With the 2009 / 2010 season only a few months away, I thought I would look forward to what lies ahead from my viewpoint for the coming Summer.

There has been some discussion behind the scenes on what can be done to grow the club to ensure we get the numbers required at the events to at least cover the costs. The venues are costing more and ambulance fees have risen and whilst still relatively inexpensive to stage a meeting, there is pressure to ensure at least the break-even point is met.

The web site is set for a revamp with a more refined look and more photos to show what goes on at the meetings. This will be my task and whilst not overly taxing requires an artistic eye which I somewhat lack, so any user input will be gladly accepted. Some thought is also being undertaken to see what can be done to direct people to the site so that the VMX scene can be more easily accessible to potential riders and along with this perhaps an eye to getting spectators to the racers may prove to be a step towards introducing new riders. More photos, classic articles from magazines, perhaps even links to classic mx videos. It will all help towards increasing attendance and therefore viability for the meetings. On that point, a big thanks to Kiwi Rider for their recent article profiling the Helensville round of the club's vmx - great photos and a great write-up of the day's proceedings.

A preview of the types of articles that will be posted is below and I've also decided that a model comparison from an experts perspective would be very useful - along the lines of RM370A v RM370B - what are the differences? I'll start the ball rolling next month with YZ465G v YZ465H (yes, I'm a YZ465 fan) and other comparisons will require the input of club members. We have a wealth of knowledge among members of the club with these different models and I will be doggedly hassling club members to contribute, so before I find out where you live, be proactive and send me your contribution - please!

Oh - and who is this rather successful rider from 1980?

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DeCoster's New Suspenders (1979)

►Suzuki's new motocross front suspension raised a lot of eyebrows during this year's GP season, but it didn't inspire any imitators. One look at the complicated system of links, struts and shock absorbers developed by Valentino Ribi with the cooperation of Ohlins dissuaded most everyone. Roger DeCoster even switched back to a conventional telescopic fork near the season's end after adopting the Ribi suspension as his own pet project. But as DeCoster told the respected English publication Trials and Motocross News, the switch was caused by a lack of development time rather than any disappointment in the system itself. Indeed, the suspension had been calibrated to reduce trail under compression just like a standard fork. There was not enough time to produce the suspension's potential combination of constant trail and adjustable anti-dive during the usual two-week interval between races. DeCoster commented that the Ribi suspension worked noticeably better than a telescopic fork and was less tiring on his arms. Only the weight of the system—aggravated by the use of Ohlins dampers designed for rear suspension use—bothered him. Other motocross engineers may be diddling with suspension rates and punching larger holes in cylinder barrels in the search for more speed, but DeCoster has his own ideas about where the next reduction in lap times will come from. "It certainly has the factory thinking about front suspension," DeCoster says, "and that is good for everyone." —David Dewhurst■