Indoor riding arenas

[forgiven]

Where do you guys ride (websites if possible)

How much do you expect to pay for a decent indoor track per day

What kind of things do you expect from an indoor track

What don't you like about the indoor tracks you have been to.

If you could have one thing at an indoor track that you don't normally see...what would it be?

[tireman43]

We ride for an organization called Motokazie. They rent a couple horse arenas in the winter and build the tracks the week before we race. It a 3 weekend venue with 2 races per weekend, so 6 total races. It is neat for the kids to race indoors but it's cold here and they can't heat the buildings to well cuz they need fans blowing outside for ventilation. So it is only about 40-50* inside. The tracks are SX style with steeper jumps due to size constraints, which is fine. Also no running your quads inside, same reason as above ventilation, so we have to push them in and out to warm up. It's a pain. Other then that it is fun. The kids love that we stay at the Hotels so they can all hang out in the pool on Sat mornings. Other then that it's racing as usual. Check out www.motokazie.com

Want to mention also the Sandbox Arena. It is specifically built for indoor racing. The track is always up and you can ride there any day of the week for a rental fee. We have not run there due to it being new(bugs to work out) and we already commited to a series. It sounds like a nice place though. Check www.sandboxarena.com

Kevin

[forgiven]

A couple of really nice sites...thank you. I guess no one else rides indoors.

[markvette]

we raced ax races for a couple of years, matter of fact my son has 4 ax titles on his mini. problem was all the tracks were super cross tracks and really way too wild even for big quads. the little kids on minis had to be pushed over most the jumps and some would get stuck on the peaks they were so pointed. my son decided one day he didnt want to race them anymore and i dont force him to race tracks he dont like. also when we ran them and he got agressive we broke a lot of parts, just wasnt worth it.

Mark

[dericsdad]

WE HAVE BEEN RACING AT THE NEW AMSOIL SANDBOX ARENA. IT IS DEFINITLY A LOT DIFFERENT THAN THE OUTDOOR TRACKS WE ARE USED TOO. IT IS A TOP NOTCH PLACE, AND THE OWNERS ARE GREAT. THEY HAVE A DIRTBIKE BACKGROUND, AND DON'T KNOW QUADS, BUT ARE OPENLY ASKING FOR SUGGESTIONS AND MAKING IT BETTER ALL THE TIME. THE TRACK IS DEFINITLY HARDER ON BIKES!!! BROKE OUR FIRST SET OF GEARS AFTER THE FIRST 1 1/2 LAPS ON THE TRACK, AND THEY WERE BRAND NEW! A FEW RIDERS ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE TRACK, BUT I THINK IT IS BECAUSE IT IS A HARD TRACK TO RACE ON, NARROW ON THE STRAIGHTS, AND NO WHERE TO REST. IF YOU CAN LEARN TO PASS AND RACE ON THIS TRACK YOU WILL BE VERY GOOD ON THE OUTDOOR TRACKS!

[forgiven]

Keep the suggestions coming...good stuff.

[team37]

(unforgiven) you live 20 min. from waterman.you must nkow that whats the info for!

[forgiven]

I live about 45minutes to 1hour from there and I don't think I understand the rest of your post.

[team37]

those are not normal questions for someone just looking for a place to ride.you must have another agenda! whats on your mind

[forgiven]

I have a desire to know what makes a good indoor riding facility verses an average one. It is just a posted question, I am not going to be the third gunmen on the grassy knoll or part of a secret society before I decided to run for office...don't tase me bro...

I went to waterman and thought it was pretty decent. Heard a few complaints and thought maybe my expectations were wrong. I did think it was expensive so I thought I would post the question, and see what others thought. Didn't want to limit it to just that track so some people didn't get the impression it was a Waterman plug or a Waterman slam...just about indoor riding facilities. I do wish there were more around here though.

Now that I have fully disclosed my thought process...why do you care why I ask? Please try to keep the thread on topic please. You have a handful of posts try to make them count.

[tireman43]

My question to ask, if you don't mind forgiven, would be pitting. Are the pits inside or out in your trailer? How much room is in the pit area? And so on. Also how much room for pre-gate line up?

The series we race uses indoor horse arenas, so we get to use the cleaned and emptied stalls. It works great cuz we can leave the minis in them overnight and put our own looks on them to keep stuff warmer and inside. Its also nice to have a place to sit and visit between motos. The kids can watch movies on the laptop or goof off. That is a BIG reason we follow this indoor series. The other series close, I've "heard" doesn't have pitting inside. And doesn't have all that much room inside other then the lounge area. Hopefully dericsdad can chime in to let me know different as I haven't actually been there yet.

[team37]

we are the only miniquad showing up at waterman on a regular basis.just wondering why nobody is racing the series. its a good track for beginers and challeging enough for advanced riders. all table tops nice whoops. maybe the rumor of that sniper is keeping them away!!:D what i would like to see at a indoor track is a full gate!!

[forgiven]

The place I went to had quite a bit of pit area inside. I like the idea of a lounge area but they only had an enclosed elevated heated area...although it was heated which is nice in the winter time.

Just not sure how you could effectively heat a pit area like that though. That is what I see as the main problem around here is how do you keep it warm enough with out getting slaughtered on heating costs.

When I seen the motokazie and sandbox sites they have it really spiffy on the inside for similar money. Was it just outside temp inside or did they attempt to heat it?

[tireman43]

At the Motokazie events they have the heat on in the arena(RHR) but not the pits. They run a large propane heater(nipco type) facing the pit area and the tank is outside the building for good reason. The arenas also have plug ins so we bring a space heater and it works great. At the race this weekend(I90 expo) there will only be large propane heaters running and the building is not as nice, so less insulation makes it colder. At the RHR race it was about 50-55* and this weekend will be about 40-45*. Not hot but it beats being outside.

The lounge is nice and both arenas we go to have them but it's nice to sit with a small group in the pits and BS too.

[WOLFPACK]

The Motoplex used monsterous kerosene heaters that they rented somewhere. It took the edge off and made it comfortable in there with a jacket on.

Waterman is a pretty big hit on the wallet the first time you go but i think the daily ride fair is reasonable. They should get something to warm it up a bit in there though. I've heard from several people that won't go out there on cold days. The catch 22 is on busy days you can't breath in there from all the bike exhaust. On that day it was 65 out it was 40 inside and they didn't open up the doors to warm it up inside. People were going outside to warm up....lol

Shane
Originally posted by forgiven
Just not sure how you could effectively heat a pit area like that though. That is what I see as the main problem around here is how do you keep it warm enough with out getting slaughtered on heating costs.

[dericsdad]

The new Amsoil Sandbox Arena has a very large air exchanger that keeps the air fresh, and the heat works great! It is warm in the pits, and out on the track. Top notch brand new facility! Glad it is so close for us to utilize. Only thing that is hard to get used to is not being able to start the machines outside or in the pits, they can only be started inside on the track... in otherwords, run what u brung, no testing it out in the field before your kids next moto:D . Dan

[hanzito]

hindsight mx indoor track (http://www.hindsightmx.com/home.htm) my son and i rode here last year on 4th of July. I rode my race quad and my pitbike and her rode his typhoon. we loved the facility. it was the first time we had been to a indoor track. We had a great time. I just wish it was closer to Boise idaho where i live. The track was a little tight for my big quad but was perfect for the pitbike and his mini quad. and 125/250 dirtbike. it would probably be a hand full on the big bikes 250/450. but overall we loved it and next time we go tothe portland area to visit my fiancese family you can guarantee that i a take the toys with us.

[motoxgirl419]

We also live in Illinois and travel to Sturgis Ky. and DuQuoin Il. for their indoor arencross series. Nice setup and decent people.
I think their website might be something like this...
bassproductionsmx.com..
If I'm wrong I will correct myself.