Langston to RacerX

[ktm033]

On equal equipment, both racing at top speed Hannah would destroy RC or Bubba!

 

[dirt bike dave]

Originally posted by ktm033
On equal equipment, both racing at top speed Hannah would destroy RC or Bubba!

I don't think even Hannah would agree with that! 

 

[karterron]

Have you heard Hannah speak about the current crop of riders? Sure he would say that, and a whole lot more.

Nobody, and I mean nobody had or has more heart and desire to win than Hannah did. He may not have been as fast as RC or Bubba but his sheer will to win would have put him very close. It would have been fun to watch Hannah in him prime against RC last year, he sure as heck wouldn't have laid down like those other riders did.

 

[WhKnuckle]

The next time you see Kent Howerton, ask him about it. And Kent was, as I recall, a pretty tuff cuss.

 

[Jon K.]

Originally posted by nephron


I'll tell you--if you look at the old films of Hannah--he was blindingly fast. Check out supercross.com (RJ's site)--they have footage of him. He definitely looked, even on those older bikes, faster than 99% of the field today. Simply amazing.

I caught a "Legends of Motorsport" piece that showed some MX racing of the old BSAs and Velocettes with the likes of Jeff Smith on board. Maybe from the late fifties or early sixties.

Huge long-stroke 500cc engines on maybe three inches of suspension.

Even then; those guys were fast. Of course, no big air, but these guys would get on around the corners and down the straights pretty darn quick.

I remember thinking that if I had my 250f out there, that maybe I could hang with them. But I am not so sure.

 

[ktm033]

Jeff Smith in his prime on a Factory KTM 125 would've smoked Bubba!

 

[dirt bike dave]

There's a dozen or more legends you could argue are the best/fastest of all time.  Even in their primes, none of them would 'smoke' Bubba. 

Hang with Bubba, sure, I can buy that.  Beat him sometimes, yeah, probably.  Smoke Bubba?  Sorry.  No one has ever been that good.

 

[ktm033]

Hannah would smoke Bubba all things being equal....

 

[nephron]

ktm033--according to you, anyone who does, ever has, or ever will--ride a KTM, will smoke RC and Bubba. Question is--what are you smoking?

(ps--Hannah didn't ride a KTM)--facitious, of course.... :laugh:

 

[ktm033]

naw that's not true nephron.....not true at all pretty clear that Dowd doesn't smoke RC and the orange boys don't smoke Bubba. But if Bubba or RC rode orange, oh my!

 

[nephron]

I was just messing with you. (facitious)

I'd like to see RC on Orange. Bubba? Doesn't matter to me.

 

[ktm033]

just throwing it back nephron more fun to spin people up, right now Bubba looks like he could be the best, ever.

 

[Smit-Dog]

Originally posted by ktm033
Jeff Smith in his prime on a Factory KTM 125 would've smoked Bubba!

I rode single track with Jeff Smith last fall. He was 68 years old, and rode a 10-year-old XR-400. It was all I could do to keep him in my sights, which wasn't often! He spanked me!

 

[ktm033]

then again maybe not????

 

[tx246]

this old vs new athlete argument can go on forever because in reality we will really never know.

all i know is pretty much every and i mean every athletic performance measurement(record) has progressed.

i still say todays world class mx rider should be a better athlete.

nfl linebackers from the 50-60's couldnt even catch a priest holms of today.
there is no doubt that todays athletes are bigger and faster.

the matter of the heart is disputable but you still have to have the physilogical to make it happen.

 

[jboomer]

David Bailey said it too. "There's no comparison. Between equipment and riding styles, there's nothing there to compare."

 

[nephron]

50-60's couldnt even catch a priest holms of today.

there is no doubt that todays athletes are bigger and faster.

I dunno about that. I was with Dennis Guebelle, a former farmer partner of my father's and US champ in arm wrestling (read: big son of a b.....)--in Vegas, and we saw Jack Tatum (granted 70's, not 50-60's). Dennis has literally the biggest hands and fingers I've ever seen. Each finger is like a tree trunk. Tatum's 76 Superbowl ring just slid on and off with air on all sides. Those sons a bucks were bigger and faster than you can imagine, and I guarantee you there still have never been a runningback Tatum couldn't have caught and pounded through the turf. Priest? Give me a break. That guy's a nancy by comparison. My feeling about pro football, is the steroid filled linemen are bigger, but the quarterbacks and runningbacks are becoming lamer every year. Butkis could make Priest Holmes cry like a freakin' baby--every play.

 

[dirt bike dave]

IMO, the stand out MX greats from every decade are comparable in natural ability.  And natural ability is by far the biggest factor in how fast a rider gets around an MX track.  Of course even the most talented need to work hard to reach their full potential.

My thinking is the great racers are freaks of nature.  They are just wired differently than most humans.  There is no reason to think last decade's mutants are less capable than the current crop.   

IMO,  football greats from the '50s like Gino Marchetti would still be all-pros if they played today.  The 'average' pro player is probably much better now for a variety of reasons.  

 

[Jon K.]

Originally posted by dirt bike dave
[/B]My thinking is the great racers are freaks of nature. [/B]

Truer words have never been spoken. Heck; if hard work and "heart" was all that would be needed, then "Joe Average" could be champ. As reality sets in; Joe had just as well stay home. Or go ride freestyle.

The first time I set foot (really; from the stands you just don't have a clue!)on a supercross track; it became crystal clear that these guys are not human.

And it doesn't stop with motocross racers. Ever see Agassi hit a tennis ball? Tiger hit a golf ball? Hailwood take a lap around IOM?

Burleson was from Jupiter, Spencer was from Neptune. Bubba is from the galaxy Andromeda. But none of these guys are "normal".

It sux to be normal!!

And let me add;

The great racers do not understand this. They really think that anyone can achieve their level with nothing more than hard work. But then; why would they think that us mere mortals are any different from them? To them; it is no big deal!

 

[ktm033]

If only Gordie Howe would've been given a bike instead of a hockey stick!

 

[MrLuckey]

Originally posted by nephron
Butkis could make Priest Holmes cry like a freakin' baby--every play.

If Butkis, Lambert, Night Train Lane or any of those guys got to play the way they used to yeah they'd kill today's RB's and QB's. If they had to play by todays rules they'd either walk off the field in disgust or get kicked out of every game in the first quarter :)

 

[Erick82]

Todays football players are all about speed, half the defensive backs in the NFL don't even know who to tackle. But, I must say Bill Romo could have played back then just as he does today.

And the Rick Johnsons, Bob Hannahs, ect. would be fast today as they were back then.

 

[ktm033]

Amen Erick! Go Romo!