Real motocross...you be the judge

BobbyM
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2/6/2018 6:52pm Edited Date/Time 8/31/2018 12:25pm
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BobbyM
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21449
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2/6/2018 6:58pm
Same as todays motocross but a lot slower with less skill
Sure thing scooter
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tobz
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Adelaide AU
2/6/2018 7:00pm
I'll be judged if I judge
2/6/2018 7:15pm Edited Date/Time 2/6/2018 7:17pm
Nearly every decade of the sport is different, for better or worse. Rather than compare which generation is the best or the "realest", why not just embrace and appreciate the unique characteristics that distinguish one from the other as the sport continues it's evolution. My 2cents anyways..

The Shop

Phillip_Lamb
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ORANGEVALE, CA US
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2511th
2/6/2018 7:21pm
maybe it looks slow, but these guys were pushing their bikes as fast as they can. just like they do today
mark_swart
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Chapin, SC US
2/6/2018 7:24pm Edited Date/Time 2/6/2018 7:26pm
Same as todays motocross but a lot slower with less skill
Go do some laps on an '86 RM and then come back and talk to us : ) !!!

Thanks for posting BobbyM, that was the first MX race that I ever saw (on TV). Up until that point I was a trail rider, after that I was using the tractor to push some jumps up in the field near my house. A year later I was racing!
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2/6/2018 7:37pm

A lot of people including some factory HRC mechanics think that this is possibly the fastest an mid 80’s era 250 has been ridden and this kid is just an amateur. So i back my claim on the mid 80’s riders being less skilled. Bobby constantly trolls for back in the day they were better well i don’t think they were.
I AM THE JUDGE
1
2/6/2018 7:42pm
Same as todays motocross but a lot slower with less skill
BobbyM wrote:
Sure thing scooter
I used to think the same thing back when I thought I was hot shit one day back in 2002 at Riverfront Park in Marysville. Then a guy wearing a long sleeved Bultaco shirt, overalls, and an ol school Bultaco came out there and "son'd" me in 3 turns. My dad used to also destroy a majority of people at the Carnegie mx track on a 77 Can Am 200 2smoke as well. Skill is skill, only the bikes have improved and as in the said cases above that doesn't matter sometimes.
scooter5002
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Nanton Alberta CA
2/6/2018 7:44pm
Different era, different tracks, different equipment, stand alone in its own right. While awesome, times have moved on. Better than, better now? All in the eye of the beholder. Just because a person was personally involved in it, does not necessarily make it superior. That tends to lend bias to judgement, in fact.
olds cool
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Claremont, NC US
2/6/2018 7:47pm Edited Date/Time 2/6/2018 7:47pm
If we had tracks like that today, today's riders would look slower also. All the riders would be complaining that there's no "flow". lol
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ledger
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TN US
2/6/2018 7:50pm
Different era, different tracks, different equipment, stand alone in its own right. While awesome, times have moved on. Better than, better now? All in the eye...
Different era, different tracks, different equipment, stand alone in its own right. While awesome, times have moved on. Better than, better now? All in the eye of the beholder. Just because a person was personally involved in it, does not necessarily make it superior. That tends to lend bias to judgement, in fact.
Yup, what scooter said.
Ted722
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Sacramento, CA US
2/6/2018 7:54pm
Could also be a nod to the track (Unadilla) back then.
Forty
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Saint Paul, MN US
2/6/2018 8:26pm
thanks for posting....the pass Omara put on Hannah was craftsmanship....so cool.
chuckie108
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Mira Loma, CA US
2/6/2018 9:00pm
[embed]https://youtu.be/b3pOQW_7VMQ[/embed] A lot of people including some factory HRC mechanics think that this is possibly the fastest an mid 80’s era 250 has been ridden and...

A lot of people including some factory HRC mechanics think that this is possibly the fastest an mid 80’s era 250 has been ridden and this kid is just an amateur. So i back my claim on the mid 80’s riders being less skilled. Bobby constantly trolls for back in the day they were better well i don’t think they were.
I AM THE JUDGE
I think vid you linked might actually support the OP's point- Millville looks like a freeway compared to that '86 'Dilla track in the vid. Different bikes, different times, evolution of technique, etc.. All era's of the sport are great in there own right. If Hannah was born in '95, he'd be a champion now, and if Villo was born in '65, he would have been a champ in the 80's. But watch any vid from the 80's, the sport has also gotten easier thanks to technology and evolution. That being said, the sport has never been faster, bigger, more skillful, and more dangerous than It is now. The eras are different, but all great in my book.
captmoto
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Rancho Cucamonga, CA US
2/6/2018 9:10pm Edited Date/Time 2/6/2018 9:10pm
[embed]https://youtu.be/b3pOQW_7VMQ[/embed] A lot of people including some factory HRC mechanics think that this is possibly the fastest an mid 80’s era 250 has been ridden and...

A lot of people including some factory HRC mechanics think that this is possibly the fastest an mid 80’s era 250 has been ridden and this kid is just an amateur. So i back my claim on the mid 80’s riders being less skilled. Bobby constantly trolls for back in the day they were better well i don’t think they were.
I AM THE JUDGE
That track is not as rough as the Unadilla. I'm sure the suspension is light years ahead of what Hannah and O'mara were riding in 88. And finally, where is this kid now?
It's all an apples and oranges comparison.
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hamncheeze
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BC CA
2/6/2018 10:26pm
You had to have raced in that era to understand how bad the stock platform of Hannah's bike was. I mean it was an absolute POC. The 1986 Honda in stock form was the best bike by far (all 3 displacements), and then the works version that O'Mara was on was obviously incredible. Back then the difference between the best and worst bikes was massive.
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NorCal 50+
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Grass Valley, CA US
2/6/2018 10:43pm
Same as todays motocross but a lot slower with less skill
There are Blasphemers in our midst!
Robgvx
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GB
2/6/2018 11:49pm
Observations from that Unadilla video:

1. It was rough. And some of those straights took technique rather than just holding the throttle open.

2. Picking the best/smoothest line was actually a thing.

3. Because of the above, the speed with which riders went on those sections varied far more compared to today’s tracks, (dependent on their skill and line choice).

4. No artificial jumps. Didn’t take anything away from the spectacle though.

5. The track seemed much wider, but slower than today’s, with slower corners which were at the same time roomy.

6. Slower speeds = easier passing. (It’s more difficult to turn a bike when it’s going fast).

7. Notice how few 180 degree corners there were? IMO 180 degree corners don’t help passing.

8. I wish modern racing would incorporate tracks like that.
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Joemx
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FL US
2/7/2018 12:08am Edited Date/Time 2/7/2018 12:09am
[embed]https://youtu.be/b3pOQW_7VMQ[/embed] A lot of people including some factory HRC mechanics think that this is possibly the fastest an mid 80’s era 250 has been ridden and...

A lot of people including some factory HRC mechanics think that this is possibly the fastest an mid 80’s era 250 has been ridden and this kid is just an amateur. So i back my claim on the mid 80’s riders being less skilled. Bobby constantly trolls for back in the day they were better well i don’t think they were.
I AM THE JUDGE
The track that kid's riding is smooth as glass. Put him on that 86 Unadilla track and he probably wouldn't be able to handle it. I think it's pretty much been proven that most of today's riders don't do well on rough natural terrain tracks like that. Look at how they do against the Euros at the MXON in the sand and stuff. Hannah and co thrived on that kind of track.
NorCal 50+
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2/7/2018 2:01am
LMAO Kehoe at the 3:50 mark goes buck wild off the track and into the crowd.
Hannah was an animal and so was the O Show.
Uncle Tony
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New York, NY US
2/7/2018 3:41am Edited Date/Time 2/7/2018 6:08am
I was a spectator at that race! Thsy were flying and track was rough as fuck, real motocross hell yeah, thanks for posting
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Cygrace74
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Westport, MA US
2/7/2018 4:02am
captmoto wrote:
That track is not as rough as the Unadilla. I'm sure the suspension is light years ahead of what Hannah and O'mara were riding in 88...
That track is not as rough as the Unadilla. I'm sure the suspension is light years ahead of what Hannah and O'mara were riding in 88. And finally, where is this kid now?
It's all an apples and oranges comparison.
He runs top 10 in 250 SX..
GangGreen
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Mechanicsburg, PA US
2/7/2018 4:11am
Ted722 wrote:
Could also be a nod to the track (Unadilla) back then.
Thanks for posting !!!! Unadilla is still amazing, but excessive grooming and man-made obstacles ruin the track in my opinion. We just had the "best" Supercross of the year in Oakland, and people refuse to believe it was BECAUSE IT GOT RUTTED. The people in charge refuse to believe that "Timed Practice" causes a one lined track and Holeshot devices, starting grids, and the ridiculously outdated "Double-displacement Rule" all contribute to the dumbing down of our sport.






Uncle Tony
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2/7/2018 4:21am
olds cool wrote:
If we had tracks like that today, today's riders would look slower also. All the riders would be complaining that there's no "flow". lol
And crying they need it groomed between motos
1
sandman768
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Saratoga Springs, NY US
2/7/2018 6:05am
Thanks BobbyM: I seen it live, I"ve watched the video many times, I just watched it again, great way to start my day! This was a great time in Moto history, Hannah going to Suzuki to finish out his career and help develop the bikes that needed ALOT of work.......Maybe this is why I have a garage full of RM"s....I wish they would stop ripping the track so deep everywhere, I know the jump faces need to be touched up here & there but leave the straights natural, just plant the grass seed & let it form up.....the transformation of tall grass to full on MX track was a site to behold..
Bultaco
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Planet, VT US
2/7/2018 7:05am
As others have said, times have changed. But per Bobby's comment.....yes. This is "real" motocross.

As for the comment from DickTease, "Same" and "Slower" might be argued, but your "less skill" belief is ignorant.
Fourth_Floor
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Saint Marys, PA US
2/7/2018 7:13am
Those guys were hauling ass back then! You can't disrespect history of the sport. The top guys of today wouldn't be where they're at without the guys of the past who were pushing the machinery and developing the correct techniques to go fast on a dirt bike. That Jerry Robin video is freaking bad ass. Makes me want to go find an old bike for dirt cheap just to have fun on because I don't have thousands of dollars to through at a bike either.
TXDirt
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Plano, TX US
2/7/2018 7:50am
Looked like they were hauling ass to me.
Phantom 661
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Torrance, CA US
2/7/2018 10:15am
There's no question about it. That was good motocross racing. How about the announcer? Never even takes a breath! That guy could put you on the edge of your seat over a turtle race.

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