Any one into Vintage MX bikes | FerrariChat

Any one into Vintage MX bikes

Discussion in 'Motorcycles & Boats' started by Mrpbody44, Jan 27, 2008.

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  1. Mrpbody44

    Mrpbody44 F1 Veteran

    Jul 5, 2007
    7,899
    St Augustine Florida
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    Steve Metz
    #1 Mrpbody44, Jan 27, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I collect vintage dirt bikes and was wondering if anyone else here on the board was into them. When I was chair of the motorcycle division of the Radnor Hunt Concours we had a lot of Vintage MX bikes at that show and ther was a lot of interest from Ferrari guys in the bikes. The Dusenberg guys hated the bikes being at the show. Here are some from my collection and my friend Mac's collection. I have over 100 vintage MX bikes at the moment.

    Bikes Shown

    1971 Sprite 125
    1974 Penton 125
    1966 Cotton 250 Trials
    1971 Greeves Pathfinder 175 Enduro (Only 25 Made)
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  2. Azorf

    Azorf Karting
    Rossa Subscribed

    Nov 12, 2004
    64
    Connecticut
    Full Name:
    Peter
    I love those bikes. I have a 1977 RM 125 B, back in the early 90's I raced a 1975 KX125 in the vintage class at Unidilla in upstate NY.I want to buy a 1976 Honda CR125 since that was a bike I had as a teenager.
     
  3. parkerfe

    parkerfe F1 World Champ

    Sep 4, 2001
    12,887
    Cumming, Georgia
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    Franklin E. Parker
    I raced a Suzuki TM250 in the early 70s...I would love to have another one to play with...or a big TM400 !
     
  4. Mrpbody44

    Mrpbody44 F1 Veteran

    Jul 5, 2007
    7,899
    St Augustine Florida
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    Steve Metz
  5. toggie

    toggie F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 30, 2003
    19,036
    Virginia
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    Toggie (Ron)
    #5 toggie, Jan 27, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I like old dirt bikes too, but don't own any at the moment.
    I own two modern dual-purpose bikes these days - a Kawasaki 250 Sherpa and Yamaha XT 225.
    My 15-year-old son and I ride around on the local dirt trails with them.

    When I was young, I owned a 1968 Yamaha 250 DT1, Suzuki TS 185, and Yamaha TT 500 over the years.

    BTW, a good website for shopping for old bikes is:
    http://www.bradsbikes.com/

    Now the only classic bike I own is a road bike, a 1975 Norton 850 Commando.
    Here is a pic of my bike.
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  6. Mrpbody44

    Mrpbody44 F1 Veteran

    Jul 5, 2007
    7,899
    St Augustine Florida
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    Steve Metz
    I had a Norton like that in High School. I think they are the best looking street bikes ever made. I also like Ducati and Areomacci 250 singles.
     
  7. B R

    B R F1 Rookie

    Aug 31, 2005
    2,818
    Los Angeles, CA
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    B R
    I'm into them, but I don't have the time, space, & money to pursue it. If I was putting a little collection together for me for nostalgia purposes, I'd start with a couple of Bultacos, an AJS, Hodaka, some stuff from the Jap 4, something with a leading link like a Sachs or DKW, an Ossa, Montessa, CZ, Jawa, Husky, & Maico. Well, I'm up to over a dozen & that was all in one breath.
     
  8. yzee

    yzee F1 Veteran
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    Apr 16, 2005
    8,686
    Bodegata
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    Michael
    I have friends here with fairly sizeable collections. You should check out Vintage Days at Mid-Ohio. Event is bigger every year. Over 800 vintage MX racers registered, plus the show stuff. Roadrace stuff too. John Penton and a lot of other old timers there. One of my buddies ran Penton's first bikes nationally back in the early 70"s.
     
  9. wingfeather

    wingfeather F1 Rookie

    Feb 1, 2007
    3,653
    rock bottom
    #9 wingfeather, Jan 28, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  10. Rickenbach

    Rickenbach F1 World Champ
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    Nov 20, 2005
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    #10 Rickenbach, Jan 28, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Love the old Elsinore. My father had one when I was a kid. My new 450 has these graphics.
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  11. B R

    B R F1 Rookie

    Aug 31, 2005
    2,818
    Los Angeles, CA
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    B R
    Well, everyone has to start somewhere, & my collection has started with a very nice, all original AJS 250 Stormer that I just picked up last night. Pics to come soon. If anyone is an AJS expert, let me know, I gots a few questions.
     
  12. Mrpbody44

    Mrpbody44 F1 Veteran

    Jul 5, 2007
    7,899
    St Augustine Florida
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    Steve Metz
    Hit me up. I have some friends that have had them. I have a number of Greeves bikes that are similar.
     
  13. parkerfe

    parkerfe F1 World Champ

    Sep 4, 2001
    12,887
    Cumming, Georgia
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    Franklin E. Parker
    I raced a 1972 Suzuki TM250 back when it was new...
     
  14. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

    Jun 4, 2008
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    Rich
    I have a '67 Honda CL77 - technically a "dual sport", but they called them "Scramblers"!

    Intent was to drive it both on road and off. It's been in my family for 40 years.
     
  15. parkerfe

    parkerfe F1 World Champ

    Sep 4, 2001
    12,887
    Cumming, Georgia
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    Franklin E. Parker
  16. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

    Jun 4, 2008
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    #16 rdefabri, Jan 23, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I posted this in a different thread, but my 1967 CL/77 (with my kids on board).

    My Dad bought this from the original owner in 1968 (the year I was born). Some of my earliest childhood memories are of me sitting on the gas tank, both legs swung to one side, and my Dad driving me up and down the road at probably 30 mph.

    At some point (I'd say around 1980 or so), he mothballed it for about 14 years. Growing children and work changed his priorities. About a year before I married, I sold a Harley so that my then-fiancee and I could buy our first home. Bummed about letting the Harley go, I set my sights on the Honda sitting in my Dad's garage. Lo and behold, I got it running and rode for a spell before I crashed on it (3 weeks before my wedding!!).

    My wife and I moved to a second home, had 2 kids, and the bike just sat - another 13 years by my estimate. I just got it started (again!) recently...what a joy this bike is! 40 years old, 8,000 original miles!!!

    Plan is to get her fully restored, but I'll only use it to put around the neighborhood - my riding days are over for now.
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  17. parkerfe

    parkerfe F1 World Champ

    Sep 4, 2001
    12,887
    Cumming, Georgia
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    Franklin E. Parker
    Why? I have been riding since the late 60s and at 51 still ride my Hayabusa at least once a week or so. I am currently shopping to buy all the two stroke dirt and street bikes I owned in my youth. I sent my then 12 and 14 year old daughters to an MSF dirt bike school last year and my wife, 11 year old daughter and 7 year old grandson are scheduled to take the same class next Saturday. IMHO, if you want your family to enjoy what you love, you need to show them now and get them involved with you. So get out and ride your vintage Honda and get the wife and kids in an MSF school dirt bike school near you ... www.dirtbikeschool.com ... once they all learn, you can all enjoy a weekend at a place like this ... www.durhamtown.com ... Have Fun!
     
  18. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

    Jun 4, 2008
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    Well, I am in NJ - it's a crowded State, and my kids are young, so that worried me enough to slow down. I shouldn't have said my riding days are over forever, I may get the girls into dirt biking - that would be a blast. And I will put around on the Honda, but before the kids were born, my wife and I would do the rallies and ride our Harley for miles on end - that I won't do in the short term.

    That 'Busa must be a wild ride! I have been thinking of a 996/998 (wait, didn't I just say my riding days are over????) ;)
     
  19. Mrpbody44

    Mrpbody44 F1 Veteran

    Jul 5, 2007
    7,899
    St Augustine Florida
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    Steve Metz
    Dirt biking is a big family sport now. About 40% of the kids on the MX track are girls these days. I think this year my girl will start riding.
     
  20. beast

    beast F1 World Champ

    May 31, 2003
    11,479
    Lewisville, TX
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    Rob Guess
    While my current bike is legal to race AMA District 17 vintage class it is hardly a vintage bike as it is a 1994 KX-250. I would like to find a 1979 KX-125 or 250 as it is the same as my first new bike that i ever owned. My first ever bike was a 1972 Yamaha HT-1 90cc.
     
  21. GogglesPaisano

    GogglesPaisano Karting

    Nov 19, 2004
    123
    Ohio
    Full Name:
    Matt Borland
    Ya know, Super Hunky still has a website and his book "Monkey Butt!" makes for a great bathroom reader, given it's mostly just a huge collection of his articles.

    I grew up when long-travel bikes were just getting going, when you knew who made the Jap bikes just by reading the sticker on the swingarm (Mono-X baby! Got the radiator on the triple clamps too? *****in'!) My uncles had Bultaco, Hodaka, Rupp, various Hondas, etc. It's good to know now that the old bikes have enough of a following that one can actually find a nice example of just about any bike with enough digging. Maico? Can-Am? Rokon? I was worried in the early 90's that those bikes were gone forever, but now thanks to the internet I find they are all still out there.

    Those Metro t-shirts with the old names are a good way to make new friends at car shows, track days, etc.

    gp
     
  22. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

    Jun 4, 2008
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    The real question is, what was the name of the car Goggles drove at the Indianrockpolis 500? Was it called the "Rubble Special"? :)
     
  23. AnotherDunneDeal

    AnotherDunneDeal F1 Veteran

    Jun 2, 2003
    6,109
    N.Richland Hills, Tx
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    James Dunne
    #23 AnotherDunneDeal, Jan 27, 2009
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2009
    Vintage MX bikes???? I am a vintage MX ex-rider....Rode for Kawasaki back in the 70's when the "short travel" bikes with fluid shocks at the back of the swingarms were the norm. I have many a story about my time of being the entertainment at the tracks,,,,,,the one who fell the most. Rode all of them.......Penton, Hodaka, Bultaco, CZ, Maico, Honda Elsinore, Yamaha (Pre-YZ) and YZ, Suzuki TM and RM. And of course the KX Kaw's..........And a few of them rode me......

    I will look up some of the old photos and post them if you like..........
     
  24. AnotherDunneDeal

    AnotherDunneDeal F1 Veteran

    Jun 2, 2003
    6,109
    N.Richland Hills, Tx
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    James Dunne
    #24 AnotherDunneDeal, Jan 28, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    1. KX250 before getting track ready. Bring back memories Beast????
    2. Another of the KX 250's
    3. 1971 KX My first Kaw- before setup
    4. Small picture.... Ready to go for race day
    5. 1974 Penton ISDT bike
    6. Adolf Weil in 1971
    7. Having some fun in the mud....loved it.
    8. Bob Hannah getting a message from his message board.....
    9. Montessa 250
    10. Suzuki TM400 orange tank.......the worlds most powerful pogo stick. The rear of this bike would definitely try to pass you on the way around the track. But it was powerful enough to get the Earth turning again if it stopped.
    11. Yours truly passing then privateer and future national champion Tony Distefano at the 1973 Lake Whitney 250 Nationals. It was a short lived pass unfortunately...
    12. Rickman
    13. Suzuki TM125. Crashed one of these pretty hard. 10 days in hospital, three months in rehab........
    14. I told you I was the entertainment
    15. Pre YZ yellow tank 250 Yamaha
    16. 1968 Yamaha DT250
    17. My old racing buddy Wymon Priddy showing his favorite riding position. He jumped up and got back into the race......
    18. Jumping off the end of the Earth........Loved it.......
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  25. NORTY

    NORTY Formula Junior

    Aug 15, 2008
    502
    CARLSBAD, CA, USA,
    Full Name:
    NORTY
    I don't recall the Suzuki TM400 Cyclone having shouldered rims. Were they Akront or DID? I raced a Yamaha MX 100 in 1974 and a CZ 250 black frame in 1975, then moved on to long travel RM 125's, then yamaha YZ 465's, then moved to D-38 racing on Honda 500 thumpers. My local track was the USGP course @ Carlsbad...


    those were the days...
     

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