Jeff Griffin flys trough the air, his 6-foot, 6-inch frame framed by the clouds, as he performs Motocross bike tricks for a small crowd Friday at the Yamhill County Fairgrounds.
Marcus Larson/News-Register

Jeff Griffin pulls off another stunt, kicking his legs in front of the 220-pound bike.
Marcus Larson/News-Register

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At 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, 24-year-old Jeff Griffin looks every bit the part of a basketball player. Griffin, however, prefers to get his adrenaline rush just a bit faster and certainly a lot higher. And despite his size, when the Bakersfield, Calif., native climbs atop his bike, he clearly feels right at home.

“I grew up racing. I’d done it my whole life,” Griffin said. “But instead of working on my turns and that sort of thing, I would always practice my jumps. There was just something about doing tricks, and it seemed like that’s what I wanted to do. And ever since I hit my first ramp, I’ve been hooked from that day on and have never looked back.”

Griffin was one of two riders hitting the ramp in McMinnville on Friday as part of a freestyle motorcross demonstration at the Yamhill County Fairgrounds. He will perform again tonight when the fairgrounds host the second annual Extreme Motorsports Spectacular. The show will feature Griffin and fellow rider Julian Dusseau, along with a demolition derby and monster trucks like Play’n for Keeps and Airborne Ranger. Gates open at 5:30 with racing set to begin at 7.

In front of a small but enthusiastic and appreciative crowd Friday, Griffin showed off a few of his favorite tricks. Among his repertoire: the Kiss of Death, Superman, Ninja Seat-Grab, Rock Solid and Hart Attack. Some of the biggest cheers, though, came from one of his most impressive stunts — the backflip. Once considered impossible, the backflip has become common in the last decade and the double backflip has even begun to emerge in the last few years. But simply because it’s become a staple in freestyle motorcross, it takes nothing away from the danger involved, particularly for such a large rider.

“Most of the riders are smaller,” he said. “If you look, a lot of the better guys are about 5-9 or so. They can come up off the bike and pull off moves really fast, and they use the bike to help them come back (into the seat). With me, I’m 215 pounds and the bike’s 218 or 220, so we’re pretty much split evenly. When I jump, you can see my bike move a lot when I’m in the air. I think it’s a lot tougher for me because I really have to muscle the bike to get it where I need it to go. You’ve gotta know where your hands are going and where your bike’s at all the time. But I think that makes it look even cooler because I have such a big extension.”

That bigger extension, though, also means Griffin’s tricks need to be timed precisely. It takes much longer for him to twist his frame around and over the bike for multiple tricks than it would for the average rider. And that, combined with the inherent danger of his sport, can lead to some pretty big spills.

Case in point: the Rock Solid.

One of his final tricks Friday, the Rock Solid involves the rider moving out of the seat, walking his hands to the back of the bike and, after a double grab, moving his hands away and extending his arms to the side. At least a foot of blue sky was visible between Griffin and his bike Friday before the rider fluidly moved back into his seat and landed safely to the cheers of those gathered.

Two months ago, however, the ending wasn’t all that solid. His release was off and he wasn’t able to get back to his bike cleanly.

“I was rolling up the windows all the way down,” he said.

The fall could have been much worse, but still resulted in a broken foot.

“The cast was supposed to be on for eight weeks, but I got it cut off after three so I could get back on the bike,” Griffin said. “Once I got over the pain, it wasn’t too bad. Injuries come and go every time out. That’s the thing about this sport is that you never know what you’re gonna break next.

“But I’ve always been a showman. I love to put on a great show and escape the everyday world a little bit when I’m out there. Plus, it’s just cook to know what I can do with a 220-pound bike.”