History O/T HotRodders Moto Crossers

True, true!! Z50's are incredibly cool!! What I like about the QA's (besides the fact that I leanred one) is that they seem to be a bit rarer than Z50's these days, probably because there weren't as many produced, but I'd love to own some Z50's that look like the ones in your picture!!

 

im on the cover of Dirtbike magazine this month..

 

im in just about every issue for the last year and a half.. raced since i was 4.. raced exp till last year. cars take too much time, so the racing stopped but the magazine is fun...heres me on this months cover!

 

QA are just to Plasticky looking!

New repop Z50's are available from about $1100.00

 

Good to see there are plenty of moto heads on here.

 

hell yeah i wanted to start a thread like this. my dad raced desert from like 72-late 80s got to number 10x in trail bike class. iv been riding since i was 5 never raced though. got a 01 yz 250 and papys got a 06 yz 250

mini bikes are fun too

 

Damn!!! Airin' out the pit bike! I love it!!!

 

I enjoy riding dirt with my son. I curently have a great running 2002 CR125R. For me (old and tired) the nicest, lightest most flickable bike I've ever ridden in the woods. My son is a good rider, I'm happy if I can stay in one piece. Never got to race moto-X when I was younger, wish I did. The pic is from a woods outing my son and I had a year or so ago. The Honda is a CRF450F, and the Kawi is a KX250F. Both were great motorcycles.

 

I used to race in So Cal in the 70's - Ascot, Saddleback, Indian Dunes, Irwindale, Carlsbad.

 

Here's a few pics from my Moto X past... I'm sure you guys have some other pics to post.

Kevin

 

Man I'm so envious of you guys that were riding in the early days of motocross and desert racing. I'm 26 and started riding dirtbikes and then street bikes about 5 years ago. I've been hooked on bikes since my first one 5 years ago. I worked my way through my last 2 years of college for my Electrical Engineering degree buying cheap bikes on Craigslist, repairing them, and flipping em for cash! I then worked for 3 years building Semiconductor test equipment, hated my job, and about 3 months ago landed my dream job running the Research & Development department for Electrosport Industries here in San Diego. We make stators, dual sport kits, and street/dirtbike HID & Halogen lighting. Now I get paid to play with motorcycles!

I bought my first bike when I was 21, a 1979 Suzuki 2 stroke 125 enduro, for $300 on craigslist. Rode the shit out of it and just about killed myself multiple times. That hooked me on bikes!

Here she is:




I moved on from that old beater to more bikes than I count. Had quite a few older bikes:

67 Suzuki B105P Bearcat
This bike was awesome. Bought it on CL for $175, got her running and had alot of fun on it. It had 2 rear sprockets and a removable section of the chain so you could gear it higher and lower. Point was to gear it high to ride to the trail, then swap over to the lower gear for trail riding!


(2) 68 Yamaha 80cc enduros
I bought these 2 twin bikes on CL for about $250. Got em both running and had fun on em around town for awhile. Original plated bikes, sold new in San Diego!


74 Yamaha DT125
This bike was an absolute jewel. Amazing condition, had about 1000 miles on it. Bought it from the original owner for $600. Street legal yamaha 2 stroke. Rode it all over town, had a blast on it. Always regretted selling it!


79 Honda CR250 Elsinore
This bike was killer. Picked up an original 79 Elsinore for $300.
Had a stuck clutch from sitting. Took off the case, freed up and oiled the clutch plates. Put in fresh gas and new plug, and she fired in 2 kicks. Rode it for a couple months, and made a grand profit on it!


82 Honda XL500
Picked this one up for $500 I think. Got it registered, and rode it all over town. Lots of fun!


Anyways, thats some of the more interesting older bikes, I've had about 20 more!

Now I ride a 2005 Suzuki RM-Z450. I do alot of desert, dune, and trail riding, and quite a bit of track riding. Being in R&D for a motorcycle company has lots of benefits, and I have to do a lot of 'test' riding! haha


Oh and if any of you guys are looking for motorcycle stators/ignition parts, cdi's, coils, lighting, shoot me a PM! Or check out www.electrosport.com for our parts. Not trying to advertise here, just offering a hand if you're having bike issues or looking for a solution for a bike you're restoring or building.

-Evan

 

I was riding those same tracks about the same time 71-76 or 7. My wifes cousin was a Pro Racer for Husky, one of the first Americans to go to Europe - Billy Clements from Pasadena

 

carefull....they will kill this like they did the BMX thread....

 

Part of the allure of old hotrods is the inherit DANGER and speed associated with them....with that, no hotrod can compare to the DEVASTATION that an old Maico 490 will bestow upon thee....the sound of one is not soon forgotten.

Brutal HP, mind numbing vibration, shitty ass brakes.....just pin it and hold on...

My old '82


Another full-on DEATH TRAP....'78 Elsinore 250...

 

fuckin ricers

 

Glad to see the FNG has plenty to contribute to a popular thread

 

I'm not quite sure what the point of that was.
Japanese dirtbikes were an extremely important part of the birth of motocross.

 

Some bitchen bikes here coupled with great experiences and stories.

Hotroddin, is that a 500 Triumph in a Rickman Matisse frame? Great looking Bike as is the 400 Maico one of the other guys had.

Some of this newer stuff just doesn't register with me. I had a 250 CZ that I raced in a club in Hawaii and in Pacifica Ca. So, I just cater to the older stuff. With that said the 500 TT Yamahas are also pretty neat.

- EM

 

Had one of those back when it was brand-new. Immediately became a consistent holeshot artist when I got that bike.
Here's my latest ride.

 

Actually it's a 650 Bonneville taken out to 750 with big cams and dual plug heads. makes about 70 horsepower! And yes a Rickman Metisse frame, Betor Front Forks, Magnesium Hubs etc.

 

I dont know if I missed it, but I cant believe there hasnt been any mention of the old movie "On Any Sunday"... One of my all time favorite movies, and it is very "hot rod" related, much like "Offerings to the God of Speed"(the documentry that "Worlds Fastest Indian was based off of).

 

Love the TT600 in race trim.
Remember Bengt Ahberg?

 

Wow, a literal rocket for sure and the torque was probably stiil great.

"Actually it's a 650 Bonneville taken out to 750 with big cams and dual plug heads. makes about 70 horsepower! And yes a Rickman Metisse frame, Betor Front Forks, Magnesium Hubs etc. "<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

 

My buddies and I ran cross country and firetrails on Ossa`s and Can-am`s back in the early 70`s

 

Sure rode against the big Swede at Carlsbad, or should I say watched him blow by me! Cool thing is he was 500 World Champion in 69 & 70 and the the Ice Racing champion 25 years later in 95!

 

I never really "raced" until I got a newer bike, a YZ426F. What an improvement over the old junk I always rode...it was all I could afford. But even still, I'll always have a soft spot for those older dinosaur bikes. I liked trying to keep 'em runnin, and the look on guys faces when ya show up at an enduro or riding area with a 20-30 year old bike is priceless.
I'd love to get back into older bikes, maybe a late '70's YZ400 or Can-Am (always thought those were bitchin') just too many other hobbies..haha.

 

In the early 80s, my dad bought me an old Artic Scat, black and purple, with leopard skin seat, 50cc scooter (wish I still had it), then he bought 2 auto shift Honda Trail 90s, for hunting and trapping the MT wilderness. Went to Honda 125 Elsinore, then bought a 1991 KX 125 (in 1991), joined the military, and stayed off bikes for a while. Then, in 2000, I got stationed in the UK, and they have tracks around every corner over there, so I bought a buddies Eric Gorr built RM125. The bike RIPPED. I ran it a few hundred laps, and decided it was time to go to the bike boy bikes. Couldn't make up my mind, so I bought a brand new, still in the crate,2002 YZ426F. I ran the bike about 20 minutes, and got sent to invade some country called Iraq. While over there, I got an email informing me the 426, along with all my tools had been stolen. Get home to England, buy a 2002 CRF 450R, and totally tricked it out, and motocrossed it for a while, then got stationed here in FL. Then, I got married, had 3 kids...last year, I bought the kids a 2000 KX100, and bought myself a "street legal " XR600R (registered as a 49cc moped-hahaha). I went through that bike, and sold it. Still have the CRF and the KX, both of which I have completely redone, and they are as close to works bikes as I can make them. THe Honda is a full blown off-road bike, and the KX is a moto-x bike. I should have left the KX 100 alone, as my kids are now scared to ride it! haha

 

I'm 18, and I've been riding since I was 5. I race cross-country in the winter, and a handful of motocross races. My dad grew up racing in PA in the mid-70s(he even sold his first car, a '68 GTO for a new Yamaha YZ465). We've had plenty of vintage bikes come through our place. To list a few of the vintage bikes:
Mid-70s Yamaha GT80
'79 Can-Am 250 with an aluminum swingarm and Fox Airshox
'74 Bultaco Alpina 250
'78 Yamaha YZ250
'77 Honda CR250
'71 Bultaco Alpina 250

But I think my favorite bike of all was my '04 Suzuki RM85L Supermini. It was one of Tyler Wharton's race bikes(I think he raced it at Loretta's). PR2 105cc mod motor, and WAY too much other stuff to list. I loved that bike.

I just sold my '03 KTM 200SX to pay for some college stuff, but in a few months I'll start shopping for an '07+ KTM 200xc or 250xc/sx, or an '05+ YZ250.

 

I never raced moto-x, but rode the hell out of a Yamaha XT500. I rebuilt the motor and painted the bike when I was 16. I weighed 120 pounds kick starting that bitch. I remember having put the bike back together and not having the compression release adjusted properly. My Dad and I were setting up irrigation pipes in one of the fields, and I was riding it to flush out bird nests and plugged sprinkler heads. My leg was sore for a week. I never got kicked over the handlebars like stories I've heard.
Just sold the whole pile, TT500, SR500, XT500. The money went to my Model A.

 

yeah im stoked too!bikes have always been my first love i never raced but i ride stonyford anytime i can get away.hell for about 7 years i rode every other week there.and pismo too.i had to sell my cr 4 years ago.........got a yz250 two months ago and an rm 60 for my boy and a banshee for the wife.i will never be without a bike again!i have been wondering how many hambers ride!this is great!going to stony next weekend my poor truck is gonna start hatin me!!!!!!!