do you remember?

[Birdy426]

I remember gold tanked DT1's, the first QA-50 "Mini Trail" (who woulda thought it would lead to the 50 craze of today?), stripping the lights, horn and blinkers off my CT-1 175 and adding Preston Petty "Mudders" to make it a "dirt bike", adding your own 21 inch front rim cuz the dirt bikes of the day came with 18's at both ends, foam strips for Akront rims, fork braces, rubber mud flaps, saving for a summer to buy a torch so I could lay down my shocks, ballooning the bodies of my Koni's after I laid them down, Curnutt shocks and Terry fork kits, Honda Step Thru 90's, riding at Phelan at what is now Competitive Edge, my first new bike (Suzuki RM125A, saved for a year and paid 700 bucks for it), Chaffey High School's Varsity Motocross Team, the first Super Bowl of Motocross at the Coliseum, real leather pants (still have a pair, wish they still fit), Full Bore boots, JOFA chest protectors and shoulder pads, Whoop-de-Chews, the first Moto-Star...the list goes on and on. But the thing I remember most is my dad: Working on the bikes in the garage at night no matter what was wrong with them, how tired he was, how much we didn't know, or what tools we didn't have; Going to the desert every other weekend no matter what else was going on in his life; Going to the bike shops and shows; and just talking about the sport that consumed our lives in the 60's and 70's. Dad doesn't ride any more, but I'm sure glad my son and I do!

All you dads out there reading this, take great pleasure in making those memories with your kids.

[Bamster]

I remember the first time this thread showed up.

[Dan_Lorenze]

Pretty cool...

[bluebike1999]

All you dads out there reading this, take great pleasure in making those memories with your kids.

yes birdy, thats what it's about, passing on the greatest pleasure to the next generation.

bamster, that was funny.

my first bike of my own was a hybrid, motor out of our farm suzuki rv125(fat wheel and cracked frame) and the rolling frame from a dairy farmer down the road from a suzuki ts 100. so i put a 125 into a 100 (tough at the time)

thought i'd paint in RM yellow, but the local servo only had pale pastel yellow, so went with that.

brown vinyl recovered seat, and as the only helmet around was a silver open face with a crack in it from where my bother fell over a cliff wearing it on his pushbike, i just didnt wear one. never had a helmet until i was 22

my dad told me that him and some mates were looking at the new 1953 BSA which had been delivered on a train to his hometown in Scotland and they stood around and said

" there is nothing more they can do to bikes from here"

[DonaldWRF]

first trail bike was a dt175 twin shock silver and black. very second hand with really loud piston slap. Then a suzuki TS250 riding any piece of off road I could find on the 8 miles to work. Then a couple of yam ty 250's in succession. First one was an ex scottish six day trial bike. Second was immaculate.

Riding gear was doc martins, levis, leather jacket. Helmet was an AGV. Cigarettes were Players no.6. Hair cut was like Ronnie Wood's

------------------------

WR450 04

R1 99

RD350LC

[zorroz]

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE

1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they

carried us.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored

lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we

rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took

hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE

actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down

the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the

bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem...

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no

99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell

phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat

rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no

lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't

had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of They

actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers

and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned

HOW TO

DEAL WITH IT ALL!

And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.

and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

[Kmorris]

FreeStyle111

I used to ride/race my CZ 250's at that Moffet track. Lived in SJ.

And I used to drool over those Macio and Husky's too. Even though my CZ got the hole shot every now and then.

I still cannot believe my dad bought me a CZ. Jeez.

...and the Hooker expansion chamber for my Yamaha Mini-Enduro a few years before that.

Aussie

Funny, we must have lived in the same neighborhood. One hell of a post and one hell of a cool thread -

[jaggley]

I remember buying a $3000 CR250R and riding it stock and loving it. Today everyone thinks your're an idiot for riding a stock bike, and by the way, the stock wr sucks.

Oh I also remember reading an article in dirt rider or bike last year comparing the weights of bikes over the years and my late eighties cr250r was 2 pounds lighter than a 2005 cr250R!

[Dube2]

very cool thread guys. Now pushin 40, my first was a 78 Honda XR 75. Didn't even know how to ride but when we went down to pay off my sister's moped on a gentlemen agreement between the dealer and my dad we drove off with the new XR. Rode that thing around the front yard for months till I was ready to get out in the real world of dirt-bike riding. With open face helmet, glass lenze goggles, tenny shoes and no brains I was on my way to meeting new friends and hitin the local Azusa Canyon fur some hill climbing and river crossings. Anyway, that bike took a beating, the pegs are mounted to the engine block. Soo the first time I hit the pegs on a rock, it was several years of bailing wire and copper electrical wire to hold my pegs to the bike. I guess that started me of in carrying a trail belt, spare parts and tools. Best time the boys and I ever had.

Now, hitin the trails on my 05 WR and will never forget the old days.

[yam314]

It was about 1972 when my mom fianally gave in and said that I could race MX. I was soo excited when I got home to strip down my Suzuki HONCHO 90 to make it into an MX'r. I took all of the lights off,put a mudflap on the front fender,some oury grips,turned the stock shocks to the stiffest setting and put a large flat-track style # plate up front.

My 1'st race was at an old horse track w/ a rubber band start.Most of my competition was on Hodakas and tricked out SL100's.I came in dead last.My best friend (also 12-13 yrs old) was racing a Husky 450-he was so cool!

Good ol days!

[06WR450FSM]

'69 Minitrail 50!

Then I moved up to a new '71 SL100 when I was 11. Stripped off the lights and put on a number plate and really wide handle bar. Good times. But, I was jealous of the guy with a Husky 125...

[JimdogWR450]

Man those were the days.. The Indian Dunes days.. My first two wheeled ride was on a 3.5 hp mini bike, then stepped up to a 1978 xr 75, rode the life outa that thing.. Finally talked dad into a real moto bike, an rm 100 I think it was an 81 or 82. Man I loved that bike, then got an 86 yz80 and still have it.. Then a 94 cr125 still have that also.. now my new toy 06 wr 450.

Great thread thanks for the trip down memory lane

[face_plant]

all o can say is woooooooooo so many memories brought up here

in the 80's my first bike was an all steel minibike no shocks my dads friend made took the engine off the rototiller and i had a bike (for 3 months) i was 5 then

first real bike was a 77 yz80 dual shocks took 2 hours to put the chain back on because it was stuck in the shocksprings steel tank with the imprint of my nuts when i learned the hard way to junp

dad said ok you can ride now learn to fix it rebuilt top end every year since i turned 7 he said it was time to learn to race and bit it real bad(dad said no race for u)11 years old broken back 8 ribs both wrists fractured my skull broke my nose (ouch)

he bought me a 84 cr80 and we went to blackwater falls(huge hairscramble)blackwater 100 rode the track with everyone racing dad bit it cracked the case on his 81 kdx 250 enduro and it still sits at home

my friends always had the newest bikes (spioled kids) and always wanted to race me and 90% of the time i whooped their a$$ and we fought alot black eyes shake hands and go home

neighbors calling saying we were riding on the roads-running from the cops being hoodlums

david bailey casing the tripple at ? anehim?

jeremy mcgrath riding 80's getting stomped by jimmy button

charles bronson

winner takes all

refueling at anybody's house we rode with( your turn gas day)

shoveling snow all winter to have money for summer riding

making the honor roll for that extra $20

being grounded ment i could not ride today

looking for a friend? yell they are outside

ok i am rambling now love those memories

O BTW i still have rick johnsons #5 autographed poster on my wall. when he raced at highpoint i hung out with him between races soooo mellow then when he got the #1 i cheezed from ear to ear for a week

[motoxer667]

This is great.

My first bike was a '71 Mini-Trail 50 (Red) when I was 5 that was a hand me down from my sister. My dad sold it to a friend for $150 in 1978. None of his three daughters really ever rode it and almost 20 years later he bought it back from him for $150 and it was in the same condition as I remembered. We still have it and ride it from time to time.

My second bike was a 1974 YZ80A that was sold to my uncle for my cousins and it was then given to another person in the family for their grandson. I got it back about 6 years ago in a milk crate missing a lot of parts, but it still had the Hot Wheels (red) track on the fork legs and the number 3 on the number plates (Mike Bell won the supercross series in 1980 wearing that number).

My third bike was a 1980 YZ80. MY dad found an add in the paper for it and we went to look at it. I was in heaven. The kid raced it and had just been picked up by Yamaha (his two new '81 bikes were in the basement) This thing was all tricked out, air forks, fox shock, hand made aluminum swingarm, 1/4 turn throttle, hand made pipe, and the most tricked out part was that every other fin on the jug was extended like an inch and a half. It still had an AMA inspection sticker on the handle bars that I left there until it fell off.

Rick Johnson was my favorite rider from 1982 until he retired.

First riding boots - Hi-Point (wanted the plastic Scott's)

First real riding pants were denim and had YAMAHA on the side and pockets on the inside for the foam knee and hip pads

I could take my helmet on and off without taking my goggles off the helmet.

Remember when they were doubling the whoops in the whoop section at the Pontiac Supercross and the announcer wondering if they would jump three.

Also, remember the distance jumping contest on the tunnel bridge.

The pits were inside the Silverdome behind the start area and you could hang out and get autographs.

The programs had last years top 10 standings from the armature District 14 races.

Michigan Trail Riding-

I remember when a two-track went by the base of Bull Gap (no huge pile of dirt from the quads with paddles). The trails around Bull Gap were single track and there was no way someone on a three wheeler would try to go down them.

Going to a CCC ride and winning a bottle of Golden Spectro.

Riding 90 miles with the dads and then the kids racing around the field behind the cabin until dark.

The Bluffs was called Paul's (Black Mountain) and they had premix at the pump

The cops wouldn't care if you rode the sides of the roads or the ditches to get to town or the trails up north.

I remember sitting on the counter in the back of motor home watching the trailer full of bikes the whole 4 hours it took to get up north.

If my dad went without me I wanted to know how muddy it was and how much was on the bike.

I hope that I can bring the same memories to my two boys that my dad gave to me.

[GCannon]

Started out on Yamaha GTMX80 till I got bigger and had to straighten the swimg arm after every weekend. then got a Hodaka Super Rat 100 I thought that thing was the fastest bike ever but it would only run for a half hour and quit so dad ani put two separate coil and spark plug setup (two plugs in the head) with switch to switch back and forth just made for fewer spark plug changes. Dad had a Greeves 380 two stroke with cherry forks. lots of power but forget turning or stopping. The shifter on the Greeves was on the right side. The shift patern on the Hodaka was on the left but the pattern was upside down My little bro was on the Yamaha 80 left shifter but three or for up pattern. Swithcing bikes was a great way to get hurt because as soon as things got dicey you were in the wrong gear. The Greeves was really bad when you got in trouble instead of hitting the rear bake you just down shifted. Those were the days.