Off-road
There are several different types of off-road motorcycles, also known as 'dirt bikes', designed and specialised for off-road events. For off-road use they typically have, when compared to road going motorcycles, light weight, long suspension travel and high ground clearance, simple, rugged construction with little bodywork and no fairing for easy recovery after spills, and large wheels with knobby tires, often clamped to the rim with a rim lock.There are specialized motorcycles are for a variety of off-road motorcycle sports:
- Motocross — A uniquely designed track of a variety of different obstacles where people compete to win the race. The motorcycles have a less than 2 gallon tank which makes them light. Their precise suspension travel allows riders to fly over jumps at high speeds. There are two different classifications of motocross classes. Initially the classes were 125cc and 250cc two-strokes, but as of late those classes have been overrun by 250cc and 450cc four-strokes, allowing twice the engine size to compete with the more powerful two-stoke engine.
- Rally raid, or Rallies — long distance racing, typically through deserts for long distances. Road legal machine (like enduro) but with significantly more fuel. Capacities tend to be larger, around 450 cc to 660 cc (two or four stroke), an upper limit is often imposed for rider safety.
- Trials — An extremely specialized form of competition focused on balancing skills and precision rather than speed. Thus low weight and quick power is the priority leading to small (125 cc to 300 cc) engines, often two strokes being used. Seats are unnecessary and affect the center of gravity so they are not installed (sometime they are jokingly referred to as banana bikes due to the lack of a seat). Fuel is kept to a minimum so range is very limited.
- Track racing — High-speed oval racing, typically with no brakes, no suspension, at most two gears, fueled by methanol (not road legal machines).
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