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?
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.
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