find ways with sponsorship etc to make ends meet , a reserve at a less well funded team does it every week . if they are lucky they score 3 points that almost pays for the tyre they just wore out .. my 2 cents .. let the ridicule begin haha Sounds like austerity to me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
proud panther 1,501 Posted June 15, 2018 18 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said: I had Ambition to be the best up until I left Berwick in 2000 and then I just did it for fun after that You make a lot of good points regarding costs, & if a few of the younger riders took your advise, & kept their costs down in their early years, they would probably be about long enough to improve, & earn some money. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sings4Speedway 3,246 Posted June 15, 2018 11 minutes ago, proud panther said: You make a lot of good points regarding costs, & if a few of the younger riders took your advise, & kept their costs down in their early years, they would probably be about long enough to improve, & earn some money. Very true although it has become an institutionalised issue. I have lost count of how many times ive heard riders say "hopefully i get a NL place soon and start to earn some money" usually met with me chuckling for several minutes. The NL is not there to earn money but if you are good you could subsidise your hobby but even then be prepared for big spending. Im certain we have all seen riders and thought "they won't make it" not because they don't have the ability but because the funding just isn't there even for a basic level of competitiveness. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
THE DEAN MACHINE 4,735 Posted June 15, 2018 2 minutes ago, Sings4Speedway said: Very true although it has become an institutionalised issue. I have lost count of how many times ive heard riders say "hopefully i get a NL place soon and start to earn some money" usually met with me chuckling for several minutes. The NL is not there to earn money but if you are good you could subsidise your hobby but even then be prepared for big spending. Im certain we have all seen riders and thought "they won't make it" not because they don't have the ability but because the funding just isn't there even for a basic level of competitiveness. A sad fact is a good percentage of young riders don’t understand the importance of a good clean air filter but strangely think it’s important to have an anadized joker throttle 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jayne 312 Posted June 15, 2018 7 hours ago, raddog said: Yeah there needs to be a Gentlemans & Ladies agreement between the clubs ( yeah i know this sound like crazy talk n probably is ) regarding wages or else in a few years there will be a league with a hand full of teams involved . Surely the bigger clubs would see more profit if they werent paying a heat leaders 30 + and reserves 20 + a point ? Or more !! If every rider knows theres no free tyres n all the extras from a club then the clubs big and small can take a sigh of relief and see some sanity back in the sport . A good rider will always find ways with sponsorship etc to make ends meet , a reserve at a less well funded team does it every week . if they are lucky they score 3 points that almost pays for the tyre they just wore out .. my 2 cents .. let the ridicule begin haha Two or three years ago the NL agreed to do just at the AGM that but it went out of the window as soon as everyone left!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites