40 Day Countdown To AMA Motocross Opener: 1983
Saturday, April 23, 2011 | 2:00 PM
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This is 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.
The 1983 season was a battle to the wire in the supercross class with David Bailey coming out on top.
(Click here to view previous years)
It was 1983, the space shuttle Challenger made its debut, the world watched as the TV show M.A.S.H ended, the Baltimore Orioles won the World Series, the New York Islanders won the Stanley Cup again and the compact disc debuted, signaling the end of vinyl.
Bob Hannah went red in '83 and was the fastest rider but injuries set him back.
American motocross was in a good spot with a couple of World Champions over in Europe (Lackey and LaPorte), and Team USA was now the two-time and defending champion at the Motocross des Nations. The battle over here though was still raging and 1983 would prove to be a tough one indeed.
The big off-season news was defending supercross and 250 outdoor champion Donnie Hansen injuring himself while practicing for the 1982 MXDN. Hansen would never get a chance to race at a top level again. The other big news was Bob Hannah switching over from Yamaha to Honda to try and get himself back to the top. The Hurricane, never one to be shy with his opinions, took to the press to bash Yamaha. He wanted out so badly that he took a contract from the red team for a much lower salary and big win bonuses.
Hannah’s move to Honda coincided with their reborn race effort under Roger DeCoster and Dave Arnold. Sporting Hurricane II on the back of his pants, Hannah was certainly very fast that year on the works Honda HRC250, but he was unable to stay healthy enough to win any titles. In fact Bob would win the most supercrosses out of anyone (five wins) but he lost the title when he hurt his wrist. Up and coming star David Bailey captured the indoor title by the slimmest of margins over Suzuki’s Mark Barnett.
The 1983 AMA Nationals debuted a new format, as all three classes (125/250/500) were held at the same track on the same day. In past years, each weekend featured a combination of two of the classes at one track, while the other class raced somewhere else. The series also saw the addition of the Gainesville, Florida round, which would stay on the calendar for more than fifteen years, as well as the debut of the Millville, Minnesota round which is still going strong today.
1983 saw the first year of the Millville national and it hosted an epic final round that same year.
The 125 class saw Mark Barnett’s three year reign end. He was still fast, as he actually won more races than the year before, but ended the series third in the championship chase. A slow 125 and some DNF’s would haunt the Bomber, and he would have to hand his crown over to Honda’s Johnny O’Mara. O’Mara was a budding superstar on a very fast Honda who trained just as much as Barnett and used speed and consistency to win the title. Jeff Ward was right there also, and those three had to deal with a 16-year old rookie from El Cajon, California named Ronnie Lechien.
Lechien won three nationals this season and even held off Barnett at the finale in Millville for 40 minutes—a shocker. Barnett needed that moto win, also, as the Suzuki rider was going for the all-new Grand National Championship title, which combined motocross and supercross points. The winner would wear a new yellow on blue number one plate for the 1984 season. Lechien’s win in Minnesota was a clear signal that the kids were now in command in the 125 class.
In the 250 class, it was a repeat of supercross as Hannah took six wins (the most in the class) but injuries kept him from winning the national title. Hannah was by far the fastest man in the game, but the “Brittle Bob” nickname picked up due to his rising injury count. Bailey would put a capper on his fantastic year by winning the outdoor title to go along with his indoor one, and repeating what his teammate Donnie Hansen had done the pervious year. With the two titles also came that first-ever Grand National Championship and signaled that the smooth, calculated Bailey was going to be a force for the next decade. Kawasaki’s first Team Green superstar, “Bullet” Billy Liles was the only other rider other than Hannah and Bailey to win a 250 national when he captured the Lake Whitney, Texas race for his first career outdoor win.
David Bailey was the man in 1983 as he started to find his form in his second year on team Honda.
After narrowly missing out on the 250 title in 1982, Yamaha’s Broc Glover returns to the 500 class to beat down everybody else and claim his second 500cc title. The Golden Boy wins six out of the eleven nationals and tells this funny story on how he probably should have won seven.
“So I was leading the series by a good point margin and the only way Honda’s Danny “Magoo” Chandler was going to win was to have me DNF,” Glover tells us today. “At Lakewood, the Honda bike is running so much better than my bike and we were all going pretty well. Chandler was screwing with me in the first moto, he chopped me off in the air, cut over on me and in the next corner he tried brake-checking me. I finally made a clean pass and won the moto.”
“The next moto, same story, I come up on him while he got the holeshot. The whole 40 minutes of the race, he was trying to sucker me into crashing or hurting myself and I wasn’t going to do that. We came up over a hill, then came out of a gully and made a sharp 90-degree turn over this hump. I came to the top of the thing and he would stop in the rut and wait for me to run into him. This was lap after lap. So I just cleaned him out on the last lap, just ghost rode my bike into him and we both ended up falling down this hill, our bikes and everything. It was really steep! We ran down there and everything was tangled up. By the time we got going, some 30-seconds or so, Goat Breker came around the turn and won the moto. He went 3-1, I went 1-3 and Magoo went 2-2. That was what I remember from that year.”
Honda put out a series of cool team and individual stickers in the early to mid 80's.
After Honda provided the entire team for the 1981 and 1982 Motocross des Nations, the other OEM’s got onboard and sent a mixed team of Honda’s David Bailey, Suzuki’s Mark Barnett, Yamaha’s Broc Glover and Kawasaki’s Jeff Ward. The result was the same though as the American’s came home with another win.
1983 NATIONAL MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
1983 250cc National Motocross
March 27 Sacramento, CA Bob Hannah, Carson City, NV Honda
April 10 Orange, CA Bob Hannah, Carson City, NV Honda
April 24 Gainesville, FL David Bailey, Axton, VA Honda
May 22 Fairmont City, IL Bob Hannah, Carson City, NV Honda
May 29 Mt. Morris, PA Bob Hannah, Carson City, NV Honda
June 5 Binghamton, NY Bob Hannah, Carson City, NV Honda
June 19 Lake Whitney, TX Billy Liles, Fairburn, GA Kawasaki
July 3 Buchanan, MI David Bailey, Axton, VA Honda
August 14 Washougal, WA Rick Johnson, El Cajon, VA Yamaha
August 21 Lakewood, CO David Bailey, Axton, VA Honda
August 28 Millville, MN Bob Hannah, Axton, VA Honda
1983 250cc National Point Standings
1.) David Bailey, Axton, VA Honda 440
2.) Scott Burnworth, Jamul, CA Suzuki 403
3.) Bob Hannah, Carson City, NV Honda 374
4.) Billy Liles, Fairburn, GA Kawasaki 368
5.) Donnie Cantaloupi, Stockton, CA Yamaha 285
6.) Rick Johnson, El Cajon, CA Yamaha 271
7.) Jim Tarantino, Los Angeles, CA Honda 244
8.) Jeff Hicks, Atwater, OH KTM 230
9.) Kenny Keylon, Brooksville, FL Honda 196
10.) Jim Holley, Northridge, CA Yamaha 192
The 1983 season was a battle to the wire in the supercross class with David Bailey coming out on top.
1983 500cc National Motocross
March 27 Sacramento, CA Danny Chandler, Foresthill, CA Honda
April 10 Orange, CA Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA Yamaha
April 24 Gainesville, FL Kent Howerton, San Antonio, TX Kawasaki
May 22 Fairmont City, IL Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA Yamaha
May 29 Mt. Morris, PA Danny Chandler, Foresthill, CA Honda
June 5 Binghamton, NY Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA Yamaha
June 19 Lake Whitney, TX Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA Yamaha
July 3 Buchanan, MI Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA Yamaha
August 14 Washougal, WA Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA Yamaha
August 21 Lakewood, CO Goat Breker, Riverside, CA Honda
August 28 Millville, MN Danny Chandler, Foresthill, CA Honda
1983 500cc National Point Standings
1.) Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA Yamaha 471
2.) Kent Howerton, San Antonio, TX Kawasaki 438
3.) Danny Chandler, Foresthill, CA Honda 356
4.) Alan King, Troy, MI Suzuki 328
5.) Steve Martin, St. Petersburg, FL Honda 297
6.) Warren Reid, Midway City, CA Yamaha 293
7.) Goat Breker, Riverside, CA Honda 267
8.) Phil Larson, Bremerton, WA Honda 248
9.) John Finkeldey, Westbrook, CT KTM 242
10.) Tim Locey, Ventura, CA Yamaha 234
Paul Buckley captures David Bailey, the eventual SX champion at Daytona in 1983. You can buy this photo and others at BuckleyPhoto.com
1983 125cc National Motocross
March 27 Sacramento, CA Mark Barnett, Bridgeview, IL Suzuki
April 10 Orange, CA Johnny O’Mara, Simi Valley, CA Honda
April 24 Gainesville, FL Mark Barnett, Bridgeview, IL Suzuki
May 22 East St. Louis, IL Jeff Ward, Mission Viejo, CA Kawasaki
May 29 Mt. Morris, PA Mark Barnett, Bridgeview, IL Suzuki
June 5 Binghamton, NY Mark Barnett, Bridgeview, IL Suzuki
June 19 Lake Whitney, TX Ron Lechien, El Cajon, CA Yamaha
July 3 Buchanan, MI Johnny O’Mara, Simi Valley, CA Honda
August 14 Washougal, WA Mark Barnett, Bridgeview, IL Suzuki
August 21 Lakewood, CO Ron Lechien, El Cajon, CA Yamaha
August 28 Millville, MN Ron Lechien, El Cajon, CA Yamaha
1983 125cc National Point Standings
1.) Johnny O’Mara, Simi Valley, CA Honda 462
2.) Jeff Ward, Mission Viejo, CA Kawasaki 453
3.) Mark Barnett, Bridgeview, IL Suzuki 441
4.) Ron Lechien, El Cajon, CA Yamaha 423
5.) Brian Myerscough, Calimesa, CA Honda 346
6.) A. J. Whiting, Sherman Oaks, CA Yamaha 249
7.) Chris Heisser, Westlake Village, CA Suzuki 218
8.) Rick Ryan, San Jose, CA Suzuki 213
9.) Karl Jordan, Largo, FL Yamaha 176
10.) Rodney Smith, Antioch, CA Yamaha 157
2011 MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc. All rights reserved.
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The Jets coming back Steve??
I thought the compact disc signaled the end of the cassette tape?
How bout' that May 1983 cover,"Training Secrets: Never Get Hurt Again" What! Really? ......
Davey....this is such good reading. The history is so cool...when I talk moto with my friends today (younger riders than me) none of them know what it was like back in the day. You are proving to them why the GREATS were great and they are amazed at what went on back then....banging, ramming, ghost riding (LOL) and they think Barcia rides dirty...that was racing, not like todays whiners. Thanks for the great memories.
Motocross magazine was such a cool mag. I had every one of them and all Dirt Bike and Motocross Action going back to early 70's. Like an idiot I threw them all away when I had to move back in the mid 90's. ;)
HANNAH & BARNETT SMOKED THERE CLASSES @ MT MORRIS IN THE MUD. 250/125
Cassettes are better than compact discs, always have been. CD's don't sound any better (like they were originally supposed to) and they are far more fragile. If you just look at them funny, they scratch and skip. I have had cassetes that lasted me15 years, and cd's that lasted a month. Digital is the way to go.
Anyone know where you can buy vintage 70's mxa or dirt bike mags? I'd love to get my hands on some.
Can anyone name the rider in the image at the top of this article?...cuz I can!
Kawboy Billy Liles!
'83 was awesome. My new CR125 was awesome compared to the rubbish I had to put up with in '82. Got one of those Arai helmets with the removable face guard and some JT Honda gear. At least I looked fast even if I wasn't! Johnny O was the man!
Remember Chris Heisser's "tin can"?
I REMEMBER BACK TO 1983 . HANNAH WAS BLAZINGLY FAST & WAS KILLIN' TILL HE GOT HURT . I WAS AT THE BINGAMTON NATIONAL WITH MY LEFT LEG IN A CAST . HANNAH ROCKED THAT DAY & THERE WAS NO DOUBT HE WOULD HAVE WON EVERY THING IN SIGHT . I FEEL SO LUCKY TO SEE HIM THAT DAY. FLYING UP EVERY UPHILL ON A WHEELIE . JUST KILLING EVERY ONE ..... THOSE WERE THE DAYS !
Hey, for the '70s riders, here's a question. I can't remember the name or brand of those trick-looking, all aluminum sheet metal bike stands some of the pros used to use in the '70s that had a platform about 5 feet long with legs under it, a ramp up to it, and a big loop of tubing that had a double hook thing that held the bike up by picking the front end up by the crossbar. I'm having brain fade. Some old pro here will remember.
" Hannah was by far the fastest man in the game" Would that make him the "FMOP" Much like today (even though lots of guys on here hate it) there can be a guy who is faster then the rest but does not win the title. I thinks its funny how people today get mad when someone says JS is the fastest guy and someone else will say well he did not win!! Looks like this has been going on for a LONG time LOL.
I remember using one of those stands I think they were called Mark Charles stands
Jairtime - Mark Charles stands. I have one at my dad's house somewhere, but it is missing the swingarm stand. I used it with my YZ 100, YZ 125, and my brothers '78 MC400 Maico. Once bikes went watercooled, the front stanchion loop wouldn't fit past the radiator shrouds or radiators. I tried to use with my '83 YZ250 but no go.
Man, I loved that '83 YZ. I had Ed Brazina of Bridgewater Motorcycle Repair do the complete Yamaha race specs including YZ80 ignition. I also installed the Simons anti-cav fork kit, Ohlins rear shock. That bike ripped and the suspension was killer (for that time). Pulled a holeshot at Budds Creek on the old uphill start against the open bikes in combined 250/Open expert race,
Oh yeah, Mark Charles stand. Sorry, I got distracted. ;-)
Johnny, I was at Broome that day as well. Hannah was as impressive as ever! After 5 years of watching him come so close at Unadilla, it was cool to see him dominate 2 motos in person. Shame he got hurt that year. Like BillC wrote he was the fastest on the planet that year yet won no titles. Could history repeat itself this year?
I built a a POS stand that held up my bikes for 10+ years, I wanted one of those trick stands, but that old hunk 'o junk just worked!
We used those Mark Charles bike stands at the Bultaco / Husky shop that I worked at. They were GREAT for the time.....almost forgot about them.
BTW, I watched "ONE CHANCE TO WIN" yesterday...an incredible film. I was at New Orleans. It was CRAZY TENSION in the air. Great to see all the old bikes and friends....EVERYONE into mx history needs to own this movie!
I see FUEL Channel has outdoor MX for 2011 broadcast. Anyone know if they plan on 1 hour formats, like before, or something like SPEED SX with near live extended broadcasts where we see all motos?
I like the full floating rear disc on Bailey's bike. Whatever happened to that idea?
We need a vintage web site just like the vsca site for vintage sleds were you can buy parts and bikes that are vintage .its surpriseing how many sleds are still out there that run and ride great
sledhead344,
vintagemx.us
great site for vintage mx classifieds.
1983 WAS GREAT . CHEERING FOR THE KAWBOY AND THE MACHINE @ GATORBACK!
I have the '83 Daytona SX on VCR tape. Hurricane winds were blowing at full force! I was at Broome that year (almost every year) and my clearest memory is standing next to the fence at the biggest downhill on the track, leaning out, and having to pull my head back each time Barnett, O'Mara, Ward and Lechien rode by wide open on those 125s, right next to the fence, as fast as I've ever seen anybody go down that hill. It was spectacular! This was also about the time Team Honda started to become the Yankees of MX, buying all the best riders. This would last pretty much until the day RC left them.
'80s names and products:
George Holland
Micky Dymond
Jeff Leisk
(Yes, I am a Honda man)
Erik (Kerker) Kehoe ~ long story
Boost bottles
100%
Grip tape
lol..the memories omg
thanks DC
Thanks, CR500AF! Mark Charles bike stands. I thought those were so trick. I used to wonder what a rider would do if they had to replace the bars and didn't have the rear stand, or if they wanted to sit on the bike and turn the bars.
Still, the Mark Charles bike stand was a real status symbol in the pits.
The stand was more for motor work and taking wheels off. If you wanted to work on suspension then you needed a stand. I actually never took mine to a race - just used it in the shop.
Phil Larson's moment in mx history 1983 saddleback mx park. When practice started, no one jumped the Terraces. They were content to do what they had done in 1981 and 1982, clutching it up each level. Not that lots of riders didn’t think about going for it. Riders would stop in the corner before Suicide Mountain and look up the hill, but they couldn’t build up the nerve. Finally, Phil Larson gave it a strong attempt. He came up short. But his failed attempt convinced him that he could jump from one level to the next. Three minutes later he came back around, stopped his bike, glared at the hill, dumped the clutch and sailed over the ledge, over the plateau and up to the next terrace. The crowd went wild. It was the motocross equivalent of John Glenn's space flight or Lindbergh flying the Atlantic.
Suddenly, out of nowhere came another Northwest rider, Eric Eaton, and suddenly there were two Sir Edmund Hillary’s who had conquered the mountain. Eaton and Larson were on 500s. The crowd waited for a 250 guy to give it a shot. Hundreds of riders rode up the hill before Billy Liles put his Kawasaki KX250 up and over. Now all eyes focused on the stars of the 125 class. The question was whether or not Jeff Ward would follow up on what he thought when he saw “Lance the Trance” almost make it on a box-stock KX125. The answer came quickly as Jeff became the only 125 rider in 1983 to clear Suicide Mountain.
sef154 u sure you pulled your head back everytime?? Maybe one time u forgot?? LOL jokein.
mxjoe99 I rememeber reading about Ward and Suicide Mountain!! Good stuff there.
The Mark Charles Work Stand were cool. I still have two complete units and I use
them for vintage racing...
Nothing about the full on mud event at Hi Point in '83? Man, the skies opened up
and the berms and valleys were just full of standing water. I had one of my best
Pro MX ride that second moto. Hannah was on it this day, nobody had anything
for him.
In the pits you couldn't touch your truck with out getting shocked because of the
high tension towers and electricity from high humidity. It was unreal...
How about the only National at St Louis Intl. Speedway held at this venue? It was a cool place unless your name is Rick Johnson. He crashed in the first moto and got ran over braking his hip...ending his chances of a National tittle. It was a great track I got the first moto holeshot in the 250 class, but tried to miss Rick when He
crashed on the third lap ending my day. Billy Liles was hauling this day, but Bob
Hannah got the win. We parked on the drag strip and rode to the starting area.
I know this is about the Outdoors, but I was a huge Barnett fan in '83 and was at the mudfest supercross in Foxboro, MA that cost him the championship. I think it was that his chain got jammed up with mud and he DNF'ed, that was enough to give Bailey the championship. They only ran that race 2 years, '83 & '84.
No I went to Foxboro and it wa later then 84... i am almost 100% sure of that.
Hey guys, I build the j4tracktable that fits the new bikes It works like the mark charles stand only a lot better. Brad lackey and The professor Gary Bailey has endorsed it
This one was kind of thin, DC...even though this is a motocross~oriented compilation, too bad you didn't flesh it out a little more with a short recap of the '83 Supercross season. This was the only big bore title that the O'Show won, largely due to injuries that he sustained at the Gorman round of the CMC Golden State series. He was never the same after that...snif
No disrespect, keep feeding us these nuggets.
Hey Francisco Bulto - - O'Mara won the supercross crown in '84, not '83 (Bailey won in '83.) I must say, out of all the bikes I've owned, the 1983 CR 250 was my favorite all-time bike. 1983 was also my last year of racing - - sigh........