Competing in motorcycling events can be a very enjoyable experience. There are many flavours of motorcycle activity, both on-and-off-road.Following is a brief description of motorcycle activities which a person might be interested in.

Motocross uses a special high performance, one-dimensional type of motorcycle which is specially designed for this activity. The course or track used is in an open area and is comprised of jumps, bumps, hills and turns. The course is usually 30’ wide and a kilometer or so in length and may loop back and forth in a small area of property. The course is defined with wooden stakes and caution ribbon. Motocross tracks are usually located on rough hilly agriculture land which is too rough to cultivate. Occasionally temporary tracks are built inside stadiums and arenas. These types of tracks offer excellent spectating as the entire track can be seen from one location.  A motocross is most certainly a race.  The competitor who can circumnavigate the course quickest is the winner.

Hare Scramble is a cross-country type of event encompassing every type of obstacle available such as hills, trees, rocks, logs, streams and jumps. This event is always in a wooded or bush lot area. The course is a single track of about 30” in width and 2 to 10 kilometers in length. This event has a usual duration of 2 hours. The machinery used for this event are enduro or pleasure/trail riding motorcycles, motocross bikes and dual purpose motorcycles. Spectating at a hare scramble requires some effort and usually requires walking part of the course.

A motorcycle enduro is a competition event but it is not a race! Enduro is a timed event similar to a rally using terrain similar to Hare Scramble. The object is to navigate a secret course, usually 100 -120 kilometers in length, at a predetermined speed schedule. Traveling faster (early) carries a penalty 5 times greater than traveling slow (late). The winner of this event is not determined by top speed but is the competitor who is assigned the least number of infractions or points.  Enduro uses legally licensed motorcycles and traverse some public roads to go from section to section. The speed on road sections is much lower than the speed limit, usually 36 kilometers per hour. The machinery used for enduro is the enduro bike, pleasure/trail riding bike or the dual sport type of street bike.  Spectating at an enduro is usually limited to visiting fuel stops but some organizers provide directions to spectator points.

A trial is a motorcycle contest which is absolutely not a race or speed contest. Trials is sometimes referred to as, ‘ballet on wheels’. A trial is a contest of balance, ability, timing and fitness.  The course is similar to hare scramble but the optimum area would include very large rocks and boulders, ledges and near vertical rock walls of which riders ride over and around. Machinery used for this type of event are quite specialized but of low performance and very quiet. The applause of spectators is usually louder than the motorcycles.

Flat Track racing requires an oval dirt track which are usually used for horse racing. This type of racing often accompanies country fairs. The machinery is very high performance, usually hand built and one dimensional. Viewing is usually done from a grandstand from which the entire track can be seen. The noise and high speed activity make this form of racing very exciting.

As the name implies this is a contest of speed on a frozen lake or pond. The machinery used ranges from the pleasure trail bike to the high performance flat track bike and includes motocross bikes. The weather is the limiting factor to enjoying this type of motorcycle racing.

This is a very specialized form of flat track racing and is ideally preformed on short ¼ mile horse race tracks but is often run in conjunction with regular flat track events on larger tracks. The motorcycles have high powered engines in lightweight frames and no brakes. Speedway is a very exciting form of racing.

Road racing is a speed contest with a specially prepared street motorcycle. This type of racing requires a paved surface on a designed racing track or areas such airports, parking lots and temporarily closed streets of a town or city.

Motorcycle drag racing (also known as "Sprints") involves two competitors lining up alongside each other at a drag strip with a signaled starting line. Upon the start signal, the riders accelerate in a straight line down a quarter mile long, straight two lane paved track where their elapsed time and terminal speed are recorded. The rider to reach the finish line first is the winner. The most well-known form of motorcycle drag racing is the Pro Stock Bike category, although several other categories exist, including 1,000 horsepower nitro methane engine competitions.