Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127698
ge ro us . So I started raci ng mot ocr oss. My first race was whe n I was 12. I had no int enti ons of making a career of it; it was just a fun thing to d o." Davis was born on April S, 1969, in Bakersfield, Californ ia, but when he was fou r, his family moved to the clean air and kicked -back pace of Hesperia, a sm all communi ty in the Southern California high desert, located approximately 90 m iles north e ast of Los Angeles . Although he was ve ry athletic, Davis wasn 't in te re s te d in your s tan da rd school sports while atte ndi ng Hesperia Christian Schoo l. In ste ad, he w o u ld s pend h is weeke nds practicing on h is mot ocross bike or going wi th h is dad to local desert races. Like a ny yo u ng, enthu s ia st ic mo tocrosser, Davis started racing eve ry weekend in the 80cc class. Eventually, he started getting pre tty good at it. "I started racin g consi stently, at Cor ona Raceway at night, rid ing the Golden State Series, and doin g stu ff like that: ' sai d Davis. "I started getting pre tty good raci ng agai ns t guys like Ed die H ick s, (Mike) Kiedrowski and (jeff) Ma tiasevich; but what really started thi ngs for me was Brett Leef at Honda. They needed a test rider and he ca lled me up. I th ou ght, 'Oh m y gosh - H onda : Minibikes were the thin g back then. So I started testing - making $100 a day - and - began racing. giving it 100%. " It was abou t th en when I h ad m y firs t major race - the World Minis. It w as a big race; I was nervous and I did so crappy I could n't beli eve it. The factories sort of d isappeared after th at ; it was a bad deal:' Da vi s even tu ally mov ed up to th e 125cc class and earned a Honda suppo rt ride. " Rem e m be r th ose H onda s u p p o rt rides? The y were kind of a big deal back then, and I co m pe te d a t Ponca Ci ty , Loretta Lyn n's and all tha t s tuff, a nd things were coming along quite well." So we ll; in fact, that Davis decided to bu ild h is ow n practice supercross track on h is parents' eight-acre par cel of land a l a Jeremy M cGr ath. Ty lai d out a su percross track not more than 100 feet fro m the ir hou se, a track that weaves in and out of the juniper bu shes that make up much of th e area's vegeta tio n. Th e track inclu des so me pret ty spectacular d ouble, triple and tabl etop ju m ps , and whoo ps and bowl turns, and Davis still uses th e tr a ck to keep h is su percross ski lls razo r sharp. " Mo m d idn't m in d me bu ilding a track as lon g as we didn' t rip out a single juniper plant. What sh e doesn't know won't hurt her: ' Davi s joked. Ty currently lives wi th his father in a beautiful, semi-secluded home built by Davis Sr. himself. Ty's mother, Jean, and yo u nger brother, Cory, now live in Oregon. Also out back are the family's four quarter horses. One of the horses, christened Tough, is Ty' s, " Q u a rte r horses are stockier and th icker built tha n mo st b reeds, " says Davis, who rides horses about as well as he does motorcycles. That became quite obvious when he strapped on his cowboy boots, saddled up 01' Tough and gave us a demonstration of his equestri(Above right) Although Davis has no plans of retiring in the near future, when he is through with motorcycles. he'd like to take on a new form of competition aboard horses. (Right) Davis lives In the Southern California high desert, in Hespe ria. From his garage,'he can hop on his bike and go trail riding to the nearby san Bernardino Mountains . J ust down the road from Davis lives t!tammate Larry Roeseler.