The 2-stroke dirt bike engine refuses to burn out or fade away thanks in part to pro riders like Carson Brown.

In some respects, Brown makes his living off the 2-stroke. Of course, he races, but perhaps more than gatedrops he helps keep alive the grit and glamour of braaap, the audio bat signal of 2-stroke dirt bikes.

Brown recently won - for the second time - Red Bull Straight Rhythm in the 125 class, he finished 18th in the 450 class on his 250 2-stroke at Washougal National and fans of smokers sure seem to can't get enough of his riding and bike build videos. He just put the finishing touches on a KDX220 and future plans include building a YZ85 into a supermini and putting a YZ125 motor in another. After that, likely an RM125 and an RM250.

Brown works on the bikes with his fiancé Claire who helps with wrenching and sometimes makes an appearance on the bike build videos. For those not familiar with dirt bike vernacular, that means she actually works on the bikes and helps with stripping down, tire changes, putting spokes on a wheel and swapping out a carb along with basic maintenance. Brown's family owns BBR Motorsports which gives him a near endless supply of dirt bikes to work on. OK, maybe not endless but it sure helps his hobby. As a result, Brown's love of two wheels extends beyond dirt bikes as he enjoys just about any two-wheeled motorized vehicle.

MotoSport sat down with Brown in between bike builds to see what he has cooking for 2023 and if we will see him at Anaheim 1.

Carson Brown competes in World Supercross Championship series

Age: 23

Years Riding: 20

What age did you start riding and on what: 3 years old, my very first bike was a PW50, and quickly moved up to an XR50

What do you ride now: Every and any bike, literally. Doesn't matter what size or brand, year or condition I love all motorcycles in general

Hometown: Ravensdale, Washington

Career Highlights:

  • 2-time Red Bull Straight Rhythm Champion in 125 class
  • 2-time first place in Pitbike of Nations
  • Top 5 Supercross main event finish
  • 11th place 2022 West Coast Supercross series finish
  • 6th place World Supercross Series overall
  • 1st and 2nd place finishes on the Harley Davidson in Light Weight Twins class for Bagger Racing League
  • 1st places in 250 and 450 Future West Canadian Championship

Favorite Track or style: the nastier and more technical the track, the better for me! I also really love spending time riding off-road

Other sports participated: Anything that includes motorcycles or two-wheels

Other hobbies interests: Mini golf and dirt bike builds

Website: https://carsonbrown910.com

Carson holds up his 1st place Straight Rhythm trophy

1. Sorry, have to ask, how did you get started riding a dirt bike?

I grew up around Motocross since my family runs BBR motorsports. I was around dirt bikes and racing so naturally I fell in love with it at a young age.

2. You've developed quite the reputation on the 2-stroke. What do you like about riding smokers?

It's fun for us because the bikes are a lot simpler and cheaper, it takes a different set of skills to ride a 2 stroke, and they're obviously tons of fun! Since they have a different powerband, you have to ride it like a rollercoaster to keep your momentum. It doesn't have bottom-end like a 4 stroke so it's really fun to let that thing sing at the top end. They're also very easy to work on, which makes life easier as a Motocross racer.

3. You proved your worth in Straight Rhythm. Winning the 125 class. Twice now! How was that experience?

It's super cool, I was happy that they brought it back this year. To have an event where all the pros are on two strokes is really great because in the modern age it's rare to see high profile two stroke racing. I love the tracks because they're technical, and it's nice that you're in your own lane too. You don't have to worry about other racers, pileups or getting a start in the back of the pack. It's all on you since you're in your own lane. It lets you fully showcase your skills and your speed since you don't have to worry about variables that are out of your control from other racers. The fans seemed to be more stoked to see 2-strokes out there, and it brings an old school feel to that kind of racing.

4. And, you got a Top 20 in the 450 class at Washougal riding a 2-stroke. Did you expect to do that well and what kind of damage could you have done on a 450?

My goal was a Top 20 this year so I was super stoked with my finish. Hopefully we can improve on that even more next year. Obviously, if I was riding a 450 I would have had quite an advantage over riding the 2-stroke, but I always enjoy letting the 250 sing for a race. The fans and sponsors are more involved and willing to support me with the 2-stroke than if I'd ridden a 450, which is really cool!

Carson Flying High

5. You've got a following on YouTube with your bike builds. I guess you're the rare breed that enjoys riding nearly as much, if not as much, as tinkering and working on your bike?

Yup, this year I'm going to focus on expanding my social media. I have a big following on Instagram and TikTok. I want to bring people over to YouTube so I can do more in-depth bike builds, riding videos and vlogs to get people more involved. I want to provide good Motocross content to elevate the sport and hopefully show people all sides of motorcycles and how awesome they are.

6. Do the build bikes become your race bike?

They can and they have! We mostly enjoy taking bikes of all sizes that are pretty far gone, and that most people might say are beyond salvage, and bringing them back to life. I like to do anything from 2- to 4-strokes, big and small, vintage and modern.

7. How many dirt bikes do you own?

I get that question a lot! A lot of bikes you see in the videos are BBR's, magazine bikes, and friends' bikes. Claire's gotten me a few bikes to do builds on and people know we're always looking for bikes and they bring bikes over all the time to have me ride them.

8. Does a bike ever become a "bike build" more than once?

Yes, sometimes we'll have a bike build that's done and then we'll convert it over to off-road or vice versa. Just depends on what events we want to do with it.

9. Outside of securing a factory ride what are your racing plans for 2023?

As of now, I'm planning on doing a little bit of everything. A little Supercross, a little off-road, pit bike, a couple nationals, bagger racing and a whole lot of anything with two wheels!

10. So you're kind of going the Ryan Sipes route where you dabble in a little bit of everything. What's keeping you from going full privateer and racing the 250SX West class?

The amount of money that it takes to race Supercross on your own is crazy for what little you get out of it. I want to try a bit of everything this year and take it back to my roots.

11. How was your experience in the World Supercross Championship series?

It was cool to be a part of their first year doing it. The racing was different from anything I've ever done. It was a three Main Event format with 6 laps, 6 laps, and 10 for the "Super Final." I finished 6th overall in the (two-round) series and 4th after (the first round at) Cardiff. It was fun to switch it up for this series but stressful since the racing was back to back motos and almost no time in between. The French team I raced for, GSM Yamaha, was great to work with because they were all super passionate and took good care of me.

Carson lost his front tooth at Anaheim 1 this year

12. You had a pretty gnarly accident at A1 this year. What Happened?

I was feeling great in my heat race and was really in my groove. I decided to try a different line in the whoops one lap and that ended up biting me. Something on my bike ended up going into my mouth, fully taking out my front tooth and gashing my lips pretty bad. I did get my tooth back! A track worker found it.

13. Will we see you at A1 next month?

I'm not doing A1 this year, I'm getting low on teeth and bones. I will line up for some when the timing's right. I'm planning to really focus on bike builds and bike testing. I want to do a bunch of YouTube videos and series on bike builds, shootouts, behind the scenes of the races and lots more. There's a possible big money pit bike race coming up too.

14. You just narrowly missed out on a Top 10 overall for the 250SX West class this year. So, I think I'm saying this for a lot of people, how do we get you a factory ride?

It's really hard to get a factory ride since these teams groom kids from such a young age, and bring them up through the ranks. Obviously, a factory ride is the dream now but since I don't have one that's why I want to expand my riding and racing beyond Supercross this year to see what's out there and have fun with it. It's difficult for guys like me to find their way into a factory team even with good results.

15. OK, pop quiz. If a factory or satellite team calls two weeks before the 2023 season starts what do you do?

It would have to be something really good to come along. I'm not trying to make mains or Top 10s, I'd like to be with a team that's really competitive so I could have a chance to put it on the box.