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OT/ Ah, the memories

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Donald Lehman

Well-known Member
The mention of American Jawa distributors in the Zebra tractor post jogged my memory. Any of you Jurassic Era old goats remember when the Czech made Jawa mopeds OWNED the US moped market? Do any of you remember when the Czech built CZ motorcycles were considered "state of the art" on the world wide motocross scene? And Bultaco (if the motors held together long enough), Maico (if the primary chain between the clutch and tranny didn't break and smash the cases), KTM (if your back didn't break before the end of the race), and Husky (if the oil didn't leak out of the forks before the end of the race), were the only competitors, as the Japanese manufacturers were not a factor yet???????? Remember Zundapp and Ossa???? Remember Amal carbs??????? Those downright treacherous Betor forks? Points blocks that wore like they were made out of goat cheese????? Remember Joel Robert? (pronounced Jo-ell Ro-bear) Remember when the Belgian riders had no equal in motocross???????? Remember when Suzuki dived into motocross with both feet with a Belgian rider named Rodger DeCoster?????? Remember when the movie, "On Any Sunday" took the motorcycle world by storm?


Yup, I'm THAT old. LoL!!!!!!!!
 
I remember CZ and Bultaco and one of those old motocross racers I used to watch is having lunch next to me.
 
Not as old as some of the brands you mention but Hodaka still is a popular collector bike and has a cult following and all kinds of Hodaka events (vintage motocross, enduro, etc. across the USA). Japanese roots but west coast USA heritage. Not nearly as much interest north of the 49th. I have a 1976 100 cc Road Toad sitting in my garage with 1100 original miles. And of course, the Hodaka Wombat, Combat Wombat, Ace, Rat, Super Rat, Dirt Squirt and Thunderdog come to mind.
 
A friend had the Hodaka Combat Wombat, thought not popular around here, they were around enough to be noticed. Another friend had an Indian, think it was an X80.
 
Forgot the Amal carbs. Had a little race car (ICSCC) with a destroked (to 850cc) Sunbeam Imp engine and FOUR Amal carbs on it. Tricky to tune but was very fast.
 
Rodger DeCoster Was one Heck of a rider. I do remember Suzuki coming out with a 50CC two stroker that put out 23 Horse power. They ran it at 20,000RPM with a 15 speed gear box if I remember right. IT was band from racing only after one or two races as they were afraid it was going to fly apart and someone in the crowd would get hurt.
 
All you 2 stroke guys! Anybody else have the sorry misfortune to own a BSA 441 Victor? I swear I put almost as many revolutions on the crank trying to get that POS started than riding it. Then it would get mad and kick me back. Shouldn't have been called a Victor, but an InVictive for all the colorful things it got called. The worst part was I traded a Husky 360 eight speed for thinking I wanted a Thumper.
 
I never cared much for 2 strokes myself.I did have a French Mobylette moped with a Norton-Villiers engine.I always felt 2 strokes were for lawnmowers,outboard motors,and chainsaws.My friends owned Suzuki road bikes in the early 70's,and I can say they performed perfectly.But,then again,so did my Honda 450.I owned lots of British bikes,I had a 441 BSA and a 500 single.The guy I bought it from told me that if things were right that bike would start on two kicks.He said if it didn't start on three to get off and find out what was wrong.He said if I kept kicking I was a fool.He was right,it wouldn't get better by kicking it more,but sometimes I tried anyway.I would just wind up fixing it when I was tired.
 
Oh the days! Raced a sunburst head Maico 400, raced a Penton 125 all through high school. Even owned a DKW with leading link suspension
for a season. Guess that?s why my knees are shot, had a ball back then!
 
I well remember Jawa.

Sears once sold Allstate Mopeds and small motorcycles made by Jawa.

Anyone remember the Allstate 250 cc Twingle? It had two 125 cc cylinders sharing a single forked connecting rod connected to a single crank throw.

In the spring of 1966 I bought a Suzuki X6 Hustler just after they hit the market, considered by many to be the first crotch rocket.

Dean
 
I installed a Sunburst head on my Bridgestone 90. I made my own head gasket out of tin foil.

Bridgestones had rotary valves. The rotary valve functioned a bit like a camshaft. It was made out of phenolic. I used a coping saw to modify mine to look like the "full race" version advertised in Cycle World. It would rev until it ran out of carburetor but I needed to rev it to 3,000 or so to pull away from the curb.

Dean
 
How about that Honda Elsinor when it came out! Don't even remember the correct spelling. My neighborhood was full of Bridgestone and Honda 90's. I remember my old Sears 106.
 
Remeber when Maico built two 760 cc singles for enduro/cross country racing? They were the 400 chasis with the 760 motor. Only 26 hp but gobs of torque? Do you remember when Dirt Bike magazine's Editor Rick Siemen got to ride of of those things in the Blackwater 100? I still have the issue of Dirt Bike with that article around here somewhere.
 
oh boy Rickman frames with Triumph 500 and 650 two cylinders--Blew my Ossa Stiletto up on the back straightaway at Riverside Raceway-- crashed that bike in Corona while on leave in 1972- kept me out of Viet Nam....yep memories. 2,3,4 or 6 tires i like all kinds of wheels
 
Suzuki made revvers didn't they? I had a 1976 RM 125. Didn't put out any torque under 10,000 and ran about right at around 14,000. You left the throttle open and just shifted gears............................They would run with anything at the time, though. Didn't get a lot of hours between rebuilds, though. LOL!
 
I was the parts manager for the American Maico distributor in 1966 In a warehouse on W. Jefferson in Detroit. He just got containers of parts in once a year, so if you needed some part he didn't have, too bad! I had a Maico 250, and a Maico 450, and a 1973 Penton 125cc and a 1972 Yamaha 125cc MX. I still have a 1973 Yamaha DT3 enduro, and a coupla old Honda 4 strokes like a Z50 and a XR80. When I raced motocross in the early '70's, that was the most fun I ever had in my life. Being 1/2 Belgian, and 1/2 Finnish, Joel Robert, Roger DeCoster and Hekki Mikkola were my heroes. Saw them all race here in America in the early '70's.
 
Local dealer sold a whole passle of Super Rats. Performance was very good....................piston life, not so much.....................
 
Add a "e" to the end and you got it right. Remember the famous Elisnore race in California? It was one of Steve McQueen's favorite races.
 
The only one of the three I have seen race in person was DeCoster at Unadilla, and that was at the very end of his career.
 
My first job was at a go kart track that also sold Bridgestone motorcycles, and I remember the 175.

It had a switchable 4 speed rotary or 5 speed transmission and twin rotary valves.

Dean
 
I remember back in the day, those cz bikes could be fitted with a clutch rod you could hold on with your right ankle. sure was a advantage when they had "hand on helmet" motocross starts, before the gate they use now. I did pretty good on 250 maico, until the green Honda elsinore came out. remember those bing carburetors as well. I was a smaller guy. I ended up with a radial head 450 maico. I would put the front wheel against the gate, put the bike in 2nd gear, and let the clutch out. when the gate dropped, I just sat down. no one ever beat me to the first corner.
 
Memories all right. I raced a Harley 250 Sprint in the early 60's. No matter what I did to pump up the motor, I couldn't compete with two strokes right off the show room floor. I did fairly well until they came out. I also raced a Maico. Nothing wrong with two strokes. I have a few. Anyone remember the 68 Yamaha DT1. It's said that model Yamaha started the whole endure thing. Motorcycles are like my tractors. When I get one I keep it. Last count I have 17 bikes. I just keep one licensed and insured to ride. When I don't have any tractors to work on, I can find a Motorcycle that needs attention. Stan
 
3 pages on this thread and no one has brought up That British wonder “Greeves”
Had a great dealer in Jamestown NY. Western part of upstate.
Had a trials, enduro, & when I felt brave a flat track/tt 250
Fun times
 
I had an Elisnore 125. Bought it from a school mate.

He could really ride that thing! He had it ported, I think the power band was somewhere between 20,000 and 20,001! I never could ride it, too radical for my style.

Traded it and some cash for a 250 Bultaco. Best bike I ever owned, but it got stolen. That pretty much ended my dirt bike career.
 
English bikes with electrics by Lucas. The circuits looked like a kid in junior high school made them up with what he found in a box of wires, screws and springs.
 
At 67, yes, I remember all those bikes and had a few and still have all the motocross magazines from back then. Everyone thought De Coster could never be rivaled and then came an arrogant , confident "Hurricane" Bob Hannah. Watched him at Pontiac (MI) Silverdome often . Watched him one year..fell in first lap of A-Main and got up and won it !! I had Suzuki,s and Yamaha YZ 400 )first of mono-shockers) , also had one of the "legendary" 440 Maiko,s (awesome machine for it's time) Remember Hodaka ! Wombat and Combat Wombat? Can-Am. Even used to stud them up and race ice in winter. Wheelies on glare ice...people,s eyes popped out watching. What fun. Then came wife and 2 kids and self employed so no health ins....I got smart before I got hurt..got rid of all bikes at age 32 or so. Thanks for the "memory lane" post.
 
Dad bought one of those when I was still in HS as a deal with a new Ski Doo. 175 scrambler with a high pipe up ea side. A screaming little engine but no low end and pxss poor handling. First bike I ever rode also. Surprised I lived through that one.
 
I know what you are talking about.I just recently finished the restoration of a 61 TR5C with the famous Lucas electrical system. I had to get an after market electrical system before it would run. Stan
 
bob Harvey...what is icscc?? foto? had sumbeam imp, engine Coventry climax o.h.c. fire pump engine a/la/ lotus 11...be blessed, grateful, prepared...
 
My first bike was a '47' Jawa 250 street bike.70 mph top speed,two up w/windshield or one person streamlined.Had a Bultaco and CL 350 in Alaska.Still got a Honda XR 500 and a Hodaka/van tech.One of those will kill me if I don't sell it soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
The Yamaha DT series did more for the popularity of off road motorcycling than any other bike. Performed well enough to be fun, stone ax type reliability, dirt cheap rebuilds. At one time a top end rebuild cost something like $29.95. At the time you could buy a new DT 100 for just a touch over $400 sales tax included.
 
(quoted from post at 08:09:38 09/06/18) I had both a Can Am 250 and a 125.
Click to expand...
Grandfather had a Ski Doo dealership in the 60's and 70's and IIRC Bombardier had released to the US the Can Am Products around 71-72. He had a 125 and 250 that were part of a floor plan deal to introduce them, and about the same period the Sea Doo's came out as well. Then they disappeared until more recent years.
 
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