The engineer you describe is Jan Witteveen: after this motocross adventure he went to Aprilia in 1989 with the 125 and 250cc world champion road racing (which he won with Max Biaggi and much more riders) and went on to Derbi. Recently he's back into motocross! A true Dutch 2 stroke engineering legend. Very cool video!!
So I have a big one to track down for you. My grandfather is Willy Oesterle, two time German champ and european vice champ in the 50ties. He was a worksrider for DKW and Maico. But more importantly, he started his own little project called Oepo (Oesterle and Pohl). The idea behind it was to build a two stroke 500 for the GPs from German parts with metric screws. The reasoning for this was that at the time 1959 the 500 MXGP was dominated by british four strokes, which were expensive and hard to run for people outside the UK. The Germans such as my grandpa and Fritz Betzlbacher etc, rode bored out two stroke 250s, because already at 350cc a two stroke was competitive with the four strokes of the time. He did go through with it and built a 500cc twin made from two maico 250s, called the Oepo 500/1. He than later improved the frame and called it the 500/2. Then later he went further to building a bispoke 400 cc single, because the 500 twin just had too much and too uncontrollable power. Which he called the Oepo V1 He did manage to track down a V1, which is standing in his cellar ready to ride (he is 91, so he ain't gonna ride it). But he never managed to find an Oepo 500. Now I just want to make clear here, as far as I and he know, this is the first ever two stroke 500 raced at Motocross Grand Prix and also the first to ever win one. Which he did in Brühl in 1959. I have heard rumours that there is still one around though it has been turned into a sidecar somewhere along the line. This would be probably the most impossible find you could achieve. If there is an interest in testing out such an old iron, the 400cc machine is in his possession and ready to go.
This proves again why the 80' was the Holy Grail of MX!! I was only aware of Honda having a 125cc twin back then....so such a thrill to know know about this 1980 Gilera!! I can't thank you enough for your effort to track down and share this with us!!
The 90's are where the motor development really took off. We were making 44 HP out of 1997 cr125 and 72 HP from the old 1980's 4- trax motor 250cc, 6 speed with counterbalance ..then we went cr250 because people said that motor wouldn't work in a kart with 5 speed no c/b shaft. So we shut them up too!! That's on C12 fuel. So we still had room to up compression and add octane. We also built 3 experimental cr125's. If anyone came across those they would be confused to say the least. Ever notice your cylinder has a water jacket on the exhaust side that doesn't flow water? Keep hot side hot and cold side cold..fine for motorcorss track...lack luster holding it pinned down the front straight at Fontana! Pull the plugs, open the gasket, machine and tig weld an extra outlet spigot on water pump cover and you have a fully cooled cylinder!! No one ever noticed the extra water hose coming out of our motor..be more observant to the fast guys!!
@@Yatsushiro Interesting, I actually didn't notice that. Now my question is why would you need two exhaust pipes on one cylinder? It's kind of like what Honda does with the CRF 450R with it having two mufflers. Other than looking cool it seems kind of pointless, IMO. :)
Its so cool how there's so much history over the pond that differs from the USA. Having so many countries involved in creating motorcycles has created historical moto-gemstones all over the continent. Great job Max and Dave, your work and knowledge is appreciated!
Wow! Never knew this bike existed. I raced a 1981 Gilera 125 (single cylinder!) at my local club (VWHSSC) A disc valved screamer if ever there was.. That tiny kickstart was a knightmare to find and use after you dumped it in the mud at Ashdown. Also had to order (well my dad had too) all the spares from the factory, which in those days was a bit of a faff... Thanks for the memories @999lazer 😀
The late great Mike Bell, raced one of Scheidler's twin two strokes at Irwindale Raceway one Friday night in the 1970's. I was racing in the 125 Intermediate class and remember sitting at the starting gate as Bell would scream that thing by us down the straight away and launch off Bert's jump!
Mate, you are really a motocross -fun-freak and i love that. Thanx for showing unique wonderful mx-bikes that made history. Maddii, Rinaldi, Perfini and Pekka Vehkonen all Gilera riders...thank for your passion. We really appreciate that here in Italy!!
After seeing this is a rotary style 2stroke i have to say i have a story to tell about a 1965 65cc bridgestone 4 speed manual clutch that was a monster of a mini bike. It was raced on circle tracks with a 200 pound rider back in the 70s and tha man passed away and my uncle got he bike from the mother in 1994. Its realy rare and only had a box of parts with it and havent found much for it. I was so lucky to get to drag race the bike when i was 11 in 94. Its a monster. We had to put 3 foot wheelie bar on it. I could tell you some amazing experiences i had on it. Its still in my uncle shop with a broken crank. I keep a eye out for parts to one day hopefully here it run again.
That beauty ripping full throttle just sounded amazing. Like an angry mini banshee atv sound, or a road racing gp 2 stroke. Pure music to my ears, thanks from the US.
I'd like to see you find the Puch 370 that Everets rode to the championship in the 70s. I think it was twin carb both piston port induction and rotary valve induction. Good luck!!!
The 250 was the twin carb. One rotary intake and one reed valve. The open bike was more conventional. Single carb if l recall. Rumor had it that the twin carb made 10 more horsepower than other 250's of the era.
When I was a kid I had a Suzuki T125 Stinger that was a "scrambler". I loved that 125 2 stroke twin sound , it sounded great at 60 mikes an hour laying on the tank.
Awesome bike really enjoyed the story leading up to the amazing bike test. I guess the owner was exited to ride it by the full throttle run. Thank you for going above and beyond to bring the content for us. 👍👏🙏
I was in the Piaggio museum in Pontedera last year where there indeed is one displayed. I drooled around it so longy girl friend got a bit annoyed. Great video Max!!!
That bike is incredible!!! The more you talked about it the mote I was sure it was going to end without seeing or hearing it run. I was very happy to see him ripping through the gears.
I'm 57 years old now, grew up riding dirtbike"s everyday of my life I love seeing bike's like this, I thought back then that I really kept up with all things motocross, just goes to show there are unicorns out there, some I had no idea ever existed!
That's exactly why we love making videos like this one, it gives me such a buzz tracking these bikes down and sharing their stories to all of you guys :-) Thanks for watching Johnny!
Others two...??? Searching for Villa 360 2strokes... Or Cagiva wmx 125 the most powerfull at his time.. 😮😮😅😅😅 An Italian former mountain trooper Alpini 🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹
I was a huge Gilera fan on the 80s and 90s but this is the first time I see this bike, very nice find! Gilera also invented the supermotard bikes, they were one of the most important Italian bike makers that time.
What a cool mx bike. It looked like the powerband came on like a light switch! I can’t wait till you make a video on the new Fantic XE300 2 Stoke. As always, keep up the good work 999 lazer team!
You are probably THE most important person when it comes to vintage mx. Us old guys will be gone at some point. The few guys like you,20 to 30 years younger will be the ones to champion the beginnings of our sport. I used to just like you Max. But now I like you and I respect and appreciate you
Well worth the road trip guys...A treat to listen to on surround sound!!!!.Jan Witteevan a marvel!!!...WMX Cagiva Supremo.....now, you and Dave get the Pekka Vehonen 250 that won at Hawkstone to feature as its in UK now I see!.....Thanks again
Hey Max: great video, more more more?!! Yes, I remember the 125 2 cyl. In 1980: it was quite a sensation! With my friend, for whom I was the mechanic in the Netherlands amateur MON leage, we went with his parents to a race in Hechtel, Belgium. There we saw and heard the Gilera in the hands of little giant Gaston Rahier. It sounded great, but Hechtel being a heavy sand track, the party didn't last long like the Norg GP as described in your video. In the same race we saw later Gilera rider Michele Rinaldi on a TGM doing quite well. I just read in the comments about the request for the early German 500 two stroke GP bike from the 60's: would be great if you'd find it! Keep 'em coming and bring smiles to my face? All best wishes! T🐻 from NL.
As a rider and mechanic who lives in a city with a technic museum where you can find almost everything from a Concorde on the roof to a Buran Spaceshuttle, beeing interestet in all kind of technical peculiarity, this is the most amazing and entertaining channel on youtube. Still waiting for Max trying Sidecarcross, there are some very good british teams in the world championship, so fingers crossed.
Another Great, Great video guys !!! Packed with info from way back when 👍👍.. Thanks for the extra effort you put into these videos, it really shows! And to catch the owner give it a generous twist of the throttle....... Fantastic !!! 👍😎🔥
This is a fantastic episode!!!!!!!!!!! What a find! Crazy, it was "fired up" AND ridden! Oh My Gosh, so beautiful. When Yamaha was mounting their radiator high, in front of the triple clamp, Gilera placed its cooling system lower. Which is the very location that some 43 years later, still is the optimal placement! Just mind blowing!🏁 Thank you for researching this epic motorcycle.
Another fantastic video Max, great story of the gilera twin cylinder, sounds great for a 40+ year old bike , looked pretty fast too, well done to you and Dave to bring these beautiful machines for us to view.
Made my heart swell....my favourite bike of all time. Huge Gilera fan...my 81 C1 is rad, but no twin. If you are taking requests, track down Marc Velkeneers 84 works Gilera 250. Saw that in 84 at Unadilla...was hooked ever since. Sidenote, surprised the throttle wasnt a Tomaselli...same as mine.
I always enjoy when a manufacturer buids something that doesn't even fit the rules for that class and then a UA-camr finds out about that and is like "this thing was so awesome it was BANNED!!!!" I also heard that the BMW F650 and Honda Africa Twin were also banned. Along with the GSXR1000 and R1. Those bikes were so awesome FIM and AMA wouldn't even let them race. Bet it's because they're jealous of the awesomeness.
Wonderful to watch your video, I raced a Gilera 125 (aircooled twin shock) in the early 1980’s the bike was very fast but the rear shocks were awful. I am not sure what ever happened to that bike, so good to see you guys dig up these old 2t gems, keep up the good work
As a kid of the 80s early 90s who wanted nothing more than to be a Moto-cross star but had nothing to make it happen. I saved tons of 70s and early 80s bikes from back and side yards all over Tampa Bay Florida, many I wish I still had . Out of all the bikes I had . The mint Suzuki 74 TM 125 was the fastest 125 I ever had
Enjoyed the story on the 125 twin. I remember Cycle World did a test on a 500 single Maico with a 3 speed tranny. The comment was it did not need more gears because of the torque. I had to quit riding about that time because of work hours. I lost track of racing at that time for the same time. Really would enjoy more info on this
Jan Witteveen been asked why 1984 Cagiva 125 cross had an unbelievable top end, but almost no low-end: 'there no need to find out low-end in a 125 cc, if you ride a 125 cc in low-end you must go home. If you're a serious racer, you should go mostly full throttle'.😎
Great job as always!, I love this channel! Your passion for educating people on these rare and amazing examples of dirtbike history is much appreciated! I hope you do a video on the 1992 Yamaha WR 200. This is a super rare bike in the USA. 1992 was the only year that it was imported here and there are not many clean examples left.
Never ever herd about this marvel... When I was a kid the were a lot of Gilera motorcicles in Buenos Aires , Argentina. That was in mid 60s. Thanks for the video !!!
The Puch dual carb GP machine would be a great one to find! Also, there's was a few Can-Am's from the '70's that used a dual carb setup and while one carb used the "correct" rotary valve induction, the other used a piston port design - find it! If you can't, Can-Am also had a few 500cc two stroke road bikes, finding that would be better than a winning lottery ticket.
CZ had a 125 twin cylinder that was banned. We own a 78 CZ125 and that kick starter is terrible….. ours has less than an hour of ride time. Have many spare parts to rebuild the engine over and over again
999Lazer I would love to see you track down the British man that attempted to either purchase Maico motorcycles or build them in Great Britain. He did build a few with metal fuel tanks and even raced a 320cc maico but then he kind of disappeared shortly after? I do know that Axel Kostler of Germany is the current owner & builder of the old German marque that are known as Maico motorcycles!
I was thinking of starting up a motor business again specializing in motocross motors mainly. I have built thousands of stock motors from bare cases every part in a bag to hundreds of fire breathing race motors..I have never personally burnt down a motor I was tuning nor have I sent a motor out that doesn't work. I have a 100% accuracy on every motor I have built and have caught problems in motors the owner of the company made as well. Have hundreds of hours on the chassis dyno as we owned our own for a decade. I know what works and what doesn't without even touching the dyno. I also understand different variations of racing from mx to paved and oval. I know how to set the motors up to help the rider/driver and or take advantage of areas on the track where we have an advantage or need one and tune accordingly. What's the feeling on this from you guys? I run all factory parts too except for maybe reed cage combo for the high rpm stuff. Like I said below in a comment was making 44 HP from a 125 cc and 72 HP from a 250 cc back in the late 1990's..seems the world has finally caught up..took a while!
The engineer you describe is Jan Witteveen: after this motocross adventure he went to Aprilia in 1989 with the 125 and 250cc world champion road racing (which he won with Max Biaggi and much more riders) and went on to Derbi. Recently he's back into motocross! A true Dutch 2 stroke engineering legend.
Very cool video!!
He was also the architect behind the world title of Dave Strijbosch in 1986 on the Cagiva.
I have to learn jans language asap and speak with this fella before it's to late
@@515klrkillahoobie6 i think he speaks English very well.
same reason the paddle tire was banned from motocross, it was an unfair advantage on starts
What an absolute wizard this Jan fella sounds like.
So I have a big one to track down for you.
My grandfather is Willy Oesterle, two time German champ and european vice champ in the 50ties. He was a worksrider for DKW and Maico. But more importantly, he started his own little project called Oepo (Oesterle and Pohl). The idea behind it was to build a two stroke 500 for the GPs from German parts with metric screws. The reasoning for this was that at the time 1959 the 500 MXGP was dominated by british four strokes, which were expensive and hard to run for people outside the UK. The Germans such as my grandpa and Fritz Betzlbacher etc, rode bored out two stroke 250s, because already at 350cc a two stroke was competitive with the four strokes of the time.
He did go through with it and built a 500cc twin made from two maico 250s, called the Oepo 500/1.
He than later improved the frame and called it the 500/2. Then later he went further to building a bispoke 400 cc single, because the 500 twin just had too much and too uncontrollable power. Which he called the Oepo V1
He did manage to track down a V1, which is standing in his cellar ready to ride (he is 91, so he ain't gonna ride it). But he never managed to find an Oepo 500.
Now I just want to make clear here, as far as I and he know, this is the first ever two stroke 500 raced at Motocross Grand Prix and also the first to ever win one. Which he did in Brühl in 1959.
I have heard rumours that there is still one around though it has been turned into a sidecar somewhere along the line. This would be probably the most impossible find you could achieve.
If there is an interest in testing out such an old iron, the 400cc machine is in his possession and ready to go.
what an amazing story :) I'd love to know more about the 400. Let me know how to get in touch. (or message me on instagram @oneminutemoto . cheers Max
hello, thank you so much for your history and sience lesson of this very important times.best wishes from germany. Rainer
That's an awesome story and also achievement. I would love to see this story Max! Killer channel!
All I can say is wow what a man
Awesome
This proves again why the 80' was the Holy Grail of MX!! I was only aware of Honda having a 125cc twin back then....so such a thrill to know know about this 1980 Gilera!! I can't thank you enough for your effort to track down and share this with us!!
Thanks for watching :) I really appreciate your kind words:)
The 90's are where the motor development really took off. We were making 44 HP out of 1997 cr125 and 72 HP from the old 1980's 4- trax motor 250cc, 6 speed with counterbalance ..then we went cr250 because people said that motor wouldn't work in a kart with 5 speed no c/b shaft. So we shut them up too!! That's on C12 fuel. So we still had room to up compression and add octane.
We also built 3 experimental cr125's. If anyone came across those they would be confused to say the least. Ever notice your cylinder has a water jacket on the exhaust side that doesn't flow water? Keep hot side hot and cold side cold..fine for motorcorss track...lack luster holding it pinned down the front straight at Fontana! Pull the plugs, open the gasket, machine and tig weld an extra outlet spigot on water pump cover and you have a fully cooled cylinder!! No one ever noticed the extra water hose coming out of our motor..be more observant to the fast guys!!
A bike I'd never heard of until 25 minutes ago. Awesome video. The Gilera sounded so incredibly fast.
Glad you enjoyed it! Cheers Max
If you want to see another cool twin cylinder dirt bike look up a CZ 360 "Twin Pipe". :)
@@Slane583Whilst it had two exhausts, it was only a single cylinder...
2 scarichi e 2 cilindri....
@@Yatsushiro Interesting, I actually didn't notice that. Now my question is why would you need two exhaust pipes on one cylinder? It's kind of like what Honda does with the CRF 450R with it having two mufflers. Other than looking cool it seems kind of pointless, IMO. :)
Its so cool how there's so much history over the pond that differs from the USA. Having so many countries involved in creating motorcycles has created historical moto-gemstones all over the continent. Great job Max and Dave, your work and knowledge is appreciated!
Im 40 and bin a 2stroke head all my life. Love seeing these bikes even ive never heard of. Thanks for doing what you do!
Thanks for watching Mike, I'm glad you're enjoying the videos! :-)
Wow! Never knew this bike existed. I raced a 1981 Gilera 125 (single cylinder!) at my local club (VWHSSC) A disc valved screamer if ever there was.. That tiny kickstart was a knightmare to find and use after you dumped it in the mud at Ashdown. Also had to order (well my dad had too) all the spares from the factory, which in those days was a bit of a faff... Thanks for the memories @999lazer 😀
No problem, thanks for watching :)
The late great Mike Bell, raced one of Scheidler's twin two strokes at Irwindale Raceway one Friday night in the 1970's. I was racing in the 125 Intermediate class and remember sitting at the starting gate as Bell would scream that thing by us down the straight away and launch off Bert's jump!
Mate, you are really a motocross -fun-freak and i love that. Thanx for showing unique wonderful mx-bikes that made history. Maddii, Rinaldi, Perfini and Pekka Vehkonen all Gilera riders...thank for your passion. We really appreciate that here in Italy!!
No problem, it was a real privilege to get this opportunity. We had an awesome time in Italy :)
Pekka corse con Cagiva...forse volevi dire Marc Velkeneers 👋 anche Gaston Rahiè corse con Gilera
@@fabiorsv2351 you re right! Thanx for that.
Hai ragione, mi sono confuso.. grazie
@@999lazer Do the Harry Everts era Puch twin carb 250.
love the 2 stroke content, always learn something new with your videos!
Thank you for taking the time to watch. Glad you're enjoying them. Cheers Max
After seeing this is a rotary style 2stroke i have to say i have a story to tell about a 1965 65cc bridgestone 4 speed manual clutch that was a monster of a mini bike. It was raced on circle tracks with a 200 pound rider back in the 70s and tha man passed away and my uncle got he bike from the mother in 1994. Its realy rare and only had a box of parts with it and havent found much for it. I was so lucky to get to drag race the bike when i was 11 in 94. Its a monster. We had to put 3 foot wheelie bar on it. I could tell you some amazing experiences i had on it. Its still in my uncle shop with a broken crank. I keep a eye out for parts to one day hopefully here it run again.
One of the most beautiful MX bikes ever built...Gilera fan,even had a RC600 back in the 1990's...thanks for this video!
I do recall Johnny "O-Show" O'mara tested the Honda's prototype 2-cylinder 125cc bike and he said it was insane.
That beauty ripping full throttle just sounded amazing. Like an angry mini banshee atv sound, or a road racing gp 2 stroke. Pure music to my ears, thanks from the US.
great stuff. i’d never heard of Gilera, let alone a two-stroke 125.
I'd like to see you find the Puch 370 that Everets rode to the championship in the 70s. I think it was twin carb both piston port induction and rotary valve induction. Good luck!!!
Great suggestion!
The 250 was the twin carb. One rotary intake and one reed valve. The open bike was more conventional. Single carb if l recall. Rumor had it that the twin carb made 10 more horsepower than other 250's of the era.
When I was a kid I had a Suzuki T125 Stinger that was a "scrambler". I loved that 125 2 stroke twin sound ,
it sounded great at 60 mikes an hour laying on the tank.
Awesome bike really enjoyed the story leading up to the amazing bike test.
I guess the owner was exited to ride it by the full throttle run.
Thank you for going above and beyond to bring the content for us. 👍👏🙏
No problem, the owner had never ridden this bike before our film. Afterwards his son said he will be smiling for a month :)
I was in the Piaggio museum in Pontedera last year where there indeed is one displayed. I drooled around it so longy girl friend got a bit annoyed. Great video Max!!!
haha i'm sure she forgave you :) thanks for watching.
Your most informative video to date. The right decision by FIM but certainly an entertaining ride down a blind alley.
That bike is incredible!!! The more you talked about it the mote I was sure it was going to end without seeing or hearing it run. I was very happy to see him ripping through the gears.
The sound is sooooo sweet! Thanks for bringing this to us. So bad ass
Thank you
I'm 57 years old now, grew up riding dirtbike"s everyday of my life I love seeing bike's like this, I thought back then that I really kept up with all things motocross, just goes to show there are unicorns out there, some I had no idea ever existed!
That's exactly why we love making videos like this one, it gives me such a buzz tracking these bikes down and sharing their stories to all of you guys :-) Thanks for watching Johnny!
Others two...???
Searching for Villa 360 2strokes... Or Cagiva wmx 125 the most powerfull at his time.. 😮😮😅😅😅
An Italian former mountain trooper Alpini 🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹
i remember going from an 85cc four stroke to a 125 two stroke when i turned 12. fell in love with that powerban kickin in.
I was a huge Gilera fan on the 80s and 90s but this is the first time I see this bike, very nice find! Gilera also invented the supermotard bikes, they were one of the most important Italian bike makers that time.
What a cool mx bike. It looked like the powerband came on like a light switch!
I can’t wait till you make a video on the new Fantic XE300 2 Stoke. As always, keep up the good work 999 lazer team!
Thank Jonny, we'll see what we can do :)
No….it‘s necessary …
Again Max your moto history is always spot on!!! Great job man
Thanks Angelo
You are probably THE most important person when it comes to vintage mx. Us old guys will be gone at some point. The few guys like you,20 to 30 years younger will be the ones to champion the beginnings of our sport. I used to just like you Max. But now I like you and I respect and appreciate you
You look like Smart Max when you wear glasses
haha thanks:)
Thanks. I really appreciate your comment :)
Well worth the road trip guys...A treat to listen to on surround sound!!!!.Jan Witteevan a marvel!!!...WMX Cagiva Supremo.....now, you and Dave get the Pekka Vehonen 250 that won at Hawkstone to feature as its in UK now I see!.....Thanks again
I feel blessed just to see it start. To hear it rev out made my day. Thx for the vid.
First new thing I have seen on UA-cam in days thx
Not even into Mx bikes but that thing is gorgeous and sounds awesome.
Hey Max: great video, more more more?!! Yes, I remember the 125 2 cyl. In 1980: it was quite a sensation! With my friend, for whom I was the mechanic in the Netherlands amateur MON leage, we went with his parents to a race in Hechtel, Belgium. There we saw and heard the Gilera in the hands of little giant Gaston Rahier. It sounded great, but Hechtel being a heavy sand track, the party didn't last long like the Norg GP as described in your video. In the same race we saw later Gilera rider Michele Rinaldi on a TGM doing quite well. I just read in the comments about the request for the early German 500 two stroke GP bike from the 60's: would be great if you'd find it! Keep 'em coming and bring smiles to my face? All best wishes! T🐻 from NL.
As a rider and mechanic who lives in a city with a technic museum where you can find almost everything from a Concorde on the roof to a Buran Spaceshuttle, beeing interestet in all kind of technical peculiarity, this is the most amazing and entertaining channel on youtube.
Still waiting for Max trying Sidecarcross, there are some very good british teams in the world championship, so fingers crossed.
Thanks Thor, haha you'll never guess what I was doing today ;)
@@999lazer Wilkinson, Foden or Brown? Foden is my guess cause he also have a youtube channel.
Thanks for showing us something we would otherwise know nothing about. Good job!
Thank you so much for the details on such an outstanding historical bike! Love the content 👌
Another Great, Great video guys !!! Packed with info from way back when 👍👍.. Thanks for the extra effort you put into these videos, it really shows! And to catch the owner give it a generous twist of the throttle....... Fantastic !!! 👍😎🔥
Cheers Malc
It must be an amazing feeling to ride that sort of unobtanium.
He gave it the business! So awesome to see. What a special motorcycle!
I wish this style of two stroke caught on a little bit cause that exhaust note sounds AMAZING
such a great sound, my dream bike is an old yzr500 grand prix bike, the r1 will have to do till then
It's not very often you hear an MX bike that sounds like that! Thanks for watching dude
I don't even know anything about dirt bikes.... but this was fun to watch!
Thanks Rusty
This is a fantastic episode!!!!!!!!!!! What a find! Crazy, it was "fired up" AND ridden! Oh My Gosh, so beautiful.
When Yamaha was mounting their radiator high, in front of the triple clamp, Gilera placed its cooling system lower.
Which is the very location that some 43 years later, still is the optimal placement! Just mind blowing!🏁
Thank you for researching this epic motorcycle.
Glad you enjoyed it! Cheers Max
Its the story Italian bikes and machine are as always toooo faAAsst
Wow...WHAT an EPIC MACHINE... Holy smokes... and I and others got to see it... HERE, THANKS TO YOU MY FRIEND. Respectfully, Seth
Thanks for watching Seth:)
Thank you very much for this video!
Greetings from Italy
No problem Alessio, thanks for watching
Another fantastic video Max, great story of the gilera twin cylinder, sounds great for a 40+ year old bike , looked pretty fast too, well done to you and Dave to bring these beautiful machines for us to view.
Thanks Kevin
Made my heart swell....my favourite bike of all time. Huge Gilera fan...my 81 C1 is rad, but no twin. If you are taking requests, track down Marc Velkeneers 84 works Gilera 250. Saw that in 84 at Unadilla...was hooked ever since. Sidenote, surprised the throttle wasnt a Tomaselli...same as mine.
Thanks Mac, We'll take a look into the 84 250 :)
I have seen it twice, once in the Netherlands Norg the 125 GP in 1980 and once in Pietramurata where i raced myself in classic 50 cc MX.
I thought I knew all 2stroke dirt bikes from the late 60s until 1980.
Bit never heard of this beast. Nice
RA125 Suzuki, love the look of them..
I had a Honda XL175 trail bike back in high school in my small hometown that was street legal. Fun times!
Awesome video dude .. let's see a 86 cagiva wmx 250 . Another sick bike with a sad ending .
Got my JT-1 brand new in 1971 at 11yo. Have been into bikes ever since. I can not remember this bike at all.
Epic! Nice job. What a sound.
You are becoming a legend, Max, I appreciate your videos more than you may think !!
Thank you so much. Cheers Max :)
Keep these wonderful videos coming. The sound of that machine was awesome
this was very interesting..................well done.
Best moto channel period. Give us more please......
Thanks you :) and we will give you lots more ...
Italian machines ... there are so many in History ... Gilera is one of the best
I always enjoy when a manufacturer buids something that doesn't even fit the rules for that class and then a UA-camr finds out about that and is like "this thing was so awesome it was BANNED!!!!" I also heard that the BMW F650 and Honda Africa Twin were also banned. Along with the GSXR1000 and R1. Those bikes were so awesome FIM and AMA wouldn't even let them race. Bet it's because they're jealous of the awesomeness.
first one i'v seen or ever heard of max very interesting
We love tracking down these kind of bikes and sharing their stories. Thanks for watching as always bud! :-)
Outstanding
Really enjoyed that
What a bike
Thanks 👍
Wonderful to watch your video, I raced a Gilera 125 (aircooled twin shock) in the early 1980’s the bike was very fast but the rear shocks were awful. I am not sure what ever happened to that bike, so good to see you guys dig up these old 2t gems, keep up the good work
GREAT SHOW! 1980 I WORKED 4 Factory Suzuki on the works 125 rider DENNY BENTLY
What a good review
.. good work man..
Glad you liked it Jeff. Cheers Max :)
What amasing sound
Love the italian design. Much respect for wanting to keep their brand local 👏
As a kid of the 80s early 90s who wanted nothing more than to be a Moto-cross star but had nothing to make it happen. I saved tons of 70s and early 80s bikes from back and side yards all over Tampa Bay Florida, many I wish I still had . Out of all the bikes I had . The mint Suzuki 74 TM 125 was the fastest 125 I ever had
This bike runned in Miravalke MX track in World Championship driver was Perfini Franco
Maybe the best one yet Max . What a machine , what a story .
Thanks Wayde, we really enjoyed making this one :)
Ive never heard of one. Love to see it go or some specifications
XT 600 Tenere. I built a couple of them for the Paris to Dakar Rally...RE
Great Video Max.
Keep the history of 2 bangers going.
will do :)
Enjoyed the story on the 125 twin. I remember Cycle World did a test on a 500 single Maico with a 3 speed tranny. The comment was it did not need more gears because of the torque. I had to quit riding about that time because of work hours. I lost track of racing at that time for the same time. Really would enjoy more info on this
Max, life is beautiful! Thanks!
Rather than just outright banning the twin cylinders, they should of just opened a new twin cylinder class. That would of been the thing to do ha
Sounds amazing
Jan Witteveen been asked why 1984 Cagiva 125 cross had an unbelievable top end, but almost no low-end: 'there no need to find out low-end in a 125 cc, if you ride a 125 cc in low-end you must go home. If you're a serious racer, you should go mostly full throttle'.😎
The way the powerband comes in sounds a lot like a banshees power curve
quando vedo queste creazioni fantastiche non mi resta che piangere per il destino della gilera e per il suo paese ....
.. Splendid stuff as always, goodly Sir Max ,.. :o)
Many thanks!
Great job as always!, I love this channel! Your passion for educating people on these rare and amazing examples of dirtbike history is much appreciated! I hope you do a video on the 1992 Yamaha WR 200. This is a super rare bike in the USA. 1992 was the only year that it was imported here and there are not many clean examples left.
Very educational! Best channel on youtube! This channel is going to be so big In future! Every one i no talks about this channel. Keep it up
Thanks for the great message Ben:)
I would love to see some hp and torque figures on these rare bikes, that would be so interesting. Love your channel
Yes this
Another Cracking video 👍 keep ‘em coming
Thanks, will do!
Never ever herd about this marvel... When I was a kid the were a lot of Gilera motorcicles in Buenos Aires , Argentina. That was in mid 60s. Thanks for the video !!!
Thanks for watching
By far your best video ever, excellent.
Thanks so much for watching dude, I'm glad you enjoyed it! :-)
The Puch dual carb GP machine would be a great one to find! Also, there's was a few Can-Am's from the '70's that used a dual carb setup and while one carb used the "correct" rotary valve induction, the other used a piston port design - find it! If you can't, Can-Am also had a few 500cc two stroke road bikes, finding that would be better than a winning lottery ticket.
thanks for the suggestions
Banned for the same reason the Aprilia XV twin was banned from mx - it’s more powerful and faster than a single.
I remember this bike when I was 13, thinking this is the trickiest 125 ever and it still is!
Sounds amazing!!
CZ had a 125 twin cylinder that was banned. We own a 78 CZ125 and that kick starter is terrible….. ours has less than an hour of ride time. Have many spare parts to rebuild the engine over and over again
999Lazer I would love to see you track down the British man that attempted to either purchase Maico motorcycles or build them in Great Britain. He did build a few with metal fuel tanks and even raced a 320cc maico but then he kind of disappeared shortly after?
I do know that Axel Kostler of Germany is the current owner & builder of the old German marque that are known as Maico motorcycles!
I was thinking of starting up a motor business again specializing in motocross motors mainly. I have built thousands of stock motors from bare cases every part in a bag to hundreds of fire breathing race motors..I have never personally burnt down a motor I was tuning nor have I sent a motor out that doesn't work. I have a 100% accuracy on every motor I have built and have caught problems in motors the owner of the company made as well. Have hundreds of hours on the chassis dyno as we owned our own for a decade. I know what works and what doesn't without even touching the dyno. I also understand different variations of racing from mx to paved and oval. I know how to set the motors up to help the rider/driver and or take advantage of areas on the track where we have an advantage or need one and tune accordingly.
What's the feeling on this from you guys? I run all factory parts too except for maybe reed cage combo for the high rpm stuff. Like I said below in a comment was making 44 HP from a 125 cc and 72 HP from a 250 cc back in the late 1990's..seems the world has finally caught up..took a while!
Excellent video "a very enjoyable watch"
I haven't got enough spare time to watch all this video
1978 ossa 250 phantom mx and late 70s cz mx . Great video thanks
Jan witteveen here in Italy is a unforgettable legend about two stroke engines
Das ist really extraordinary thank you so much
What an awesome video my friend.