Posts
373
Joined
6/20/2009
Location
Zionsville, IN
US
Greatest technological starting device advancement - Factory Yamaha rider Jeff Ward as a reference point.?
Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but Premium users receive great benefits. Premium benefits include:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
I wish we had a picture of that poor mechanic sprinting to the start line carrying two cinder blocks 😂
Running those forks nice and high…. Wanted that bad boy to turn!
What do you mean? Why wouldnt they just put them in the SXS?
the shorts are nice and high too
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Free shipping: VITALMX
I remember all of the YZ's of that timeframe had an extra inch or two of fork above the triple clamp. Guess they just wanted the extra fork leg in case you wanted to ride the desert at 100mph.
Yeah, my '79 YZ250 had what seemed like an extra 6" of fork tube (beyond the range you would normally adjust in), including the set of Simons that were on it.
Figured I could slide them down and be an extra in Easy Rider 2. 😄
ward was about 4' 10' back then.
probably had those tubes up just short of hitting the wipers on the triple clamps and a spacer to squat the rear.
cinder blocks were probably in the dog house for the gate dropper to sit on and they repurposed them.
and if jt or somebody would make the exact gear they would sell out. stuff was tough and looked good too.
4'-10"... when standing on the blocks. 😄
Vaguely recall that the extended tubes were experiments around spring length and preloading options when long travel suspension was still in the early days of development. Seems like it cycled in and out pretty quickly.
How about these bad boys
Speedo and tach. 👍
Because the sxs did not exist yet.
aaaaaaaaannnnnndddddd.............. you took the bait. 😄
Bro back then they didn’t bring duplicate shit let alone blocks.
I raced these in VMX in early 2000s and the MX versions too. Still have many and probably time to thin the herd as I age.
Pit Row
looks like he only has 1 on his right side to compensate for short legs that couldn't touch ground on both sides. Back then most of us kept Left foot on the peg for easier shifting out of the gate on start straight.
if you look at picture real close, the forks have a LOT of extra length below the axle. What you see extending above the clamp I believe is a travel extender Yamaha pioneered when Bob Hannah was a top rider. He and his mechanic were looking for ways to have maximum travel but keep bike level/balanced front to rear. They though that allowed better cornering ability while still stable on straights, etc.
And most riders pulled those chambers off and tossed them. I replaced a set of them for a friends YZ125x with regular air caps, and we couldn’t figure out why the forks were so choppy.. but the chambers were already at the dump..
I guess you found out it takes more than replacing the air chambers. Those forks came with no springs- the point of the chambers was infinite fine tuning in place of springs using the dual chamber cannisters air pressure along with fork oil level and weights. They also had unique damper rods in them. WAY too much work for us wannabe racers back then to figure out, same as tuning motors for Boost Bottles.
Jeff Ward was on a Yamaha?
Briefly, in 1978. Then got a Suzuki ride. Kawasaki scooped him up the following year I believe.
Post a reply to: Greatest technological starting device advancement - Factory Yamaha rider Jeff Ward as a reference point.?