Is Moto-ball the answer to with our winter biking blues?
If the autumn/winter months are a time of sadness where few miles are ridden, Moto-ball could be just the thing to cheer you up
MOTO-BALL, or motorcycle polo as it’s also called, could be the answer to these long dark nights where heading out just seems too much of a chore!
The game actually started in the 1930s, with our bike-mad friends from across the channel being the first to hop on motorcycles and start kicking a ball around!
The game itself is a lot like football, except all players bar goalkeepers are mounted on motorcycles. The ball to is much larger than a conventional football, making it easier to take a swipe at when mounted on a bike!
The game is still fairly popular in France and Germany to this day, with multi-tiered leagues and international competitions between France, Germany and the Balkans a regular fixture on the Moto-ball calendar.
The Moto-ball pitch is a similar size to that of a standard football pitch, with a slightly different set of markings used to define the penalty area and six-yard box.
It's a full-contact sport, with bikes and riders regularly coming together and even looking like they intentionally take each other out - whether or not that's legal or not is unclear!
Most of the bikes used look like hybrids of flat-track bikes and enduro machines. Italian Supermoto supremoes TM Racing seems to be a popular choice, along with modified Beta off-road bikes also being one of the steeds of choice!
Anyway, if that doesn’t make you want to nip down the park and set up some goalposts, nothing will – just make sure the neighbours don’t mind you tearing up the grass.
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
