Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

So do you think the CRF450 and the KTM 525SX will be the 78/79 CR250 and 81 Maico 490 of their time when we are Vintage/Evo racing 20 years from now?

J

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#829 The "Factory Novice"

1988 Honda CR250RJ
1983 Honda CR480
1981 Can-Am 250 MX6-B
1979 Honda CR250RZ
1979 Kawasaki KX250 A5
1978 Husky 250CR
1978 Honda CR250R
1977 Yamaha YZ400D
1977 Suzuki RM125B

J,
I can't really say if those will be the vintage/evo bikes 20 years from now. Maybe the KTM 520? I just hope we all still have a place to ride off-road or better yet a place for our kids and grand kids to ride. I know one thing for sure. I won't have the Maico 490 when I am 60+. It is hard enough to start now and by then I will need the magic button/starter to get things going. I may have to trade the thing for another 79/78 CR250?
Mike

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1981 Maico 490
1996 Gas Gas 270
1974 Honda XL412 Powroll Rocket
1979 Honda CR125R
1978 Honda XR75

I see the Honda CRF450R as akin to the Maico 490 not because it was revolutionary (the ground had already been broken by the YZ400F), but because it is a superlative "package". With the exception of the introduction of four-strokes from each of the major manufacturers I do not see much break-through technological advances going on that are going to make any specific bike more interesting than another in 20 years time. Maybe someone will be seeking a 2007 RM125 because it was last of the two-strokes made?

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Michael Stiles
1979 Honda CR250R Elsinore | 2006 Husqvarna SM510R | 2007 Service Honda CR500R-AF

i dont see any modern bikes as being a ground breaker like the elsinore was.
seems like the modern bikes are taking small advancing steps a little bit at a time. they are all excellent bikes but none really stand out.

Yeah, all the modern bikes are really "Stepford Bikes". Samo-samo, no personality, if they weren't different colors you wouldn't know one from the other from 20 feet away. That's why I like the old bikes, style and personality! Oh, and the sweet smell of premix!

Nathan,

I love that, "Stepford Bikes".

If you look at mid-80's bikes There really isn't any great leap forward. Power valves were there, water cooling, disc brakes, single shock w/ linkage, 12 inches of travel, movement to lower center of gravity, digital ignitions and upside down forks. Things have just been refined.

The next Evolution I see will be to fuel injection and then we can have a completely Computer Controlled Engine Managment System. After that I think the manufacturers will turn to the Drivetrain. For all the advancement we still have Forks,Chains and Spokes. Fluid drive, two wheel drive and maybe an advanced version of the Ribi suspension???

What do you guys think?

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#829 The "Factory Novice"

1988 Honda CR250RJ
1983 Honda CR480
1981 Can-Am 250 MX6-B
1979 Honda CR250RZ
1979 Kawasaki KX250 A5
1978 Husky 250CR
1978 Honda CR250R
1977 Yamaha YZ400D
1977 Suzuki RM125B

i like the fuel injection idea. i recall seeing a website where they outfitted some dirtbikes and quads with custom fuel injection and some of the 2 strokes showed over 25% gains in power.



another cool thing about fuel injection on a 2 stroke is that it will run just as good on flat level ground as it will sideways in a turn, or heck even upside down for that matter.

digitle programmable ignition timing would be sweet as well. heck if a harley can have fuel injection i think its time for dirtbikes too!

i am not sure about fuel injection ( i do not know very much about it) if carb jets get clogged on a dirt bike when the bike is sitting up for a while wouldn't injectors get clogged to and cost you more money to fix it