Dirt Bike History 101

[mtothef]

Originally Posted by nachtflug

just the name when used in the proper context sends chills down the spine.

Husky.

The Italian Husqvarna's are not Husky's.

The ones from Sweden were.

and all that swede-built entailed:

35mm forks with ten inches of travel, where we used to rotate stanchions 180 degrees every race or two to keep the bending back and forth consistent.

automatic transmission bikes that worked incredibly well while filling your crankcases oil with tiny pieces of brass.

the most beautiful dentable gas tanks in the world. ever.

power delivery that would make a rider cry if he was trying to race against japanese 250s by the early 80s. unless we're talking about enduros, in which case, with king richard burleson as saint and guide (13 national championships in a row has to be doing something right), that tractable engine just laid waste to everyone else.

handling. hmmm. straight line awesomeness. cornering, well, sort of the anti-maico. look for the berm, forget about the inside line. try to avoid bending the forks.

sigh, i miss my old 250xc...

[modre]

Originally Posted by kittycactus
When the jap bikes were first introduced in the states, how were they received; were people excited about them or were they looked upon with distain like the Chinese bikes now entering our market, some of both?


I was there.

if it's still running, the AMA museum in Pickering Ohio has an evolution of the dirt bike exibition that would have been invaluable for your education.

the dirt bikes were single BSAs and single and twin 4 stroke Triumphs and a couple odd Swedish things....I had a 500 T100C and a bother had a 441 Victor. the race guys were flirting with 2 strokes... Bultacos and such because of the power to weight advantage...what was happening was 125cc 2 strokes were killing 500 4 strokes as riding styles changed from manhandling meat to surfing loose...and folks noticed that...that shifted everything to 2 strokes...it wasn't motocross yet...it was still hare scrambles. when the jappers came in, they already had a hip audience so the bikes were quickly received...blew the old 4 strokes away...at this time it became motocross as suspention travel began to increase...then came the exotic maicos, ossas and the others later.

there was always the buy union American foot draggers that snickered, but the hipper guys were winning...and it's hard to argue with success...the 73-ish CB750 "superbike" changed a lot of minds, but it took a period of transistion.

if you can find mc magizines of the period, I'm sure it's well documented.

I remember Dirt Bike and Dirt Rider...there were others.

it wasn't just the bikes...it was suspention travel, 2 strokes, and a change of riding styles all in a casserole...just as helmet laws came in and exclusionary tactics in county parks and such...motorcycles were always on the fringe, but it became a threat during this period.

[dan-c]

Originally Posted by nachtflug

they (the japs) were in totally uncharted waters and their progress in models shows how quickly they were learning. so my guess is that the answer to that is that the bikes were well received given the alternatives of something big and heavy from England or something light and cheap from Japan.

Great question.

Don't forget reliable Maico's usually had to be dialed in after every moto. The Jap bikes, you just changed the plugs.

[mudgepondexpress]

Hey Steady...

Love the old school pics of both you and your father but I have to ask...what is the story with the Honda sticker on an obviously Yamaha bike (DT of some sort, 250/DT1).

Kenny

[ADK]

2 strokes kicked 4 strokes to the curb in the early 60s when a CZ engineer invented the expansion chamber.

[kittycactus]

Originally Posted by nachtflug

then of course in enduro's there would be a 175 class....

I understood about the other classes, but not this one?

[Gordy]

Originally Posted by kittycactus

I understood about the other classes, but not this one?

I don't know where the hell it came from either. It must have carried over from an enduro class (which we had zero interest in).
We always had a few guys show up at the MXs with 175 Pentons and they were soon joined by 175 IT Yamahas.

What a bunch of tools, running around the course with enduro light kits and quiet mufflers.

[dan-c]

Originally Posted by kittycactus

I understood about the other classes, but not this one?

Well in the later days, post '77 the ones they raced are like this one (unless you had a Hercules or Jackpiner or MZ or...

The IT Yammies were actually pretty competetive too

Originally Posted by Gordy

What a bunch of tools, running around the course with enduro light kits and quiet mufflers.

[JAB]

Originally Posted by ADK

2 strokes kicked 4 strokes to the curb in the early 60s when a CZ engineer invented the expansion chamber.

Don't want to start a who, when, where issue, but I think chambers go back further than the 60's. Look up some the crazy engineering from DKW road racing and I believe you'll see chambers, 2 strokes with superchargers, all sorts of crazy stuff.

[ADK]

I'm no absolute authority on this.Maybe CZ was the first to use expansion chambers in MX?

[nachtflug]

Originally Posted by kittycactus

At what point were aftermarket parts readily available (a different pipe for example)? It sounds like there wasn’t much and there was a lot of homemade fabrication going on.

more than one might think. the magazines (and dealers) played a bigger role then. as far as when, for me its harder to pinpoint, but someone who saw the 60;s blend into the 70's would probably take a good stab at it.

a few biggies that did just fine without todays marketing juggernauts and no internet.

Preston Petty fenders. Moto X Fox. Even Hooker Headers. And in a lot of cases, the last thing you needed was an aftermarket pipe, (TM 400 ) etc.

But again a good question. When things were "the hot setup" everyone got one. The Whirlpull Throttle 0r Gunnar Gasser. Hi Point boots. But these are 70's. Like a lot of things back then you would mail 50 cents for a catalogue from whoevers stuff you had an eye on.

Tough one to answwer definitively...

great thread!

[nachtflug]

Originally Posted by kittycactus

Thanks!

I'll ride it anyway!

[camgregus]

I had (have the shell -motor) a 250 yammie just like that IT.

(doesn't matter to the 175 discussion) Loved that bike. handled decently and really had great power. Lots a top end in fifth. Hang on til ya chicken out.

Horrible seat though.

[flying_hun]

Originally Posted by JAB

Don't want to start a who, when, where issue, but I think chambers go back further than the 60's. Look up some the crazy engineering from DKW road racing and I believe you'll see chambers, 2 strokes with superchargers, all sorts of crazy stuff.

I was thinking it was MZ. Didn't Walter Kaaden develop them for MZ's roadracers? Then Ernst Degner defected to the west and took the engineering secrets to Suzuki. Who said the Japanese didn't copy anyone else?

Regarding old Huskies, my WR250 didn't really like turning either, nor were its brakes much to write home about, but what a sweet motor! An easy bike to ride all day.

As for all the different displacements, when two strokes first were built over 250cc, the metallurgy and general engineering were a little marginal for dealing with the increased heat. As the factories learned from their experiences we saw the growth from 360s to larger engines. There was lots of experimenting. Many folks found the 250's easier to ride, as an earlier poster stated.

I would argue that water cooling was a big break through. It wasn't long after radiators appeared on 125's that an aircooled bike become too slow. Water cooling allowed engines to be built to generate more power because liquid did a better job of letting the engine effectively shed the heat that comes with more power. Tighter tolerances can be used by thermal expansion of dissimilar materials happens in a more controlled fashion with liquid cooling than air cooling. I still prefer the look of an aircooled motor, but power is power.

[gonridn]

Originally Posted by nachtflug

I've got a Husky brouchure, its basically an 8x10 printed on heavy stock paper, it shows a Husky CR 500, 81? the one before the one like Gaspipes's white tanker.

Anyway...the bike is surrounded by oriental type guys (have to keep it PC here) ..ok they were japs! with camera's taking pictures of it.

Pretty cool shot I'll have to dig it up.

that bike was considered an 82 1/2 model. nicknamed the " Silver Bullet" for the beautiful silver paint job. the last of the polished knee panels style tanks. the first ones came with a giant 44mm mikuni carb. the white 83 models went to a 40mm. it was only available as a cr version with a 4 speed transmission.