I rode 250 bultacos in uk. back in the day, competing with, Martin Smith, Wiskers Harrison, andy Ainsworth, john lease, norrie lymburn, Rod harrison, paul orritt, roger harvey. Vic allen. Reading Motor cycle news, hoping there was a report of your ride and seeing your name in the reults,, best days of my life,,,
KS 125 modified, not a KX 125?? My best in 1970 was a Baby Green Streak 100 Kawi fully modified for flat track. Had several Kawi enduro's also. I have Yamaha 400 & Kawi 350 Big Horn's now I ride them on my land, in Utah.
@@sammartinez4244 My friend had a Kawasaki Green Streak that he raced some flat Track with .. He was maybe 3 years older than I am and I was born in '61
I have a photo of the parking lot at Redbud Track & Trail Buchanon MI and all the Cars Trucks and Vans in the parking lots are American made except for a few VW Beatles..
Me too, but from my study, it was even better before us (as far as opportunity goes). I hate yo say it, but my study shows me,---welcome to our growing dictatorship. My quote: We are all born into the USA of today, not having a clue how great we made her yesterday.". They call it "progress" on our schools, starting with our law schools 4 generations ago, or since we got the electrical grid set up and really started making money as a citizenry.
To 86 actually, with the criminal like 1986 production rule that tripled the cost of a bike in 5 years. FIM did it, to stop factory development in the USA.
I would have been in the 10th grade around this time.. living vicariously through MXA and Dirt Bike magazine. On Any Sunday was almost a religious experience for me. This movie shows a different story.. the mud, dirt, sweat, and sounds that I never got from the pages. Thanks very much.
Tony DeStefano is a legend. Ken Kaplan Sr, with Kaplan Cycles told me all about him. Amazing video. Many thanks to the man that put this out. #2strokesmokeforlife....IMHO, the 4 stroke dirtbikes of today, don't compare to 2 strokes.
Interesting when Marty Smith said, This is going to be bigger the baseball and football pretty quick. I agreed at the time and during my years in the early 80’s. Disappointing.. but I’m grateful I was there!
Thank you for the 1:16:30 of heaven!...... The only thing missing was the smells.....The van's, the K2 sunglasses, the girls that all forgot to put on all their under garments under those tank tops, the real leathers, sweat, dirt, mud and dust.....1970's Awesome!
@@bikeva1557 Yes. Somebody should make an alarm clock, (not that I used one anymore), that wakes you up with a crisp MX 2-stroke sound, and give off a puff of Castrol R smoke. But if you want to wake up from 3 senses at the same time, (I have a theory you will wake up with more energy, the more senses you get involved.), you can make something to throw a bit of dirt in your face. :) I do think the alarm clock would sell in a big way, from old to new. I want royalties.
@@EarthSurferUSAwherever my wife is when l call her cell phone , her self & anyone in hearing distance hear's a very crisp 2 stroke MX engine whackin its throttle twice before going thru all 6 wfo then signing off with another whack or 2 .
... this was the first year when I became a hard core motocross fan. Growing up in Pomona, CA we had Claude Osteen's motorcycle park and I'd spend my weekends riding my bmx'er on the back country trails that extended into Diamond Bar, which is all built out now, but back then it was all enchanted country for an adventurous youth..Fond memories indeed...
I get ya David. I lost all my riding land to developments but I also lost my youth there. if only those days could have stayed. Now I am an older man searching for places to ride😂
I appreciate this video posting very much. It's a little weird to only now get a sense of the personalities, and how things were done by the pro teams, and so on, a half a century later. 50 years ago, I was studying every word and image in motorcycle magazines' coverage of pro racing, trying to glean as much understanding as possible, but I never heard these guys talk, and certainly never hung out in the pits or travelled on the road with them. I only saw them ride maybe once a year when we'd attend a pro race at a local track where I actually had some personal experience - and damn, they were _good._ Sometimes almost unbelievably fast and aggressive.
35:53: The Jammers Mother. "He was the only kid who got a wart between his thumb and index finger, and it went away when he stopped riding for a while." It was not a wart, but a callus from the flange of the grip, (probably throttle side), and on the big knuckle of the thumb. I had one in my early riding days too. :)
I was one of the track managers for that final round of the 125/500 Championships. It was super hot ( even for those locals used to it ), even to the point that Hannah fell out from heat exhaustion and almost swallowed his tongue and went to the local emergency room.
I was at Lake Sugar Tree, Axton, VA, and it was miserably hot and humid. Jammin' Jimmy stripped down to his skivvies between motos (I snuck into the pits).
GREAT time trip of a video! Being an old (turned 65 yesterday) Central TX motocrosser Kent Howerton and Steve Stackable were my ever lasting heroes from that time. Steve's smile at the end reminded me how truly grateful I feel to have lived it. Viva Terlingua!
It’s really interesting to see all the different geometry the manufacturers were using on the works bikes. You can really see it in some of those starting line shots how completely different the bikes were. Great piece of history!
It was great to live through the early development when the Japanese got involved, (I missed all the earlier Euro development of course, so I am just a kid, haha). That was much more free market stuff. Japan helped greatly in the development of the stroke, (and the rest of the functional bike), that replaced the 4- strokes, , now get this, and "made the bikes less expensive"! It was the 1986 production rule and the EPA forced 4-stroke that has put bike prices so far out of reach,---if back in this day, only Weinert would be racing, (His dad had a bike dealership). But the bike development from about 72 to 85,---was a race in itself. It was super exciting to see, (and eventually modify), the bike development, basically from a street bike with knobbies, to the Honda Works bikes of 83-85. The sport sure created a lot of opportunity business wise also. After working in many machine shops myself, and earning 2 engineering degrees, I finally got myself out of poverty with porting little 2-stroke engines and selling them all over the world. Kids today have to have somebody buy the bike, and not even MXA can do much more then spin the suspension clickers. I am with Dave Wise above. I thought it would last forever, (The USA), but the results show regression, not progress.
The factory format was to increase the r&d rapidly through real race testing. The guys that won were simply testing the most. Moder ergs, seat/tank angle, subames as well as current cone valve tech from forks to swingarm were all figured out years ago. That's why today every major bike feels great to any experienced rider..
Saw a race in 1977 at Lake Sugar Tree, Marty Smith, Roger D, stand out in my memory, all the racers took a lap around with no helmets on for the fans...........pretty cool
45:57: Dave Arnold. Just Karsmakers mechanic at the time, that was it. The lowly mechanic wrenching on the hero's bike in a hotel room who slaved away as a faceless man during the interview. Opportunity? Hey kids!? He didn't stay there, did he. :)
Heard about it over the decades. Dry for 32 years, clips after that. First time watching in entirety, 2022. Would like to buy a DVD/Blu-Ray. Thanks sir. Doug in Michigan.
The movie never saw the light of day until it was released on cassette and DVD later--both long out of print. This was a DVD rip borrowed from a guy, who like me, was at the Axton, VA race in August, 1975, that I just happened to bump into in a bar.
@@kyleinman6929 In a bar. Small world huh. I am all for property rights and intellectual property, but I can also entertain the idea of there being a time past where entertainment is not published and sold, then anybody could do it, so it stays alive. Thanks again. Looks like this may have been my "One chance to watch", so I am going to play it again. :) I turned 12 in 76, in a rural area for 2 years full of Yamaha mini-enduro 60's and others, just bought my first dirt bike making $1.00/hr part time, (1976 Kawasaki KD125) for $800.00 new. Neither myself or my parents had any idea the opportunity that came with it. But it was there.
And I have also ported more 2-stroke engines than anybody in the world,---starting/learning with this sport in the days my Father told me I was wasting my money on dirt bikes. :)
What was the story of Karsmakers switch of mechanics from Ron Turner to Dave Arnold by the series end, anybody remember? I think it is wonderful, Dave Arnold is just the unsung mechanic in 75. That man caught some good life. :)
What would the kids do with out the producer. You could have been a producer, ya know,--the stuff that brought up all of mankind and gave us new opportunity of our own? See, we used to make things, and get involved with new industries especially. But now, we teach arts and crafts, and like little marxists, blame companies that got mankind out of poverty, because they were able. The only companies you should blame son, are those with lobbyists who got in bed with government (marx stealing your free enterprise), and got the favors in regulation that put smaller competition (you maybe?), out of business. That is called 'economic fascism", and it leads to government control of our industries, like health care and the EPA telling the factories they have to use a expensive 4-stroke engine, (or else). You were taught backwards son. Those industries and businesses in bed with government is a moral issue,--but it is government that stole the industries from us. There was no free enterprise, until there were free people to create it, which is why it mostly started in the USA.
Funny to see at least one guy racing a 400 Yamaha MX in the class with all the works riders. Not even a YZ; the 400MX was the much heavier, less trick version.
This is really cool. Seeing and hearing history of the sport is very interesting, especially since I was a young kid in that 70's/early 80's era. About all I miss is the availability of open riding areas (riding out of my house was awesome) and the minimal track prep. Seems like now only the very serious riders are willing to ride the track local to me (Thunder Valley, on the nationals circuit) when it gets rutted and bumped out. Really cool vid. Thanks so much for posting it!
Rolf Tibblin (31:05) was criticizing young American riders, "It takes 6 or 7 years. It take time and a lot of hard work and a lot of Americans don't understand that." Well, this was the 7th or 8th year of MX in the states, and Bob Hannah, who never saw a MX track until after HS, shows up on the Nationals in 76, and wins his first national championship. There is a lesson in there somewhere, and it was Mr. Tibblin who was learning it. :)
I lost respect for rolf when i read a news account of a race that he accused the winners of cheating. It impressed me as a tremendous show of poor sportsmanship. I was at the race, the ‘75 mint 400 desert race and i observed no evidence of cheating .we followed the leaders around the course to the remote pits and were keeping track of the riders elapsed time. As great as rolf was he and teammate mitch mayes were outride by a local team Las vegas team that 12:01 had a hot hand….id be dubious of anything he’d have to say …
Rolf was referring to European MX, where the tracks were longer and typically more technical. Look at Brad Lackey's long road to winning the world MX title as an example.
@@kombikevo i might have read that..in his full year out with a works bike and the proper support he knocked mart smith off and captured the 125cc crown. From then it was on. He was the most prolific mx’r of the late ‘79’s. Had it not been for the waterskiing kerfuffle he’d have certainly wracked up titles to finish the decade and would’ve won through the 80’s with little to no challenge. I cant say that I was a staunch hannah fan in his prime. No as an adult if 67 years I’ve come to realize just how good he was . He was a great champion, sportsman who knew the value of his fans. He’d sign after the races until the last dog was hung. Not many guys if his status did that. When the race was over Marty smith wanted to get back home that he’d go to the airport in his mx costume. Johnny ‘0 Mara was another rider who gave back very little to his fans. Bob would make it a point to congratulate a rider winning their 1st sx. I saw him make a point to go to the winners circle and compliment Jeff ward for the win. He got it..
lol the music is wild in this, first time really watching my dads era guys racing. My career ended way to short but now my nephew wants to race hes 13 been showing him the history as well as teaching him so he doesn't make the same mistakes i did. keep these coming what great entertainment.
@@rogeeeferrari You don't have to "perceive" cap letters as yelling. You did not hear anything. If 2 years is "WAY BEFORE HANNAH", than I know you are young, and much more irrationally sensitive than Hannah will ever be. His point is exactly what he said. What is your problem?
Thanks so much. I had forgot all about this, I think I have the dvd somewhere, but god knows where. I wish I could find the spoof of it they did with Hanna I think it was at the AMA hall of fame MEETING or something.
There is this: th-cam.com/video/Uobf_Lbm8KQ/w-d-xo.html Not what you are looking for. I think what you are looking for is on the "extra's" of the "Bob Hannah Motocross files" DVD. I have it. It was a meeting to help promote this movie, with Hannah cracking jokes at the lectern.
Love this video, I keep watching over and over, a great era for motocross, I have Weinert, Smith, Karsmaker, Decoster autographs still from the '75 Trans AMA in Mid- Ohio, this rivals On Any Sunday, both excellent
I grew up without A.C. (air conditioning ) . I know what it is like to pour cold water on my head to get relief from the heat. It feels like the sun is trying to kill you.
If I recall Karsmakers that year showed up at Saddleback Park early and was riding the track before the rest of the guys showed up. I was a local and was there to see him. I think he won the race.
There have been some gifted writers over the years who could provide insights into these brutal days but watching this video cinematography again failed to communicate the sheer brutality of this era. These bikes were frightening to open the throttle on even on a smooth surface. They tried to rip the rider off the back while hammering you through terrain that was not square and semantical like today. To be hurling down the track as these bikes are trying to throw you in every direction other than where you want to go took mutant core strength and courage. Catching the roost while having no vision from dust on these bikes is about as close as someone can get to the brutality of combat (though war is always the ultimate test of men).
11:45 I noticed when Pierre was complimenting most of the talented American individuals, he did not mention Jimmy Weinert, the winner of this championship. :) I guess they did not like each other. I have no idea why.
me too!! the issue with the houston astrodome SX, jammer was on the cover. Dragged it from study hall and classes read it about a million times, still have the scraps somewhere.
Bob Harris was an upstate NY pro racer. He taught a MX class at the Broome Tioga track in 1980 and then went out and holeshot the open expert class moto that Sunday and led the moto for 3 or 4 laps before his age started show.
@@garyperry8376 I can see that. I don't think the East coast guys got as much coverage as the West coast guys, with West coast MXA back then. Now, I don't care for their coverage at all. :)
Brad Lackey is from Pinole, CA not Canola California lol. There's still open space that hasn't been developed yet along the San Francisco Bay where Brad grew up riding.
My dad was born in ‘66 and grew up watching MX. he ended up racing until he graduated from high school in ‘84. I grew up watching MX and SX and although I’ve never raced, I sure love to ride, especially with my dad. It’s very fascinating to see the history of one of my favorite sports.
So this is the 1975 Season .. I do see a 1976 Model Yamaha YZ-125 Mono shock bike .. I wonder if it was a Factory bike in 1975? I think 1976 was the first year for Yellow YZ's in the USA and the First year for the Mono Shock 125 CC's .. They had the Mono shock on the Bigger bikes in 1975 Suspension sure did evolve in the next 5 years and Liquid cooling ..
Yes, we had works bikes in the USA until 1976. Many of the ideas came from racers and independent inventors, (For one example, the monoshock was offered to Suzuki first, and they turned it down. Yamaha bought it.). It was the FIM that stopped factory development in the USA with the 1986 production rule. The FIM has hated our talent since 1981, and has done many things to sabotage us, (efforts of the MXofN before they took over our racing starting in 2001), in the history of USA MX.
Gary Bailey. I went to one of his three day schools at Appalachia Park back around ‘70….It was right after he got run over by a rider that he was flagging thru a turn.
Always wanted to go to one of his classes in the 80's. I thought it was unfair that he was David's Stepdad/teacher. :) Did the class make you faster/better?
They didn't show the turn with the big berm at the swamp. The swamp was on the other side of the berm, and it had alligators in it! A turn that you didn't over cook!
Everyone looks so beat after the race, like more than usual. and I understand why, those older bikes were heavy and not very forgiving as far as suspension. I could only imagine. I remember trying to jump my dads 1980 xt250 and it was rough lol
I think the beginning of any industry/sport, (Say like the first 10 years or so of growth.), is the best time to get into it, (or start it as the ultimate.). That is where the most opportunity is, and the most freedom. That is what separates us from animals, and communists. We have to have freedom, (individual liberty protected by law), good schools and citizen owned free enterprise to do it. That was the USA and this sport would never have existed with out those principles. Not much would.
I was skateboarding in '75, and then mountain biking in '89, both activities at the dawn of 10 years of free innovation and wild creativity. Oh, and fell in love with MX in '70, all good times to be alive and in that spot.
@@kyleinman6929 Mt. Bike example with me. I was the machinist at Nike Proof industries in 94-95 who got his hubs to stop breaking, and I developed a stiff axle Fork hub called the "Atom Bomb". Later, (about 2 decades later), I got into porting little 30cc 2-stroke engines for Go-Ped racing and got hooked up with a great distributor. I worked with him for 3 years (still do) before the 1/5 scale RC cars came out using the same engine, and my business took off like it had a life of its own. I have been doing that for a living ever since, and it was an advantage to get my name and product out there first. I think I may be the first guy in the world to port 2-stroke cylinders on a production basis, (that was new), with a CNC mill. Mt. Bikes back then,---anybody who loved bikes and had a CNC machine/welder, was getting into the free market fun. Many of the first guys still doing it too. It is our free enterprise system, and I demand that communism give it back to it rightful owners. :)
Believe it or not but I can Recognize the Faces of most of the Top Pro Riders of that Era, but I did not Recognize the face of Pier Karmakers so I had to watch the Video for considerable time to try and figure out who this Video is about based in the Thumbnail. I am 63 years old. I am guessing some one under 40 years old would have no Clue ??????
Good guess. I made up this saying, that I think spans for maybe 5 generations, (yes, including us, me at 60): "We are all born into the USA of today, not having a clue how great we made her Yesterday.".
Glad you like the movie. But it is illegal to post copyrighted material. I suggest you all take this down quickly before TH-cam is contacted it will issue strikes against you.
How about you advertise and sell what you have the rights to on DVD so we can buy copies? I would probably buy everything you have MX from a bike dealership. I think we forgot how to do good business. I never would have known this film existed with out bootlegs. Been into the sport since 76. Doug in Michigan
@rogershipman3578 1 year ago "Why am I just now seeing this? I am 60 years old and have been following MX since 1974 as an 11 year old kid." Heck no I am not alone sir. :)
Too bad the cameramen didn’t know to keep the rider AND THE BIKE in frame! Most of the frames cut off the bike and only show the rider’s head and torso.
Real music uses instruments that actually take talent to play. Real singing also includes a talented vocal range that is under control. Now go slam 3 doors that make a different sound, make a hit out of it, and call it music. Not just any "noise" constitutes music son. I see the decline of civilization from generation to generation now. I guess ya gotta get old to see it if you look. You will see it in your kids and grand kids. Lets see if it gets better.
7th quick in qualifying….. for a kid you don’t like who has never raced pro Supercross. 😂 I couldn’t care if he comes last… You though, still rather out of touch on all mx/sx news and opinions and still seem to pi ss everyone off? You ok?
thanks for letting this old man feel young again.... if only for a moment.
I’m With ya on That Buddy🦾
Respect.
57 this summer, oh to go back about 45 yrs
This was heart warming. Simpler times, everyone is thin and healthy, people spent time connecting in person with each other. Thanks for posting this.
Amen 🙌🏻
Great to preserve history and Im glad i grew up during that time
I rode 250 bultacos in uk. back in the day, competing with, Martin Smith, Wiskers Harrison, andy Ainsworth, john lease, norrie lymburn, Rod harrison, paul orritt, roger harvey. Vic allen. Reading Motor cycle news, hoping there was a report of your ride and seeing your name in the reults,, best days of my life,,,
Summer 1975 I was getting ready to be a freshman in H.S. that fall. I was riding a 1974 Kawasaki KS-125. Some of the best years of my life.
KS 125 modified, not a KX 125?? My best in 1970 was a Baby Green Streak 100 Kawi fully modified for flat track. Had several Kawi enduro's also. I have Yamaha 400 & Kawi 350 Big Horn's now I ride them on my land, in Utah.
@@sammartinez4244 My friend had a Kawasaki Green Streak that he raced some flat Track with .. He was maybe 3 years older than I am and I was born in '61
Life was so much simpler.I really miss the America I grew up in.
I have a photo of the parking lot at Redbud Track & Trail Buchanon MI and all the Cars Trucks and Vans in the parking lots are American made except for a few VW Beatles..
Me too, but from my study, it was even better before us (as far as opportunity goes). I hate yo say it, but my study shows me,---welcome to our growing dictatorship.
My quote: We are all born into the USA of today, not having a clue how great we made her yesterday.". They call it "progress" on our schools, starting with our law schools 4 generations ago, or since we got the electrical grid set up and really started making money as a citizenry.
Not me. Don't miss drum brakes at all, or those old suspensions. Admittedly, I do miss the music, though.
Best years of mx...68 to 78. Maybe 80
To 86 actually, with the criminal like 1986 production rule that tripled the cost of a bike in 5 years. FIM did it, to stop factory development in the USA.
Back when racing was great and bikes were two strokes! Competitors hung out together and had a great time. It is not like today.
Insane, I can't believe I was young once 😮😅getting old is the world's biggest Trip ,R.I.P Marty Smith 🤠🙏⚰
1976, what a wonderful time to be young.
Top film of the golden years
Wow! What a history lesson. I was just a baby when this was going on. What a difference from today! Wrestling open class 70's mx bikes for 45 minutes!
I would have been in the 10th grade around this time.. living vicariously through MXA and Dirt Bike magazine. On Any Sunday was almost a religious experience for me. This movie shows a different story.. the mud, dirt, sweat, and sounds that I never got from the pages. Thanks very much.
Got to see these boys race in person back in the day. Loved every second of it!
So cool. I really liked seeing Jim West & Sue Ard interview at the 22min mark. Excellent movie!
Tony DeStefano is a legend. Ken Kaplan Sr, with Kaplan Cycles told me all about him. Amazing video. Many thanks to the man that put this out. #2strokesmokeforlife....IMHO, the 4 stroke dirtbikes of today, don't compare to 2 strokes.
I think this video beats On Any Sunday! We had it made in the 70’s and didn’t know how much progress would screw us up!
Progress and Lawyers Oh and the Gov.
Interesting when Marty Smith said, This is going to be bigger the baseball and football pretty quick. I agreed at the time and during my years in the early 80’s. Disappointing.. but I’m grateful I was there!
You got that right, my friend!
@@davidbailey6343 Wern't you about 12 then in a 125 Bultaco?
@@BUGMAN-22what could go wrong
Why am I just now seeing this? I am 60 years old and have been following MX since 1974 as an 11 year old kid.
Thank you for the 1:16:30 of heaven!...... The only thing missing was the smells.....The van's, the K2 sunglasses, the girls that all forgot to put on all their under garments under those tank tops, the real leathers, sweat, dirt, mud and dust.....1970's Awesome!
Castrol 2 stroke special aroma stoke!
@@bikeva1557 Yes. Somebody should make an alarm clock, (not that I used one anymore), that wakes you up with a crisp MX 2-stroke sound, and give off a puff of Castrol R smoke. But if you want to wake up from 3 senses at the same time, (I have a theory you will wake up with more energy, the more senses you get involved.), you can make something to throw a bit of dirt in your face. :) I do think the alarm clock would sell in a big way, from old to new. I want royalties.
Bel Ray, Castrol, Golden Spectro burning up in those 2 strokes is a smell that you never forget!
@@EarthSurferUSAwherever my wife is when l call her cell phone , her self & anyone in hearing distance hear's a very crisp 2 stroke MX engine whackin its throttle twice before going thru all 6 wfo then signing off with another whack or 2 .
@@chopperenduro6590 Cool. I wonder if she would like the alarm clock? :)
... this was the first year when I became a hard core motocross fan. Growing up in Pomona, CA we had Claude Osteen's motorcycle park and I'd spend my weekends riding my bmx'er on the back country trails that extended into Diamond Bar, which is all built out now, but back then it was all enchanted country for an adventurous youth..Fond memories indeed...
I get ya David. I lost all my riding land to developments but I also lost my youth there. if only those days could have stayed. Now I am an older man searching for places to ride😂
I appreciate this video posting very much. It's a little weird to only now get a sense of the personalities, and how things were done by the pro teams, and so on, a half a century later. 50 years ago, I was studying every word and image in motorcycle magazines' coverage of pro racing, trying to glean as much understanding as possible, but I never heard these guys talk, and certainly never hung out in the pits or travelled on the road with them.
I only saw them ride maybe once a year when we'd attend a pro race at a local track where I actually had some personal experience - and damn, they were _good._ Sometimes almost unbelievably fast and aggressive.
And we mostly learned how to ride a bike from still pictures in MXA. :)
I always wanted to see this! Fantastic, thanks so much for sharing. The Jammer👍🎉
35:53: The Jammers Mother. "He was the only kid who got a wart between his thumb and index finger, and it went away when he stopped riding for a while."
It was not a wart, but a callus from the flange of the grip, (probably throttle side), and on the big knuckle of the thumb. I had one in my early riding days too. :)
I was one of the track managers for that final round of the 125/500 Championships. It was super hot ( even for those locals used to it ), even to the point that Hannah fell out from heat exhaustion and almost swallowed his tongue and went to the local emergency room.
I was at Lake Sugar Tree, Axton, VA, and it was miserably hot and humid. Jammin' Jimmy stripped down to his skivvies between motos (I snuck into the pits).
What a find, bloody awesome..❤
GREAT time trip of a video! Being an old (turned 65 yesterday) Central TX motocrosser Kent Howerton and Steve Stackable were my ever lasting heroes from that time. Steve's smile at the end reminded me how truly grateful I feel to have lived it. Viva Terlingua!
You and I are the same age! Do you remember…?
It’s really interesting to see all the different geometry the manufacturers were using on the works bikes. You can really see it in some of those starting line shots how completely different the bikes were. Great piece of history!
It was great to live through the early development when the Japanese got involved, (I missed all the earlier Euro development of course, so I am just a kid, haha). That was much more free market stuff. Japan helped greatly in the development of the stroke, (and the rest of the functional bike), that replaced the 4- strokes, , now get this, and "made the bikes less expensive"! It was the 1986 production rule and the EPA forced 4-stroke that has put bike prices so far out of reach,---if back in this day, only Weinert would be racing, (His dad had a bike dealership). But the bike development from about 72 to 85,---was a race in itself. It was super exciting to see, (and eventually modify), the bike development, basically from a street bike with knobbies, to the Honda Works bikes of 83-85. The sport sure created a lot of opportunity business wise also. After working in many machine shops myself, and earning 2 engineering degrees, I finally got myself out of poverty with porting little 2-stroke engines and selling them all over the world. Kids today have to have somebody buy the bike, and not even MXA can do much more then spin the suspension clickers.
I am with Dave Wise above. I thought it would last forever, (The USA), but the results show regression, not progress.
The factory format was to increase the r&d rapidly through real race testing. The guys that won were simply testing the most. Moder ergs, seat/tank angle, subames as well as current cone valve tech from forks to swingarm were all figured out years ago. That's why today every major bike feels great to any experienced rider..
Sure brings back Great old memories thanks for sharing 😊
Saw a race in 1977 at Lake Sugar Tree, Marty Smith, Roger D, stand out in my memory, all the racers took a lap around with no helmets on for the fans...........pretty cool
45:57: Dave Arnold. Just Karsmakers mechanic at the time, that was it. The lowly mechanic wrenching on the hero's bike in a hotel room who slaved away as a faceless man during the interview. Opportunity? Hey kids!? He didn't stay there, did he. :)
Heard about it over the decades. Dry for 32 years, clips after that. First time watching in entirety, 2022.
Would like to buy a DVD/Blu-Ray.
Thanks sir. Doug in Michigan.
The movie never saw the light of day until it was released on cassette and DVD later--both long out of print. This was a DVD rip borrowed from a guy, who like me, was at the Axton, VA race in August, 1975, that I just happened to bump into in a bar.
@@kyleinman6929 In a bar. Small world huh. I am all for property rights and intellectual property, but I can also entertain the idea of there being a time past where entertainment is not published and sold, then anybody could do it, so it stays alive. Thanks again. Looks like this may have been my "One chance to watch", so I am going to play it again. :)
I turned 12 in 76, in a rural area for 2 years full of Yamaha mini-enduro 60's and others, just bought my first dirt bike making $1.00/hr part time, (1976 Kawasaki KD125) for $800.00 new. Neither myself or my parents had any idea the opportunity that came with it. But it was there.
And I have also ported more 2-stroke engines than anybody in the world,---starting/learning with this sport in the days my Father told me I was wasting my money on dirt bikes. :)
@@EarthSurferUSA wow
@@samwittstruck.6685 this guy's been around got more stories than anyone. He can talk a dog off a pork chop. 👍
This is Gold🔥
I simply agree.
What was the story of Karsmakers switch of mechanics from Ron Turner to Dave Arnold by the series end, anybody remember?
I think it is wonderful, Dave Arnold is just the unsung mechanic in 75. That man caught some good life. :)
Such a great movie capturing the best times in early motocross.
Jimmy weinert, always reminded me of a cross between Barry Manilow and Nick Cage 😂🤠🙏🤟💯
Thanks for the memories!
This was so great to watch ... all my heroes whille was a sophomore in high school that year !
Way WAY more character back then ,even the vehicles had individuality, GREAT DAYS ,when you could afford to eat out with the family 👪 😂
These kids made manufacturers MILLIONS
What would the kids do with out the producer. You could have been a producer, ya know,--the stuff that brought up all of mankind and gave us new opportunity of our own? See, we used to make things, and get involved with new industries especially. But now, we teach arts and crafts, and like little marxists, blame companies that got mankind out of poverty, because they were able. The only companies you should blame son, are those with lobbyists who got in bed with government (marx stealing your free enterprise), and got the favors in regulation that put smaller competition (you maybe?), out of business. That is called 'economic fascism", and it leads to government control of our industries, like health care and the EPA telling the factories they have to use a expensive 4-stroke engine, (or else). You were taught backwards son. Those industries and businesses in bed with government is a moral issue,--but it is government that stole the industries from us. There was no free enterprise, until there were free people to create it, which is why it mostly started in the USA.
i had a pair of tony D's boots 👌👌
Funny to see at least one guy racing a 400 Yamaha MX in the class with all the works riders. Not even a YZ; the 400MX was the much heavier, less trick version.
Did the MX also have the "speedo-Tach" top fork canisters?
46:00 Despain says, "The room where the bikes are checked in." haha
"And how many are occupying the room sir?"
"Two adults, and two dependents." :)
This is really cool. Seeing and hearing history of the sport is very interesting, especially since I was a young kid in that 70's/early 80's era. About all I miss is the availability of open riding areas (riding out of my house was awesome) and the minimal track prep. Seems like now only the very serious riders are willing to ride the track local to me (Thunder Valley, on the nationals circuit) when it gets rutted and bumped out.
Really cool vid. Thanks so much for posting it!
Rolf Tibblin (31:05) was criticizing young American riders, "It takes 6 or 7 years. It take time and a lot of hard work and a lot of Americans don't understand that."
Well, this was the 7th or 8th year of MX in the states, and Bob Hannah, who never saw a MX track until after HS, shows up on the Nationals in 76, and wins his first national championship.
There is a lesson in there somewhere, and it was Mr. Tibblin who was learning it. :)
I lost respect for rolf when i read a news account of a race that he accused the winners of cheating. It impressed me as a tremendous show of poor sportsmanship. I was at the race, the ‘75 mint 400 desert race and i observed no evidence of cheating .we followed the leaders around the course to the remote pits and were keeping track of the riders elapsed time. As great as rolf was he and teammate mitch mayes were outride by a local team
Las vegas team that 12:01 had a hot hand….id be dubious of anything he’d have to say …
Apparently Bob Hannah went to watch a national mx race before he raced one and thought the riders "were OK, not fast though",
Rolf was referring to European MX, where the tracks were longer and typically more technical. Look at Brad Lackey's long road to winning the world MX title as an example.
@@kombikevo i might have read that..in his full year out with a works bike and the proper support he knocked mart smith off and captured the 125cc crown. From then it was on. He was the most prolific mx’r of the late ‘79’s. Had it not been for the waterskiing kerfuffle he’d have certainly wracked up titles to finish the decade and would’ve won through the 80’s with little to no challenge. I cant say that I was a staunch hannah fan in his prime. No as an adult if 67 years I’ve come to realize just how good he was . He was a great champion, sportsman who knew the value of his fans. He’d sign after the races until the last dog was hung. Not many guys if his status did that. When the race was over Marty smith wanted to get back home that he’d go to the airport in his mx costume. Johnny ‘0 Mara was another rider who gave back very little to his fans. Bob would make it a point to congratulate a rider winning their 1st sx. I saw him make a point to go to the winners circle and compliment Jeff ward for the win. He got it..
Hannah spent some time on the tracks before that. Overnight success is rarely that, the public just don't witness the graft beforehand.
New Orleans is one of the most sweltering cities in the south.
Yep, summer is miserable, but the other 8 months are fairly nice, as far as weather.
lol the music is wild in this, first time really watching my dads era guys racing. My career ended way to short but now my nephew wants to race hes 13 been showing him the history as well as teaching him so he doesn't make the same mistakes i did. keep these coming what great entertainment.
Good music, real music. With instruments that actually took real skill to play.
This was absolutely ace! Great film, total legends ❤️💪🏁🏁
L'age d'or...
Merci et Bravo!!!
Bultaco, Montesa, Husvarna, CZ, Maico, and the Big 4 from Japan . How many brands did I miss?
All the bikes that may have been made in the USA if the affordable Ford car did not come out. :)
BOB HANNAH WAS ALLWAY'S THE KING WHEN I RACED 250 CLASS IN 1979 TO 1984 !!!
You don't HAVE TO YELL ! This was way before Hannah, no Bob in this video so what's your point ?
@@rogeeeferrari You don't have to "perceive" cap letters as yelling. You did not hear anything. If 2 years is "WAY BEFORE HANNAH", than I know you are young, and much more irrationally sensitive than Hannah will ever be. His point is exactly what he said. What is your problem?
Sorry. This is 1975 Hannah won the 125 title in his first national season in 76. "Way After".
That was really cool! Saw a few of those races in my time. Yep, that OLD!!! LOL!!
Thanks so much. I had forgot all about this, I think I have the dvd somewhere, but god knows where. I wish I could find the spoof of it they did with Hanna I think it was at the AMA hall of fame MEETING or something.
There is this: th-cam.com/video/Uobf_Lbm8KQ/w-d-xo.html
Not what you are looking for. I think what you are looking for is on the "extra's" of the "Bob Hannah Motocross files" DVD. I have it. It was a meeting to help promote this movie, with Hannah cracking jokes at the lectern.
The Spoof absolutely hilarious
Love this video, I keep watching over and over, a great era for motocross, I have Weinert, Smith, Karsmaker, Decoster autographs still from the '75 Trans AMA in Mid- Ohio, this rivals On Any Sunday, both excellent
I wonder if the Narrator is Dave Despain ? Yes the Credits are at the end.
I liked the bike inspector using a screwdriver to pluck the spokes to check for cheating 😂😂.
Great show! Killer soundtrack too!
Beautiful!
OK...cool.......i can no longer blame my bike....i have no more excuses🤙😎🤙
I even recognized Keith McCarty, but that's because I have seen him featured in other youtube Videos.
I grew up without A.C. (air conditioning ) . I know what it is like to pour cold water on my head to get relief from the heat. It feels like the sun is trying to kill you.
If I recall Karsmakers that year showed up at Saddleback Park early and was riding the track before the rest of the guys showed up. I was a local and was there to see him. I think he won the race.
There have been some gifted writers over the years who could provide insights into these brutal days but watching this video cinematography again failed to communicate the sheer brutality of this era. These bikes were frightening to open the throttle on even on a smooth surface. They tried to rip the rider off the back while hammering you through terrain that was not square and semantical like today. To be hurling down the track as these bikes are trying to throw you in every direction other than where you want to go took mutant core strength and courage. Catching the roost while having no vision from dust on these bikes is about as close as someone can get to the brutality of combat (though war is always the ultimate test of men).
Yea, I did not get real fast either. The fast guys still made it look easy. :)
Bad Brad Lackey was my hero in the 70's. Why not, no one else had a dove on their handlebars....
Open face helmets, Carrera 98's, Hallman visor's and Jofas forever👍👍👍👍👍
11:45 I noticed when Pierre was complimenting most of the talented American individuals, he did not mention Jimmy Weinert, the winner of this championship. :) I guess they did not like each other. I have no idea why.
57:29 Karsmakers after the first moto back at his box van, sucking down oxygen from a acetylene torch to help recover?
Simply awesome,
I believe you.
Man the girls were alot cuter back then.
100:20 A guy named Bob Harris. Never heard of him, but my first year buying MXA was 76.
me too!! the issue with the houston astrodome SX, jammer was on the cover. Dragged it from study hall and classes read it about a million times, still have the scraps somewhere.
Bob Harris was an upstate NY pro racer.
He taught a MX class at the Broome Tioga track in 1980 and then went out and holeshot the open expert class moto that Sunday and led the moto for 3 or 4 laps before his age started show.
Bob Harris' name is a lot of results back then. He was a great racer!
@@garyperry8376 I can see that. I don't think the East coast guys got as much coverage as the West coast guys, with West coast MXA back then. Now, I don't care for their coverage at all. :)
Yes!! I love watching this young man fly. I'm going to start calling him "F-18 Fighter JETT LAWRENCE". Like an F-18 with knobby tires. 🦸🏁🏆🏁
Brad Lackey is from Pinole, CA not Canola California lol. There's still open space that hasn't been developed yet along the San Francisco Bay where Brad grew up riding.
My dad was born in ‘66 and grew up watching MX. he ended up racing until he graduated from high school in ‘84.
I grew up watching MX and SX and although I’ve never raced, I sure love to ride, especially with my dad.
It’s very fascinating to see the history of one of my favorite sports.
So this is the 1975 Season .. I do see a 1976 Model Yamaha YZ-125 Mono shock bike .. I wonder if it was a Factory bike in 1975? I think 1976 was the first year for Yellow YZ's in the USA and the First year for the Mono Shock 125 CC's .. They had the Mono shock on the Bigger bikes in 1975 Suspension sure did evolve in the next 5 years and Liquid cooling ..
Indeed, evolution from the CR to the YZ and beyond was amazing. Red Hondas were also team only as the dealer bikes were still silver.
@@kyleinman6929 RC instead of CR I think.
Yes, we had works bikes in the USA until 1976. Many of the ideas came from racers and independent inventors, (For one example, the monoshock was offered to Suzuki first, and they turned it down. Yamaha bought it.). It was the FIM that stopped factory development in the USA with the 1986 production rule. The FIM has hated our talent since 1981, and has done many things to sabotage us, (efforts of the MXofN before they took over our racing starting in 2001), in the history of USA MX.
"Yes, we had works bikes in the USA until 1976". Opps, 1986
@@EarthSurferUSA HRD / Vincent Motorcycles had a Mono shock in the 1940's
I was going for Weinert 💯
Great days
Gary Bailey. I went to one of his three day schools at Appalachia Park back around ‘70….It was right after he got run over by a rider that he was flagging thru a turn.
Always wanted to go to one of his classes in the 80's. I thought it was unfair that he was David's Stepdad/teacher. :)
Did the class make you faster/better?
Man I bet they wish for a cold red bull 😊
How could they? Back then, a Red Bull meant a pissed off Bull. :)
Ah the memories. 👍
Dave Despain mentioned that the opening round, (not in the film) was at Daytona, and Kansas.
What happened there?
Hot, perhaps. Axton sure was!
They didn't show the turn with the big berm at the swamp. The swamp was on the other side of the berm, and it had alligators in it! A turn that you didn't over cook!
Come on now! There has never been a report about a gator eating a MX racer! But one there might have taken out an Ossa. :)
Be nice to know where these riders are now.
Well, I know Jimmy Weinert's tough New York voice is not broadcasting races in England. I think it would be a fair trade. :)
Everyone looks so beat after the race, like more than usual. and I understand why, those older bikes were heavy and not very forgiving as far as suspension. I could only imagine. I remember trying to jump my dads 1980 xt250 and it was rough lol
Also, 45 minute motos in those days (40 minutes plus two laps). Brutal.
Louisiana in the summer will do that to you, just sitting in a chair, let alone being on a twinshock open class beast!
And a lot of the riders raced in both the 250 and 500 classes.
@@Saint_Ann I know at one time, not sure in 75, it was "3" 45 min motos per class
The suspension sucked! But the Honda’s weighed around 195lbs.
I think the beginning of any industry/sport, (Say like the first 10 years or so of growth.), is the best time to get into it, (or start it as the ultimate.). That is where the most opportunity is, and the most freedom. That is what separates us from animals, and communists. We have to have freedom, (individual liberty protected by law), good schools and citizen owned free enterprise to do it. That was the USA and this sport would never have existed with out those principles. Not much would.
I was skateboarding in '75, and then mountain biking in '89, both activities at the dawn of 10 years of free innovation and wild creativity. Oh, and fell in love with MX in '70, all good times to be alive and in that spot.
Hang loose
Mathew McConaughey
@@kyleinman6929 Mt. Bike example with me. I was the machinist at Nike Proof industries in 94-95 who got his hubs to stop breaking, and I developed a stiff axle Fork hub called the "Atom Bomb". Later, (about 2 decades later), I got into porting little 30cc 2-stroke engines for Go-Ped racing and got hooked up with a great distributor. I worked with him for 3 years (still do) before the 1/5 scale RC cars came out using the same engine, and my business took off like it had a life of its own. I have been doing that for a living ever since, and it was an advantage to get my name and product out there first. I think I may be the first guy in the world to port 2-stroke cylinders on a production basis, (that was new), with a CNC mill. Mt. Bikes back then,---anybody who loved bikes and had a CNC machine/welder, was getting into the free market fun. Many of the first guys still doing it too.
It is our free enterprise system, and I demand that communism give it back to it rightful owners. :)
Nuke Proof
Believe it or not but I can Recognize the Faces of most of the Top Pro Riders of that Era, but I did not Recognize the face of Pier Karmakers so I had to watch the Video for considerable time to try and figure out who this Video is about based in the Thumbnail. I am 63 years old. I am guessing some one under 40 years old would have no Clue ??????
Good guess. I made up this saying, that I think spans for maybe 5 generations, (yes, including us, me at 60): "We are all born into the USA of today, not having a clue how great we made her Yesterday.".
Was that track also called Honda Hills?
I don't think so. You may have that confused with some private land called "Honda land", where the factory Honda riders trained/tested in the 80's.
Glad you like the movie. But it is illegal to post copyrighted material.
I suggest you all take this down quickly before TH-cam is contacted it will issue strikes against you.
How about you advertise and sell what you have the rights to on DVD so we can buy copies? I would probably buy everything you have MX from a bike dealership. I think we forgot how to do good business. I never would have known this film existed with out bootlegs. Been into the sport since 76. Doug in Michigan
@rogershipman3578 1 year ago
"Why am I just now seeing this? I am 60 years old and have been following MX since 1974 as an 11 year old kid."
Heck no I am not alone sir. :)
weinert looks like the singer from nickleback 😂
✊🇩🇪
i wished wast faster open my job
Damn Lori kinda caked up for back then
W F O
When men were men!
What meanum W F O ?
"Wide Full Open" Some used another "F" word.
@@EarthSurferUSA You obviously didn't get the mid '70s MXA magazine reference to the saying "What meanum WFO"...
Too bad the cameramen didn’t know to keep the rider AND THE BIKE in frame! Most of the frames cut off the bike and only show the rider’s head and torso.
I will still take it over NBC today.
30;19
31
Music was intolerable otherwise a decent piece of work.
🤷♂
Real music uses instruments that actually take talent to play. Real singing also includes a talented vocal range that is under control. Now go slam 3 doors that make a different sound, make a hit out of it, and call it music. Not just any "noise" constitutes music son. I see the decline of civilization from generation to generation now. I guess ya gotta get old to see it if you look. You will see it in your kids and grand kids. Lets see if it gets better.
7th quick in qualifying….. for a kid you don’t like who has never raced pro Supercross. 😂 I couldn’t care if he comes last…
You though, still rather out of touch on all mx/sx news and opinions and still seem to pi ss everyone off? You ok?
You imagine how easy it would be to lose nuts,bolts and washers breaking down a Honda on 1.25” shag carpet like that hotel room?
Amazing time