All things youth moto…

Budd pilots the American-made CX65 to victory at Las Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium – on the Monster/AMA SX track – during the AMA National Arenacross finals

HILLSDALE, Mich., (May 11, 2011) – Cobra’s CX65 reached another amazing milestone in the American-made bike’s third year of competition when this past weekend it was raced to a first-ever AMA National Arenacross Championship title by #399 Hunter Budd out of Keller, Texas.

The ten-year-old fifth grader, in his seventh year of racing, powered past another rider coming out of the over/under obstacle on the floor of Las Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium – the same track Ryan Villopoto would win the SX title on later that day – and onto victory, solidifying Cobra CX65’s inaugural national 65cc class Arenacross title.

“We couldn’t be more pleased for Hunter and his family – making history on the Cobra CX65 this past weekend in Las Vegas,” said Sean Hilbert, President of Cobra Motorcycles. “Hunter’s had a stellar amateur motocross career on Cobras and to deliver our first-ever national AMA Arenacross title is just super. We wish Hunter the best of luck as he moves up to the 85 class full time now.”

Next up for the Cobra Nation is the Ponca City (Okla.) Grand Nationals, July 24-30.

Tomahawk MX Park, Cobra Motorcycles, and Troy Lee Designs is working in cooperation with the AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) and MX Sports to rally in Washington DC at the Nation’s Capitol in opposition of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 that has disrupted and could even see the end of sales of motorcycles and motorcycle products built for children 12 years and younger due to the lead content in the bikes.
Tomahawk came to a partnership agreement with Cobra motorcycle’s CEO Sean Hilbert to award one young rider that attends the rally a new 2011 King Cobra 50 motorcycle.  Tomahawk event coordinator Tyler Newcomer commented on their partnership with Cobra, “No one has been hit harder by the Lead Law than Cobra.  For Sean to make this commitment in these economic times goes to show the importance of this event and his commitment to our young riders.”
Troy Lee Designs is helping to promote Tomahawk’s efforts by handing out a Troy Lee Helmet to one participant and a set of gear to another.  Troy Lee Representative Adam Russler stated, “Troy Lee wants to be involved in all aspects of promoting our sport.  This gives us an opportunity to show our commitment to the youth in our sport and this important cause.”
Tomahawk will be open for camping from Wednesday, May 25th through Friday, May 27th with a free practice day Friday for the riders that will attend the rally on Thursday.  Parents that attend will be given an event t-shirt to wear the day of the rally.  All raffles will be held the evening of the Family Capitol Hill Climb at Tomahawk’s weekly Kids’ Ride Night.
Tomahawk owner Chad Gochenour added, “This is an important event for Tomahawk.  With our already established youth riding programs, we wanted to take this opportunity from the AMA and MXSports and show our commitment to the youth in our sport.  Cobra and Troy Lee Designs are two of the top names in our sport.  To be partnered with them is huge for Tomahawk.  Hopefully, we can take this partnership at the Hill Climb and continue to work with them in the future in our youth programs.”
For more information about Tomahawk MX Park, the Family Capitol Hill Climb, the chance to win a Cobra Motorcycle, great gear from Troy Lee Designs, or other great prizes go to:  www.tomahawkmx.com or email Tyler Newcomer at www.TMXKidsRideNight@hotmail.com.

Check out Cobra’s all new fork piston (on the left). The new design has several advantages including increased flow area (for reduced cavitation and improved damping), and we designed in a larger bushing surface area to reduce friction when the fork is under high loads. Finally, the shim sealing surface has been thinned to reduce shim break-away forces and create a more supple ride.

This setup is now shipping in all 2011 Cobra King and JR models. It is also backward compatible for all 2006-2010 King models (and for U.S. racers it is AMA legal), so the next time you are having your suspension done, make sure you request the new hardware!

Sexton, Robertson, Turpin, & Linville on bikes – Heath, Hopkins, & Hart on ATVs pile up the major accolades – while King Cobra & CX65 are successfully re-engineered

HILLSDALE, Mich., (Jan. 17, 2010) – Call it the “Little motorcycle company that could.” Or, better yet, the “Little American-made motorcycle company that did.”

Despite a trying economic climate and an overzealous U.S. government approach to protect kids from ingesting lead, Michigan-based Cobra Motorcycles’ hard-working staff of just over 30 people did everything in their power in 2010 to keep the dreams of young motocross racers alive throughout the United States and rest of the free world.

“Two-thousand and ten will go down as a turning point year for Cobra – and a turning point for the better,” said Cobra President Sean Hilbert. “We saw great advances for the Cobra King 50 and, especially, the Cobra CX65, continued our industry standard successes at national-caliber competitions here and overseas and continued to expand upon the great heritage of the Cobra motorcycles.”

Hilbert said quite honestly that the motivation at Cobra is a direct byproduct of the effort Cobra kids put in at home and on the competition motocross tracks around the world. “If anyone around here ever starts feeling sorry for themselves, that we’re over-worked or whatever, all it takes is a weekend road trip to an amateur national or even a run down to RedBud for a local amateur race to see how hard a seven-year-old and his dad work together to reach their goals.

“Kind of puts things in perspective when you know Cobra’s got the guys’ backs,” explained Hilbert.

2010 championships for Cobra came at all of the major American amateur MX nationals, including: Oak Hill and Lake Whitney, Texas, Nevada’s Mini GPs, Ponca City (Okla.), Loretta Lynn’s AMA Amateur MX National Championships in Tennessee, Branson (Mo.), Arizona’s Amateur MX Open and the Mini Os in Gainesville, Fla. Cobra also again enjoyed a great deal of success north and south of the border – and overseas – as the iconic junior MX brand continues to expand globally. International championships for Cobra came in Mexico and Canada, Australia, the UK and the MX Master Kids in the Belgium, solidifying the fact the Cobras are – hands down – the finest competition mini bikes on the planet.

A first in 2010 for Cobra was the effort put forth by Illinois’ Chase Sexton, who scored the company’s first podium at Loretta Lynn’s on the revolutionary Cobra CX65. Sexton then backed that up with the CX65s first-ever major national victory when he won the 65 class at the Mini Os at Gatorback MX Park in Gainesville, Fla.

And there was Stilez Robertson – all seven years, 62 pounds and 52 inches of him – who tore it up this year, winning major amateur MX national titles at Lake Whitney (Texas), Las Vegas’ World Mini GPs and the Amateur Open of Motocross in Arizona. His effort brought his overall win total to 20, tying Cobra’s Adam Cianciarulo for the most wins ever on a Cobra 50cc bike – and Robertson still has another competition year to go on his Cobra King 50!

Those great performances where highlighted in August by the two titles that Jackson Turpin and Gage Linville secured at the AMA National Championship races at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in central Tennessee. Both boys turned in flawless performances and put an exclamation point on both of their 2010 race seasons. Both will be back in the Cobra Camp for 2011 to contest for more 50cc and 65cc titles.

And on the ATV side of things, Cobra’s Eli Hopkins, Corey Heath and Hunter Hart all had bang-up competition seasons on their ECX line of Cobra quads cycles. Hopkins, who not only beat the competition to win the 2010 50cc AMA-ATV Motocross Championship, did so while also battling Juvenile Diabetes. Heath (ATVA 90cc Auto Jr.) and Hart (GNCC 90 Mod) both won major ATV titles as well.

Cobra’s engineers also had a banner year in 2010. For the first time in recent memory the King 50 received a full chassis and bodywork facelift. By all accounts the new look and feel were a home run, with the added benefit that both the King 50 and the CX65 were made ergonomically similar in 2010 to create a seamless transition between the two bikes for Cobra racers. And speaking of the CX65, it received an all new engine for 2010 that helped power Cobra Kids to an unprecedented number of wins and podiums.

“All-in-all it was a banner year at Cobra and for the kids all over the world running our bikes,” said Hilbert. “We came in to 2010 with a lot of questions – like is mini bike racing at the national level on the verge of extinction? Cobra, along with its great riders and families, is proud to say that ‘No, mini bike racing’s not extinct.’ And you need look no further than a dad driving home, kid asleep next to him – with his trophy – and a Cobra in the back of the truck … ready to do it all over again in 2011.”

Next up for Cobra racers is the relocated AMA Spring Classis at Alabama’s Mill Creek Raceway.

Cobra MX photos courtesy of BIG, LLC

Over the past eighteen months, I’ve had the pleasure of working with the AMA on fixing our ridiculous Lead Law issue once and for good. Everyone at the AMA ‘gets it’ – right from the guy at the top, Rob Dingman, to his henchmen in Washington D.C. – Ed Moreland and Rich Podliska. These guys realize that the issue is much bigger than just a few mini bikes…it extends to every corner of motorcycling. Furthermore, it’s the clearest example of government overreach I can think of. Not only does this regulation not make sense for our market (and many others), but the law will end up doing the opposite of what it set out to do. Without right-sized vehicles available, even Nancy Nord, commissioner of the CPSC, said “our safety records tragically show what happens when kids use adult-sized vehicles.”

With a new Congress being sworn in in January, we have some momentum right now to fix things before May when the stay-of-enforcement expires. At the very least, head to the AMA Rapid Response website and take two minutes to have your voice heard on Capitol Hill (http://ama-cycle.org/legisltn/rapidresponse.asp). You can also join a Facebook group to show your support. Last but not least, your representatives in Congress need a personal reminder to put this on the legislative agenda as soon as their new term starts next year.

If you don’t think your voice will be heard, you’re wrong! Motorcyclists were the ONLY consumer group to receive a stay of enforcement in 2009. That happened because our voices were heard loud and clear in Washington D.C. It’s time to shout once again.

If you’re an AMA member (if not, join!), check out the article titled ‘Countdown to Disaster” in the December issue of American Motorcyclist. It clearly articulates the issue. Below is the full, uncut interview Cobra submitted as the AMA was preparing for this article. Let us know what you’re doing and what the response has been (good or bad). I’m confident we’ll come out on the winning end of this thing, but it will take effort on everyone’s part. Go get ‘em!

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS – Sean Hilbert, Cobra Moto, LLC

1.) What are the dangers of kids riding full-size dirt bikes and ATVs?

The dangers are clearly articulated in published data that show vast differences in safety statistics between full sized and ‘right-sized’ vehicles for young riders. This is one of the key points of this fight. It’s not simply that there were a few unfortunate unintended consequences of the CPSIA; the law does just the opposite of its intention and actually makes things MORE dangerous for kids. We need to ensure that Congress and the CPSA are well educated on this point.

2.) What will the lack of kids’ machines mean for family recreation?

At a time when getting kids out of the house and away from their X-Box is becoming more difficult by the day, I think it’s exceedingly critical that as a society we open pathways for outside recreation…not close them down.

3.) What will the lack of kids machines mean for dealers?

I don’t have any specific data to support this, but my strong hunch is that many of the dealer closures over the past eighteen months can be traced directly back to the Spring of 2009 when dealers were forced to pull youth machines off the floor. Youth machines provide a significant amount of revenue for many dealers, and these products bring young, new customers into showrooms.

4.) What will the lack of kids machines mean for amateur racing?

This law has the potential to devastate amateur racing. Track owners I have spoken to say that youth classes account for 35-40% of their entries on any given weekend. Furthermore, racing families bring many more revenue opportunities to the tracks than your typical 20 year-old that shows up with a bike in the back of his pickup truck. Families generate gate and concession revenue from moms, dads, brothers, sisters, and sometimes grandmas and grandpas. And if Junior can’t race anymore, there is a good chance dad will hang up his leathers too. I see massive fallout at the track level if this law sticks.

5.) What will the lack of kids’ machines mean for professional racing?

Its very clear at the professional end of our sport that the fan base is largely made up of amateur participants. Not only will the pipeline of new riders dry up, but the number of fans following the sport will diminish as well; especially for motocross and off-road racing.

6.) What needs to be done to the CPSEA so that kids will have new machines to ride?

The pathway for a product to be granted an exemption needs to be straightforward and simple enough to be accessed by small and big companies alike. The current proposal falls short.

7.) What can parents and dealers do to try to get the law changed?

Vote like a motorcyclist! It’s very clear that we need a change of the guard in Congress. The AMA’s voting tools and guidelines are an outstanding piece of work, so use them!

If Republicans gain control of the House, Fred Upton, a senior representative from Michigan, may very well take over as Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. This is the committee where the Lead Law originated, and ensuring that Representative Upton is sitting in the top seat is one of chances we have to fix this law properly.

8.) Is there anything else you would like to add?

The AMA has been an outstanding partner to work with on this issue. With the organization’s newfound focus on amateur racing and legislative issues our sport is much better off. I would like to personally thank Rob Dingman as well as the legislative staff in Washington D.C. (Ed Moreland, Rick Podliska, and Sheila Andrews) for all of their help. Together, we’ll get this thing fixed.