40 Day Countdown To AMA Motocross Opener: 1982
Friday, April 22, 2011 | 1:15 PM
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PrintThis is it, you’ve reached the hundredth meridian otherwise known as the forty-day countdown to the 40th year of American motocross. The 2011 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship begins on Saturday, May 21, at Hangtown in Rancho Cordova, California. Racer X Online is counting down the days and years to the opener by reviewing each of the previous seasons of AMA Motocross.
(Click here to view previous years)
The year is 1982 Ronald Reagan is in office, Michael Jackson releases ‘Thriller’, ET- The Extra Terrestrial comes out, the San Francisco Forty-Niners win the Superbowl and the New York Islanders win their second consecutive Stanley Cup. We also have a shifting of the guard in the AMA motocross series as some kids start to take the next step up.
Second year pro Rick Johnson burst on the scene by winning the first national of the year and was a broken front wheel away from winning the 250 national title.
The gauntlet is thrown down at the opening round of the 125/250 nationals at Hangtown when Yamaha’s pro support rider Rick Johnson comes out and shocks the vets by winning the 250 race. The second year pro wasn’t even on a works bike, he was on a modified production bike and it dropped a bomb in the class.
In the first of a couple of curious moves, Yamaha puts 1981 500cc champion Broc Glover in the 250 class outdoors and by the end of the season, it’s a dogfight between Glover, his young upstart teammate Johnson and Honda’s Donnie Hansen. Those three fought tooth and nail all season and Johnson was actually in position to win the title at the last round in Castle Rock, Colorado (not far from the current Lakewood national) when he broke a front wheel on his Bob Oliver-tuned YZ250. It was a heartbreak for the El Cajon kid and it would be a couple more years before RJ would end up winning a title.
I caught up to Glover to get his take on that year:
“I honestly have no idea why I didn’t defend my title in the 500s, maybe Yamaha put Bell in there for some reason. That season in the 250s was tough, it was one of times where all three of us had chances to win the title. I know I DNFed at Southwick with a blown motor and the other guys had problems,” says Glover some 29 years later. “I was really quick at (the final round) Castle Rock that day and I remember that in the first moto, really late, I made a pass on Hansen and I was leading. I went through a rut and as I was accelerating out, the rut grabbed the shifter and popped it into neutral. By the time I got my foot back down there and shifted my bike, Hansen got back by me.”
Glover explains, “He won the moto by mere feet and cost me the win. The next moto I ended up winning and won the overall with a 2-1. The whole thing was with that pass in the first moto, Donnie got three points and I obviously lost the three points. If you look at the standings, if I had won the moto that would have given all three of us a tie with 297 points. I wouldn’t have won it because I didn’t have the most moto wins, but it still would have been great. My DNF definitely cost me a lot of points and it was one of those could-have, would-have things. I think if I hadn’t hit neutral, Ricky would have won it.”
Kent Howerton (right) and Mark Barnett formed a powerful duo for Team Suzuki in the early 80's.
Instead, Hansen won the 250 National crown to go with his AMA Supercross Championship. Hansen had not won a single AMA National or Supercross main event before his miraculous 1982 season, so he was on the rise. He was also set to once again participate on Team USA at the Trophee and Motocross des Nations in Europe, and he even went over a couple of weeks early to compete in the last round of the 250cc world championships, sweeping both motos of the last round in Sweden.
But then Hansen was practicing in West Germany at Rolf Deiffenbach's house and crashed hard. He hit his head and caused such trauma that he not only pulled out of the MXoN and Trophee events, he could not get back on the bike and properly defend his titles in 1983. The crash in West Germany effectively ended the American hero's career as a professional. But he continues to ride and teach in his Donnie Hansen Training Academy, and his son of course is Josh Hansen, who is vying for the West Region Lites SX title right now on his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki.
Hansen’s double-title run coincided with a revamped Team Honda effort in the U.S. Suzuki and Yamaha had been gobbling up most of the championships in the late 1970s and early 1980s (must be something about yellow bikes), but Honda had hired the services of five-time World Champion Roger DeCoster and brought his young American mechanic Dave Arnold back home to run the U.S. race team. Hansen’s titles would become the first of many for the rapidly improving Honda squad that would soon dominate every class of U.S. motocross racing.
Mark "The Bomber" Barnett would win his third consecutive 125 outdoor title in 1982 and just miss out on the supercross championship as well.
In the 125 class, the two-time defending champion Mark Barnett became the three-time champion as he won once again captured the AMA 125 National Championship. It was a little different from his other titles as the kids Johnny O’Mara and Jeff Ward were getting better and better. The Suzuki works bike was also not improving at the same rate as the Hondas and Kawasakis, but Barnett’s grit and strength helped him outlast the younger competition. It was a good season for Barnett, as he also just narrowly missed defending his supercross title from 1981. The Bomber would find himself in four-way a battle in the 1983 season as he tried to become the first ever four-time 125 national champion. Kawasaki’s Jeff Ward won a couple of nationals in 1982 and was beginning to get some confidence. Would he be able to take that next step?
Despite coming off an injury and reclaiming himself back among the elite in the 250 class, Yamaha shifts Bob Hannah to the 125 class, and he voices his displeasure with the quality of his 125. The Hurricane’s works YZ couldn’t match up to the offerings from the other OEMs and Bob struggles his way through the season to a seventh place in the standings. Four years away from the class and a bike that he wasn’t happy with was not a good combination for Bob and it would turn out to be his last year with the OEM.
Bob "Hurricane" Hannah did not enjoy a stellar 1982 season as he struggled in the 125 class. Storm warnings were called off until 1983!
In the 500 class, with defending champion Glover gone, Honda’s Darrell Schultz won his first and only national championship in a fight with the 1980 champion Chuck Sun. The two Honda riders would go down to the wire and you can hear Schultz’s take on it right here.
And 1982 was also the first year of the Loretta Lynn's AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship, which was founded by MX Sports -- the company that organizes the whole Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Championship, along with their commercial partners Alli Sports.
The power shift from Europe to America continued with not one but two Americans winning world titles in 1982, as '72 AMA Motocross Champion Brad Lackey finally realized his decade-long crusade to win a 500cc world title, then watched Danny LaPorte also win a title two weeks later in the 250cc class over Belgium’s Georges Jobe. It was the Yamaha mounted LaPorte’s first year over there. In contrast, Lackey’s life-quest was over and he wasn’t able to find a ride to his liking to defend his title and he would ride off into the sunset with the title.
After shocking the world in 1981, Danny "Magoo" Chandler and Team USA would absolutely dominate the 1982 Motocross and Trophee des Nations. Chandler went 1-1 on the 250cc machine and then followed that up with another 1-1 a week later on the 500’s. It was truly one of the best rides in the history of the sport, as Magoo won all four motos, the one and only time that has happened in that events long history.
With the MXDN wins and two out three World titles in American hands, the tide was turning in America’s favor after years of getting beat soundly by the European riders.
1982 NATIONAL MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
1982 250cc National Motocross
March 28 Sacramento, CA Rick Johnson, El Cajon, CA Yamaha
April 4 Irvine, CA Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA Yamaha
April 18 Lake Whitney, TX Donnie Hansen, Canyon Country, CA Honda
May 2 St. Petersburg, FL Kenny Keylon, Brooksville, FL Honda
May 16 Southwick, MA Donnie Hansen, Canyon Country, CA Honda
May 30 Mt. Morris, PA Rick Johnson, El Cajon, CA Yamaha
June 6 Braselton, GA Donnie Hansen, Canyon Country, CA Honda
June 13 Castle Rock, CO Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA Yamaha
1982 250cc National Point Standings
1.) Donnie Hansen, Canyon Country, CA Honda 300
2.) Rick Johnson, El Cajon, CA Yamaha 297
3.) Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA Yamaha 294
4.) Warren Reid, Midway City, CA Suzuki 252
5.) Kenny Keylon, Brooksville, FL Honda 248
6.) David Bailey, Axton, VA Honda 229
7.) Scott Burnworth, Jamul, CA Yamaha 220
8.) Steve Martin, St. Petersburg, FL Honda 207
9.) Jim Tarantino, Los Angeles, CA Honda 197
10.) Clint Hardick, Spring Valley, CA Suzuki 148
Honda's Johnny O'Mara looking fashionable back in the day with his boot gators. Johnny O would miss out on the 125 title but he would be a part of Team USA at the MXDN.
1982 500cc National Motocross
May 16 Southwick, MA Kent Howerton, San Antonio, TX Suzuki
May 30 Mt. Morris, PA Darrell Shultz, Trinidad, CA Honda
June 6 Braselton, GA Darrell Shultz, Trinidad, CA Honda
June 13 Castle Rock, CO Darrell Shultz, Trinidad, CA Honda
June 27 Binghamton, NY Goat Breker, Riverside, CA Honda
July 4 Buchanan, MI Danny Chandler, Foresthill, CA Honda
August 8 Washougal, WA Mike Bell, Lakewood, CA Yamaha
August 15 Carlsbad, CA Alan King, Troy, MI Suzuki
1982 500cc National Point Standings
1.) Darrell Shultz, Trinidad, CA Honda 285
2.) Chuck Sun, Sherwood, OR Honda 275
3.) Alan King, Troy, MI Suzuki 273
4.) Mike Bell, Lakewood, CA Yamaha 240
5.) Goat Breker, Riverside, CA Kawasaki 233
6.) Danny Chandler, Foresthill, CA Honda 219
7.) Phil Larson, Bremerton, WA Honda 193
8.) Jo Jo Keller, Plymouth, MA Honda 185
9.) John Finkeldey, Westbrook, CT KTM 159
10.) Mickey Kessler, Farmingdale, NJ Maico 126
Kawasaki's Jeff Ward really started coming into his own in 1982.
1982 125cc National Motocross
March 28 Sacramento, CA Mark Barnett, Bridgeview, IL Suzuki
April 4 Irvine, CA Mark Barnett, Bridgeview, IL Suzuki
April 18 Lake Whitney, TX Jeff Ward, Mission Viejo, CA Kawasaki
May 2 St. Petersburg, FL Johnny O’Mara, Canyon Country, CA Honda
June 27 Binghamton, NY Johnny O’Mara, Canyon Country, CA Honda
July 4 Buchanan, MI Mark Barnett, Bridgeview, IL Suzuki
August 8 Washougal, WA Jeff Ward, Mission Viejo, CA Kawasaki
August 15 Carlsbad, CA Mark Barnett, Bridgeview, IL Suzuki
1982 125cc National Point Standings
1.) Mark Barnett, Bridgeview, IL Suzuki 339
2.) Johnny O’Mara, Canyon Country, CA Honda 305
3.) Jim Gibson, Canyon Lake, CA Honda 289
4.) Jeff Ward, Mission Viejo, CA Kawasaki 270
5.) George Holland, Kerman, CA Suzuki 263
6.) Bob Hannah, Carson City, NV Yamaha 206
7.) Gary Denton, Chino, CA Suzuki 177
8.) Erik Kehoe, Granada Hills, CA Yamaha 156
9.) Ron Turner, Pomona, CA Honda 144
10.) Chris Heisser, Westlake, CA Suzuki 139
2011 MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Great pictures for today's installment.
Shultz and Hansen's pictures please instead of Ward and Hannah for this 1982' AMA season, sorry for my poor English
holeshot........
OOoooppppps, got aced in the first turn with a false nuetral??????
I was at the 82 MXdN at Gaildorf West Germany (250's). Team USA was so dominating on the international field, but no one was as dominate as Magoo. He didn't just win, but he smoked the entire international community that day. All of the European spectators were in awe of the Americans. Team USA both looked awesome, and rode equally as awesome. It was nice to be an American in the crowd that day........ Team USA results for the 250 version of the MXdN held at Gaildorf, West Germany 5 Sep 1982.....
Danny "Magoo" Chandler 1 - 1 1st Overall
Johnny O'Mara 5 - 3 2nd Overall
David Bailey 8 - 6 5th Overall
Jim Gibson 9 - 7 6th Overall
Man, these were the days.....and these were the racers.......Great Job with this 40 year countdown!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great column as usual, D.C. !
Until you started giving these terrific COUNTDOWNS, I had forgotten how the AMA used to s-p-r-e-a-d out the three different classes [125/250/500] over a 6 month period, kind of the way the Supercross 'lites' is scheduled these days. Who decided which class would turn up in at what track?
Sure miss the different smell & 'sounds' made by the three different sized engines in the old 2-strokes so many of us grew up on. Pining a bit; sorry.
Glad to see you giving some photo 'props' to the 'Bomber'. He had such a 'hunker-down' determined & relentless style; one guy you always knew would be as fast, if not faster by moto's end, as he was from the drop of the gate.
Looking forward to '83!
The 1982 Yamaha's were J-U-N-K! How Ricky J. won on them is a testimony to his ability. I would start next to "Hurricane Bob", who was then on a Honda in FLA in 1985, and joked he would be back on Suzuki some day...
Yep, 82 was the year. My local hero was a Dysse Airforce base Cpt/pilot and he really did fly on his YZ250. RJ hit up SpringValley MX track in Clyde,TX one day on his way to some national somewhere. Him and his mechanic were just racen the box van across Amerika. I swapped my like, 71 Baja 90, for a KX80 that year...
Thats wild that Yamaha had the Hurricane on a 125. It's reallyreally weird actually and most of us forgot all about it. I can't believe that Hannah went for such a total corporate decision...........
THANKS FOR THE MEMORY FLASHBACK I REMEMBER MOST ALL OF THIS HISTORY . REMEMBER HOW THE BOMBER WOULD BE GOING SO FAST I COULD NOT FIGURE HOW HIS FRONT TIRE WAS GETTING TRACKTION AT ALL SEEMED THE FRONT END WOULD WASH OUT.SEEN MOST OF THE GREAT RIDER OF THAT DAY. TO THIS DAY I HAVE NEVER SEEN A RIDER AS GOOD AS ROGER DECOSTER/ MATY SMITH- BOB HANNAH-MARK BARNNET -GLOVER- JOHNSON- WARD- WERE ALL BAD ASS. SOMETHING TO BE SAID ABOUT THEESE RIDERS IS THEY WERE ALL GOOD FOR THE SPORT. GROWING UP WORSHIPING PRO ATHELETES YOU ALWAYS WISH YOU COULD SHAKE A HAND GET A AUTOGRAPH. IN MOTOCROSS YOU GET TO TALK GET AUTO. AND REALLY FEEL LIKE YOU ARE A FAMILY TO A POINT. MOST OF THE RIDERS PAST AND PRESENT ARE A SPECIAL BREED. I ASKED DECOSTER IF I COULD GET A PICTURE OF MY SELF AND HIM AND HE THANKED ME. WOW ID ALSO LIKE TO SAY HOPE EVERYBODDY STAYS HEALTHY FOR THE NATIONALS. GO RV HOPE STEWART AND POURCELS AND REED RACE
I forgot Hannah rode 125s that year. Those Yamahas were junk that year too. But I was on a CR125 in '82 that handled awful and got massive head shake, and that was just riding to the start line! The works Hondas were starting to look almost spaceage compared to the other brands.
BOMBER on Home Soil...
Back in the summer of '78, me ('78 RM125) and a couple of buddies (a 125 Honda, a 125 Yamaha, a 400 Suzuki a 400 Yamaha and a 250 Honda) all played hooky from our summer jobs to practice on a weekday in June or July at RED BUD in Buchanan, Michigan.
So we're all out there for about 45 minutes or so by now, it's mid-day, 95 degrees in the shade, not a breeze to be found and the dust is just hanging in the heavy air.
I'm feeling pretty good though, keeping a pretty good pace up...
Mind you the track is wasted; very dry & rutted from the most recent race weekend event..., and there's not a water truck in sight. Back then, when the Red Bud track got dry, it was like cement!
About this time I'm down in the bottom-switch-back section of the track, below & several turns past what they used to call the ski-jump which to this day is still situated just a couple of turns beyond the starting line.
Out of the corner of my eye I see this yellow & blue flash a commin'... he jumps waaaay dowwwwn the ski-jump, carrying some really serious speed. I'm thinking, D@mn!; one of my buddies is suddenly really goin' for it!
So I start to 'wick it up a bit more myself and as I'm heading uphill, towards the big bowl turn (about where Dungey had a spectacular 'get-off' two years ago), I glance to my left and see this guy railing a right-hander, pinning it and clearing the 'double' (a big deal back then) like it's nothing! I mean this guy is just killing it!
I get thru the bowl turn, down the hill, a left-hander, up the other big jump (at that time) that droped away on the other side and gave you that 'pit-of-your-stomach' weightless feeling the first couple of times you ever did it [right?], then another small jump (that used to house a giant walk thru drainage pipe underneath it), a couple more turns and suddenly I wash-out the front end in a dust covered, hard-packed left-hander.
I'm picking up the bike, it stalls, no one else around me, and suddenly I can hear this screaming 'BRAAAAP' sound, coming my way, several turns behind- but the rider is just hammering it!
I look up and it's definitely not one of my buddies (Sorry fellas, you were all pretty fast but not like this guy!). It looks like whoever it is, he's on a pretty stock-looking RM125..., but the motor sounds sick! Some Fox AirShox, but no stickers, no numbers on the bike; just the black circle backgrounds on the number plates.
Yellow open face Helmet, Scott Goggles, Jofa Mouthguard, Suzuki Jersey, Blue & yellow Suzuki 'Pants'..., looking like a factory rider 'imitator'... except for the ordinary looking RM & the Speed he was keeping!
Heading towards the corner where I'm now just sitting, He's just absolutely flyin'! I'm on the inside watching this guy wringing this little 125 for all it's worth, nailing each corner, hard on the gas & not much brake! He rails the berm on the outside of where I am and as he goes by I realize I'm watching one of the best (ever) from the Midwest.
Across the back of his Jersey...
the # 24 and the name...
in big, bold black letters: BARNETT!
I'm a little stunned in that moment.
I watch The BOMBER tear through the rest of the track I could see from this point, and then head up to the start finish line area.
There are my Buddies..., parked next to the track, waiting for MARK BARNETT to come back around and give another lesson in speed & tenacity.
We all watched 'Barney' ride for about an hour and a half that day, only stopping for two refills of gas and several big gulps of ERG from a milk jug each time he refueled his bike by himself (no mechanic) from his blue Ford Econoline Van.
Gene Ritchie, the Track owner (He thought of Barnett as the home-town-boy 'cause he raced there quite a lot in his amateur days as he grew to be a national calibre rider), was there too; smiling, driving around on one of his big tractors. Besides Gene, it was just me and my Buddies watching Barnett put on a clinic. He was sooooooooo fast; it was unbelievable!
Don't know if you ever read these things but if you do, Thanks, 'Bomber'!
You made all six of us amateur racers life-long fans that day...
and we'll never forget it.
" Johnson, in his first full year on a prodcution based YZ 250 , had a 20 point lead in the series at the season finale at Castle Rock. Only needing to finish the first moto to win the championship. Johnson ignored advice and continued to jump a big uphill double , destroying his front wheel with the hard landings on the uphill jump and DNFed (losing the title by three points)"
The original Scott "the burner" Burnworh.
Dirt
DC - - Good stuff again. Make no mistake about it though, Hannah was DEMOTED and DIRESPECTED in '82 by Yamaha, when they forced him back to the 125 class. Similar treatment to Broc when (they) made him ride the 250 class, instead of letting him easily win back the 500 championship. Losing both titles to Honda and Suzuki is what Yamaha deserved. Hannah was pissed !!
OMG - I Luv this countdown stuff!!!
The way the AMA used to spread the classes around sucked. I've been following this sport since going to my first race in 1976 - Unadilla Trans-Am. Todays outdoor mx format is the best. You see all the best riders at each event.
Hey KIWIrider - was 1982 the year Honda tried a 23" front wheel?
i think the greatest transition in the history of technology of the bikes was from the early 80's to the mid to late late decade. Comments?
Check out the tape on RJ's visor. I think the same dude might have done the tape on O'mara's helmets also. It's pretty sano. Definitely rad. It might even be trick.
Those dudes had a killer gladitor look back then. What if Hakan Carlqvist was chasing you in a nightmare. **offer him some bier and then try to get away**
I remember the 125 National at Washougal was the last time Bob Hannah won a moto for Team Yamaha. It was the only moto he won in the 125's all year. Not sure if it was the first or second moto, but I think it was the second moto. I think he went 4-1 or 3-1 that day, but I'm positive he did win a moto that day. I actually have a framed autographed picture of Hannah from that very race that I bought from a place called Uintamoto, who sell MX memrobillia.
Darrel Schultz has his lung drained to race the last 500cc round and win the title. Awesome!
Putting Hannah on the 125 that year was sheer stupidity. I never understood what they were thinking. They also did that to John Dowd many years later after he'd already been successful on big bikes. I don't know that I've been a Yamaha fan since. @JD232, the Honda 23" front tire experiment was '79. I had the 125. I agree that the talent was stretched too thin with different riders in all three classes. It was cool when big bike guys rode a 250 and a 500 series.
125's were big sellers back then and Yamaha thought having Hannah on a one two five would sell a lot of bikes for them. It probably did, but they were junk.
Forgot to mention that Dowd won a 125 SX title in '98.
@crosbystillsandnash
"Sano"..., "Rad"..., "Trick"... ? Well played, my friend..., well played.
a most impressive usage of moto speak from back in the day.
Agreed, the riding gear back then was bad-@ss looking.
Pretty straightforward with the colors..., unlike this confusingly busy-looking crap people are 'designing' for today's racers..., most of it at least.
The only thing thats looked decent in the last 20 years has to be the RETRO FOX Gear some of the guys wore last year in the Outdoor season.
Found a cool old pic of Hakan Carlqvist just the other day..., that dude looked all-business and rode like it. Wore some sort of goggle/attached face-mask deal that made him look a bit like the creature in the movie, 'Predator'. There's a nightmare scenario for you.
H.C. was one of Sweden's Bad-@ss riders along with Finland's Heikki Mikkola..., another warrior from Europe. Those guys were monsters on the track.
@jojo - yes, Dowdy won that 125 SX title ... at 32 years old ... after battling Emig for the 250 (big bike) outdoor title the previous year (and then having to go against 18 yo RC on a tiddler the next year). That was as much a head-scratcher as the Hannah back to 125 move. Ask the Hurricane what he thought of that ... or just note where he was riding the following year - NOT on a Yamaha!
Hey crosbystillsandnash,
Was this the YZ250 rider in 1982 who was stationed at Dyess that you were talking about?
http://johnnyairtime.com/janamestory.htm
It was a downhill double that RJ broke his wheel on. RJ's wheel broke on impact, bound up and pitched him over the bars hard on a downhill.. It was fairly earIy into the moto, and moto's were 45 minutes then. The jump was above and only a turn away from the mechanics area.. With the motor running and RJ running along side he bull dogged his porker 82 YZ into the mechancs area and they swapped the wheel in record time, and sent him back out. He was the crowds hero that day.
'82 was a good year for U.S. motocross. Lackey finally won the 500 GP title after 10 years in Europe, LaPorte also wins the 250 GP title & Magoo puts an exclamation mark on it at the MX and Trophee Des Nations.
I was at the Castle Rock race, the downhill section was really steep and long drop, followed by equally steep and long uphill after a 180 degree turn at the bottom - too bad for RJ, he didn't need to finish too high in the 2nd moto to win the series, but he had a win everytime he raced attitude . Too bad he lost the series, but I admired his winning attitude and not wanting to coast in for the series win - he has a racer's heart.
@ KG --- Great story with Barnett. Any chance he was wearing Oakley goggles, not Scott? ... Pretty sure he wore Oakley through out his career.
bp- IMO it was the mid 70's not the mid 80's. I think the suspension was a bigger factor than the water cooling and disc brakes were, as far as the 'on track' performance goes. The difference between a '74 mx'er and a '75' was much bigger than any 2 years during the 80's IMO. Just my 2 cents here.
KG- on the downside, what about that "mung-and-drool" ?
I grew up racing at Indian Dunes in Valencia Ca. Donnie Hansen and Johnny O'Mara were Indian Dunes locals. We were all so proud of those guys, watching them go on to win multiple national titles. But what I remember most about them was watching them dominate those A.M.E. friday night races. Johnny on a RM-125 Suzuki and Donnie on the 250 Ossa. And the Sunday races, they were epic! During the AMA offseason, A.M.E. [American Motocross Enterprises] would put up 1500.00 purse races and the starting lines would look like a national.In the pro classes we would have riders show show up like Bob Hannah, Tony Distefano, Brad Lackey, Ken Zahrt, Jeff Ward, Warren Reid, Bobby Kline, Bobby Jones,Greg Robertson, Brian Myerscough, and of course Johnny O'Mara and Donnie Hansen. I could go on and on. Those were incredible times.
@Spiwak # 36
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the story. Long post but a great memory I thought I'd share.
I'm sure there are other similar great stories out there about M.B. or some of the other greats from back then too like HANNAH, SMITH, DeCOSTER & so many more.
You know he could have been wearing OAKLEYs that day but I 'm pretty sure he didn't wear 'em until he was under contract with them (79/80?), once he had achieved the #1 plate.
I have a couple of old pics of him from '77 when he was a privateer wearing CARRERAs and a few pics from 78/79(?) with SCOTT goggles & stickers on his 125.
But I think you are correct that once he was on his Championship run of 125 & Supercross titles, he was an OAKLEY guy and stayed with OAKLEY until he retired.
Matthes would probably know for certain as I think he's an even bigger fan of the Bomber.
*Also went to the 125 USGP at Mid-Ohio in '78 with my buddies and saw BARNETT destroy all the Europeans by nearly :30 in each moto, if my memory serves me well. That was an incredible day for him and the U.S.A. and only a few weeks after we had been on the track with him at RED BUD!
He truly shocked all the Euros that day. I don't think most of those riders had ever even heard of Barnett and then suddenly, he just obliterates them all!
An EPIC performance that day by the Bomber!
Kind of like when a 'then' virtually unknown rider named BOB HANNAH showed up at Hangtown in '76 and beat 2-time 125cc Champ MARTY SMITH. The first big Jaw-dropper of the early MX days in America.
Two Huge Breakout performances by two of the all time greats. Cool Races to 'remember' and even better if you were fortunate enough to have been there to witness them.
This was a GREAT year for Moto! Yamaha's corporate move instigated next years shocking (to most people) team switch, how stupid were they??? This was a phenomonal year to be a Honda fan, they had so much going on, the bikes were downright space-age, Shu wins Daytona & 500's, "Holeshot" wins SX & MX (albeit by his teeth but, a win is a win), Johnny O' is THE style master & 125 Maestro(and the "original" revver long before Barcia's rev banging style) and if this wasn't enough, Magoo lays wood in one of the most epic Moto beat-downs in MX history!!! (and gets stung by a bee during one of his races and is basically suffocating / dying while stomping a mud-hole in the Euros).....this is the stuff of LEGEND.
Yamaha, Suzuki & Kawasaki woke up in 1982 and found out all-out nuclear war had been declared by Honda and they showed up with Samurai swords. The merging of DeCoster, Arnold, White, Sochiro Honda, some bright engineers back in J-pan and their rising stars (O'mara, Hansen, Bailey, Shultz, Sun, etc) was the bell sounding of a decade-long azz kicking that has become THE standard of excellence and the most "perfect storm" of moto-events in this sports' history....simply AWESOME!
Also of note, Honda was cleaning up in the 500's in Euro-land AND re-writing the book in roadracing, worldwide.
@WFO_UFO
... "mung-and-drool" ?
KG, the stuff thats oozing out of your crankcase cover when your gasket is leaking, etc. Straight outa dirt bike magazine. I thought somebody would remember that moto term. LOL
@ WFO_WFO
Great one! (Memory must be going here...!) Love that!
Remember 'Porcupine' air-cooled cylinder heads?!
Also, if your motor was "pinging" that was a bad thing. No disrespect to David here.
Sorry Matthes; didn't realize, earlier on, you wrote this '82 countdown and not Davey Coombs. Regardless they continue to be a great addition every day!
Definitely 1974-1975-1976 were the years of the most improvement / change to MX. In 1975 your 1974 MX bike was not competitive for a podium and then in 1976 it happened again. The speed difference between 1974 and 1976 was incredible. Travel went from 4" in '74 to 6" in '75 to 8" in 1976...speed followed that same scale.
I think that it was 1982 but maybe 1981 when Honda built and tested the 125cc twin cylinder 2 stroke and the AMA outlawed twins. Rich Coon tested the bike alot and liked it because he said the powerband was like riding a snowmobile...the mechanics hated it because of maintenance....some unreal redline for the time.
Even though the FMF Porcupine head, seen here, http://www.dragtimes.com/images-classifieds-large/1975-Honda-cr125-FMF-porcupine-head-for-sale_280616199288.jpg was cool looking, see here, http://nachtflug.smugmug.com/Honda/1975-Honda-CR-FMF-Honda-CR125/3c833/278176177_xsVut-S.jpg , as was the DG Radial head, the Webco
head won the shootout of all the heads back then. It had the best cooling of all.
Mung and drool was the black, oozing by-product of two stroke oil that came out of the exhaust manifold/pipe interface, slowly cascading down the center case juncture at glacial speeds, until you took a gas-soaked rag and wiped it off.
Visualize if you can, the difference between hitting the' milleville whoops' in 4th gear WFO, first aboard a 2011 RM450Z, and then aboard a 1972 Suzuki TM-400 cyclone with the orange tank. The suspension revolution was very BIG. All the other stuff combined didn't change racing that much IMO.
I love this and keep up the good work at RACER X. My dad raced with bob hannah back in the day HIS NAME IS RICK AYCOCK #13 HE RACED A yz490 may be yall remeber him
Nice read errrr, DC!
WFO_UFO,
The 1972 TM400 Cyclone was yellow and handled wayyyyy better than the 1971. The '71 had chrome steel fork legs and no pinch bolts in the upper triple clamp.
In '72 they had a far stiffer front end which helped the "wandering" a bit but then made the frame flex more resulting in the sideways hop and highside. That bike was scary fast for the day.
Yep jim- you are right. Check out these cool brochures of the old TM400's, http://www.suzukicycles.org/TM-series/TM400_brochures.shtml
The difference between a 1971 TM400 and a 1976 RM370 is pretty huge! More improvement than any other five yr period IMO.
COOL ADS!...those bikes looked good but oooohhhhhh so hard to ride.
40 hp @ redline but only something like 9 hp 1200 rpm below redline....lots of wheel spin with the front end in the air and instantly time to shift all while the frame was flexing you into swaps and highsides.....really had your hands full riding one of those.
@robertson:
I also recall the heyday of Indian Dunes moto...I agree with you that there were too many great 'Dunesers to list them all but thee are some names that just are crying out for recognition!
Eddie Cole ~ (Bultaco ~ yeah!) answer products honcho
Jim Hale ~ always had the most sano Pentons (Kendick Engineering) and FMF Pendas (remember them?) now a billionaire from AXO Sport~America and Mechanixwear
Clark Jones ~ 'Standard Crank', Noleen racing founder
Steve Schmits (sp) ~ multi~time mini national champ...partying and chicks messed him up (go figure), otherwise he would have been the McGrath of the '80s
Tim Locey #61L ~ 'The Hammer' 1984 500cc rOY
Willy Simons ~ all~around good guy and smokin fast too
Mark Gambetta ~ 'Mr. Spillway' only Monte McCoy was faster through the monstrous whoops on International
Ed Arnet ~ another cool dude that roosted ass (Cole Bros.)
Marv Olson ~ the meanest Vet rider ever would knock you down for the hell of it but dang this guy could twist it
John Grout ~ best announcer ever
Dave Haugh ~ total jerk but man did he get the babes now has a construction company in Simi Valley
Jeff Vidic ~ a complete WFO wild man, his a dad rode his a$$ even harder than Locey's did
Johnny Whelchel ~ 'Dunes mini~star, really hit his stride on the 490 for Yamadog Support hey, Chet!
Pete Snorteland ~ I thought this guy was a jammer on the 490 Yam, until I saw Lechien pass him at Saddleback on a 125 dang
Jim Holley ~ 'nuff said
rick Salmon ~ a 'Tampa Lands' hero, #510 in the Dirt Bike centerfold of the 1973 USGP support class
David 'DG' Taylor ~ Pasadena Honda
Tobi Taki ~ always had weird gear, but was pretty fast too
Jeff Wright ~ his sister was burning hot. and she was seriously fast as well whew
That's all for now...
Everybody I knew who had a TM400 had crashed super hard in 5th gear multiple times with pretty decent injuries every time.
The joke back in the day was.
The grand prize for winning the contest was a brand new TM400!!
Second place was two of them!
1975 was a weird deal, the new TM's had come out, with the new sunburst suzuki logo. Then a few months later the RM's came out, and everybody who just bought a TM was bummed about it. I dont remember that there was a big bore RM for 1975, until the RM370 came out in 1976.
Here is a great article by Super Hunky about the 1971 orange tanker.
http://articles.superhunky.com/4/65
Suzuki TM400 Cyclone
THE MOST DANGEROUS DIRT BIKE EVER BUILT?
By Rick Sieman
Sorry- this is some funny stuff here!
"By the time I had put in two laps on the motocross track, I knew something was dreadfully wrong with either me, or the Suzuki. Whenever I tried to accelerate smoothly out of a bumpy corner, that staggering mid-range would hit and the rear end of the bike would lurch outward. On the short smooth straights, the Cyclone was all you could want, as it pulled hard and clean, and would slow down with authority, as the brakes were far superior to the typical European stuff that I rode at the time.
After 20 minutes of riding, I was drenched in sweat and my hands and forearms were horribly cramped. The bike had scared me badly. Was it me? "Hey, who wants to ride this thing?"
The testers - all expert level riders - fought over who got the saddle next.Al Wurtzel, a very fast desert racer, won the coin toss and went out on the course.Ten minutes later, he came in, shaking. "This thing is dangerous! Here, somebody else give it a try."
By the end of the afternoon, all of the test riders, from Novice (me) to Pro, agreed that the all-new, technology-inspired Suzuki TM-400 Cyclone was the worst pile that had ever come out of Japan. If you rode it cautiously, a 125 could beat you around the track. If you rode it aggressively, chances are you would get spit off.
Can anyone out there attest to this!?!
Hmmmmm,..........he must have wrote that before riding a 1974 KX450. LOL
Yeah, but that sure was a pretty bike sitting in the showroom floor!