Scariest bike (dirt) you've ever ridden?

tblazier
Posts
8820
Joined
7/20/2011
Location
Leesburg, VA, USA
4/25/2012 9:52am
1978 XT500, way more power than the chassis or suspension could handle. That thing was a death trap!
5/10/2012 5:57am
Probably the old xr600, can't remember the year (was air cooled) but I weighed like 75kilo, and the weight of tHe bike an The power, on a slippery paddock with a bold back tire and when the throttle stocked too. That was a bit scary haha but still awesome fun.
ga_pike
Posts
2650
Joined
7/14/2011
Location
Valdosta, GA, USA
5/10/2012 6:46am
Right after we moved to Georgia from West Virginia, we met the Martin family who at the time ran Hillbilly Hills MX. I was on 80's and Tommy Martin was a seriously fast A class rider. He had as one of his play bikes an XR600. I was just getting ready to make the jump to 125's and he said I should take the XR out for a few laps. Well, I did. After a couple of warm up laps, he wrote on a pit board to "get on it". The moments that followed were some of the scariest in my life. That Bike was a BEAST!!! But I did huck the huge tabletop in the back that I could barely get over on my 80.

His was similar to this model:
NetMXer
Posts
583
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Woodstock, VA, USA
5/10/2012 6:51am
The early 80's YZ490s. Those bikes are what started the term "Yamahop". You'd be going down a straight, not even hit a bump and your back wheel would decide to pass you. I didn't realize how bad those bikes were until I switched to a Maico in 83. I haven't been back on a Yamaha (excluding my street bike) since then.

The Shop

5/10/2012 7:02am Edited Date/Time 5/10/2012 7:04am
The scariest bike I have ever ridden is any of them that had a throttle !!! Which makes that any bike that I have ever rode !!!
croom mx
Posts
1964
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
miami, FL, USA
5/10/2012 8:58am
The Suzuki TM250s were really bad, the powerband was like and ON OFF switch.
tbanks
Posts
1515
Joined
5/28/2011
Location
Great Mills, MD, USA
5/10/2012 9:04am
My friend had a 2000 KTM 250SX that he bored out to a 312. Just remembering the rev on that thing gives me nightmares. I rode it once and just hitting 2nd gear felt like my arms were gonna pop out their socks. It was terribly unstable and the bike vibrated so much just idling that my friend continually lost the springs holding the pipe on. It was a scary machine for sure and just about every moto that my friend raced he had to wrestle the front end back to the ground after the gate dropped.
4stroke4DWIN
Posts
2765
Joined
1/15/2012
Location
texas city, TX, USA
5/10/2012 9:04am
Another bike I just thought of that scared me was my cousins 1980 YZ 80, that thing was scary fast for a 10yr old.
three9zero
Posts
1454
Joined
9/26/2010
Location
Kamloops B.C, CA
5/10/2012 9:19am
Last summer I rode a Maico 490, a bike that fast with basically no brakes was crazy to say the least.
JG463
Posts
942
Joined
6/21/2011
Location
Stillwater, OK, USA
5/10/2012 9:22am
I know its not a dirtbike, but I have a Kawasaki H2 750 with 3900 miles on it. That is by far the scariest thing I have ever ridden... but man do I love it!
sxdude
Posts
22
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
NJ, NJ, USA
5/10/2012 9:47am
KX400 very scary especially at age 13.

stax199
Posts
157
Joined
3/7/2012
Location
Brooklyn, NY, USA
5/10/2012 9:53am
5/10/2012 10:27am
ga_pike wrote:
Right after we moved to Georgia from West Virginia, we met the Martin family who at the time ran Hillbilly Hills MX. I was on 80's...
Right after we moved to Georgia from West Virginia, we met the Martin family who at the time ran Hillbilly Hills MX. I was on 80's and Tommy Martin was a seriously fast A class rider. He had as one of his play bikes an XR600. I was just getting ready to make the jump to 125's and he said I should take the XR out for a few laps. Well, I did. After a couple of warm up laps, he wrote on a pit board to "get on it". The moments that followed were some of the scariest in my life. That Bike was a BEAST!!! But I did huck the huge tabletop in the back that I could barely get over on my 80.

His was similar to this model:
yeah thats a simular model, indeed they are a beast, and scary when the throttle sticks.!
boybuc
Posts
104
Joined
3/20/2008
Location
Murrieta, CA, USA
5/10/2012 12:58pm
1985 YZ250 that thing did what ever it wanted to
Ing
Posts
3654
Joined
8/16/2006
Location
Spring Hill, FL, USA
5/10/2012 1:27pm
Deetsmx wrote:
2003 ktm 250sx
Yep, that 250 katoom had one hellashish power band. A 10hp spike at about 6K. Fast but you better be pointed in the right direction when you pull the trigger.
er0ck33
Posts
77
Joined
9/12/2010
Location
Brunswick, GA, USA
5/10/2012 1:48pm
1997 CR 250...thing was a brick!
2002 CRF 450...couldn't turn the damn thing!

Should of learned not to buy a first year bike...should of gave it alittle time to work out the kinks.
Wiley
Posts
127
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Placer Co., CA, USA
5/10/2012 2:21pm
97 CR250. Rode one off-road through the rocks and never felt so nervous on a bike ever. That thing was a POS.
TbonesPop
Posts
3814
Joined
1/26/2010
Location
Gilbert, AZ, USA
5/10/2012 4:12pm
sxdude wrote:
KX400 very scary especially at age 13. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2012/05/10/KX400_201975_304528.jpg[/img]
KX400 very scary especially at age 13.

Damn, could that chain be any tighter????

My scariest bike was riding my dad's KX420 when I was 15. Damn thing was a trench digger.
thephoenix
Posts
607
Joined
2/13/2012
Location
USA
5/10/2012 5:51pm
1984 CR500....as a 15yr old that had never raced anything bigger than my 1985 CR125....that thing was...beastly. Scared myself silly. First thing that happened was ripping my pants trying to start it when the kick back happened...lol.

Then my eyes knocked the goggle lens out when I hit the track and gave it some throttle....I think I experienced my first fear orgasm. It was gnarly in every sense of the word.
ga_pike
Posts
2650
Joined
7/14/2011
Location
Valdosta, GA, USA
5/10/2012 6:09pm
thephoenix wrote:
1984 CR500....as a 15yr old that had never raced anything bigger than my 1985 CR125....that thing was...beastly. Scared myself silly. First thing that happened was ripping...
1984 CR500....as a 15yr old that had never raced anything bigger than my 1985 CR125....that thing was...beastly. Scared myself silly. First thing that happened was ripping my pants trying to start it when the kick back happened...lol.

Then my eyes knocked the goggle lens out when I hit the track and gave it some throttle....I think I experienced my first fear orgasm. It was gnarly in every sense of the word.
HA HA!!! The "feargasim"!!!
bullpen58
Posts
4399
Joined
8/15/2006
Location
Fresno, CA, USA
5/10/2012 6:11pm
1983 YZ490 a buddy got off some rancher for like a case of beer. It was sitting in a barn for decades or whatever. Wouldn't start. He got a new piston and rings and voila, he had a "race bike". Bike was a pos to begin with but there were other reasons it was the scariest I have ridden.

It had a seat height of about 70 inches. No kickstarter (we had to push start it). NO rear brake. Front brake barely worked. Front brake cable would snag onto the cracked front number plate when the suspension would rebound and artitrarily apply front brake making you wash out ANY time you attempted to change direction. Bike made like 85 horsepower all over about a 200 RPM range but other than that, had very very little torque. Oh yeah, both tires were completely bald and the left grip would twist right off the bars if you looked at it wrong. Oh yeah, and the shock had a blown seal or some shit so it had zero rebound. It would just pogo stick for miles after each bump you hit. Oh yeah, and third gear would slip and skip and you couldn't put it in neutral. I rode it up and down a dirt road and am thankful I survived.
FreshTopEnd
Posts
13361
Joined
8/16/2006
Location
Sacramento, CA, USA
5/10/2012 7:19pm
The first one.
YZ125H1
Posts
830
Joined
1/31/2012
Location
Elizabethtown, PA, USA
5/11/2012 9:16am
Stock 2006 KX250 - Bike never wanted to slow down the brakes are complete shit. Vibrates like crazy through the footpegs and seems to ride very high in the suspension which makes it suck in the corners. Crazy power though
motomental1
Posts
134
Joined
3/14/2010
Location
Liberty, MO, USA
5/11/2012 10:13am


1972 tm400j cyclone got i usedt in 76 bone stock paid 600 for it . took couple bad soil samples on it. even lost a finger. traded for a 76rm250 about a year later. still have nightmares about that beast. wish i had it now id show it whos boss lol one bad moto mofo. just like the De Soto BRO'S
jtomasik
Posts
12895
Joined
8/17/2006
Location
Golden, CO, USA
5/11/2012 10:30am Edited Date/Time 5/11/2012 10:40am


RM465. 4-speed. Powerband of a 125. Power of an open classer. Only one useable gear. Shit brakes. Shit suspension. Shit quality. Shit shit shit shit shit. And more shit.
yota
Posts
1421
Joined
6/23/2008
Location
Crystal River, FL, USA
5/11/2012 10:36am
JG463 wrote:
I know its not a dirtbike, but I have a Kawasaki H2 750 with 3900 miles on it. That is by far the scariest thing I...
I know its not a dirtbike, but I have a Kawasaki H2 750 with 3900 miles on it. That is by far the scariest thing I have ever ridden... but man do I love it!
Cowboy94
Posts
9
Joined
4/28/2012
Location
Socal, CA, USA
5/11/2012 10:59am
72 Suzuki TM400 at Glamis in the 70's... My hands still shake from that BEAST!
motomental1
Posts
134
Joined
3/14/2010
Location
Liberty, MO, USA
5/11/2012 12:11pm
Cowboy94 wrote:
72 Suzuki TM400 at Glamis in the 70's... My hands still shake from that BEAST![img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2012/05/11/Glamis_TM400_70564.jpg[/img]
72 Suzuki TM400 at Glamis in the 70's... My hands still shake from that BEAST!
are you related to Seth Enslow??? just sayin. only time i ever got that high with my tm400 was in my van.
mark_swart
Posts
2529
Joined
11/2/2011
Location
Chapin, SC, USA
5/11/2012 12:20pm
Wiley wrote:
97 CR250. Rode one off-road through the rocks and never felt so nervous on a bike ever. That thing was a POS.
I was thinking the same thing! Twitchy, vibrating POS would shake its head in anything over second gear. Stinkbug stance and dog slow as a bonus! I rode two laps on my buddies bike and came back just shaking my head that Honda had make that bike after the previous generation of truly excellent bikes.
Granted, I never rode the distinguished TM 400 or YZ 490...
Cowboy94
Posts
9
Joined
4/28/2012
Location
Socal, CA, USA
5/11/2012 12:38pm
Cowboy94 wrote:
72 Suzuki TM400 at Glamis in the 70's... My hands still shake from that BEAST![img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2012/05/11/Glamis_TM400_70564.jpg[/img]
72 Suzuki TM400 at Glamis in the 70's... My hands still shake from that BEAST!
are you related to Seth Enslow??? just sayin. only time i ever got that high with my tm400 was in my van.
The TM400 was my Dad's, my POS 75 Yamaha MX250B blew a motor in the first 5 minutes.

Post a reply to: Scariest bike (dirt) you've ever ridden?

The Latest