Top 10 MXers of all time

ATKpilot99
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ATKpilot99
Edited Date/Time 8/8/2013 9:39am
RC
Stefan Everts
Roger DeCoster
Eric Geboers
Rick Johnson
Bob Hannah
Georges Jobe
Jeff Ward
Heikke Mikkola
Antonio Cairoli

Edit: Bumping Thorpe for Cairoli

SX was not considered when I came up with this list. This is my top 10 best, not necessarily fastest as in raw speed or Magoo and Stewart would be on there. I think the top 3 are pretty much not debatable and could go in any order. The rest of the top 10 is very debatable because there are so many great ones I'm probably forgetting and there really isn't room in the top 10.
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FreshTopEnd
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FreshTopEnd 8/7/2013 3:34pm
8/7/2013 3:34pm
Mikkola needs to be higher. His impact in the States was nowhere near RD's, but frankly he got the better of RD more than not in the years they raced each other in their prime.

But this can get argued for days
Ctrefz787
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Ctrefz787 8/7/2013 3:48pm
8/7/2013 3:48pm
RC
James Stewart
Rick Johnson
Jeff Ward
Jean Michel Bayle
David Bailey
Bob Hannah
Jeff Stanton
Ryan Villopoto
Doug Henry
newmann
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newmann 8/7/2013 3:49pm
8/7/2013 3:49pm
RC was a tubby little roly poly at 15 years old. Think he could have hung with Lackey behind the iron curtain? Bribed his way across the border. Not cried when the border guard with the machine gun wanted to ride his Jawa??? Had any of those old guys had the creature comforts of todays pop stars, they'd still be winning. No one would have ever even heard of little Richard Charmichael. And you can stamp that or whatever the cool terminology is this week....like totally!




Tongue
Jt$
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Jt$ 8/7/2013 4:00pm
8/7/2013 4:00pm
newmann wrote:
RC was a tubby little roly poly at 15 years old. Think he could have hung with Lackey behind the iron curtain? Bribed his way across...
RC was a tubby little roly poly at 15 years old. Think he could have hung with Lackey behind the iron curtain? Bribed his way across the border. Not cried when the border guard with the machine gun wanted to ride his Jawa??? Had any of those old guys had the creature comforts of todays pop stars, they'd still be winning. No one would have ever even heard of little Richard Charmichael. And you can stamp that or whatever the cool terminology is this week....like totally!




Tongue
What does any of that have to do with who is the best mx rider? Is he a secret agent or motocross rider?

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observer
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observer 8/7/2013 4:11pm
8/7/2013 4:11pm
FreshTopEnd wrote:
Mikkola needs to be higher. His impact in the States was nowhere near RD's, but frankly he got the better of RD more than not in...
Mikkola needs to be higher. His impact in the States was nowhere near RD's, but frankly he got the better of RD more than not in the years they raced each other in their prime.

But this can get argued for days
Because Mikkola was a brute and an animal. Never blinked.

Newmanns points well taken too. Those guys lived & raced in another world-literally.
Something the new era riders haven't a clue about. Has everything to do with character, resolve, determination & grit.
FreshTopEnd
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FreshTopEnd 8/7/2013 4:18pm
8/7/2013 4:18pm
The riders that succeeded in any era did what they needed to do for their times. There's no reason to believe that a modern rider who has succeeded at a high level would not have risen to the occasion if he had faced the challenges of an earlier era. The times are different, the mental fortitude to succeed and will to win is something the great riders share in common regardless of whether they made their places in the sport in eras that presented different challenges.

The bikes, track, resources changes, but the will to win that results in sustained success does not. It's what the great riders have in common. Its as equally unfair to a modern rider to say he has faced as much adversity as Lackey did as it is to say that the riders from past times did not go as fast as the guys do today.
newmann
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newmann 8/7/2013 4:37pm
8/7/2013 4:37pm
FTE has to get all serious...Smile

No one mentioned Robert yet. He was pretty good too with what, 6 world championships?

Even that cantankerous old grouch Jeff Smith who bankrupted AHRMA and stole all that money from it's members and the member funded injured riders benevolent fund to compete in a non winnable pissing match of a lawsuit with Ianucci, was pretty good riding a 190 pound 500cc titanium framed BSA. Wow, holy run on sentence! And yes, there are those who will always rise to the occasion but the Apples and Oxen comparisons always tend to go somewhat south.
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FreshTopEnd 8/7/2013 4:41pm
8/7/2013 4:41pm
Yer right Joe, Robert needs to be on the list, and probably Hallman, too.
FastEddy
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FastEddy 8/7/2013 4:46pm
8/7/2013 4:46pm Edited Date/Time 8/7/2013 4:47pm
ATKpilot99 wrote:
RC Stefan Everts Roger DeCoster Eric Geboers Rick Johnson Bob Hannah Georges Jobe Jeff Ward Heikke Mikkola Antonio Cairoli Edit: Bumping Thorpe for Cairoli SX was...
RC
Stefan Everts
Roger DeCoster
Eric Geboers
Rick Johnson
Bob Hannah
Georges Jobe
Jeff Ward
Heikke Mikkola
Antonio Cairoli

Edit: Bumping Thorpe for Cairoli

SX was not considered when I came up with this list. This is my top 10 best, not necessarily fastest as in raw speed or Magoo and Stewart would be on there. I think the top 3 are pretty much not debatable and could go in any order. The rest of the top 10 is very debatable because there are so many great ones I'm probably forgetting and there really isn't room in the top 10.
RC
Everts
Hannah
Glover
RJ
Jeff Ward
Stanton
JMB
Cairoli
Stewart (he's got a perfect season in MX)
TripleDigit 8/7/2013 4:55pm
8/7/2013 4:55pm
Carla is very hard to leave out too and Geboers who was WC in all 3 classes 125/250/500

Ward,and guys like Tripes that always seem to come up too,what an impossible list??
ATKpilot99
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ATKpilot99 8/7/2013 5:00pm
8/7/2013 5:00pm
TripleDigit wrote:
Carla is very hard to leave out too and Geboers who was WC in all 3 classes 125/250/500 Ward,and guys like Tripes that always seem to...
Carla is very hard to leave out too and Geboers who was WC in all 3 classes 125/250/500

Ward,and guys like Tripes that always seem to come up too,what an impossible list??
It really is an impossible list but it makes for great bench racing.
FastEddy
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FastEddy 8/7/2013 5:06pm
8/7/2013 5:06pm
TripleDigit wrote:
Carla is very hard to leave out too and Geboers who was WC in all 3 classes 125/250/500 Ward,and guys like Tripes that always seem to...
Carla is very hard to leave out too and Geboers who was WC in all 3 classes 125/250/500

Ward,and guys like Tripes that always seem to come up too,what an impossible list??
ATKpilot99 wrote:
It really is an impossible list but it makes for great bench racing.
You almost gotta break it down.
Bike size,conditions ect...
Diverse rider,ect..
FreshTopEnd
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FreshTopEnd 8/7/2013 5:18pm
8/7/2013 5:18pm
RC
S Everts
Mikkola
DeCoster
RJ
Robert
Hallman
Hannah
E. Geboers
Glover

I've left off active riders, but I think you'd throw RV and Cairoli on to the list, probably up over Hannah and punting Geboers and Glover. And once you get into that cream of the 80's riders on both sides of the pond like Thorpe, Jobe, Carlquist, Malherbe, Stanton, Ward, Barnett, it gets pretty sticky, as well as some of the 60's greats like Tibblin or Friedrichs. There's no wrong answers.
bd
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bd 8/7/2013 6:20pm
8/7/2013 6:20pm Edited Date/Time 8/7/2013 6:21pm
Top Ten Americans
RC
Rad Boy
Hurricane
RV
Bubba
Bomber
db & Golden Boy TIE
Wardy
Dungey
Stanton
Bauer
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Bauer 8/7/2013 6:59pm
8/7/2013 6:59pm
bd wrote:
Top Ten Americans
RC
Rad Boy
Hurricane
RV
Bubba
Bomber
db & Golden Boy TIE
Wardy
Dungey
Stanton
I don't think Radical Ron Turner should be second on that list...
Foo723
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Foo723 8/7/2013 7:46pm
8/7/2013 7:46pm
rc, decoster, hannah in the top 3 always. hannah transformed the sport with his dedication to physical fitness, imho.

hannah also defined the term "you win your championships on your bad days"

ive mentioned this before, really need to get a deck of cards and fill it out with with 52 great ones, and still some worthy will be left out. rc, ace of spades, decoster ace of diamonds and hannah ace of clubs (he would club you with his bike if he had to)
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Sandberm 8/7/2013 8:05pm
8/7/2013 8:05pm
Jeez, if Jerry Robin can beat David Baily on his works Honda, shouldn't he be on the list?

1-RC
2-Everts
3-Stewart
4-After that its a crap shoot of a lot of GREAT riders
overthebars39 8/7/2013 8:33pm
8/7/2013 8:33pm Edited Date/Time 8/7/2013 8:45pm
When i am making sutch a list i always feel like i dishonor the other great riders i place below eatch other rider.
it's nice to see some have Mikkola on their list, he was a beast. And as FastEddy said, it differs on tracks and situation.

I find this sport to be to complex to create sutch a list. So without places:

RC, Everts, JS7, RV, Cairolli, Mikkola, DeCoster, Wardy, Showtime, Hannah, Geboers, Jobé, Smets, André Malherbe, Hakan Carlquist, Thrope, Ricky Johnson, Joël Robert,... The list goes on really. Allot of riders could be seen as the greatest of THEIR time.

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FreshTopEnd
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FreshTopEnd 8/7/2013 9:01pm
8/7/2013 9:01pm Edited Date/Time 8/7/2013 9:42pm
Foo723 wrote:
rc, decoster, hannah in the top 3 always. hannah transformed the sport with his dedication to physical fitness, imho. hannah also defined the term "you win...
rc, decoster, hannah in the top 3 always. hannah transformed the sport with his dedication to physical fitness, imho.

hannah also defined the term "you win your championships on your bad days"

ive mentioned this before, really need to get a deck of cards and fill it out with with 52 great ones, and still some worthy will be left out. rc, ace of spades, decoster ace of diamonds and hannah ace of clubs (he would club you with his bike if he had to)
Hannah getting out of Mikkola's way at the 78 NXdN.





Three of DeCoster's 500 titles came when Mikkola was racing the 250 GPs. Of the years they raced head to head in the 500's, Mikkola took three titles and DeCoster took two. DeCoster is rightly a legend, and especially in the US where he his consistent participation in the Trans AMA made him a real ambassador when the sport was coming into its own. But any credit due to DeCoster is at least the credit due Mikkola.
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Sully 8/7/2013 9:37pm
8/7/2013 9:37pm
FreshTopEnd wrote:
Hannah getting out of Mikkola's way at the 78 NXdN. [img]https://www.ftemoto.com/othergalleries/misc/images/1978mxdnheikkimikkolago.jpg[/img] [img]https://www.ftemoto.com/othergalleries/misc/images/Poster007.jpg[/img] Three of DeCoster's 500 titles came when Mikkola was racing the 250 GPs. Of...
Hannah getting out of Mikkola's way at the 78 NXdN.





Three of DeCoster's 500 titles came when Mikkola was racing the 250 GPs. Of the years they raced head to head in the 500's, Mikkola took three titles and DeCoster took two. DeCoster is rightly a legend, and especially in the US where he his consistent participation in the Trans AMA made him a real ambassador when the sport was coming into its own. But any credit due to DeCoster is at least the credit due Mikkola.
I was watching a video from the 90s that had RJ, Wardy and DeCoster sitting around a campfire telling stories. RJ said the first time he saw Mikkola at Carlsbad, he was walking around the pits wearing clogs and a Speedo. RJ said he knew right then and there Heikke wasn't a guy to screw with.
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kxf king 8/7/2013 9:57pm
8/7/2013 9:57pm
Ctrefz787 wrote:
RC
James Stewart
Rick Johnson
Jeff Ward
Jean Michel Bayle
David Bailey
Bob Hannah
Jeff Stanton
Ryan Villopoto
Doug Henry
x2, i think that anyone who can pull off a perfect season should be second only to someone who can do it twice.

oh and swap out villopodium with dungey
TDeath21
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TDeath21 8/7/2013 10:04pm
8/7/2013 10:04pm
1. Carmichael
2. Everts
3. Decoster

After that it's a crapshoot between a lot of riders. I do think when it's all said and done, Villopoto will be a clear cut top four.
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BobbyM 8/7/2013 10:05pm
8/7/2013 10:05pm
Foo723 wrote:
rc, decoster, hannah in the top 3 always. hannah transformed the sport with his dedication to physical fitness, imho. hannah also defined the term "you win...
rc, decoster, hannah in the top 3 always. hannah transformed the sport with his dedication to physical fitness, imho.

hannah also defined the term "you win your championships on your bad days"

ive mentioned this before, really need to get a deck of cards and fill it out with with 52 great ones, and still some worthy will be left out. rc, ace of spades, decoster ace of diamonds and hannah ace of clubs (he would club you with his bike if he had to)
FreshTopEnd wrote:
Hannah getting out of Mikkola's way at the 78 NXdN. [img]https://www.ftemoto.com/othergalleries/misc/images/1978mxdnheikkimikkolago.jpg[/img] [img]https://www.ftemoto.com/othergalleries/misc/images/Poster007.jpg[/img] Three of DeCoster's 500 titles came when Mikkola was racing the 250 GPs. Of...
Hannah getting out of Mikkola's way at the 78 NXdN.





Three of DeCoster's 500 titles came when Mikkola was racing the 250 GPs. Of the years they raced head to head in the 500's, Mikkola took three titles and DeCoster took two. DeCoster is rightly a legend, and especially in the US where he his consistent participation in the Trans AMA made him a real ambassador when the sport was coming into its own. But any credit due to DeCoster is at least the credit due Mikkola.
I saw bad brad go by mikkola at his mechanics request like he was going backwards. Bad brad not on the list is a travesty I tell ya.
mt798
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mt798 8/7/2013 10:34pm
8/7/2013 10:34pm
I guess all you guy's forgot about an old dude named Gary Jones?
BWRAAP
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BWRAAP 8/7/2013 11:47pm
8/7/2013 11:47pm
Ctrefz787 wrote:
RC
James Stewart
Rick Johnson
Jeff Ward
Jean Michel Bayle
David Bailey
Bob Hannah
Jeff Stanton
Ryan Villopoto
Doug Henry
kxf king wrote:
x2, i think that anyone who can pull off a perfect season should be second only to someone who can do it twice. oh and swap...
x2, i think that anyone who can pull off a perfect season should be second only to someone who can do it twice.

oh and swap out villopodium with dungey
How can you not name this guy?
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visser62 8/8/2013 1:00am
8/8/2013 1:00am
This is impossible, but I'll try:

1. RC
2. Hannah
3. Decoster
4. Johnson
5. Everts
6. Mikkola
7. Ward
8. Karsmakers
9. Glover
10. Stewart


Yeah, I'm still not happy with it.
kong0036
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kong0036 8/8/2013 1:03am
8/8/2013 1:03am
TDeath21 wrote:
1. Carmichael 2. Everts 3. Decoster After that it's a crapshoot between a lot of riders. I do think when it's all said and done, Villopoto...
1. Carmichael
2. Everts
3. Decoster

After that it's a crapshoot between a lot of riders. I do think when it's all said and done, Villopoto will be a clear cut top four.
^^^^^^^
this wins for me
FreshTopEnd
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FreshTopEnd 8/8/2013 7:41am
8/8/2013 7:41am Edited Date/Time 8/8/2013 7:44am
BobbyM wrote:
I saw bad brad go by mikkola at his mechanics request like he was going backwards. Bad brad not on the list is a travesty I...
I saw bad brad go by mikkola at his mechanics request like he was going backwards. Bad brad not on the list is a travesty I tell ya.
Oh Bob, when was that? I'm as in love with what Brad accomplished and represents as any NorCal brother, but he's not in the top ten best mx'ers of all time. He's a great racer and probably one of the top ten significant riders in terms of career stories and meaning for what he (and Pomeroy) did in committing to the GPs. But not one of the best 10 of al time.
dice78
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dice78 8/8/2013 8:16am
8/8/2013 8:16am
when you are talking about top10 mx riders of all time and you don't have JS7 at #2 you have to be crazy that is a diss to JS7 the greatest 125 mx rider and a perfect 450 title and he is not on your list you need to see a doctor
newmann
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newmann 8/8/2013 8:21am
8/8/2013 8:21am Edited Date/Time 8/8/2013 8:24am
dice78 wrote:
when you are talking about top10 mx riders of all time and you don't have JS7 at #2 you have to be crazy that is a...
when you are talking about top10 mx riders of all time and you don't have JS7 at #2 you have to be crazy that is a diss to JS7 the greatest 125 mx rider and a perfect 450 title and he is not on your list you need to see a doctor
125's don't count, just ask the retards at the AMA.

And while James may have been one of the fastest, and at times one of the best, we are talking about "of all time" here. James has had a whole lot of quit and downtime over his career. If only he had that RC determination and work ethic, I think he would have rewritten all of the record books.

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