Top Ten Worst Dirt Bikes of All Time

Green Horn

aka Chip Carbone
N. Texas SP
Jun 20, 1999
2,563
0
I've read that one before. Interesting stuff, and Rick S. has a way with words that cracks me up everytime. :)
 

mobrown

Member
Jan 26, 2004
198
0
Disbelief!

I owned (2) Hodakas (Super Rat & Wombat) and I can't believe neither one of those made the list. Great handling bikes and good power but the stupid shifting mechanism was absolultely an engineers's brain fart! The shifter arm was mounted to the side case and push the shift rod in and out. The thing would pop in and out of gear whenever it felt like it.


I feel liek the ulimate loser for buying (2) of them and feel very discontented that my loserism isn't reflected in the Top 10!!!

I humbly accept my status as a Hodaka-shame!
 

KX02

Member
Jan 19, 2004
781
0
Yeah, I Rick really cracks me up too! I remember reading that one a while back and when he got to the part where he said "any 3 wheeler" I lost it!
 

Tahuya Rat

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Apr 11, 2002
198
0
I remember the Bridgestone 100's bizarre shifting pattern, up, up, up, wham! :eek:
More than that, though, I remember my 1st summer of real freedom on a bike that just couldn't be killed in Green River, Wyoming over 3 decades ago :yeehaw:
 

490Dave

Member
Mar 18, 2003
316
0
YAMAHA YZ 490 (all years)
"If you jetted it rich enough to keep this dog from seizing, it would blubber, puke, foul plugs and produce no power. If you jetted it to run strong, it would invariably seize."

Oh yeah and so much more........

I thought it was going to be the resurrection of my dirt biking days, anybody need parts? :laugh:
 

slideways11

Sponsoring Member
Apr 18, 2000
411
0
In 19 and 71 I was the proud racer of a TM400 Suzuki. You did not really ride the thing you just tried to hang on and survive the moto. The thing was so wicked and wheelied so hard that the crossbar took out 9 of my front teeth. Back then we wore open face helments and jofa mouthguards for protection. I still remember the Suzuki dealer telling people that this is the exact same bike Roger DeCoster won the world championship on. Riiiight!
 

TheJunkMan

Member
Jul 9, 2003
586
0
I still own a mint 1974 SC500 It was bout 6 months old when I bought it, the first owner layed it over(slight dent in the tank) and got scared of it and rightly so, i believe I paid $300 (if memory serves me) I think the price at the time was a big factor I rode it a little in some MX's and scrambles at the time but it was too much work to ride so I went back to riding my first NEW bike the F11M which was not as hard to keep on the track. I would never buy a model year (new) bike until 25 years later
 

Jon K.

~SPONSOR~
Mar 26, 2001
1,354
4
I had an Ossa 250 Stilletto spit me off halfway down a smooth straight. No reason whatsoever. Still haven't figured it out.

Never rode it again. It made my list, but not Rick's.
 

Senior KX Rider

Super Power AssClown
Nov 9, 1999
8,577
0
mobrown said:
I owned (2) Hodakas (Super Rat & Wombat) and I can't believe neither one of those made the list. Great handling bikes and good power but the stupid shifting mechanism was absolultely an engineers's brain fart! The shifter arm was mounted to the side case and push the shift rod in and out. The thing would pop in and out of gear whenever it felt like it.


I feel liek the ulimate loser for buying (2) of them and feel very discontented that my loserism isn't reflected in the Top 10!!!

I humbly accept my status as a Hodaka-shame!


I was one of those Hodaka owners too. I had a Super Rat in 1973 or 74. :ugg: It should have made the list :flame:
 

gezza

Member
Nov 12, 2002
4
0
Back then, my two best mates had one each of these 'new' bikes - a TM400 and an SC500. We being used to Bridgestone 110s and MX175s and such thought these were the best thing going. But the mates spent most of their time trying to fix em after breakin out on the trail or fixing their butt when they got spit off. Good viewing though, watching a fourteen year old skinny runt trying to hang on to one of them critters when on the pipe! all roost and bounce! thank god handling caught up (eventually) with power.
 

Jon K.

~SPONSOR~
Mar 26, 2001
1,354
4
Don't be talkin trash about Hodakas. I had a Combat Wombat and we whipped all the TM125s the day this photo was shot. '73 or thereabouts.

Who is that skinny kid anyway?
 

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ironworker

America since 1908
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Feb 9, 2004
286
0
crack up

Rick Sieman is such a crack up, I couldn’t hold it together reading the article, What I do find strange is, I used to ride a CZ 250 it must have been early 70's and a Yamaha 125 early 70's and I don’t remember them being as damn ugly and prehistoric looking as they are every time I see old pictures of those bikes. I guess I was just young.
 

The Redrider

Member
Jun 14, 2019
238
32
Ancient post, I would say, todays modern 4-strokes, why you ask? Simple, expensive, expensive, expensive. The engines are like a ticking time bomb, back in the day we never needed a hour meter, we just slapped some rings, maybe a piston, and used all the money spent on a modern bike to ride for many years. I have gone into many dirt bike dealers, flipped the price tag to see the numbers and had heart failure. Screw that! Hey dealers, the reason you aren't selling bikes like in the 70's and 80's is no one can afford them. Doy! lol, Bring back the 2-strokes and lasting 4-strokes, and you will profit. Summing it up, These modern race bikes are bogus, and kinda insect looking, ewww! LOL! Always strong in my beliefs, Red Rider!!!!
0187b34d5358171f8f01a65444938545--road-bike-motorcycle-posters.jpg
 

Rich Rohrich

Moderator / BioHazard
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Jul 27, 1999
22,838
16,902
Chicago
Ancient post, I would say, todays modern 4-strokes, why you ask? Simple, expensive, expensive, expensive. The engines are like a ticking time bomb,

I guess none of the couple hundred modern four-stroke engines I've built got the memo. I'll make a note ;-)
 

The Redrider

Member
Jun 14, 2019
238
32
I guess none of the couple hundred modern four-stroke engines I've built got the memo. I'll make a note ;-)
LOL! I was making a jokingly reference to bone stock dirt bikes, round these parts all folks enjoy their modern machines, but, an arm and leg is needed to repair one. I reckon your machines are outstanding. I love all bikes, street, racing, etc. Had a couple old school Xl, and Cl scramblers. Really fun scoots. Rich, if you have an image of your creations, I would like to see how you bought it into existence, Red Rider....:$ 297559.jpg
 

Rich Rohrich

Moderator / BioHazard
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Jul 27, 1999
22,838
16,902
Chicago
LOL! I was making a jokingly reference to bone stock dirt bikes, round these parts all folks enjoy their modern machines, but, an arm and leg is needed to repair one. I reckon your machines are outstanding.

For years people have treated the manufacturer's service interval charts like they were a scam to sell more parts. Two-stroke engines were invariably hammered on till they broke and then people changed parts. Smart racers followed a hour based schedule for changing critical parts but most didn't. When two-strokes suffered "energetic disassembly" (to quote Mike Perry R&D Chief at KIbblewhite Racing) the broke less expensive parts but they still broke with a flourish. Many of those same people applied a similar approach to modern high-speed four-strokes, with less than desirable results. Given proper scheduled maintenance modern engines are remarkably reliable and affordable for the average weekend rider/racer.

No question that serious racers who put tons of hours on the engine will find modern 4Tsmore expensive to maintain, but that's the price of being competitive if you aspire to something other than casual racing.
 

The Redrider

Member
Jun 14, 2019
238
32
For years people have treated the manufacturer's service interval charts like they were a scam to sell more parts. Two-stroke engines were invariably hammered on till they broke and then people changed parts. Smart racers followed a hour based schedule for changing critical parts but most didn't. When two-strokes suffered "energetic disassembly" (to quote Mike Perry R&D Chief at KIbblewhite Racing) the broke less expensive parts but they still broke with a flourish. Many of those same people applied a similar approach to modern high-speed four-strokes, with less than desirable results. Given proper scheduled maintenance modern engines are remarkably reliable and affordable for the average weekend rider/racer.

No question that serious racers who put tons of hours on the engine will find modern 4Tsmore expensive to maintain, but that's the price of being competitive if you aspire to something other than casual racing.
Indeed, 4 strokes are the future, and perhaps electric, who knows what the future brings, but for us casual hobbiest we hope the petrol burners will hang around for a little while. Speaking of 2 strokes, did you see that you tube clip on the Maico 700 2t? Great Cesars ghost! I know that thing would be a beast to ride.=)
 

Rich Rohrich

Moderator / BioHazard
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Jul 27, 1999
22,838
16,902
Chicago
It's interesting but not a real Maico in my eyes. I was fortunate enough to work in a Maico shop in the 70s and got to experience the real thing.
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The Redrider

Member
Jun 14, 2019
238
32
It's interesting but not a real Maico in my eyes. I was fortunate enough to work in a Maico shop in the 70s and got to experience the real thing.
View attachment 20571
Nice job Rich! Love those vintage bikes, and bike ads. I have ridden a few Euro bikes, a Cagiva, and a KTM, both from the 80's, I had a Bultaco Persang 350? and I was going to restore it but College cost ended that. So the sang had to go. I found this gent on you tube, and he has alot of vintage bike racing and restore, and some eye opening resto-mods. I think his name is Chris Montigini? Here is a clip of a nice Maico resto for you to check out....
 
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