2026 and beyond

[ShanoXtra]

1 hour ago, heathen52 said:

The bond between the fans and riders has been lost, this 100%.

that is down to riders doubling up and down, fans no longer have their rider for there team it is basically watching a rider that just happens to have your teams colours on, I know riders are self employed but previously they only raced for 1 team per season with occasional guest appearances.

Another reason why Ipswich is well run, all riders very social with the fans and will stop and chat and take photos after meetings, not just in the van and go. Even Doyle and Emil who are too boys give a lot of time to fans. When Ipswich won the title I would bet if you speak to a lot of fans it was so positive because it’s like a family club and everyone has time for each other, win together and lose together.

[FAST GATER]

On 10/13/2025 at 5:55 PM, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

4 valve engine had no real bearing on the popularity of the sport, it just happened at the same time of the decline but it wasn’t the cause,the return of the 2 valve engine isn’t going to make the sport any

I can't quite agree with that statement as we ultimately withdrew all our  sponsorship in the sport as a result of the  spiralling costs which over a very short time just became ridiculous .

In the sport we went from  half a dozen riders using Japs with the rest on two valve Jawas all of which could be home serviced by the average( Journey man) rider  or an informed individual  .You had Ivan & Co on works engines but to a large extent the rest of the riders operated at an  affordable level  . 

Enter first the two valve Piper Conversion ( not a huge cost ) then the Street conversion ( half the cost of a new engine from memory ) Weslake ,four valve Jawa and Godden in the mix as well all in a matter of a few years .

Riders being as we know are  influenced very easily chopped and changed at a whime ,we spent upwards of over 25k( on engines alone ) in three yrs and this was in the seventies .  

Imo that period is when the dynamics of the sport changed  the riders took control to a large extent  part of their reasoning was the inceased cost of being competitive .Up until this point the average rider didn't have a tuner lucky to have two bikes and went to a primary job the next morning .This was when the the sport was at it's peak now it has all but dropped of a cliff  and your average rider wants to make a full time living out of it !  

Edited yesterday at 05:01 AM by FAST GATER

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

1 hour ago, FAST GATER said:

I can't quite agree with that statement as we ultimately withdrew all our  sponsorship in the sport as a result of the  spiralling costs which over a very short time just became ridiculous .

In the sport we went from  half a dozen riders using Japs with the rest on two valve Jawas all of which could be home serviced by the average( Journey man) rider  or an informed individual  .You had Ivan & Co on works engines but to a large extent the rest of the riders operated at an  affordable level  . 

Enter first the two valve Piper Conversion ( not a huge cost ) then the Street conversion ( half the cost of a new engine from memory ) Weslake ,four valve Jawa and Godden in the mix as well all in a matter of a few years .

Riders being as we know are  influenced very easily chopped and changed at a whime ,we spent upwards of over 25k( on engines alone ) in three yrs and this was in the seventies .  

Imo that period is when the dynamics of the sport changed  the riders took control to a large extent  part of their reasoning was the inceased cost of being competitive .Up until this point the average rider didn't have a tuner lucky to have two bikes and went to a primary job the next morning .This was when the the sport was at it's peak now it has all but dropped of a cliff your and your average rider wants to make a full time living out of it !  

While I agree with all of that it had no real bearing on the decline of the popularly of the sport, 95% of the fan base past and present couldn't tell the difference between a jap and a offset GM let alone how many valves it had, what changed was the riders and teams and the bond with them by the fans, it became them and us instead of one of us 

Edited Tuesday at 07:44 AM by THE DEAN MACHINE

[The White Knight]

8 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

While I agree with all of that it had no real bearing on the decline of the popularly of the sport, 95% of the fan base past and present couldn't tell the difference between a jap and a offset GM let alone how many valves it had, what changed was the riders and teams and the bond with them by the fans, it became them and us instead of one of us 

How very true.

[1 valve]

10 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

While I agree with all of that it had no real bearing on the decline of the popularly of the sport, 95% of the fan base past and present couldn't tell the difference between a jap and a offset GM let alone how many valves it had, what changed was the riders and teams and the bond with them by the fans, it became them and us instead of one of us 

Promoters agreeing to share riders for many years ultimately dilute the loyalty towards those same riders from a single team fan base. 
The problem of “us and them” (if it actually exists) is not down to the riders, it’s the culture of how the sport is organised.  

Edited Tuesday at 06:31 PM by 1 valve

[PersonalResponsibility]

Spotted this quote from Polish rider Marcin Nowak. It would appear nobody really knows what's afoot.

"I am currently looking for a club in the Swedish league, I am waiting for events in the British league, where there is a plan to merge the two leagues"