by Davey Coombs
The List: Ten Best Nicknames
Thursday, February 17, 2011 | 7:05 PM
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PrintNicknames aren't what they used to be. That's what the editors of Racer X realized when we started coming up with this week's list. Nowadays it seems to suffice when a rider goes by his initials (RV, K-Dub) or some play off his name (J-Law, Metty), but there once was a golden age of nicknames, as you are about to read... And forgive us for leaving off some of your favorites, as sometimes 10 just isn't a big enough list to get all of the great ones in!
10. CHICKEN: Jeff Matiasevich once killed a chicken when he was young, and the name stuck. He was fast and funny but didn't seem to take the craft of racing seriously enough to win any major titles. Maybe that's why Chicken seemed so perfectly appropriate for this Southern California wild child.
9. ROLLERBALL: Ross Pederson struck fear in the hearts of his competitors. A brawler from Canada, he could ride with just about anyone, and if he couldn't, he would likely try to knock them down. He's the best Canadian rider of all time, and he's got the best nickname to boot.
“Jammin'” Jimmy Weinert was one of the first great characters of American motocross.
8. BOMBER: With his open-faced helmet, tight Oakley goggles and Jofa mouthguard, Mark Barnett actually looked like a fighter pilot. He raced his Suzukis to four major titles, strafing the competition in the 125cc class in particular. To this day, riders and industry folks refer to the track-builder as simply Bomber, and everyone knows who they are talking about.
7. JUNKYARD DOG: John Dowd's family business was a salvage yard, and he never lost touch with those roots. Dowd started late, raced hard and become one of the most respected riders in the history of motocross. And every summer, even in his mid-forties, Dowd can get out there at Southwick's Moto-X 338 and show up most pros that are half his age.
6. THE LITTLE PROFESSOR: Gary Bailey was “The Professor,” and so it was no surprise that they started calling his son David “The Little Professor.” But David was so damn good on the motorcycle, his technique as close to textbook perfect as it gets, that the play on his stepdad's nickname was even more spot-on. We may call him “the Icon” now, but he will always be thought of by his original moniker.
Showtime. Enough said.
Photo: Moto Verte
5. JAMMER: “Jammin'” Jimmy Weinert was one of the first great characters of American motocross. He was a whirling dervish of speed who raced out of New York and into the national spotlight in the early seventies, and then stayed there for a decade. He was tough, he was funny and he was hilarious.
4. DOGGER: Ron Lechien was often accused of dogging it, but the nickname really came from the fact that le chien means “the dog” in French (and le canard means “the duck” BTW). Lechien was a fascinating rider in the eighties, wildly talented on the track and wildly undisciplined off of it, though few knew that because he was so damned effortless and smooth. And he's still one of the coolest guys the sport has ever known.
3. MAGOO: Danny Chandler's nickname makes those who remember seeing him race think of big crashes, wild cross-ups and amazing speed, all wrapped up in a kind-hearted kid from NorCal. Not sure whether his nickname came from the old cartoon of the nearly-blind elderly driver Mr. Magoo that was always nearly crashing his car and on the edge of disaster, but that fit the late Chandler to a T.
Bob "the Hurricane" Hannah will go down as one of the greatest nicknames ever.
2. SHOWTIME: Jeremy McGrath changed AMA Supercross forever with his charisma, his technique, his showmanship and his dominance, practically taking it upon himself to help carry the sport deeper into the mainstream by being the perfect champion. Even though the entire sport is on a first name basis with McGrath—someone says “Jeremy” and you know who they are talking about—his nickname was perfect for his legacy.
1. HURRICANE: Bob Hannah was showed up on the American motocross radar like a force of nature, blitzing the 1976 Florida Winter-AMA Series on his YZ250s and inspiring Jimmy “the Greek” Giantastis to coin this most fitting of nicknames. Coincidentally, Hannah's friends didn't call him that—they called him Buckwheat!
(Honorable mention: Though he was never a top professional racer, Rick “Super Hunky” Sieman belongs in the nickname hall of fame. The legendary editor-in-chief of Dirt Bike Magazine wore a handlebar mustache and had little patience for things like authority and environmentalists. His columns of the seventies mark a pinnacle of humor in our sport, and he's still out there somewhere, raging against the machine, on his machine. Just wanted to give him a tip of the visor....)
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and what about, hollywood, earthquake, o'show, bad brad,gassin gaylon,bullet billy, goat breker,the golden boy, rhinestone cowboy ,the flying freckle and too hip....the 70's and the 80's were colorful to say the least... and super hunky should be in anyones hall of fame period as he forever changed the sport as the first and best editor of dirt bike magazine. at one time dirtbike was the bible when it came to moto mags....
Sugar Bear, Captain Cobalt, The Flyin' Hawiian, Short Stack, The Flying Dentist, The Man, Bimbo, Pepe, Bad Brad
uhmmmmmm.....the O'show!!!!!!!
You forgot "The Best from the East" - cool nickname especially in a period when half the top pros were from the West Coast.
O'show
I think you got it almost right ,I was just thinkin about " to hip " Ricky J. as least 8th,and Big Bird ,Larry W.10th,,,,,,,, "Bad Brad" ,gotta be in the top 3 or 4 .
i think Zach Osborne as Snack Pack should definetly been on their, and Blake Wharton as Slash
I agree with Steve. "The Beast From The East" Damon Bradshaw, how is he not on this list.
What about "Sauce" ... Ivan hot sauce Tedesco
Love this list but you forgot a nickname! Where's Kevin "K-Dub" Whindam?
Gary Bailey "The Professor" and father (he actually adopted David) of "The Little Professor" was first known as "Spiderman" because at 6"6" he hung like a spider over his Hodaka Ace 90, then he was known as the "Ironman of Motocross" because he often raced 3 classes (9 motos) in a single day and more than once won them all. He became "The Professor" after he taught a school before a race, then won the race and was said to have "schooled" the other riders by a sportswriter at the time and for the past 41 years has taught riders as "The Professor." I guess David is pretty lucky he was never known as The Little Spiderman or The Little Ironman.
What about Tyler "One Punch" Evans
AIRTIME didn't make the list? Coop is dissed once again!!!!
what abot Ezra "yogi the bear" lusk, mike "the rocket" larocco, Jeff "the fro" emig, Larry " big bird" ward, steve " lammy" lamson. Just a few from the 90's. Or some new ones like Justin the cloth burner barcia.
Awesome top 10 list. I think that appropriate nick names is something almost missing today, No one has said Bubba yet and he has a TV show!
Scott "IRON" Sheak
Clutch burner barcia, or ET tomac, and one punch T Evans for sure.
we do have some other 2nd gen riders. Lil Hanny, (and we havn't mentioned Holeshot Hansen yet) and Lil Goose
I think we might be able to make "Tres Duck" stick.
You forgot maybe the greatest nickname of all time of perhaps the greatest "just about" champion of all time, and definatly, maybe, probably, might be, supposidly, okay, not very, for sure not, greatest rider of all time -
PING!!!!!
LOL, kidding Ping, Bently beat your ass! Now go fight a fire.
What about the greatest of all time? Ricky Carmichael
THE GOAT
Where is Bubba or G.O.A.T?!
Yo man, where the hell is mine at?? I'M THE BEST IN THE WORLD!!
So when did "Bubba" become "Stewie" did I miss something?
The most accurate nickname didn't even get mentioned....THE GOAT!
Can't forget Doug Domokos "The Wheelie King" or Roger "The Man" Decoster.
Damon Huffman "Huff Daddy", Ryan Hughes "Ryno", Greg Albertyn "Albee", Ken Ashkenazi (sp?) "Ashcan", Mike Brown "Brownie", Tim Ferry "Red Dog", Mike Kiedrowski "MX Kied", Buddy Antunez "Bud Man", Rick Johnson "Too Cool", Stephane Roncada "Ron Ron", Casey "Big" Johnson, "Factory" Phil Lawrence,
One of my local idols..."Two Door Coupe" Dave Coupe...Northern Cal :)...
what about jeff "the flying freckle" ward
Speaking of nicknames- When does Kenny 'vegas kdub' watson get his own nickname? Until he does, I want to be referred to as Vegas Fastest Man on the Planet. Vegas Bubba will suffice- well actually, I look a little like Ezra Lusk, so Vegas Yogi it shall be. I want to be original, just like Kenny!
Holeshot said exactly what i was gonna say
Ernesto "The Fonz" Fonseca
RV was called Villopodium at one time!
I thought Rick Johnson was "Too Hip" at least that is what it said on his back when he went by me
What!?!?! No "Beast From The East???"
does anyone know why Barcia is called "The Frog".. Seems like a cool nickname but what is the real reason.. nevertheless, he can block pass with the best of them.. EAST COAST..
Easy one The "hurricane" Mc's the King and RC's the GOAT,,probably running 2nd and 3rd.(in no particular order) ..hahaha
If yer gonna name 'super hunky', how bout the 'bazzer'?
Magoo is still the Greatest. For all you people on this website that never got to watch Magoo ride in person, you missed out. You will never in you life ever watch somebody ride like Magoo. How do I know this. I have seen them all since 1973.
"Typhoon" Tripes
Good job on Super Hunk, DC. Shows humility and respect. Hannah was king of nicknames: Buckwheat, Who Cares? and best of all TROUBLE. Magoo, of course. I'm iffy on Showtime 'cause he got that from the Lakers "magic" Johnson (which to me, smacks of creative PR and marketing.....boo). "Redneck" Bradshaw and the top for me, "RYNO" Hughes (obvious favoritism). I know "Bad" Brad Lackey was his nickname but, the "good as gold" he wore on his pants in '82 to wrap the first world championship for an American was / is iconic.......Travis Pastrana's "village idiot". ah, memories.
GOAT!!? how could you not put that in there its the greatest of all time...
"Holeshot Hansen"
Since we're throwing em out there, Dick "Bugsy" Mann!
Andy Jefferson was first to use Bro Show, and he had Plasma also, and there was the Lumberjack, Burner, Flyin Finn, Broclli, and one of my favorites the Tomahawk
Oh, almost forgot Porky
Laporte-a-can
Rocket Rex
Gerrit 'the Dentist' Wolsink ~ could somehow nail the win at Carlsbad USGP everytime
Torsten 'Mr. Moto~cross' Hallman ~ 4~time 250cc MX world champion
Rick 'Lumberjack' Burgett ~ AMA 500cc MX National Champion
Mike 'Too Tall' Bell ~ AMA 500cc National Champion
Tommy 'Tomahawk' Croft ~ Team Honda, smoked anyone at ol' Sad
Jeff 'Teeny Meanie' Ward ~ no further id necessary
'Factory' Phil Larsen' ~ Team Yamadog
Ken 'Crazy KZ' Zahrt ~ Woodland Hills Sportcycle #92D, won the 1974 Mid~Ohio AMA 250cc National on a factory Bultaco Pursang (snif)... a total SFV hero, an Indian Dunes legend, always got the hottest babes
Jeff 'the Wrecker' Wecker you had to be there AME at Dunes in the 70s
Rick 'Fish' Salmon ~ followed in the footsteps of his dad, a legendary test pilot for Lockheed Aircraft Corp. another 'Duneser who could beat anyone there
Yes...I'm from So. Calif.
OLD,OLD School
lol
Remember when MX bikes had names rather than just number and letter designations?
Montesa Vehkonen Replica (VR250)
Ossa Stilletto
Penton Berkshire (100cc), Six Days (125cc) Jackpiner (175cc)
Hodaka Super Rat (100cc), Combat Wombat (125cc)
Bultaco Sherpa (100cc, 125cc), Pursang (250cc), El Bandito (360cc)
Suzuki Cyclone (400cc of mean, ill~handling terror)
It was different then...alas
Very few of these modern names are hardly actually used by the TV presenters..that includes RC. They call him Carmichael or Ricky..the same applies for the others. BUT Guy AIRTIME Cooper was his full and only name!!!!! I would think for fans of that period up until 1993 (when MC came on the scene)...AIRTIME will remain engraved in our memories. That guy sooooo shouldve got a SX main win! How many times was he the fastest guy on the track and on his way for a win, but stupid mistakes let him down. I dont think Beast from the East stuck as much. Chicken definitely should be up there. I personally dont Showtime..was that strong of a nickname...no one really used it. This list is more of a rider rating than a nickname rating. Making the list should be determined by how widely used the nickname was used. O'show was before time...and The Man for that matter...but what did the tv commentators say? That surely should be the mark?!? I miss the Art Eckman and David Bailey combo! Thats how tv commentating should be....In europe the current British commentator is a totally self absorbed twat. The way he treated David Bailey during the US GP at Glen Helen was just rediculous. You can tell that he has a very extreme stance on the AMA v GP debate..and it got in his way during the commentating of the race. Oh totally forgot, the South African rider Colin "the Geek" Dugmore who was notorious for celebrating prematurely in races and throwing away wins...
the crafty frenchman!
I can't believe it took 20 posts for someone to mention Mike "Too Tall" Bell.
I know this guy needs to be mentioned. He was the only announcer to actually use these nicknames. Larry "SLICK TONGUE" Huffman. With phrases like " He's on him like Russian Radiation". "Passed him slicker than a mayonaise sandwich". And so many more phrases, to many to mention. Nobody announces like Larry.
He's still around, maybe someone could get him to announce the "Hangtown Classic". Thx all. Later
Ron "The Machine" Lechien was way better than " The dogger"........
Great read!! You guys thought of them all!! Good read!!
Don't forget "The Wedge". Great shot of Hannah, BTW.
Why do we suck so bad at nicknames nowadays? In the last 10 years, we have the winningest rider ever and all we can come up with is The Goat? Yes it's accurate, but not awe inspiring or aggressive sounding like some of the old names. Now all we do is initials.... RV2, JS7, CR22.... lame lame lame! I wish some of these guys would embrace the old school nicknames, especially when they fit. I'll start it off with my vote for Barcia -- Bambam.. it's perfect (if don't believe me, watch Houston again).
we cant forget about the GOAT, however not sure if i agree with THAT name. maybe outdoors ok, but McGrath had 2 more championships and 72 wins!! That will NEVER be duplicated.
shout out to beast from the east and one punch, bubba to
Again, "The GOAT" is not the winningest rider ever. He had to win (17) more races i think to even match Jeremy. 7 titles, 72 total wins!! THAT is.....GOAT
Also: great Canadian boy Allan "two trick" Dyck and nobody mentioned Doug "comeback kid" Henry and JEFFRO!!!! (Emig)
Great reading guys!!
Oh, come on. I respect Showtime as much as the next guy (in fact, I have a 96 CR 250 with the 1-800-COLLECT graphics in my garage) but just because he won more SX titles and races, Carmichael has him covered. MC never dominated outdoors and to truly be the GOAT you have to do it in MX and SX.
Greatest of all time sounds better than goat(sounds like a farm animal)glad to see it didn't make the top 10.I here the initails RC and I think the best rider of the past 10+ years.Magoo IMO is the greatest nickname followed a close second by the Hurricane Hannah.
5 yrs ago I'm listed as the top 20 most influential Mx riders in the world by Racer X, because I came up with the nickname the G.O.A.T and coined it in a interview. It has changed the sport ever since. It doesn't have to be listed for everyone to know its the greatest
Matt "The Stalker" Walker
Bradshaw!!!!!! Come on guys... THE BEAST FROM THE EAST!! He is still a beast if you piss him off..
how can we forget the GOAT? come on that should be number one!
The GOAT ??????
Where is Snooki?
The Stalker!! I use to love watchin u dude!! Ur nickname is sick!! Rite on with "the goat"
I think we should all call canard "3-Duck" pretty rad name if you ask me and its way more creative than js7 or cr22...
@kram a goat is a farm animal....thats probably why it sounds that way.
"Rhinestone Cowboy" ended Hananah's winning streak at Southwick.
Hey Matt are you going to be at ATL next weekend? You need to call your boy in Vegas, Bart. I'd love to hook up with you if you are. Hope your riding school is going great.
Hannah tidbit. Back in the late 70's Hannah broke the the record of Pierre Karsmakers of 15 consecutive motos. When he broke the record people starting saying he's winning because of his factory bike. Hannah went down to a Motorcycle shop in Florida and bought a stock Yamaha 250 YZ. Put diferent bars pegs and a pipe and won 2 more races on it. When he finally lost (took 2nd) he auctioned the bike off at the Pontiac Silverdome for $5 a ticket. 2 brothers put $2.50 a piece and got to go down on stage and claim the bike. Won't see that anytime soon.
Bam-Bam Barcia is pretty good, or he could be Banzi Barcia when hes racin the Kamikazi Kilt Wilson.....and after seein TC eat it in LA and ride that good we called him Diehard Canard. Remembering some of the bikes nicknames, like Zooker, Yamadog, Chey-Zed, Sang, and of course Maico-Breako.
Magoo.!!1.your right..no one was wilder or cooler. Does any one remember the real wild child though?? Tom "the Bonger" Rice..he would exit his black van with the cragar mags and heavy metal blarin in a cloud of smoke that would make spiccoli choke and proceed to blow everyone off the track!!! the king of berm skids and take outs!!
Grant Langston = The Zulu Warrior
David Vuillemin = The Shark
Brock Hepler = The Iceman (not sure why)
Jean-Michel Bayle = Starbuster
Kenny Bartram = The Cowboy (just like the kid)
Nate Adams = The Destroyer (at least he tried to race SX)
Michael Pichon = The Pigeon
Sorry David Vuillemin was the Cobra don't know where I got the Shark from. And don't know why all these freestyle guys have the nicknames like Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg. Not much a fan of freestyle. Still I can't do it.
Hannah was also called "Hannah Banana" - Saw him sign a banana and give it to some chick in the pits at 338 haha.
John desoto - The Flying Hawaiian
Donnie 'Holeshot' Hansen.
Sorry but I don't think Showtime warrants a best nickname placing. As one poster said it was taken from the Lakers and even then nobody really used Showtime. Finally, Showtime is probably the most unoriginal of the 10 nicknames.
And to Grimmy, McGrath is not the GOAT. Not even close. RC is the GOAT. Period. I'd even put Stewart before McGrath. McGrath benefited from a transitional period in the sport where some of the best riders ever left the sport and the new ones that would carry the torch hadn't arrived. Don't get me wrong, I think McGrath was a fantastic rider but to proclaim him the GOAT, that's just craziness.
Blake "Purple Rain" Wharton. Why can't you folks see this? When he takes his helmet off, doves cry.
Bonocross should be hired by Feld. Banzi Barcia and the Kamakazi Kilt, Diehard Canard! Awesome!
It's so true that today's riders don't have the cool nicknames the riders of the earlier eras had. It is mainly because the personalities either don't exist, or they are hidden to maintain competitive advantage. Racing was more fun back then because things were less serious and riders weren't afraid to be themselves.
Listen to any podium interview and all you get is a list of sponsors, it's so boring. Dungey's nickname should be 'Cliche' because all he does is speak in cliches never really giving out any real information. It's like he's a robot or something. And he's certainly not the only one, but clearly the worst.
Back to cool nicknames.... How could no one have mentioned JOJO MACHINE GUN KELLER!?
What about James "I land on people" Stewart?
I know you probably get tons of "Hey, how could you forget about...." comments, but...you tip your visor to Super Hunky, but not to The Baz? He wrote for Racer X for a while back in the day. He was always my favorite back in the day.
Sorry, he wrote for MXA back in the day, but he EVEN wrote for Racer X for a while as well. Gotta go take my ADD meds...
Airtime- Guy Cooper
Dean "Groundskeeper" Willson. I'm just going to keep throwing it out there until it goes viral.
The Man
Roger DeCoster
How could I forget this one...Broc 'Hamburger' Hepler?! One of the best nicknames, for sure.
Honda Elsinore...the younger riders nowadays cannot imagine the game changing impact these bikes had on the entire motoworld (1973). The beginning of Honda's long dominance at the pro level back in the day.
Bobby 'Boogaloo' Schwartz ~ I know he was spadwazi (speedway), still a good nickname
Jim 'King of Saddleback' Tarantino
Jim 'Kotex' Cote lol Dunes mini star Team Suzuki
@dave - We used to call Tom Rice "Riceroni," too.... If you're old enough to have been following dirt bikes in the '70s, you know that no other journalist's nickname stands out like Super Hunky. Never missed his monthly column! I've got a box of DB mags going back to the early '70s....
Pourcel "Superman" "the Joker"
"HOME GROWN" Donnie Cantaloupi.
"HOME GROWN" Donnie Cantaloupi.
"Golden Boy" Broc somethin-or-other
Although a few others mentioned this previously...my vote for #1 is...
"The Man"
What more needs to be said.
SLOW-ZUKI,YAMA-JUNK,YAMA-HA-HA,KAWI-SUCKY
what about the "GOAT" and maybe "The Wonderboy" at least those are honarable mentions
Sometimes an acronym says it all. If "TP" were to show up at a supercross everyone would look for a finish line back flip. Have to admire that mans enthusiasm.
Because I rode a Jawa Trail 90 I was known as "The Coffee Grinder" because of all the tools and spare parts rattling around under the seat.
And what about "Bimbo"? My role model (even bought a '76 JPR Pursang because of ol' Jimmah).
Blake "Purple Rain" Wharton.... I love it!! hahahahahaha
some people here are mentioning some of the riders' nicknames from the '90s, but sorry, that was mainly an "'80s' (and even '70s) thing! goddammit that was the best mx/sx era ever! that said, remember also?...
rick "flash" johnson
doug "the doctor" dubach
chuck "risin' sun" sun
ron "bad guys" lechien
billie 'bullet" liles
david "the bandit" bailey
jeff "wardy" ward
scott "burner" burnsworth
ross "rollerball" pederson
steve "wiseguy" wise
gaylon "gassin'" mosier
lance "the trance" moorewood
chuck "feets" minert
jm “king of saddleback" tarantino
jimmy "captain cobalt" ellis
and, let's not forget best sx annoucer ever...larry “supermouth” huffman
ots,
here's a cool list (taken form another website) to remind that you're old school from when men were men...and rode real mx...
101 Old – School Motocross facts:
1. You remember when they invented whoops.
2. You remember when the water-truck was a wooden cask hauled behind two musk oxen. Yes, oxen, dammit.
3. You’ve been thwacked by the surgical neoprene strand of a rubber-band start.
4. You well know the difference between a Combat –Wombat, a Pursang and a Cappra.
5. You begged your dad to “forward-mount” your Elsinore’s rear shocks.
6. Then you begged more for him to “lay ‘em down”.7. You’re familiar with Skunk-Works and their whole get-up(s).
8. You badly desired a DG radial head for your RM-125.
9. You knew ‘em as Pentons – before they were Katoomers.
10. You recall Team Tamm and L.O.P.
11. You idolized Marty Smith.
12. You knew Micky Dymond rode a Husky pretty damn well.
13. You were stunned when you heard Gerrit Wolsink was a dentist.(Dentist? Isn’t that a car-body repairman?)
14. You never missed ABC’s Wide World Of Sports. In case they featured Carlsbad.
15. You remember when hot-dogs were the only “health-food” available at the track
16. You dreamt of manhandling a Maico 501
17. You remember JONES goggles and Carrera’s, too.
18. Ake Johnson and Jack Van Velthoven are household names to you.
19. You’ve pulled serious dirt out of your nose two days after a National.
20. You’ve camped at both Mount Morris and Unadilla and lived to tell of it.
21. You wished you’d never bought those Scott plastic boots. But you did.
22. You’ve owned a duckbill visor or two.
23. You’ve worn football pads in a motocross race.
24. You’ve worn race-gloves with pieces of tires attached to the fingers.
25. You remember when box-vans were “factory”.
26. You’re making stupid-money selling your old motocross stuff as “vintage” on Ebay.
27. You used to think Heikki Mikkola was the baddest dude on the planet. In fact, part of you thinks he still is………
28. You’ve pulled the lights and blinkers off an enduro bike to race motocross.
29. You recall seeing Jim Gianatsis’ name over every dirt-bike photo in the ‘70’s
30. Mr. Know-It-All both entertained you and pissed you off.
31. And you know who Lovely Louella is and where Chicken Licks Raceway isn’t.
32. You once asked your dad if you could get a Bel-Ray tattoo.
33. Your mom ironed on a Champion spark-plug patch to your jean-jacket.
34. You’ve written letters to companies begging for stickers (DG, Champion)
35. You were there when tear-offs were invented.
36. You fondly recall the Wrangler Dash For Cash in Supercross races.
37. You had at least one “Do It In The Dirt” decal.
38. You tear up while recalling the sound of the start of a 500 National.
39. You blasted your Zeppelin on 8-tracks on the way to the races.
40. In later years, you rode home listening to The Eagles on these revolutionary cassettes.
41. You witnessed a Supercross in Pittsburgh.
42. You saved up forever for that DG water-cooled head and front-plate radiator dealio from DG.
43. You’re familiar with the “Flying W”, WFO and the GYDBT, amongst other terms.
44. You’ve purchased both Bassani and Hooker pipes for your Yamaha DT-250.
45. You installed a white fender-extender on your ’76 YZ-125. Just because.
46. You used to think it nutty to pay a buck- twenny-five for race-gas.
47. You recall MXA magazine having a ROY (Rider Of The Year) that was awarded a truck.
48. You’re familiar with front-falling gates, too.
49. And flag starts. Uh – huh.
50. Some tracks even had traffic-light starts ! Whaaaaa ?
51. You recall the van craze and it’s link to mx.
52. Rex Staten always kind of scared you a bit.
53. You still think of Mike LaRocco as “ that fast kid from Indiana”
54. You’ve ridden a bike or two up and into a pick-up truck bed.
55. You’ve also wadded it up performing this stunt.
56. You’ve raced the Open-Class. On a real Open-bike.
57. You remember the Harley –Davidson mx team.
58. You could never afford those FOX-Shox. But you desired them, badly.
59. You remember Bob Hannah’s Open-Bike fan-club at Unadilla.
60. You remember an AMA National in St. Pete, Florida.
61. You thought the Husky chrome tanks were extremely sexy.
62. You were pretty sure the Hodaka transmissions were made of plastic.
63. You always knew that, by the 90’s, Supercross would be live on TV on Saturday nights.
64. You used to bring your girlfriend and her dog to the races. That didn’t last.
65. You recall Cycle News East & West versions. “ We don’t care how the hell they do it in
California” – that was the East version’s battle cry. Odd times, indeed.
66. You knew Can-Am’s had rotary valves and no head gaskets.
67. You knew Ricky’s boss had worked in the sport pretty seriously prior to getting into big-rig
management.
68. You not only owned a 175, you actually raced the 175 class !
69. You still have your JOFA mouthpiece.
70. You called your pants “leathers” – even if they weren’t.
71. You always wore a kidney-belt. You just did.
72. You’ve seen a Maico 490 Sand-Spider shred the knobs off.
73. You knew who “Super-Hunky” was.
74. You’re familiar with terms like "Pro-Link," “Full-Floater,” “Uni-trak,” “Monoshock,” and groovy.
75. You remember the DATSUN USGP Of Motocross
76. Debruzer was some kind of handlebar pad endorsed by “De-MAN”, right?
77. Tommy Benolkin’s name rings a bell with you.
78. You knew what product "Electro" manufactured.
79. You were there when Darrell Schultz won Daytona on his Chris Haines prepped CR250.
80. You knew Steve Wise was a motorcycling Mr. Do-It-All.
81. You loved watching Jimmy Ellis at the Atlanta Supercross By Wrangler on his Honda.
82. You liked those Dunlop K190’s, you really did.
83. For many years it was only Metzelers for you though.
84. You did give Trelleborg’s a brief try.
85. And Hi-Point’s Red-Dot tires. (Hannah endorsed)
86. You were at that 1982 Loretta Lynn’s by Kawasaki. 25 classes total.
87. You’ve actually left a motocross race in a Ford Pinto towing a 3 rail Holsclaw trailer, by golly.
88. You’ve heard of both Bauers: Willi and Steve.
89. You had subscriptions to Modern Cycle & Popular Cycling.
90. You’ve heard the term “Maico-Breako” a time or two.
91. You would have given your left buttock for a pair of those “hi-zoot” Simons forks!
92. You’ve seen white KTM’s with red-frames.
93. You actually owned a bike-cover for your machine at one point. No, really, you did.
94. You always wanted to put a 44mm Mikuni carburetor on something. Anything.
95. You knew Josh Hansen’s dad raced a bit.
96. You bought a roost-boost bottle for your bike. Supposedly it straightened out the powerband or something.
97. You worked that Impact-driver like nobody’s business. No Phillips-stripping for you, my brother.
98. The name Torsten Hallman was familiar to you, just like you knew well the Gunnar-Gasser throttle. Hell, everybody did.
99. You’ve broke more than one chain in a day. And you always carried extra master-links, you had to.
100. You knew, that if you only had five-bucks to get home on, you could get four burgers from Mickey-D’s and five gallons of gas for your Econoline van. True.
101. Back then, a rhythm – section was a drummer and a bass player.
It's nearly an off-road reference, but the man does have a 125 sx title: Ty "Zip-Ty" Davis
You have got to have "Goat", "The Beast" and the "O Show" on this list. Tough to leave off "Sauce" too. Jammer and Dogger better? Come on. And the Professor? Cool guy, but a lame nickname. Don't get me going on Chicken. The rest are very cool.
102. You rode an AJS (only once was enough for me).
What about Travis "199 Lives Pastrana...and 198 of them were used up just in motocross.
Jeff "Chicken" Mataisevich was no racing joker, I remember myself trying to learn how to ride from one of his motocross technique practice session videos...gimmie a hell yeah finger lickin good dirt if you got the chicken riding tips series too! Brake slides and all!
I don't know how I feel about relating to most of the "101 Old – School Motocross facts."
TomKTM, if it weren't for the fact that it's actually true, that would be hilarious!!!
May be FMX but "The Godfather" is a great handle... Mike Metzger.
103. You know the difference between the International and the Shadow Glen.
104. You knew some kid who owned an XR75, and didn`t race. You wanted to kill him.
105. Boot savers were cool.
106. VanHalens guitar reminded you of Kenny Zarts helmet.
107. You remember the Carlsbad USGP by Hang Ten.
Cool post old school, got one more for now.
108. You cryed when they threw that beautiful bike off the cliff in The Mechanic(the original), you knew where they did it, and you may have even gone out there to see if maybe....somehow....it had servived. Come on Bulto...you know you did.
KW - The G.U.T [Greatest Under achiever of all Time] haha
I think Retardcross has a great nickname.
Hey old school mxer, just thought I'd mention for everyone's info and trivia ammo that in #18 on that list it's spelled "Ake Jonsson" and "Jaak Van Velthoven." I realized you cut and pasted, so your source spelled them wrong.
One other tidbit is that "Ake" is pronounced "AH'-key" and not "Ache,", and that "Jonsson" is pronounced "YON'-sun." So it's AH'-key YON'-sun.
Another tidbit is that Van Velthoven endoed down a hill at a race and his bike cartwheeled over a fence and killed a track official. About two weeks after I heard about that, I was passing the two leaders in the 125 Pro class at a race and got stuffed off the track when the leader stuffed the 2nd place guy to the edge of the track, and I hit a spectator in the back doing about 50 mph. Front fender went between his legs, number plate hit him in the butt/low back. Scared the hell out of me to think I might have killed somebody like Van Velthoven's bike did. My body alone took about 30 spectators' legs out from under them. When I staggered back through the dust cloud and bodies and found the spectator I hit, he was picking my bike up for me! My mind was shot for the rest of the day, thank God nobody was hurt.
swinkster
@oldschoolmxer.... dude you made my day!!! that list is insane!! you gotta get that in a magazine...i covered about half of those myself..the scott boots and heikka mikklola ones killed me!!! you are the man!!!..hats off.
What about tip the wip
Painter372 Barcia was called the frog after he wound up in the pond at walden MX when he was on the minis and if i remember correctly it was his mother who gave him that name. I like BAM BAM myself. rubbings racing.
James the lawn dart Stewart.