Post by: luthier269 on July 08, 2012, 12:25:34 AM
Post by: twosmoke595 on July 08, 2012, 12:39:54 AM
I would like to thank John Nicholas because he got all of this started in my opinon. If John did'nt start project 250 this might have never happened. John got press in the mags about a two stroke trying to qualify for a outdoor national. I know they made some mistakes but it was a learning process and others benefited from it. Lets keep the push on and if you hav'nt sign the petiton do it.
can you go a little more in depth here?
Post by: Coop on July 08, 2012, 01:29:08 AM
Post by: Lolerbabop on July 08, 2012, 01:32:49 AM
.... 
Post by: msambuco on July 08, 2012, 02:08:53 AM
Post by: twosmoke595 on July 08, 2012, 02:22:04 AM
ya i got on here a little while after charles bought it, i remember the project 250 stuff, its a shame that never really got off the ground, BUT it seems there has been some good efforts this year in that direction, and charles has done an amazing job so far, and i imagine it will get even better
charles should chime in and give us the whole history of his predecessor and the transition into his hands
Post by: Charles Owens on July 08, 2012, 03:39:44 AM
Post by: luthier269 on July 08, 2012, 04:06:16 AM
Post by: Coop on July 08, 2012, 01:24:14 PM
I was advertising here on TSM
Hehe I don't know if you remember but I busted your balls about just selling stuff and not being a contributing member at first. Luckily you didn't hold that against me
. I was one of the first moderators here on TSM when John still owned the site and I have tried to carry my passion for keeping this a great place to hang out, share, and learn onto Charles' ownership as well.
Post by: MXLord327 on July 08, 2012, 02:40:20 PM
Post by: Charles Owens on July 08, 2012, 03:50:09 PM
Glad I didn't get banned. 
Post by: Coop on July 08, 2012, 04:04:01 PM
Haha Mike I do remeber that
Ha!
Post by: Super Trucker on July 08, 2012, 04:55:32 PM
When I first found the site it was still called Two Stroke Militia!!!Yeah I remember that, I was on 125mx.com they had a link for TSM. All 2-st folks need to stick together like brothers.
Post by: JohnN on July 31, 2012, 08:14:18 PM
I have not visited the site for a long time, my life has gone in another direction. Glad to hear that the site is growing with all of Charles' hard work.
I know very few people know the beginning history of this site, as only a handful of us "two stroke" nuts were around on the Internet at the time. This is kind of a long story, but I will attempt to make it somewhat brief, to keep from boring anyone to tears.
Every story needs a beginning, so you'll need to know at least a little about me.
In the early 1970's I was introduced to scrambles at Fishkill NY and fell in love with motorcycle racing, unfortunately it was not until 1975 that I raced my first race on a 1974 CR125. Racing for nearly 8 years, I lost interest and "retired" for the first time.
For many years following my "retirement" it felt as though I was a motocross addict, I would buy a bike, race a few times then lose interest. Unlike many of you that have stayed with it from when you began.
Around 2006 feeling a bit nostalgic, I built a history site for my local racing district. This was done without permission using a free web site. It caused some attention and no one was really sure who had begun the site. One day I went to a local race (Claverack, NY) to talk to some old racers. There I ran into some old friends, specifically Jeff Conboy (www.raceprousa.com) and Tim Weeks.
Nearly everyone was racing four strokes besides these two guys, so we got into a long conversation about when the four-strokes had become prominent and why the rules were set up to allow double the displacement for four-strokes. Any one that knows these two guys will understand that once you begin a thought, these guys will start "riffing" on it and the jokes start flying. Before too long a paper plate was secured and the words "Two Stroke Mafia" was scribbled on using a black sharpie and duck taped to the EZ-UP.
Not wanting to be "left out" during the next week I designed a logo ( design is not really one of my strong points) that contained bullet holes and the text Two Stroke Mafia. At the following race I brought a print out of the logo, which began a whole new set of funny stories. This was so much fun!! Besides, racers walking past smiled when they saw the sign. So by the following week I created a quickie web site. Adding some photos from the internet.
Once they saw the web site, it was really on. We ended up changing the name to Two Stroke Militia. Then began getting some interest from a few others and wrote some articles, posted some jokes and caused some trouble on the local message boards.
You have to realize that we were doing this as a joke. Since I was doing the majority of the writing Jeff thought it would be funny to call me "The General". For anyone that knows me personally this is so far away from who I am a person that it's hilarious. Again, all done as a bit of a joke. None of us took it very seriously, we posted stuff we found on the Internet. It was our attempt to bring to the attention of others the silliness of a rule that in our mind made no sense.
Since it was a joke, after a while we lost interest. When the domain name came up for renewal, I checked the Google analytics and found that nearly 75 visitors a day were visiting the site. We hadn't updated it in many months but the site was getting traffic and much more than it had while we had been working on it! We decided to renew the domain name and rebuild the site using Wordpress.
Then the site really began to take off. But we had a weird image problem on our hands. It was called Two Stroke Militia and I was posting on other forums as "The General". How can you take that seriously?
After checking on Go Daddy, I discovered the domain name Two Stroke Motocross was available and purchased it. Changed the logo (again my very bad design) and moved forward. During this time we gained supporters and regular readers.
Soon after a few regulars suggested a Forum be added. A place for like-minded two stroke supporters to converse and share information, stories and more. I was dead set against it.
After spending time on other forums, I hated the way users attacked each other and didn't want to deal with all the fallout. Plus at the time there was a two stroke forum called Pinger Talk, which was not well visited.
Two users in particular kept at me for months, I relented by imploring them to become moderators and stating that I would be extremely strict in how I would allow users to interact with each other. Believing that more people would participate if they were not driven away by folks that lived to attack others.
Unfortunately, shortly after beginning the forum, both of these guys stopped being moderators. By then, quite a few people were using the forum and I didn't feel like pulling the plug. A few months later, Coop came to the rescue being one of the best moderators ever. (Can't thank you enough for the support, you're the best Coop)
With the help of the forum and the expansion of people becoming more interested in two strokes, other believers began contacting me at TSM. From there it went kind of crazy. The number of visitors every day grew into the multiple thousands. Which completely floored me.
So here I was, a guy who no longer raced or rode "leading" a group of two stroke believers. Next I wanted to be able to give something back, but was unsure how to make that happen.
Over the years, many people who supported two-strokes and worked in the industry began communicating with me on a somewhat regular basis. Little Donnie Emler at FMF and Rich Winkler from Dirt Werx were two of the most helpful, their help is and was deeply appreciated. But there are so many others that helped and supported the site, including Vince from Maico International. Vince was a huge help to me and helped me through many sticky situations. (Thanks Vince!)
In 2009, an idea from Derek Harris written on Thumpertalk (of all places) caught my attention. Derek wanted to show folks what he could do as far as building competitive machines and planned to "hire" a racer to race 2 or 3 Nationals on a YZ250 two stroke modified by him. I contacted him and offered to help. We talked back and forth quite a bit and we decided to work together.
This was the beginning of Project Two 50. Which I want to state right now was totally Derek's project from the beginning. Even the logo was designed by Derek.
The idea of the project was to create enthusiasm for the two stroke on the National level. Which of course was what I hoped for.
Unfortunately, Project Two 50 is a whole different story. Many people were hurt and upset with how that turned out. To this day I take full responsibility for the failure of Project Two 50. Maybe someday I'll write more about that, but not here or now.
After Project Two 50 imploded, my interest in motocross and racing was at an all time low. Charles had been an advertiser on the site who had been pretty nice. (with the exception of Coop's initial run in with him LOL) So before advertising the site for sale, I contacted Charles as he seemed extremely passionate about Two Strokes. We spoke and worked out a deal, and he became the sole owner of Two Stroke Motocross.
There are so many people that deserve thanks for their help in building TSM to the site it was when Charles purchased it. I could never fully thank them all properly. If you are reading this and had a hand in helping TSM grow, I thank you.
I hope this helps to explain the beginnings of TSM. It has grown tremendously under Charles' stewardship and I look forward to seeing it grow into the future.
Charles, you are my hero!!
All the best,
John
Post by: Charles Owens on July 31, 2012, 08:24:00 PM
Post by: ford832 on July 31, 2012, 08:29:01 PM
Thanks for everything John,we all appreciate your past efforts and Charles' present ones.I'd be interested in the demise of project 250 from primarily a technical point of view with regards to the coatings and mix ratios etc.So waht are you up to these days?
Post by: Brap on July 31, 2012, 08:33:33 PM
Post by: JohnN on July 31, 2012, 08:48:00 PM
But no matter what my intentions are or were, it is yours to do as you please. I wish you every success with it.
Ford - Boy do I miss you!!!
I didn't think being a non-riding entusiast was an issue either, but you'd be surprised at how many people wrote to me saying it was.As for the coatings and mixtures... they were not and never were the issue. The problem was in NO way related to that aspect of the Project. In actuality the cause was so stupid as to be embarrassing. Maybe not so much to me, but others.... I can't in good conscious throw anyone under the bus.. which is why I took complete responsibility and refused to speak about what happened publicly.
Of course my point of view is only that, my point of view. Of course there are others that were a part of it and if they share what they know or experienced, it's up to them.
Brap - That would be between you and Charles.... how much do you want to pay him??
Post by: Charles Owens on July 31, 2012, 09:01:48 PM
Our worldwide traffic rank has far surpassed MXA, Dirt Rider, and Alli Sports.com. We are also very close to Vital and Vurb. As of today our current rank is 70,648, worldwide. Starting next year we will be doing more traveling and covering all of the 2 stroke events that have popped up this year, as well as a few nationals we will be entering some riders in. Our plans have taken longer than expected, but it has given us more time to plan and prepare so we can be sure to do it right.
Post by: gpnewhouse7 on July 31, 2012, 09:15:10 PM
Starting next year we will be doing more traveling and covering all of the 2 stroke events that have popped up this year, as well as a few nationals we will be entering some riders in. Our plans have taken longer than expected, but it has given us more time to plan and prepare so we can be sure to do it right.
Sounds good to me, I've been a 'Lurker' on the site since the days of Two Stroke Militia and only recently became a member. The TSM forum is always open as a tab on my phone so I can see whats happening on here whenever I get bored. I would get TSM graphics for my bike but by the time they get through customs they'll be two or three times as much as any other kits! Maybe an idea for the future would be to hook up with Danger UK or something for us two stroke fans in England.
Post by: Charles Owens on July 31, 2012, 09:55:09 PM
Post by: Coop on July 31, 2012, 10:05:00 PM
.
Post by: JETZcorp on July 31, 2012, 11:03:14 PM
It's funny, most of the time since I stopped following TSM, I've been knee-deep learning about four-strokes because I want to build up my Dakota. Then I went for a ride last weekend which put my focus back to two-strokes, and it took a while to come to grips with how damned simple everything is. Especially with an air-cooled, drum-brake bike, there's like three moving parts. Very refreshing.
Post by: scotty dog on July 31, 2012, 11:13:06 PM
I doI was advertising here on TSM
Hehe I don't know if you remember but I busted your balls about just selling stuff and not being a contributing member at first.
Post by: SachsGS on August 01, 2012, 12:41:59 AM
Post by: ridered125 on August 01, 2012, 05:00:08 AM
http://twostrokemotocross.com/2009/05/budget-racer-2001-honda-cr125/
Post by: motoxr377 on August 01, 2012, 05:57:56 AM
Post by: MXLord327 on August 01, 2012, 02:21:17 PM
Post by: Charles Owens on August 01, 2012, 02:29:35 PM
I'm amazed at the success of TSM. I'm a hardcore offroader, but from a business perspective it has been very informative to watch the site evolve.It's taken quite a bit of time, money and research to get it where it is today. Once I learned more about SEO and Viral marketing it's pretty much been snow-balling since. But what it really comes down to.. The 2 Strokes are still very well alive. The fun factor and the masses. Sure a few hundred pros race them because the feel they have to, or maybe they like blowing the money on parts and repairs. But the other hundreds of thousands of people like to have affordable fun. Two strokes will always have a place on and off the tracks, and we'll be here.
This place is awesome!! Now Charles... more on that '11 250sx!More on that when we get some things in place, hopefully by December we will have one out in the shop being prepped.
Post by: dogger315 on August 01, 2012, 03:26:44 PM
Quote
I would like to thank John Nicholas because he got all of this startedAdd my name to that list as well. Every cause needs visionaries - John was
one of ours.
Hope you are doing well.
dogger
Post by: Chris2T on August 01, 2012, 10:11:41 PM
Chris
Post by: Charles Owens on August 01, 2012, 10:13:26 PM
Post by: scotty dog on August 01, 2012, 11:15:52 PM
i won't make this long, only to say that this site is a near daily part of my life. And an important one. Thanks John, thanks Charles!X2
Chris
Top job and thanks, lookin forward to what is comin up
Post by: TMKIWI on August 02, 2012, 02:56:10 AM
i won't make this long, only to say that this site is a near daily part of my life. And an important one. Thanks John, thanks Charles!
Chris
X3.
Has bean great.
Jetz. WTF have you been.
You bought a CRF didn't you.
Post by: Stusmoke on August 02, 2012, 08:12:41 AM
i won't make this long, only to say that this site is a near daily part of my life. And an important one. Thanks John, thanks Charles!X2
Chris
Top job and thanks, lookin forward to what is comin up
x4. I love it here and I personally thank all those keeping it going. What I'd give to be the rider of that '11 KTM though
Post by: Coop on August 02, 2012, 02:10:23 PM
Post by: Charles Owens on August 02, 2012, 03:44:42 PM
This thread is like one big group hug...
"Hugs" are good motivation. Thanks guys, it will only get better!
Post by: Stusmoke on August 03, 2012, 12:28:52 AM
This thread is like one big group hug...
Someones gonna start crying soon. So not me
Post by: riffraff on August 03, 2012, 07:34:26 AM
Post by: cnrcpla on January 09, 2013, 05:06:42 PM
Quote
60% or so from Google searchesThat's how I found this place
Post by: Brap on January 09, 2013, 06:30:53 PM
If you scroll down the the pie chart for forum stats you can see we had 6,309,499 forum page views in 2012. The site (not including the forum) gets 250k+ visits and 5-7 million page views per month. 60% or so from Google searches.
Jesus, Is it all from the same people over and over? 5-7 million? Fourms should be packed