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When you first start to race dirt bikes, there are many different items you will require before you will be allowed on the track.

Firstly, you will obviously need a dirt bike, make sure the bike you get is the correct bike for you, i.e. A bike you are capable of riding safely. It would be inadvisable for someone starting out in motocross to get the most powerful dirt bike available as they just wont be able to ride it.

Secondly, if you are going to be travelling around in order to race your dirt bike, then you will need some sort of transportation for your bike. This usually comes in the form of a van or a trailer. These bikes are obviously not road legal as they are not registered and do not comply with regulation so riding them to the track is not an option.

Once you have these then you will need safety equipment in order to ensure that you are as safe as possible when out on the track on your bike. This equipment starts off with clothing, there is specialist dirt bike clothing companies out there which produce clothing which is designed to keep you safe when riding a dirt bike.

It is vital that this clothing is purchased as there is a huge risk when riding dirt bikes, and you will want to be protected if you come off your bike. This clothing is made from tough material and includes pads all over to keep you as safe as possible.

You will also require a helmet and goggles, these are essential when riding a dirt bike. If you come off your bike after a jump and smack your head, there will be nothing to protect you except for a helmet so try to get the best one possible.

You will also need a descent pair of boots to keep you protected, many peoples feet and ankles are often the part of their body which get injured if they fall, and good boots will also provide protection from blistering and damage to the skin when using the gear selector on the bike. Similarly you will need gloves to keep your hands warm and protect your hands from blistering.

Once you have all this equipment sorted you will be ready to race safely, you just need to check with local race authorities that you do not require any extras to race and your off!

Dirt bike racing is one of the most popular choices for racing for thrill seekers. It appeals to people of all ages, so it is not so surprising that many professional dirt bike racers started at the early age of 4 or 5. When beginners start racing dirt bikes, it is highly unlikely that they will get more than a foot or two off the ground when they hit a jump, and experience is crucial before even attempting to get up to 10 feet in the air. For kids, dirt bikes are available for a cost of around $400. Also, beautiful dirt bike graphics are available for decoration purposes. These are funny, easy to fit, and cheap. Their use can completely personalize a factory-built bike.

To become a good dirt bike racer, a person needs the right spirit and a combination of self-confidence and modesty. Furthermore, safety should be given prime importance. Of course, riding skills, stability, suppleness, and a very good understanding of racing lines are important factors. It is important to watch other bikers when they are racing in order to get a feel of how a dirt bike is used. It is good to walk a track before racing it. This will give a racer a helpful insight into a racing lines and jumps on it. Practice sessions will provide an excellent chance to learn a bit more about the track. Also, it is important to wear proper safety gear.

Used bikes can be purchased in ready-to-ride condition, but the customer should make sure that all components are in very good working order. Preferably, a professional should be sought to look at the bike and make essential repairs or replacements. It is also highly recommended to regularly check the bike to make sure that it is in good working condition and that none of the parts are likely to break. The brakes, steering, and suspension should be given extra care, as the safety of a biker depends on all these factors.

Often war veterans will tell stories and paint a picture of war as being hell. It is hell and it is not something one wishes to glorify. One gentleman I talked with said it is a scary ordeal. I said that I understood and he said no you don’t.

He said; Just when was the last time you had 600+ rounds of 37mm shot at your ass in one night? Oh, almost forgot those 57 mm’s. Get a grip. When you can smell the cordite at 7500 mls, you know they were close.

Interesting indeed and I could see where one who has been close to death in a war battle might assume no one else has experienced that level of anxiety and yet Motorcycle Street Bike Racing sounds a lot like being in combat and the Adrenaline Rush sure sounds similar too.

Well I have not been in the combat zone like this gentleman, but I have raced high-performance street bikes; the noise, visual overload and on top of all that you are totally on the edge, it is frigging serious sheet. You screw up one thing, you’re history. You do not have time to think, you just do what you have to do.

The adrenaline is pretty intense, but you shake afterwards, that crap gets in your dreams, cannot keep it out, especially after you been down before a couple of times and end up in the hospital looking at a compound fracture of a mangled leg. It changes you; it makes you appreciate just feeling the sun or wind.

You tend not to sweat the small stuff after that. I certainly hope this article is of interest and that is has propelled thought. The goal is simple; to help you in your quest to be the best in 2007. I thank you for reading my many articles on diverse subjects, which interest you.Often war veterans will tell stories and paint a picture of war as being hell. It is hell and it is not something one wishes to glorify. One gentleman I talked with said it is a scary ordeal. I said that I understood and he said no you don’t.

He said; Just when was the last time you had 600+ rounds of 37mm shot at your ass in one night? Oh, almost forgot those 57 mm’s. Get a grip. When you can smell the cordite at 7500 mls, you know they were close.

Interesting indeed and I could see where one who has been close to death in a war battle might assume no one else has experienced that level of anxiety and yet Motorcycle Street Bike Racing sounds a lot like being in combat and the Adrenaline Rush sure sounds similar too.

Well I have not been in the combat zone like this gentleman, but I have raced high-performance street bikes; the noise, visual overload and on top of all that you are totally on the edge, it is frigging serious sheet. You screw up one thing, you’re history. You do not have time to think, you just do what you have to do.

The adrenaline is pretty intense, but you shake afterwards, that crap gets in your dreams, cannot keep it out, especially after you been down before a couple of times and end up in the hospital looking at a compound fracture of a mangled leg. It changes you; it makes you appreciate just feeling the sun or wind.

You tend not to sweat the small stuff after that. I certainly hope this article is of interest and that is has propelled thought. The goal is simple; to help you in your quest to be the best in 2007. I thank you for reading my many articles on diverse subjects, which interest you.

LOS ANGELES - Still a high-priced product for the cycling upper classes rather than for the masses, titanium-framed bicycles are expected to make their mark at this year’s Olympics.

While not a large market in the overall picture of titanium consumption - the seamless tubing that accounts for most usage probably makes up no more than $2 million a year in sales to bicycle manufacturers - these high-profile performers certainly can’t help but burnish the metal’s reputation as a leading-edge material.

“The entire U.S. road racing team will be on titanium bikes,” said Mark Linskey, executive vice president of Lightspeed Titanium Components Inc.

Linskey noted that although only one of the five road racing team members will ride a bike carrying the Lightspeed name, the remaining four will be on Brazilian bikes with frames built by the Chattanooga, Tenn., manufacturer.

Lightspeed, a family owned firm started by Linskey’s father in 1964, buys most of its tubing from Kokomo, Ind.,-based Haynes International Inc. and from Ancotech, Dearborn, Mich. Its sheet and plate comes mainly from Denver-based Titanium Metals Corp.

Gary Grade, manager of marketing and sales for welded products in Finley, Wash., for tubing and frame manufacturer Sandvik Special Metals Corp., a unit of Sandvik AB of Sweden, listed the main advantages of titanium for cycles as its high strength-to-weight ratio and its ability to absorb vibration well.

Sandvik - which produces tubing from hollows supplied by Oregon Metallurgical Corp. and the Teledyne Wah Chang unit of Teledyne Inc. - hasn’t directly supplied any titanium frames to the U.S. team. But Grade said that four or five cyclists in the Olympic Games are competing on its frames, among them Erica Green of South Africa. Sandvik claims to be the largest outside supplier of titanium frames to bike manufacturers.

Titanium still only accounts for a small portion - an estimated 2 to 5 percent - of the total bike market, where it competes with not only steel and aluminum but other high-tech materials, such as carbon fiber.

However, its share increases sharply to an estimated 15 percent in bikes sporting retail price tags over $1,500. Moreover, Linskey said, perhaps 90 percent of this high-end category carries retail price tags of $2,200 or less, still under the level of many titanium bikes. Lightspeed, for example, makes two models costing less than $2,200, and its frames are found on bikes costing up to $6,000 in non-Olympic versions.

Titanium bikes certainly don’t come cheap. One of Sandvik’s tubing customers is Moots Cycles Inc., a high-end manufacturer that supplies mountain bike frames for $1,750 to $2,600 and makes its own complete bikes that go for up to $5,500.

Tom Grimaldi, operations manager and design engineer for the Steamboat Springs, Colo., firm, said the relatively higher cost of titanium nevertheless brings benefits. “As a metal, its inherent characteristics are light weight, stiffness and fatigue (resistance), and it’s also easier to work in.”

He also pointed out that since titanium requires neither expensive lug work nor painting, certain costs are eliminated.

“It’s twice as strong as steel, it’s 40-percent lighter and it never rusts,” said Matt Bracken, head of sales and sponsorship for Merlin Metalworks, Cambridge, Mass., which builds mountain and road bike frames selling worldwide for approximately $3,200 each. In the Olympics, Merlin frames will be used by the French and Dutch racers in the velodrome events and by the Japanese mountain bike team.

While the 40,000 pounds per year of titanium purchased by Lightspeed shrinks in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of pounds shipped to big aerospace component manufacturers, the bike builder isn’t immune from the effects of a tight market.

Linskey noted that in the past 12 months his titanium costs have escalated by 20 percent while delivery lead times have stretched from as short as eight weeks to a current range of 24 to 28 weeks.

At Merlin, Bracken noted that price tags on frames were raised to its wholesaler by 8 to 10 percent, the first time it has increased prices in five years. One of the biggest fins of titanium bikes, not surprisingly, is the man who claims to have built the first one in 1970. “It’s not a novelty,” said Barry Harvey, president of one of the largest U.S. titanium producers, Harvey Titanium of Santa Monica, Calif.

A former competitive racer, Harvey at one time was a member of the Canadian national cycling team. He acknowledged that titanium bikes aren’t inexpensive, but argued that the high cost of titanium frames doesn’t necessarily eliminate them from consideration as a mass market product in the United States.

“Americans will spend thousands on a bike, and they can afford to do it,” he said.

What are the chances of titanium grabbing a much bigger share of the bike market?

Grade of Sandvik compared titanium to aluminum’s fight for market share years ago, noting it moved from early non-acceptance, to acceptance and then to a period of growth. He observed that, after answering the doubts of early cynics, titanium is now taken seriously.

You’re one point behind leader Troy Bayliss in the World Super- bike Championship going into next Sunday’s third round in Spain. Can you beat him? For sure. I beat him in the first race of the season and I can win at Valencia. Troy is good around the Spanish circuit, but he’s also beatable.

You crashed heavily in tests at Valencia recently. Will this affect your performance on Sunday?

I’d just put a new race tyre on my Honda Fireblade and felt confident that I could do a good time. But I got on the throttle a bit too early coming out of a hairpin. I wasn’t going fast, but I was thrown high up into the air and landed on my head. I had concussion, but I’ve recovered and I’ll be at 100 per cent this weekend.

Bayliss is 36, Australian and riding a factory Ducati’ you’re 25, a Yorkshireman and you’re on a private Honda run by the Winston Ten Kate team in the Netherlands. Who’s best off? People are saying the Ducatis are down on power this year, but Bayliss’s top speed is the same as mine. My four-cylinder engine is a bit stronger on acceleration than his twin, but there are some circuits where the Ducati will be better overall, and others where the Honda will have an advantage. For the rest, coming from Yorkshire is always the best!

You won the World Superbike title in 2004. What will you have to do to get it back? I’m giving this season everything I’ve got - physically and mentally. We’ve started the series off well and we’re not playing catch-up. As long as we continue running at the front of the field, we’ve got a good chance of the title this year.

Your bike does 200mph. Sounds terrifying - is it? Only if you’re not attached to it! Riding 200mph isn’t terrifying to me - it’s what I do. When I’m on the bike, I’m 99 per cent in control, so I wouldn’t say it’s terrifying. Well, maybe just for one per cent of the time..

Describe the feeling of cornering at 60 degrees of lean with your knee scraping the ground.

I’ve never really thought about it. It’s my subconscious that takes the corners, like autopilot. Cornering is just normal to motorcyclists. It comes naturally - I can’t explain it.

How do bike racers walk away from such horrendous crashes?

Motorcycle clothing is brilliant these days. Safety at the circuits is also starting to improve. The track barriers are much further away from the actual tarmac, which means that there is less chance of crashing into them.

Have you ever deliberately banged into someone in a race?

Never deliberately. Motorcycle racing is far too dangerous to be playing those kinds of games. I have “touched” other riders during a race, but it wouldn’t have been intentional. Racing nowadays is so close - you only have to look at the times to see that.

You’ve broken a thigh and lost a world title. Which was most painful? Breaking my femur in three places was definitely the most painful on a physical level. However, mentally, losing the championship was tough. I feel so lucky to have another shot at the title this year with Winston Ten Kate Honda. I wouldn’t want to break my femur again, though!

What’s your ambition in bike racing? My short-term goal is to win the world championship again. Then I’d like to get into MotoGP. My ultimate goal is to establish myself as one of the best British riders ever.

Britain hasn’t had a MotoGP world champion since the late Barry Sheene in 1977. What are we getting wrong? I don’t think it’s due to a lack of hunger. A big thing about racing in the UK is the number of foreign riders here. The Spanish rider Gregorio Lavilla and the Japanese Ryuichi Kiyonari are at the top of the British Superbike Championship, so our young riders have to beat not just the best British riders, but the best in the world before they’ve even left this country.

You ride a superbike and Valentino Rossi rides a MotoGP bike. What’s the difference between them? A MotoGP has about 30 horsepower more, and weighs 30kg less. My CBR1000RR Fire-blade is a production- based machine. You can go into any Honda dealership and buy a bike similar to mine - save some tweaks and a bit of tuning here and there. MotoGP machines are the ultimate in technology. You can’t buy these bikes - they’re like the two-wheeled equivalent of Formula One cars. A lot of money goes into developing them.

What’s the one thing Rossi does that makes him so good? The guy has natural talent. Rossi’s entire upbringing was in bikes and he had tuition from an early age. Through the 125,250,500cc and MotoGP ranks he’s developed into a real class act. Rossi is one of the all- round greats.

If you were in a race with him on the same bike, where would you finish? In front - for sure! No, I can’t really answer that one. Obviously, I would want to beat him but I’ve got to get into MotoGP and establish myself as a rider first. With the right team and right package, I believe I could be just as successful.

What’s your opinion of Formula One drivers compared to bike racers? I’ve had no involvement in Formula One, so I wouldn’t like to say. I’ve heard all the stories about the drivers being a bit unsociable, but I’ve never been in their world. I do think that motorcycle racers in general are a bit more approachable and fan- friendly, though. I am, anyway!