We are too old now but that’s when MX Racing was great!!! Thank you for all the pics brings back so many memories really. I can smell the van hauler gas & oil. Wow 😂
Wow this brought back some awesome memories. Raced a 74 Pursang at Rio Bravo in 74 /75. Won lotsa trophies...wish I'd had a camera back then -- Keith Duffy was the King of Rio Bravo..me and couple buddies attended the AMA in Lake Whitney in 77... slept in the station wagon...1st time seeing factory riders/crews up close....walked through the taped-off pit area marveling at the sights -- nobody bothered us.
Wow Thanks for sharing your pics with us. For me this was my time when I was riding motocross and a bunch of the local kids ended up riding together. One of the guys I regularly rode and raced against was Ross Pederson who ended up the Canadian champ throughout the 80's
I had a pit pass at the 1972 Trans-AMA Puyallup Wa. the best pit was the Husqvarna pit with all the blond guys in blue coveralls.Mikkola and Aberg lounging in their lawn chairs.
I started racing motocross in 1976 and stopped about 1996 and vintage race a Husky now, thanks for the memories I remember all these bikes and riders. 👍
The sound of air cooled, big bore 2 strokes with 2 shocks, the smell of Castrol bean oil in the air and cute girls with big hair and no bras. Don't get much finer than that! Thanks for sharing , awesome collection of photos.
@@dfiglide Haha! With the right amount of Lip Gloss, I'd still hit them #MILFs . I once popped a wheelie (on my '72 *Yamaha* 250 Enduro) right by a fav Dame's house then crash at the end of her Cul-de-Sac .
Wow, awesome video man! Brings back so many childhood memories.... Especially late nights working on the bikes in the hotel room. Sometimes, during the Nationals an entire hotel would be taken over by MXers, with bikes in most rooms. Wonder if that still happens...
My first real dirt bike was a Hodaka Super 🐀 Rat...😏 ,while I was admiring And looking up to my heroes on the works bikes I'm watching now ,on this Video . Thanks for the Great Memories 👍 👌 😀
Amazing gallery! So cool to hit play and see a bunch photos you've never layed eyes on. Excellent idea to show who's bike and the year etc. The best post I've seen in at least a year. And that's 1st O/A, not just in class!
I believe I have read somewhere about a race team hiding a piece of chain in the airbox of a bike, to add weight in order to get to the minimum weight requirement
Nice to see and study. I rode a friend's TM400 Suzuki in a few races in the early '70s and had the usual pitching, snatching, terrifying behavior they were famous for. There were so many questions why this machine behaved so poorly and I think I notice something on the factory machines that is so different: The drive sprocket ratios. The factory machines of all makes show a considerably larger rear sprocket. I think this detail accounts for the severe "whipping" of the drive train on the TM as it's rear sprocket was considerably smaller. Added to the hub cushions for the sprocket, the behavior back there was miserable. Just an interesting note and idea for the fans of the ol' TM who also had similar complaints...and survived..!
The music just screams Motocross, well, at least in an elevator. This video, if you can stand the audio (I had to turn the sound off), is insanely Suzuki and Honda centric.
My favorites would be the 1976 Honda type 2s with the external fork springs and the 1978-79 Suzuki’s with 13 1/2 of rear suspension travel with twin shocks!!! The early full floaters, unitracks, pro links, and monoshocks were also mind blowing. The leaps and bounds made in technology in the late 70s and early 80s was huge.
The 1977 Honda RC400. The most "beast-mode" factory bike of the '70s, in my opinion. Just awesome. I bet a good rider could still win a local pro race on that bike, even today.
Good stuff. Thanks for sharing all those cool bikes and when and where they were photographed. I still have my 1979 CR250 that I've made an RC replica from. It lives in my house
Wow. I had a Suzuki 125 with a steel tank, 2 rear shocks and drum brakes in 1986. Almost forgot it till I saw this. I put a giant rear sprocket on it. I could climb any hill. Never left home on it without a plug in my pocket.
Thanks for posting this. I started racing mx in 1972 when I was 14. All my sports heroes were mx riders. I never knew who won the superbowl or the world series, but I knew who were winning the mx championships every year. I rode every day, rain or shine. I grew up on the euro bikes and then got an elsinore...I kick myself for the bikes from the 70s I traded off....bultacos, cz, ossa. Oh well
@@deborahchesser7375 those mid eighties CR's go for upward of $10,000 on the market today. That's the price of a brand new big boy and probably 15x what they cost new. If kick myself to but that's life, we live, we learn
I raced 250 expert class from early 70’s to 1980 and unless works bikes have different nomenclature than production bikes...it would be...Suzuki RM, Honda CR...could be wrong but, seems odd descriptions but, all the riders I remember Tripes, Lackey, DeCoster...Hannah, Weinert...sheesh... memory lane time!
As a child of the 60's watching MX with a school pal, there is no doubt the biggest revolution in design, power, suspension travel etc came about in that 70's decade. In the 80's the main manf just perfected the basic format. I watched MX all over the UK and Europe. Great times.
When the all-red Hondas debuted it was mesmerizing. I remember being in the pits at Copetown Canada GP just staring at Karsmakers bike. Back then, every part that was different than your own bike was looked at in awe. The factory Works bikes.
Mike, Check out my video on the Trans-AMA in Plano. ua-cam.com/video/Lz4ly4fh2ak/v-deo.html Shots of RD in there. If you Google Rabbit Run MX and Plano, TX, there are people talking about where it was located. It seems like there is some type of mass transit station there now. If I remember the discussions correctly. It was a big flat field in 1977!
Those are really cool pics from the actual "Golden age" of the works bikes. Still pisses me off the mentality of the privateers who filed claims because they weren't fast enough to get one legitimately, Also the douche cannons at the AMA for allowing it. Then in the 90's they kill Open class because Yamaha & Suzuki don't want to build one. 30 years later they tweak the rules in favor of 4 strokes to move riders to that market. See the pattern with the AMA ? Every time a governing body interjects, the open competition aspect takes a hit. Sorry 'bout the rant but jeez ! BTW That's a very serious young man at the end David.
I actually thought the claiming rule was fair and made it so the factories would think twice about building a super expensive bike. The guy that won tripes bike did it with such a fluke the factories all would put in counterclaims so by odds and probability one of them would get it was way higher than the privateer then they would give it back to its original owner. As soon as the privateer won tripes bike the ended the claiming rule!!!
...You got ALL of the good stuff from that period, 1977 thru 1980! Excellent video and Thanks For Sharing it all with those of us who can appreciate it.... : )'
The 70’s were my generation for riding MX! I LOVED 2 Stroke bikes and continue to this day (thank you KTM!). I loved those works bikes, I was at Hangtown when Bob Hannah debuted the new water-cooled Yamaha OW-125! Many thanks for showing my favorite bikes and bringing back some great memories!
Wow, what a trip down memory lane. I went to the Mr Pibb Nationals in St Petersburg Florida around 1978 and saw all these guys race. I crawled under the fence and got into the pits. Hung out talking to Jeff Ward, Ricky Johnson, Broc Glover, Marty Smith. Was incredible. I later went back and raced the very same track on my Honda CR 250. Racing motocross was in your blood. Thanks for sharing.
How great it was to revisit my heroes rides . How I drooled over them back in the day ! And the great racers of that time . We always feared those who rode Maico , cause you had to be a beast . Rode one a couple of times . Was all I could do to hold on ! Great memories , great times !
I remember waiting for the new Motocross magazine's to come out and get glimpse of the new factory works bikes.i have to say Honda with Marty Smith r.i.p. and Tommy Croft speed and style I had to go out and buy a thorsten Holman face protector for my bell star, memories .
Not a single Bultaco?!?! Only the manufacturer with the most championships in dirt track, trials, ISDT and MX before they closed shop in 1980 - hell, the first American world championship rider was Jim Pomeroy on a Pursang in 1975. I enjoyed this video but it just doesn't seem right without seeing those beautiful Bultacos.
I'm 53 followed all mx since 1973. Thank you very much. We all raced for 30 years in the north east. local district mx. Big pro races we raced amateur day. my buddies and I love this sport. we are still in the game just slower. thankfully bikes are way better.
Hello Mike! I am 18, i own 3 bikes and some most terrfied ones too.. May you know anyhow 1971 "Cyclone" 74 TM250 (Bored 0.40 over) and a Husky CR250 i might have a lead on a 77 AMF Harley 250. only 109 left in the world.
Bikes are way better but much less cool. I used to look at works motocross bikes with awe: all the different brands, colors, and ideas to make the fast. Very exciting times.
Yamaha had the first monoshock cantilever suspension for some time already during the 70s, not progressive though, then Kawasaki introduced Unitrack progressive suspension and soon everybody else had to follow, Suzuki was first to follow (full-floater), Honda was surprisingly late on this one, but ended with the best monoshock system at last. I remember Husqvarna then during several years was still advocating their 2 shocks frames were as good. At the same crucial turning point (1979, 1980, 1981) they all turned liquid cooled too. Kawasaki outed their new motocross bikes with unitrack rear suspension but they still had plenty of KX125 frames with 2 shocks, so they created one of the first 4-stroke enduro bikes out of the 125 motocross frame, with the KL 250 4-stroke engine which fitted right in this excellent motocross frame.
mikerafone music got that right ! Out of high school 1971 racing mx in Michigan! First serious bike Husky 250 cr , bought a new YZ 360B. What a monster ! Also raced a YZ. 125 . my last mx was a red engine CR. 250 HONDA great bikes great fun
I notice many of the pictures are outside of hotel rooms. Back in the "box van" days, guess where some of the factory mechanics, (and probably every privateer), did their last work on the bike before the race?,---inside of the hotel room.
Those shots were at the race headquarters hotel. They held tech inspection there the day before the race. It was a great opportunity to see the bikes, riders and mechanics.
Great video. Brings back memories. Went to many MXs back then. I still remember Hangtown 1978 at Plymouth, Ca. 1st moto, Bob Hannah's rookie year, he lapped everyone except 2nd place!! (Kent Howerton)
I was also there it was my first Nathinal event and I will never forget that first 250 moto if I remember correctly Hannah had Howerton in his sights at the flag still have that ticket stub.
Back when you could get a bike from the dealer and race it and be competitive..you had a van or truck with an easyup and a lunch box and a small toolbox...if you were lucky your girlfriend came along to help out...nowadays you need a semi and a Mechanic three bikes and million dollar us budget to maybe break the top ten...bring back the simpler times..
Ill never forget watching Steve wise ride the paint off that bike at the st Pete outdoor race.it was just hotter than hell,i remember watching him,lap after lap,viens just bulging out of his neck,ride the livin piss outta that cr 125.marty and Bob were battling it out till bobs throttle cable broke over montys mountain,and he crunched his nutz on that yz tank.i don't know how those guys stood after that day.damn it was 🔥
The incredible Maico 490 is and was the best mx bike of that era, nothing puts power to the ground like that beast. The big Maico out handled those works bikes as well. Go to any vintage track and see what dominates that class.
From the late 70's nothing of the early 70's which in my opinion are very interesting too. And a lot more diverse than the late 70's bike ever thought of being.
Karl Morrison Karl Morrison You are talking about consumer bike designations. These are works bikes. The factory bikes had different prefixes. Visit mxworksbike.com/
Rabbit Run!! holy crap! I moved to East Plano in 1980 and discovered the shut down Rabbit Run track. I ditched my TS185 and bought an ex works 79 RM125 off a guy in Dallas who's garage was lined with trophies... he use to race there. I don't have a clue of his name now but the bike was tricked out with high end parts to the max. We used to race around that track until the Plano cops finally got hard core about trespassing in 1984. Great video, thanks!
We are too old now but that’s when MX Racing was great!!!
Thank you for all the pics brings back so many memories really.
I can smell the van hauler gas & oil.
Wow 😂
Wow this brought back some awesome memories. Raced a 74 Pursang at Rio Bravo in 74 /75. Won lotsa trophies...wish I'd had a camera back then -- Keith Duffy was the King of Rio Bravo..me and couple buddies attended the AMA in Lake Whitney in 77... slept in the station wagon...1st time seeing factory riders/crews up close....walked through the taped-off pit area marveling at the sights -- nobody bothered us.
Bultaco Cemoto!
So much better looking than modern bikes
My race bikes were 1979, 1980, 1982 KX 250s. Miss those bikes.
Maybe I’ll ride one again for the memory’s of and old man.
Fantastic. Thanks for capturing crystal clear images of these historical MX works of art!
Ditto!
Great video. Awesome bikes. Restoring a 1985 kx125 with my son. Good times.
Old school, so cool to see works bikes on milk crates!
Wonder how many went missing each motocross weekend. ;)
Wow Thanks for sharing your pics with us.
For me this was my time when I was riding motocross and a bunch of the local kids ended up riding together. One of the guys I regularly rode and raced against was Ross Pederson who ended up the Canadian champ throughout the 80's
Awesome, I remember all those bikes. thanks for sharing
You must be around 70 years old. Drop me a line
@@kevinquinn3763 LOL ...maybe I should've said "some of those bikes"
Excellent library of great bikes and memories ! Cheers !
I had a pit pass at the 1972 Trans-AMA Puyallup Wa. the best pit was the Husqvarna pit with all the blond guys in blue coveralls.Mikkola and Aberg lounging in their lawn chairs.
The very first motorcycle...the ammex islo was made in México, was a very good quality bike...proudly made in Saltillo, Mèxico
The 70’s 🥰🥰🥰🥰 Gary Jones was my hero in 73. Caused me to go buy a CR250M Elsinore. Damn that was fun!
I started racing motocross in 1976 and stopped about 1996 and vintage race a Husky now, thanks for the memories I remember all these bikes and riders. 👍
I thank you for the walk back in time.... great video.....
The sound of air cooled, big bore 2 strokes with 2 shocks, the smell of Castrol bean oil in the air and cute girls with big hair and no bras. Don't get much finer than that! Thanks for sharing , awesome collection of photos.
Just think all those stunning girls are now Grandmothers,& we`re Granddads !!!!!!!!!
@@dfiglide oh please lets not think about that, atleast while we enjoy these videos!
Don't forget corn dogs!
@@johnnyx9892 Just like model airplane fuel.
@@dfiglide Haha! With the right amount of Lip Gloss, I'd still hit them #MILFs . I once popped a wheelie (on my '72 *Yamaha* 250 Enduro) right by a fav Dame's house then crash at the end of her Cul-de-Sac .
Wow, awesome video man! Brings back so many childhood memories.... Especially late nights working on the bikes in the hotel room. Sometimes, during the Nationals an entire hotel would be taken over by MXers, with bikes in most rooms. Wonder if that still happens...
What a treat... thanks David.
Cool photos thanks. Would love to see some early 70s CZ, Husky & Maico works bikes too. Got to see some of Inter-Ams too
They look so much bigger than todays race bikes. Alot of racers I forgot about.
Jim Pomeroy was more known for riding the Bultaco Pursang. Still have my 1978 370.
Wow. Rabbit Run. I tingled all over when I saw that photo. 👍
I wondered about that, thanks for posting this, cool bikes just the same.
way cool... the works bikes were thee trickest of the trick..
Love all those Open Class bikes.
Hope all the bikes wear saved and rest in good hands.
They should all be in a museum.
Some of these bike are still considered insanely fast even by today's standards. Will they out preform? I think it would depend on who is riding.
Great stuff and good times
Thanks for that...I miss cooling fins!
My first real dirt bike was a Hodaka Super 🐀 Rat...😏 ,while I was admiring And looking up to my heroes on the works bikes I'm watching now ,on this Video .
Thanks for the Great Memories 👍 👌 😀
Wow great video.👌
Super job thanks allot.
Amazing gallery! So cool to hit play and see a bunch photos you've never layed eyes on. Excellent idea to show who's bike and the year etc. The best post I've seen in at least a year. And that's 1st O/A, not just in class!
Thanks! I enjoyed shooting them way back and editing them now.
I remember when the factory Suzuki's were ruled to light and had to add weight to be legal.
I believe I have read somewhere about a race team hiding a piece of chain in the airbox of a bike, to add weight in order to get to the minimum weight requirement
You missed the Gary Jones, Jimmy Ellis, Marty Tripes 1-2-3 national Champion Can-Ams from 1974-75, and the in-famous Black Widow MX-3 in 1977.
Dean Sikorski Yeah, I didn’t have any shots of the Can-Ams. I was pretty young then and wasn’t traveling to nationals.
they never, ever mention the CAN AM'S I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW SUCH GREAT CHAMPIONS ARE ALWAYS IGNORED
Nice to see and study. I rode a friend's TM400 Suzuki in a few races in the early '70s and had the usual pitching, snatching, terrifying behavior they were famous for. There were so many questions why this machine behaved so poorly and I think I notice something on the factory machines that is so different: The drive sprocket ratios. The factory machines of all makes show a considerably larger rear sprocket. I think this detail accounts for the severe "whipping" of the drive train on the TM as it's rear sprocket was considerably smaller. Added to the hub cushions for the sprocket, the behavior back there was miserable. Just an interesting note and idea for the fans of the ol' TM who also had similar complaints...and survived..!
good video.
Looks as if Kwaka had the most advanced rear suspension in those days .
My fave was Brad Lackies RC 400 works Honda.
Awesome..
Days turn into weeks.
Weeks turn into months.
Months turn into years.
Years turn into a life soon
FORGOTTEN
The music just screams Motocross, well, at least in an elevator.
This video, if you can stand the audio (I had to turn the sound off), is insanely Suzuki and Honda centric.
That looks like Husky tanks on the Harleys
Would have been nice to see Aberg Yam, AJS Stormer, Bultaco, CCM, Montesa, Ossa & 4 stroke Husky's ETC!
Honda’s were CR’s not RC’s as far as I remember. Suzuki’s were RM’s and Yamaha’s were YZ’s. The 70’s were pretty rough. Maybe I’m wrong
True American Those were the showroom prefixes for Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki. The factory racers were RC, RN and OW.
David Lack thanks for the info.
My favorites would be the 1976 Honda type 2s with the external fork springs and the 1978-79 Suzuki’s with 13 1/2 of rear suspension travel with twin shocks!!! The early full floaters, unitracks, pro links, and monoshocks were also mind blowing. The leaps and bounds made in technology in the late 70s and early 80s was huge.
All through the 80s the tech was amazing, both dirt and street bike!
The 1977 Honda RC400. The most "beast-mode" factory bike of the '70s, in my opinion. Just awesome. I bet a good rider could still win a local pro race on that bike, even today.
these things were beasts.
as were the riders back in that era.
Aye, I raced a Suzuki Cyclone that tried to kill me every time I rode it let alone raced it.
Very well done video of an era never to be seen again.
Good stuff. Thanks for sharing all those cool bikes and when and where they were photographed. I still have my 1979 CR250 that I've made an RC replica from. It lives in my house
Wow. I had a Suzuki 125 with a steel tank, 2 rear shocks and drum brakes in 1986. Almost forgot it till I saw this. I put a giant rear sprocket on it. I could climb any hill. Never left home on it without a plug in my pocket.
Thanks for posting this. I started racing mx in 1972 when I was 14. All my sports heroes were mx riders. I never knew who won the superbowl or the world series, but I knew who were winning the mx championships every year. I rode every day, rain or shine. I grew up on the euro bikes and then got an elsinore...I kick myself for the bikes from the 70s I traded off....bultacos, cz, ossa. Oh well
Same, I let CanAms go, mid 80’s CR’s etc. but shit happens, boy does it happen 💩
@@deborahchesser7375 those mid eighties CR's go for upward of $10,000 on the market today. That's the price of a brand new big boy and probably 15x what they cost new. If kick myself to but that's life, we live, we learn
Glad to know there were guys like me back then. Maybe I’m not so different
Yep sure wish I kept my CZ 360 twin port and 1973 RH250, the both of them were really fast .
Awesome stuff! and a big 👍for all the heroes that road them!
I raced 250 expert class from early 70’s to 1980 and unless works bikes have different nomenclature than production bikes...it would be...Suzuki RM, Honda CR...could be wrong but, seems odd descriptions but, all the riders I remember Tripes, Lackey, DeCoster...Hannah, Weinert...sheesh... memory lane time!
As a child of the 60's watching MX with a school pal, there is no doubt the biggest revolution in design, power, suspension travel etc came about in that 70's decade. In the 80's the main manf just perfected the basic format. I watched MX all over the UK and Europe. Great times.
it's almost magical the difference from say mid 60s to mid 1980s there is just no comparison
When the all-red Hondas debuted it was mesmerizing. I remember being in the pits at Copetown Canada GP just staring at Karsmakers bike. Back then, every part that was different than your own bike was looked at in awe. The factory Works bikes.
The Type 2 1976?? My favorite works bike of all time!!!!
@@kurtvonfricken6829 think so. I was 16. funny that Mikkola won on a pretty stock Husky I believe.
@@vintagemxer9165
The type 2 works Hondas copied the husquavarna’s frame geometry.
Hard to believe Roger DeCoster raced Rabbit Run MX in Plano, Texas in '77. Wow! No sign of any motocross tracks in Plano today, that's for sure :(
Mike, Check out my video on the Trans-AMA in Plano. ua-cam.com/video/Lz4ly4fh2ak/v-deo.html
Shots of RD in there. If you Google Rabbit Run MX and Plano, TX, there are people talking about where it was located. It seems like there is some type of mass transit station there now. If I remember the discussions correctly. It was a big flat field in 1977!
Those are really cool pics from the actual "Golden age" of the works bikes. Still pisses me off the mentality of the privateers who filed claims because they weren't fast enough to get one legitimately, Also the douche cannons at the AMA for allowing it. Then in the 90's they kill Open class because Yamaha & Suzuki don't want to build one. 30 years later they tweak the rules in favor of 4 strokes to move riders to that market. See the pattern with the AMA ? Every time a governing body interjects, the open competition aspect takes a hit. Sorry 'bout the rant but jeez ! BTW That's a very serious young man at the end David.
I actually thought the claiming rule was fair and made it so the factories would think twice about building a super expensive bike. The guy that won tripes bike did it with such a fluke the factories all would put in counterclaims so by odds and probability one of them would get it was way higher than the privateer then they would give it back to its original owner. As soon as the privateer won tripes bike the ended the claiming rule!!!
...You got ALL of the good stuff from that period, 1977 thru 1980! Excellent video and Thanks For Sharing it all with those of us who can appreciate it.... : )'
timm white You’re welcome!
Those bikes are the actual "chariots of the gods"! Especially enjoyed seeing the pics of Tony D's bike.
S. Thompson ha ha good one-' chariots of the gods'. It is true!
The 70’s were my generation for riding MX! I LOVED 2 Stroke bikes and continue to this day (thank you KTM!). I loved those works bikes, I was at Hangtown when Bob Hannah debuted the new water-cooled Yamaha OW-125! Many thanks for showing my favorite bikes and bringing back some great memories!
Wow, what a trip down memory lane. I went to the Mr Pibb Nationals in St Petersburg Florida around 1978 and saw all these guys race. I crawled under the fence and got into the pits. Hung out talking to Jeff Ward, Ricky Johnson, Broc Glover, Marty Smith. Was incredible. I later went back and raced the very same track on my Honda CR 250. Racing motocross was in your blood. Thanks for sharing.
I rode in the 125 support class in the Mr. Pibb National in 82 ' Great fun in St. Pete !
How great it was to revisit my heroes rides . How I drooled over them back in the day ! And the great racers of that time . We always feared those who rode Maico , cause you had to be a beast . Rode one a couple of times . Was all I could do to hold on ! Great memories , great times !
I remember waiting for the new Motocross magazine's to come out and get glimpse of the new factory works bikes.i have to say Honda with Marty Smith r.i.p. and Tommy Croft speed and style I had to go out and buy a thorsten Holman face protector for my bell star, memories .
Not a single Bultaco?!?!
Only the manufacturer with the most championships in dirt track, trials, ISDT and MX before they closed shop in 1980 - hell, the first American world championship rider was Jim Pomeroy on a Pursang in 1975. I enjoyed this video but it just doesn't seem right without seeing those beautiful Bultacos.
What do you think- 80℅ of these machines were scrapped/ crushed/ cannibalised? Historic hardware gone forever...
Richard Key Hopefully a few remain with collectors/museums.
Just finished. I enjoyed this vid very much. Sounds generic I know, but thank you.
How quickly the swing arms changed between '76 to '77. Innovation on the fly.
Thank you much David for posting this! Brought back memories as I was a kid in the 70s dreaming of a career in motocross. Just awesome!
Gray Sinclair You’re welcome!
Same thing happened to the NFL. 70's glory days!
They pass you by in the wink of a young girls eye.
Then after that? You'd have to pay one to wink at you...
I had fun trying to guess who s bike each one was, before their name popped o up; I think I got about half correct
4 Strokes suck.
Your Highness absolutely
I'm 53 followed all mx since 1973.
Thank you very much.
We all raced for 30 years in the north east.
local district mx. Big pro races we raced amateur day.
my buddies and I love this sport.
we are still in the game just slower.
thankfully bikes are way better.
Hello Mike! I am 18, i own 3 bikes and some most terrfied ones too.. May you know anyhow 1971 "Cyclone" 74 TM250 (Bored 0.40 over) and a Husky CR250 i might have a lead on a 77 AMF Harley 250. only 109 left in the world.
so very true...
Mike Thompson - District 7 #1 EAST COAST
Mike Thompson Thanks!
Bikes are way better but much less cool. I used to look at works motocross bikes with awe: all the different brands, colors, and ideas to make the fast. Very exciting times.
Yamaha had the first monoshock cantilever suspension for some time already during the 70s, not progressive though, then Kawasaki introduced Unitrack progressive suspension and soon everybody else had to follow, Suzuki was first to follow (full-floater), Honda was surprisingly late on this one, but ended with the best monoshock system at last. I remember Husqvarna then during several years was still advocating their 2 shocks frames were as good. At the same crucial turning point (1979, 1980, 1981) they all turned liquid cooled too. Kawasaki outed their new motocross bikes with unitrack rear suspension but they still had plenty of KX125 frames with 2 shocks, so they created one of the first 4-stroke enduro bikes out of the 125 motocross frame, with the KL 250 4-stroke engine which fitted right in this excellent motocross frame.
Friggin awesome!!! cool documentary! Those bikes were the monsters, when the first yz monoshock came out it was the s***!
mikerafone music Thanks! Check out my video on works bikes from the early 80s.
ua-cam.com/video/blajYb48pMU/v-deo.html
mikerafone music got that right ! Out of high school 1971 racing mx in Michigan! First serious bike Husky 250 cr , bought a new YZ 360B. What a monster ! Also raced a YZ. 125 . my last mx was a red engine CR. 250 HONDA great bikes great fun
I notice many of the pictures are outside of hotel rooms. Back in the "box van" days, guess where some of the factory mechanics, (and probably every privateer), did their last work on the bike before the race?,---inside of the hotel room.
Those shots were at the race headquarters hotel. They held tech inspection there the day before the race. It was a great opportunity to see the bikes, riders and mechanics.
very cool vid and great of you to make it for us. brings back fond memories. alot of research i'm sure. thanks alot
Great video David. ..I'm frigging drooling! Back in the day ..damn good memories of the WORKS bikes. Great riders.
Wish they would bring back the 125 class, that was better racing than the big bikes
Great video. Brings back memories. Went to many MXs back then. I still remember Hangtown 1978 at Plymouth, Ca. 1st moto, Bob Hannah's rookie year, he lapped everyone except 2nd place!! (Kent Howerton)
I was also there it was my first Nathinal event and I will never forget that first 250 moto if I remember correctly Hannah had Howerton in his sights at the flag still have that ticket stub.
Those are GREAT! I raced a little bit of So Cal. MX, from 1970 to 1974. So I can remember all these guys and the bikes.. Thanks for sharing.!
Before everything was covered in stickers and logos.
Back when you could get a bike from the dealer and race it and be competitive..you had a van or truck with an easyup and a lunch box and a small toolbox...if you were lucky your girlfriend came along to help out...nowadays you need a semi and a Mechanic three bikes and million dollar us budget to maybe break the top ten...bring back the simpler times..
Bummer that no one still offers a nice, simple air cooled two stroke in a modern chassis.
I just left the desert and was riding and camped with Marty Smith all weekend. Cool dude good times.
R.I.P . Marty
Brought back some brill memories there.Thank you.
Wonderful !
Ill never forget watching Steve wise ride the paint off that bike at the st Pete outdoor race.it was just hotter than hell,i remember watching him,lap after lap,viens just bulging out of his neck,ride the livin piss outta that cr 125.marty and Bob were battling it out till bobs throttle cable broke over montys mountain,and he crunched his nutz on that yz tank.i don't know how those guys stood after that day.damn it was 🔥
Great photos and video.
The incredible Maico 490 is and was the best mx bike of that era, nothing puts power to the ground like that beast. The big Maico out handled those works bikes as well. Go to any vintage track and see what dominates that class.
wow ,.
Great memories, great video. WFO!
If you could take one out on the track for a few laps to see what it was like which one would it be?
Pretty sure my pick would be one of those RC500 Hondas. Wonder if any of them escaped the crusher?
From the late 70's nothing of the early 70's which in my opinion are very interesting too. And a lot more diverse than the late 70's bike ever thought of being.
I wasn't old enough to be driving around to nationals and taking photos in the early 70's.
I was at the Lake Whitney race July 17 1977. It was my birthday.
Roy Mcalister Did you watch my video of that race? ua-cam.com/video/0mnmi3LByao/v-deo.html
Roy Mcalister Another video, this 8 mm film.
ua-cam.com/video/UqbaKw6odYU/v-deo.html
I haven't but will. I drove down and slept at the track in the back of our suburban. Simple times. Saw Chuck Sun nail a tree.
The OW400 made all the other bike look old
mr grunta I think they look awesome
nice but ya have the suzuki wrong they went from tm to rm in the mid 70s not rn.
Karl Morrison Karl Morrison You are talking about consumer bike designations. These are works bikes. The factory bikes had different prefixes. Visit mxworksbike.com/
Suzuki works bikes:
RA 125
RH 250
RN 400-open
Funny how Kawasaki designated their works bikes as ”KX”
Lot simpler then...huh?!
Nice collection.
Rabbit Run!! holy crap! I moved to East Plano in 1980 and discovered the shut down Rabbit Run track. I ditched my TS185 and bought an ex works 79 RM125 off a guy in Dallas who's garage was lined with trophies... he use to race there. I don't have a clue of his name now but the bike was tricked out with high end parts to the max. We used to race around that track until the Plano cops finally got hard core about trespassing in 1984. Great video, thanks!