What was king in the 80's?

C

clown

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Always wanted to know, which 125s and 250s were top dog in the 80's?

 

J

j32

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• #2

i think hondas

 

C

clown

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• #3

Aren't the 82ish rm's really good? Also, how do the pre-powervalved bikes go?

 

X

xr100ider

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Elsinore.

 

CaptainObvious

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The 80's were a very interesting time for dirt bikes. We went from 4 inches of suspension travel to 12, from air cooling to water cooling, from fixed exhaust timing to powervalves. The list goes on and on.

With each new development, the big four were catapulted to the top, or left to scurry in catch-up mode.

It is safe to say, that at some point in time, each of the big four were on-top.

 

ellandoh

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i seem to remember disc brakes being very controversial, my 87 cr125 had only a front one and saw no way i could get used to that touchy sucker if they put one on the back :coocoo:

 

J

jps2194

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When Suzuki went to the uni-shock - they were king of the motocross world. I can't remember the exact year (around 80 or 81). This was a revolutionary change from the double rear shocks/springs to a single shock. I had a 1982 RM 125 and if my memory serves me, it was top of the class.

Just found a reprint of the 82 shootout. Suzuki was in fact the best that year. The post wouldn't let me paste the link?? Spamkiller :bang: Go to google and type in "motocross shootout 1982". The 3rd entry titled Misc Motorcycle History has the complete shootout.

Not only was the single shock revolutionary, but that decade also saw water cooled engines for the first time.

I'll probably get blasted for this comment, but that decade saw some revolutionary changes. It doesn't seem like there were any revolutionary changes again until 4-strokes.

Anybody else have an opinion?

 

S

scatman

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ellandoh said:

i seem to remember disc brakes being very controversial, my 87 cr125 had only a front one and saw no way i could get used to that touchy sucker if they put one on the back :coocoo:

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You sure it wasnt an 86? I raced an 87 CR125 and it had front and rear disc brakes(first year for rear). Thats the bike that got me hooked on Honda. Up until then I rode team green. Love that blue seat with orange/red plastic. Aaahhhh...to be 16 again. :cool:

 

ellandoh

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scatman said:

You sure it wasnt an 86? I raced an 87 CR125 and it had front and rear disc brakes(first year for rear). Thats the bike that got me hooked on Honda. Up until then I rode team green. Love that blue seat with orange/red plastic. Aaahhhh...to be 16 again. :cool:

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very possible........

 

S

scatman

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ellandoh said:

very possible........

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Sorry...I hope you didnt take it the wrong way. I wasnt trying to be a smart@ss. As for the original question on this thread...early eighties was a mixed bag. It seemed to change from year to year. Late eighties seemed to belong to Honda. Kawi came back in I believe 91 with a new frame design and got mixed reviews. Some loved the engine, but not suspension. Suzuki was praised for the best suspension , but the engine was a love/hate situation. Some praised it for being smooth, others said that it had no power. Yamaha always seemed to finish in the middle of the pack in the shootouts. Anyway...from what I remember... Honda and Kawasaki were the top dogs for most of late 80's and early 90's. It would seem that Yamaha took Kawasakis place as the leader now and Honda seems to be second place. Wonder what will happen in another 10 to 20 years? :blah: :blah:

 

ellandoh

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scatman said:

Sorry...I hope you didnt take it the wrong way.

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not at all

 

ellandoh

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scatman said:

Suzuki was praised for the best suspension , but the engine was a love/hate situation. Some praised it for being smooth, others said that it had no power.

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sounds exactly like what the cr's are going through now

 

Okiewan

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When Suzuki went to the uni-shock - they were king of the motocross world.

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Wasn't the Yamaha mono-shock first?

 

S

scatman

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ellandoh said:

sounds exactly like what the cr's are going through now

Click to expand...

Your right. They just cant seem to get it dialed in. Sadly, at this point I dont think they are putting much effort into the 2 strokes. :(

 

J

jps2194

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Now that you mention it - I think Yamaha did come out with it first. But I think Suzuki perfected it.

 

S

scatman

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Okie said:

Wasn't the Yamaha mono-shock first?

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If I remember right...the first monoshock was on a 1973 Yamaha YZ250 works bike.

 

C

clown

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Well, if you had to race an eighties bike against newer ones, what would be most competitive?

This will be interesting!!!

 

Last edited: Aug 7, 2006

S

scatman

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clown said:

Well, if you had to race an eighties bike against newer ones, what would be most competitive?

This will be interesting!!!

Click to expand...

Now that we have crossed over into the neighborhood of make believe...I would say that it would have to be the YZ80 that the nerdy kid rode in the movie called "The Dirt Bike Kid". That bike was alive and could even fly. Now Beat that!!!!

 

C

clown

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scatman, its always nice to play make beleive :nod:
I remember seeing a 87 cr250 somewhere in front of a pack of 4 strokes on the net, that was inspiring!

 

Okiewan

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Forget it. 1982 Miaco 500. Done.

 

9

91kx

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I'd have to agree with the 87 CR250.That was an awesome bike!

 

A

APBT

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I'll take a 1985 Honda RC250 full works bike. Beautiful machines and ahead of their time with the low mounted fuel tank and electric fuel pump. Ron Lechien says that they would still be competitive today. They cost $160,000 BACK THEN!!

 

B

Britt Boyette

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xr100ider said:

Elsinore.

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Not in the 80's.

Maybe, just maybe, it's a 1980 Husky. Check out this story.

http://www.motoring.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=918&fArticleId=302482

 

Last edited: Aug 7, 2006

Rich Rohrich

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Okie said:

Forget it. 1982 Miaco 500. Done.

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It was a 490 :nener: and 1981 seems to be the year that the Maico faithful get all wobbly over , for good reason I might add. ;)

 

Okiewan

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Indeed. It's age. Memory gets a year and few cc's off.