What do you consider the greatest ERA of MX or SX

Pro - 70's mx & 80's sx...

Amateur - 70's for MX and 90's for mini MXer's.

You'd just have to of been there (from the late 60's to now) to fully understand my choices...

The '80's, the amount of bike improvements and depth of riders were plentiful.

From 1974 through 1984, bikes went from air cooled ,drum brakes and four inches of travel to watercooled, power valved, disc brakes and twelve inches of linkage controlled adjustable compression and rebound suspension. That was the evolution of the motocross bike. A great and exciting time with trick new stuff to look forward to every year. Sometimes new stuff came out so fast they introduced new or upgraded bikes mid year. From 84 -08 the forks got turned upside down, styling changed slightly, things got refined, some frames went to aluminum and engine technology ultimately went back to the 60's with the four stroke. That could be considered the stale period or the decomposing period. " title="Laughing"> Face it, not much has happened in the last 24 years.

For me, I grew up late 80's early 90's and watching the 500 GP guys battle it out on the world stage was just an awesome time for me

80's for sure.. The mx bike technology skyrocketed after 1980. The 90's were pretty blah for me, MC had little competition if you think about it.. I think its gonna get really good again when some of the Lites riders get into the 450's.. Villopoto, Dungey, etc is gonna make for some good racing(like it has been the past few weeks.

[quote="peeps sr":51fbd7fn]Pro - 70's mx & 80's sx...

Amateur - 70's for MX and 90's for mini MXer's.

You'd just have to of been there (from the late 60's to now) to fully understand my choices...[/quote:51fbd7fn]
+1

The depth of tallent was so deep in the 80s it was sick. Look how many different champs there were. The works bikes were great to look at, I used to sit there and look at the early 80s honda works bikes and be amazed at all the stuff they had for those bikes.

Minis I would say for me I was most amazed in 79. Kehoe on a factory Yamaha, Holland on a R&D bike and Loui on his crf yz 80 with red gear.

[quote="KTM93":3hfaroqk][quote="peeps sr":3hfaroqk]Pro - 70's mx & 80's sx...

Amateur - 70's for MX and 90's for mini MXer's.

You'd just have to of been there (from the late 60's to now) to fully understand my choices...[/quote:3hfaroqk]
+1[/quote:3hfaroqk]

Pro MX right on the mark. Think before JMG in 250 SX in '93, SX was great with numbers of different riders that could win.

Locally in the mid-late '70's, MX was packed to the hilt. Many budding stars came out of North/Southern Cal local scenes.

for MX I would say the Hannah era had more epic battles

For SX the MC era
[youtube1:155zszto]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXnvGCFA9Dg[/youtube1:155zszto]

[quote="KTM93":s2if4lr8][quote="peeps sr":s2if4lr8]Pro - 70's mx & 80's sx...

Amateur - 70's for MX and 90's for mini MXer's.

You'd just have to of been there (from the late 60's to now) to fully understand my choices...[/quote:s2if4lr8]
+1[/quote:s2if4lr8]

+2

From about 1970 to 1999.

Almost no four-strokes.

-Steve

RC beating the pants off of Bubba in MX ranks up there.

Also, Hannah destroying all comers.

MC in 96 SX was stellar too.

The stars of the 80s (Bailey, Hannah, Bradshaw, Ward, RJ, O'Mara, Lechien, Hansen, Magoo, etc.) were larger than life. it is still my favorite era (viewed through the rosy red lens of nostalgia)
The RC era was repetitive, but really fun to watch. I was happy to have observed RC's career from beginning to end ( if it is, in fact, over).

Late 70's to 2003. It's gone downhill since.

Late 60's to late 70's.
Why? Because those times were filled with wonder for us in the USA. We were like virgins in the back seat of a 57 chevy and each time we "rode" we got better and better! Those times were the basis for what MX is today in the USA. I raced then and i race now in Brasil and USA.

As a side note, Brasilian MX is kinda where we were about 20 yrs ago in terms of equipment, skill level and family atmosphere not to mention the exitement and down to earth people that participate. I have never seen a mini mom or dad cause trouble but then again i have never seen a good track like we have here! Yep, even the tracks in Brasil are like they were in the late 70's early 80's in the USA, can anyone say "dust"? It brings a tear to my eye that i am so lucky to actually re-live the past without a time machine

70's/80's were the times of real racing! AH, the good old days!

[quote="raddad":2fod8l69]Late 60's to late 70's.
Why? Because those times were filled with wonder for us in the USA. We were like virgins in the back seat of a 57 chevy and each time we "rode" we got better and better! Those times were the basis for what MX is today in the USA. I raced then and i race now in Brasil and USA.

As a side note, Brasilian MX is kinda where we were about 20 yrs ago in terms of equipment, skill level and family atmosphere not to mention the exitement and down to earth people that participate. I have never seen a mini mom or dad cause trouble but then again i have never seen a good track like we have here! Yep, even the tracks in Brasil are like they were in the late 70's early 80's in the USA, can anyone say "dust"? It brings a tear to my eye that i am so lucky to actually re-live the past without a time machine [/quote:2fod8l69]

ah yes. I grew up with mx in the '70's, the Trans-AMA series, the yur-peens coming across the big pond to teach this new sport to us upstart Americans. Went as a high school kid to the ATL round of the Trans-AMA, and got to see my heroes, Roger DeCoster, Adolf Weil, ... That is something I'll never forget - it was huge. There's been some great stuff since then - further equipment development, brilliant riders - but there's something special about those earliest days of the sport here in this country. If I'd been in GB or Europe and was a bit older, I'm sure the pre-'70's era would be pretty highly regarded in my crusty old memories " title="Smile">

80s for both , most of the McGrath era was a snooze fest save for the few times Fro battled him and RC finally dethroning him. The 80s had more parity.

The era just before the internet got big and message boards started up.

I used to wait patiently for that Cycle News to hit the mail box every week! When they came up with a phone number you could call for SX results that same day, we all thought it was the coolest thing around.. Which it was at the time.

Now if someone rides a certain bike at a certain track, we all know about it within 10 minutes.

I miss that anticipation, although the interaction is fun it has taken something away from what we use to have.

The 70's through the mid 80's. In 72 they sold more motorcycles than ever before or since (i think) in this country. In my highschool half of the kids had bikes and we had neighbor hood races every saturday, just like our parents had sandlot baseball.
The best thing about the early days is that our parents did not have a clue about our sport therefore they could not screw it up for us.
The 80's were cool because it was so much fun to watch the US rise to the top of world MX.

[quote="prillernut":3a67fny3][quote="raddad":3a67fny3]Late 60's to late 70's.
Why? Because those times were filled with wonder for us in the USA. We were like virgins in the back seat of a 57 chevy and each time we "rode" we got better and better! Those times were the basis for what MX is today in the USA. I raced then and i race now in Brasil and USA.

As a side note, Brasilian MX is kinda where we were about 20 yrs ago in terms of equipment, skill level and family atmosphere not to mention the exitement and down to earth people that participate. I have never seen a mini mom or dad cause trouble but then again i have never seen a good track like we have here! Yep, even the tracks in Brasil are like they were in the late 70's early 80's in the USA, can anyone say "dust"? It brings a tear to my eye that i am so lucky to actually re-live the past without a time machine [/quote:3a67fny3]

ah yes. I grew up with mx in the '70's, the Trans-AMA series, the yur-peens coming across the big pond to teach this new sport to us upstart Americans. Went as a high school kid to the ATL round of the Trans-AMA, and got to see my heroes, Roger DeCoster, Adolf Weil, ... That is something I'll never forget - it was huge. There's been some great stuff since then - further equipment development, brilliant riders - but there's something special about those earliest days of the sport here in this country. If I'd been in GB or Europe and was a bit older, I'm sure the pre-'70's era would be pretty highly regarded in my crusty old memories " title="Smile">[/quote:3a67fny3]

X3 I was there. Watched Decoster break his factory Suzuki in half off a jump while battling with Robert & Pomeroy at the Carnegie Trans AMA in Calif. CZ, Maico, Bultaco, Husquavarna, Montesa, Ossa before the Japanese took over. Those were the days. Good stuff.

What does an Earned Run Average have to do with MX?

It depends if you are looking at the Pro Racing side of things or as a participant in the sport.

I was only born in '84 but I consider myself a student of the sport...I think for Pro racing it would have to be from about '79 to '91. You've got the end of the Hurricane's domination, the reknowed '80s battles with so many different champions (RJ, Ward, Bailey, Glover, O'Mara, Lechien, Barnett)... all the way to the Stanton/Bayle battles.

As far as being a racer and when the best era was, I think it was all pretty much along the same lines up until around 2002 or so. Aside from the switch to four-strokes, it seems like the total cost of racing has increased so much. Riding areas closing, people getting seriously hurt, everyone coming to races in giant toy haulers and motorhomes, fuel prices. It just seems like the whole scene isn't as much fun as it once was.

They're all great and can't be compared.

I'd say watching the dominance of RC was actually pretty special, even if it was a tad boring occasionally. To me, every year is great...just keep stacking 'em on and I'll keep watching.