Almost every sport has a language. Even chess players have to say “check” and “checkmate” right? The same goes through with motocross; they also have their own. And for those people who were confused or didn’t know their language at all, it might be the time to go widen your vocabulary and learn some of the basic motocross terminology.
There are a lot of special words in the motocross terminology dictionary and they just keep on adding up. But before on being a “pro” in their language, here are some of the basic.
- Block Pass – when a racer passes another racer in a corner or making them slow down and lose momentum. Oftentimes, a contact is made by the rider intending for the opponent to stumble or fall.
- Brake Check – used mainly for throwing off momentum. The rider in the lead momentarily brakes, usually in the corner, in hopes for the rider behind to do the same.
- Brraaap – a universal term, moto and even noise that may be used in multiple situations. It can tell a story, end a conversation and describe actions. Derived from the fast sound of a 2 stroke bike.
- Cased – Casing a jump means to come up short and landing on the backside of the landing. A technique not suitable to do on a triple.
- Clapped Out – a term for bikes that is a few years old and looks like it has not been maintained for a long time. The kind of bikes that should be towed whenever seen on the street.
- DNF– stands for Did Not Finish. Probably for several reasons. Like when the bikes where the one being carried out of the track or the rider were being carried into the hospital. Oh, and it is also indicated next to your name on the result sheet in case of the two examples above happened.
- Goon Riding – Easy description? A rider’s funny driving. LOL
- Holeshot – Once the gate drops and the riders take off, the first one to the first corner gets the holeshot.
- Lapper – is someone during the race that is a full lap down from the leader or someone else. Maybe because someone is slow to get back up or has fallen.
- LCQ – stands for Last Chance Qualifier. This is more common to big events where a last chance to qualify will be given to those who didn’t do well in the race.
- Pinned – basically means Going full throttle
- Roosted – The shower of debris that shoots up and back from the rear tire. Just like the tail of the rooster
- Rutted – indicated that a part of the track is relatively soft. Deep grooves in the ground/track – usually left by earlier riding.
- Sandbagger – Riding slower than you’re able to in a race so you’re moved to a more advanced class – giving you a competitive edge in the class you remain in.
- Scrub – describes the rider staying low while jumping an obstacle. The less time in air means that lesser time is in midst between the bike and the ground allowing for faster time moving forward.
- Seat Bounce – to get more lift off the face is usually a viable yet advanced option for clearing the gap effortlessly. It involves sitting down while taking off from the lip of a jump to compress the suspension and help bounce you off of the takeoff. A tricky maneuver.
- Squid – . A rider on the track who could use some training on form and technique. When a rider jumps, it is a huge factor that it will not end up well.
- Step Up – usually some sort of double with the landing actually higher than the takeoff.
- Supermini – a class designation which includes the fasted kids that are still on minibikes.
- Tearoffs– are individually staked sheets of thin plastic that go over your goggles. When dirt hits your goggles, you ust tear of one sheet to clear your vision. About 10-12 stacks.
- Triple – is a jump with three options. It may be , Single, Single, Single; Double, Single or Triple. They are usually for more skilled riders.
- Whip – Guiding the bike, while airborne, so that it lies flat.
- Whiskey Throttle – is when you give to much throttle and you start to slip off the back of the bike and your hand just pulls the throttle more and you go out of control.
- Whoops – A row of dirt mounds or moguls. The fastest way through these are to enter with enough speed to skip along the tops of the whoops.
- Yard Sale – is when the bike crashed and flipped hard enough to have the different parts to break off.