Bikes that improved the most from one model year to the next?

Prairieboy43
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5/5/2013 8:47am
Also 80 to 81 RM125. From air-cooled, twin shock to water-cooled, full floater dream ride.
All you had to do, was wheelie through the whoop section, and grandstand. You were guaranteed to demoralize your competition, and Victororius. Along with some Suzuki bucks. Similar to how Villopoto is demoralizing his competition now. It was and unfair advantage. This was the Mark Barnett Era. To me this was the most improved bike from one model year to the next. LaughingLaughingBlinkEvil
mototrader
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Buda, TX US
5/5/2013 10:08am
"Anyone voting for any model years other than the 70's or 80's is obviously young. Or retarded. Everything since about 1990 was just baby steps." This...
"Anyone voting for any model years other than the 70's or 80's is obviously young. Or retarded.

Everything since about 1990 was just baby steps."

This. To list a bike later than the early '90s is laughable.
I disagree. The 00-01 CR250 was alot better than the 97-99 CR250.

The early last generation RM125/250 were junk from 2001-2003, they didn't start to get good until 04.

The 02 CRF450 wasn't really that good of a bike either and it really came into it's own when they upgraded to the 2005 frame. The 08 CRF450 is considered one of the best 450s to date, even to this day.

As good as modern bikes are, the mfg's can still make duds
Tarz483
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5/5/2013 10:19am
"Anyone voting for any model years other than the 70's or 80's is obviously young. Or retarded. Everything since about 1990 was just baby steps." This...
"Anyone voting for any model years other than the 70's or 80's is obviously young. Or retarded.

Everything since about 1990 was just baby steps."

This. To list a bike later than the early '90s is laughable.
probly true but for some of us its all we remember , me for example , my first year ever riding was 1988

..so pretty much all my memory is from the early 1990's

clearly i can see the bikes of the 70's and most of the 80's look like turds but i never had to ride 1 Smile
Tarz483
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5/5/2013 10:23am
also it seems like the 4 strokes have drastically improved over the last decade..
how does a 2002 yzf 250 compare to a 2013 250f of any brand?

The Shop

newmann
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5/5/2013 11:05am
Tarz483 wrote:
also it seems like the 4 strokes have drastically improved over the last decade.. how does a 2002 yzf 250 compare to a 2013 250f of...
also it seems like the 4 strokes have drastically improved over the last decade..
how does a 2002 yzf 250 compare to a 2013 250f of any brand?
The 2001 and the 2013 engines are nearly unchanged. I would bet a brand new 01 model other than being a little swayback in the seating area would probably hold its own quite well against the 13 model. Might require a pipe change though as the first ones were choked down quite a bit probably in an effort to keep them legal against the 125's. Legalized cheating at its finest. God bless the AMA...
kawboy388
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Covington, TX US
5/5/2013 11:20am
The 85 RM 80(same as the 84 and very limited in numbers) to the 86 was prettty big.
NB304
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Jackson, MI US
5/6/2013 7:50am
06 to 07 rmz 250.
Tarz483
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5/6/2013 7:53am
Tarz483 wrote:
also it seems like the 4 strokes have drastically improved over the last decade.. how does a 2002 yzf 250 compare to a 2013 250f of...
also it seems like the 4 strokes have drastically improved over the last decade..
how does a 2002 yzf 250 compare to a 2013 250f of any brand?
newmann wrote:
The 2001 and the 2013 engines are nearly unchanged. I would bet a brand new 01 model other than being a little swayback in the seating...
The 2001 and the 2013 engines are nearly unchanged. I would bet a brand new 01 model other than being a little swayback in the seating area would probably hold its own quite well against the 13 model. Might require a pipe change though as the first ones were choked down quite a bit probably in an effort to keep them legal against the 125's. Legalized cheating at its finest. God bless the AMA...
i didnt know that about the motors being the same , but seems like they have advanced in a lot of other ways , like weight , and addition of efi .. etc

on a side note i am looking to buy a 250f soon , if your correct , should i buy a like new 02,03,04,05 ..
and save thousands >?
5/6/2013 7:55am
Dont buy a 250F at all unless you can afford $2500 engine explosions.
FreshTopEnd
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5/6/2013 8:28am
77 vs 78 CR's and RM's, 99 vs 00 CR 250 .. night and day difference.

mike
newmann wrote:
On the CR's, the 77 and 78 CR125's were identical. The 250 however was such a turd that they didn't even offer one for 1977. The...
On the CR's, the 77 and 78 CR125's were identical. The 250 however was such a turd that they didn't even offer one for 1977. The 78 CR250 was decades ahead of the 76.





The 78 CR125 was another one that was long overdue for a total remake but the 79 while definitely improved had its shortcomings.
Amen
jtomasik
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5/6/2013 9:37am
1992 to 1993 KX125. 1997 KX250 to 1998 KX250 2002 YZF450 to 2003 YZF450 2007 to 2008 CRF450 2011 KX450 to 2012 KX450 Ask rv bout...
1992 to 1993 KX125.
1997 KX250 to 1998 KX250
2002 YZF450 to 2003 YZF450
2007 to 2008 CRF450
2011 KX450 to 2012 KX450 Ask rv bout this one
mx317 wrote:
There wasn't a 2002 YZF450, it was a 426.
That must've been a pretty big change. I had an '01 426, and I was wondering when they were going to start making a dirt bike with a motor that you can actually start.
loftyair
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5/6/2013 10:04am
The first year of the crf450 was alot better than the year before! haha
When the first ktm 'FE' came out, that was big.
Any bike that had a front disc pretty much puts the drum to shame.
The Sneak
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5/6/2013 1:13pm
1992 Yamaha YZ80:


1993 Yamaha YZ80:


From 1983 to the year 2000 in just a few months
brimx153
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5/6/2013 2:42pm
The Sneak wrote:
1992 Yamaha YZ80: [img]https://www.leguidevert.com/marques/yamaha/yamaha80yz1992.jpg[/img] 1993 Yamaha YZ80: [img]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8151/7694479084_54a897bebe_z.jpg[/img] From 1983 to the year 2000 in just a few months
1992 Yamaha YZ80:


1993 Yamaha YZ80:


From 1983 to the year 2000 in just a few months
x2 the 1992 yz 80 , had a power band like a light switch ,did nothing until it hit like crazy ,
jim598
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Marion, OH US
5/6/2013 4:07pm
t believe no one has mentioned 82 yz 125 and 250 to the 83 models
downard254
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Bremen, OH US
5/6/2013 4:27pm
86 to 87 RM125
Amen to this. I had the 86 and anything was light years ahead. Better yet, I went from the 86 RM125 to the 87 CR125. Different universe.
HenryA
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5/6/2013 11:52pm
jtomasik wrote:
That must've been a pretty big change. I had an '01 426, and I was wondering when they were going to start making a dirt bike...
That must've been a pretty big change. I had an '01 426, and I was wondering when they were going to start making a dirt bike with a motor that you can actually start.
Dude I feel you. Especially when the engine was warm, it was nearly impossible to fire that thing up. Worst bike ever.
newmann
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US
5/7/2013 6:17am
One bike I've never owned but always wanted to is the 76 YZ125C or X model. Such a sleek and good looking machine and drastically different than the 1975 YZ125B.

1975 YZ125B


1976 YZ125C


1976 YZ125X
CR500Rider
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San Antonio, TX US
5/7/2013 8:09am
82' - 83' YZ125. Night and day difference. The 82' YZ125 was slower than my 80' YZ100 and it blew or seized bi-weekly. I hated that POS.
YZ125H1
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5/7/2013 2:49pm
1989 KX250 to 1990 KX250
1991 KX80 to 1992 KX80 (1992 KX80 was a sick looking bike for its year hard to believe its early 90's)
throttle77
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5/7/2013 2:59pm
I remember reading the 92 CR's had epicly bad suspension which seemed to get fixed for 93.
Tarz483
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5/7/2013 9:52pm
1989 cr 125 To 1990 cr125
TG130
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5/7/2013 10:29pm
"Anyone voting for any model years other than the 70's or 80's is obviously young. Or retarded. Everything since about 1990 was just baby steps." This...
"Anyone voting for any model years other than the 70's or 80's is obviously young. Or retarded.

Everything since about 1990 was just baby steps."

This. To list a bike later than the early '90s is laughable.
X3
Madmax31
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5/8/2013 5:58am
1995 to 1996 YZ125 was a huge difference.
burn1986 wrote:
Yep X2. Beat me to it. 96 started the reign for the YZ125, that hasn't stopped.
kzizok wrote:
How about the 1985-1986 YZ 125 or even their 80 for that matter? The 1985 was considered to probably be the worst japanese MX'er, of all...
How about the 1985-1986 YZ 125 or even their 80 for that matter? The 1985 was considered to probably be the worst japanese MX'er, of all sizes at the time. The '86 model was an incredible change.
The 84 & 85 were horrible. My dumbass bought both years. The 86 was much better but what wasn't!
Matt Fisher
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5/8/2013 8:08am
"Anyone voting for any model years other than the 70's or 80's is obviously young. Or retarded. Everything since about 1990 was just baby steps." This...
"Anyone voting for any model years other than the 70's or 80's is obviously young. Or retarded.

Everything since about 1990 was just baby steps."

This. To list a bike later than the early '90s is laughable.
TG130 wrote:
X3
X4
Wandell
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Cairo, GA US
5/8/2013 10:18am Edited Date/Time 5/8/2013 10:18am
How about the open class Hondas of 81 and 82. The 1981 CR450 was one of the worst motocross bikes ever made. The 1982 CR480 was a giant improvement and one of the best bikes in the 500 class that year.

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