If you’ve ever paid any attention to the factory team members that aren’t riders, at any point in the last 20+ years, then you’ve heard of Mike “Goose” Gosselar.
Gosselar is one of the most legendary Supercross and Motocross mechanics to have ever spun a wrench, and he has seen more than his fair share of podium finishes, championships, and history in the making. Gosselar has spent time working with some of the most well-known and beloved riders int the sport, across many brands and teams, easily making him one of the most valuable players ever to prep a factory motocross bike.
But don’t get caught calling him “legendary” to his face. The hard-working and incredibly humble Gosselar would be the first to tell you that he’s “just” been fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time (never mind that it has happened many, many times over the course of his career!).
We caught up with Goose at High Point Raceway during Round 4 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship where he shed insight on his humble beginnings and big dreams to one day become a factory motocross mechanic. Gosselar is currently filling in for the injured Eric Gass as Cooper Webb’s mechanic on the Monster Energy/Yamalube/Chaparral/Yamaha Financial Services/Yamaha Factory Racing Team.
DirtBikes.com: With a career as illustrious as yours, you’ve had the opportunity to work with a laundry list of well-decorated riders. Which riders have you worked with over the years?
Mike Gosselar: I started with Steve Lampson in ‘94 and from there I went to Ezra Lusk. In the meantime I worked with a couple of people. I worked with a couple a people – I did some work with Stefan Everts when he was over here for the US GPs. I think I even helped Damon Bradshaw a little bit because he was a factory support Honda rider, and then I went with Lusk. Then I worked in house at Honda for a year and got to work with all four guys we had, which was a pretty good team. Then I got to work with Ricky (Carmichael) after that. From there, let’s see, I worked for Ryan Dungey and then Mike Alessi … I’m sorry, it went Ricky, Mike Alessi, Ryan Dungey… I messed up again. Ricky…
DirtBikes.com: And you say “Not Legendary” (laughs)
Mike Gosselar: Ricky (Carmichael), Mike Alessi, Chad Reed, Ryan Dungey, and then back to Chad Reed, and that’s where I’ve kinds been.
DirtBikes.com: Is Chad (Reed) the rider you’ve had the longest tenure with?
Mike Gosselar:I think so, yeah. I mean there have been a few other guys I’ve helped here and there when riders have been hurt. It’s just a cool sport to be in and be in the right place at the right time.
DirtBikes.com: How did you get involved in motorsports?
Mike Gosselar: Well, I raced, myself, and then I ended up working… I had a little repair shop at home and I worked for the CHP as a motorcycle mechanic for them. Dave Arnold, who was the team manager at Honda, I went to school with his brother, so we were down the street from one another. I always looked up to him. He was Marty Smith’s guy, and he worked with Roger DeCoster when he was at Honda. So he (Dave Arnold) was my guy I looked up to. He came up to me one day and said, “Hey! We need you!” I said, “What do you mean?” He knew I wanted to be a factory mechanic and he said “We need you to… we’ve got an opening for you!” I wasn’t sure about it because I had a really good deal going with my CHP job, and then side work. He asked me to come down to Honda and check it out. As soon as I walked in the door, it was over. I took a “one year leave of absence” and never went back.
DirtBikes.com: So you’re still on a leave of absence?
Mike Gosselar: I’m still on a leave of absence. I think 23 years now. (laughs)
DirtBikes.com: Of all the years and riders you’ve worked with, is there any race that sticks out in your mind as a favorite moment for you?
Mike Gosselar: There’s been so many! Each rider, you know… Steve Lampson going to Motocross des Nations in ‘96 and beating 3 (at the time) current World Champions and 3 (at the time) current National Champions in his race – and he beat everybody on a 125, and he doesn’t get the credit for that. Ricky (Carmichael), of course, had a phenomenal season. And Ezra Lusk, coming from a different team and jumping on a Honda and beating the King, Jeremy McGrath, right off the bat was kind of cool. So they’ve all had their moments. Ryan Dungey, you can see what he did in his rookie season… and working with Chad. Just being in the right place at the right time is pretty lucky.
DirtBikes.com: What’s the most stressful part of race day for you?
Mike Gosselar: It’s weird, building the bike, to me, is most stressful. I always think I’m not going to get it done in time, because it’s so many hours of non-stop work. You don’t take a break. I’m always like, “Man, am I going to get it done? Am I going to get it done?” The racing part is the easy part. But it’s the build – when you only have a day to a day and a half to do your job and you know it’s anywhere between, for me, 15-17+ hours, and you have to cram it into a day/ day and a half, it makes for a long day and I just worry.
DirtBikes.com: Did you ever have any riders that you didn’t quite gel with as well as the others? Obviously the rider/mechanic relationship is very important, the trust you build and all those things – but there has to be at least some personality differences sprinkled in there.
Mike Gosselar: I’m not going to mention any names. But sometimes, yeah, it’s not as good as it can be.
DirtBikes.com: You’ve seen a lot of transitions over the years, including the move from two-strokes to four-strokes. What do think needs to change as the sport continues to evolve?
Mike Gosselar: I would like to see them have some kind of support class on two-strokes. I really would. I think it’s good racing. When I went to Europe last year with Chad (Reed) and we did the GPs, they had like three classes of two strokes. The racing was so intense and it still gives the affordability to families coming into the sport where they’re not looking at a motorcycle that costs so much money, and so much money to modify, and then so much money to maintain. It’s kind of still an affordable level and still… racing is racing. I don’t care if you’re racing lawnmowers or 450s. It’s competitive, right?
DirtBikes.com:You’ve worked with so many legendary riders, do you ever get fans asking for your autograph?
Mike Gosselar: Yeah. I don’t know why. It’s bizarre to me. To ruin somebody’s nice hat or nice t-shirt for me to scribble something on there.
DirtBikes.com: Which brings me to this question: Strangest fan request?
Mike Gosselar: They’ve been pretty mellow. I can’t think of anything.
DirtBikes.com: What do you think is the most important part of your relationship with your rider?
Mike Gosselar: You know, it’s changed so much. I think the relationship with riders, back when we were in box vans and we were tight, we were just like a little team amongst the team. Now there’s so many people involved. I mean you still have a relationship with your rider, but there’s a whole group of people working on the whole project together. In the box van days, it was literally, “load the box van up, leave your manufacturer, and you were gone for months”. They (the manufacturer representatives) would show up on weekends, everything would be set up, and they would come watch the race. They would have no idea where you were at, what you were doing. But your riders were with you a lot of the times. They would spend the week with you and stay on the road. It’s just changed. It’s evolved. It’s gotten a lot more professional, a lot more money involved. The sport’s just gotten a lot bigger.
DirtBikes.com: Do you have a year or brand of bike that was your favorite of favorites to work on?
Mike Gosselar: They are all good in their certain ways. (pauses) Yeah, that’s though. They all have their “cool things”. Everybody does it a little bit different.
DirtBikes.com: But working with so many different teams and riders and brands must mean that you’ve learned some pretty interesting things over the years?
Mike Gosselar: I’ve been on some really cool projects and companies have spent a lot of money… yeah, I’ve seen some really nice stuff. Probably not as cool as the old works days, but darn close.
DirtBikes.com: How long are you back with the team for summer?
Mike Gosselar: They asked me to come help for High Point and then help out for Muddy Creek and then I’m going to build the bike for Red Bud. I’m on the road for 12 days and get to build it (Cooper Webb’s race bike) three times – I get to stress out three times (laughs).
DirtBikes.com: Will we see you back for 2018?
Mike Gosselar: Sure hope so! Somwehere.
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