MX rider new to GTA

slapshots_eh?

slapshots_eh?

Member
Hey guys,

I am moving to Mississauga from New Brunswick, and I need to know a few things about MX riding around the GTA:

1. I have a registration and a plate for my bike, is there anything special I need to do for it plate-wise in ONtario? I see threads talking about blue plate vs. green plate and I don't know what that means.

2. Do you need insurance to ride MX tracks and practice tracks? We didn't in NB, only quads needed insurance.

3. I will be moving from a house with a garage to an apartment.... Are there places that rent out storage for bikes, where I can access for regular bike maintenance (needs electrical outlets, etc)?

4. Finally, where can I ride? I'm used to riding out my door to a trail network that eventually took me to practice tracks? I'm not very interested in trail riding, just MX tracks. That being said, any groups wnat to add another guy to their crew?

Any help will be appreciated guys?

Thanks,

Kyle
 
I have yet to see a MX track that requires insurance. Luckily for you you're not that bad off for selection of tracks, but none are "close". RJs north of Barrie is great, and probably more like what you're used to out east. You need to hit up Gopher dunes, about an hour and a half west of you for the most intense sand track in Canada.
East of the city, the series I race with is MMRS. Some really great tracks we get to use and the people there are great!
 
My opinion is that it will seem a lot harder than what you were use to in New Brunswick given the circumstance you have explained. In my opinion the GTA is not very dirt bike friendly. That being said there are those of us who percivier and ride on despite these odds. Do you have tools/truck or trailer/bike/gear? Most good places are 1.5-2 hours away. Gopher Dunes and Motopark being the best in my opinion.

If you are not looking to remain in Ontario and have no plans on buying a house but want to continue to dirt bike and need space. I suggest you might look for a basement apartments in towns like Oakville/Burlington, Georgetown or even Brampton. All are commutable to downtown Toronto. If you are in an apartment and you think you are going to store your bike in a self storage facility with amenities you will find that it will cost A LOT. Several hundred to possibly a thousand dollars a month for storage. If you find a sweet house with garage storage or a barn space, that would be more ideal.

You will only need insurance if you want to ride trails, then you will need proper ownership of vehicle, green plate and liability insurance. The tracks that will be mentioned here most likely will not require any insurance because you sign waivers before you ride.

I find a lot of guys who used to ride MX or dirt bikes in general who move from North to the GTA, usually end up switching to a street bike and forget the hassle of dirt.

Good luck on your journey to this province. As far as I know the GTA is the most populated part of Canada, you will notice a huge difference from what you are used to.

PS. let us know how it goes, and if you are ever up for riding.
 
Thanks for the info guys. I have a pick-up truck and tools, and although I have just gotten into an apartment lease, I have a couple buddies from work who have offered to keep the KTM in their garages for me. So aside form the minor pain in the butt of having to make a stop to load up and drop off the bike on someone else's household schedule, it looks like I'm good to go.

I'll post again when the bike arrives in Mississauga in June (it's with the moving company now), as I'll be jonesing for some riding.

My email address is strattok@gmail.com if you want to flip me a heads up on ride days or whatever.

Thanks again,

Kyle
 
Update:
Bike is here and stored safely. I'm itching to get out, I see gopher dunes is open most days of the week. I'm planning on heading out next week after work, likely tuesday around 3pm from Winston Churchill / QEW area.

If anyone wants to go I can get another bike in my truck if you have tiedowns. Otherwise if you see a KTM with #117 red number plates that's me, and i usually have cold beer waiting in the cooler after a good ride so stop by and grab one.

Cheers, Kyle
 
Gopher is a treat! And, if you're lucky they will have the new track open. I rode it last week and it's totally different than the big national sand track.

CMX is holding a race weekend at the track in Cayuga (way closer than Gopher dunes is for you). Saturday is practice, Sunday is race day and they have day passes so you don't need a membership. Pretty sure I'm going there this weekend. #388, "White Trash Racing" trailer. If I'm there and you go, stop in! Sorry, but there's no beer for me at the track, just water and gatorade.
 
I wouldn't bother with eagles nest... I'll likely never ride there ever again. Track prep is horrible, big square holes, tires, cinder blocks and pipes sticking out of landings (he used them for filler on the jumps). The dirt is so hard packed you leave black marks in the corners, and any amount of moisture turns the fine dust on top in to an icy slick surface...
Spend the time, go to Gopher dunes and if you're lucky, both tracks (which are completely different even in soil type) will be open and then you have around 40 km of trail to rip up too.

Just warning the guy before he goes, it's not a good spot and I'll tell it like it is. I will ride almost anything just to get out and ride but I would rather not ride than burn down tires at eagles nest.

Check out RJs north of Barrie, really good track! And if you're willing to go an hour or so past that, Motopark in Chatsworth is also a blast.

Try to get "in" with a smaller MX oriented shop and then your chances of finding someone to let you in on a private track go up huge. I just finally found one up here to practice on... This area is like a black hole for MX tracks, this thing is the closest track and an hour away!
 
I was at gopher dunes twice much earlier in the season. Is that new track open now? I couldn't stand the sandy track although I did enjoy the trails. I live in Burlington and Gopher dunes is just under 90 minutes from my front door. Motopark takes me exactly 2 hours to get to without stopping. I still think Motopark is the best thought, just my opinion. I'm down for riding quite a bit. I have the first 2 weeks of August off and am hoping to get out riding quite a bit.
 
I was lucky enough to ride the new track the first day it was open. The dirt is different. It's like loam, so basically almost like that light weight black top soil in someone's garden, and about 8" below that it's almost like a hard pack, so it gets nice narrow deep ruts in the corners, but if you get in to the loamy berm it will slow the bike down, and you can't really plow the front end in to it to use it to turn like you can in the sand on the main track.
The track isn't big but it's kind of technical, the jumps are short, but very "sharp", and some almost need to be scrubbed, which I can't do very well yet but it's fun to try. There is a sweet set of whoops that increase in tempo as you get to the end, followed be a nice sweeper as soon as you touch down so that makes it a bit of a challenge too.

I know the deep sand there sucks at first... I used to HATE it there, but once you get the feel for it, there is nothing else like riding in it. It's the best feeling on a bike when you line up a berm just right, lean that baby down in to it, nail the throttle and shoot out the other side without barely slowing down and bars almost perpendicular to the ground. Once you get the flow it's a blast, and a good work out! Just takes time and lots of throttle at that place.
 
do you think it is normal to haul 2 hours to motopark (it is nice track) and pay $35 per ride and $35 membership?
RJ half way and charges the same money
 
There are some tracks along the 403 in Mississauga, under the power lines. Havent seen anyone ride them in years.
 
Got out to dunes a couple weeks back, what a time!!! We have some sandy practice tracks in New Brunswick but I've never seen anything as great as dunes, not by a long shot. Great way to check out your fitness level as well!

Bad news though, I took a contract job overseas so my riding is done for now, and the bike and some gear is for sale. If you guys are interested or know of anyone interested, here is the link to the ad: http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...plus-many-extras-NEW-PRICE-W0QQAdIdZ391389212

It has been raced, which in my mind, has been very well taken care of. I prefer buying used bikes from adult racers, there's a good chance they are maintained well. I am so fussy about my bikes everything has to be in perfect shape.

Wish I could have met up with you guys, but I'll be back on the scene in due time. The great thing is that they keep making bikes for me to buy :)

Cheers
 
slapshots_eh? said:
Got out to dunes a couple weeks back, what a time!!! We have some sandy practice tracks in New Brunswick but I've never seen anything as great as dunes, not by a long shot. Great way to check out your fitness level as well!

Bad news though, I took a contract job overseas so my riding is done for now, and the bike and some gear is for sale. If you guys are interested or know of anyone interested, here is the link to the ad: http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...plus-many-extras-NEW-PRICE-W0QQAdIdZ391389212

It has been raced, which in my mind, has been very well taken care of. I prefer buying used bikes from adult racers, there's a good chance they are maintained well. I am so fussy about my bikes everything has to be in perfect shape.

Wish I could have met up with you guys, but I'll be back on the scene in due time. The great thing is that they keep making bikes for me to buy :)

Cheers
Click to expand...

Damn, sorry we didn't get the chance to rip it!

I agree with the race bikes being in better shape. Chances are, that guy spends a couple hours after a weekend checking out the bike to make sure everything is perfect and counts the hours to do oil changes and top ends on time. Trail bikes seem to be the ones that get bashed up and neglected until the next ride, until something breaks then they fix it "good enough for now" and keep riding until it's a POS.
 
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