Best mods/developments in the history of motocross and offroad

hamncheeze
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British Columbia CA
8/16/2019 11:31pm
Racing from 1978 to 1988, I'd say water cooling and single shock designs are in a dead heat at #1, followed by disc brakes. I was just exiting as upside down forks came along but I rode for fun for a few years after stopping and they really did make the front end of the bike a lot better, so I'd put them #4. Another big game changer was alloy handlebars from Answer, lighter, stiffer yet better shock absorption than the old chromoly bars.
1
ledger
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TN US
8/16/2019 11:54pm
Boyesen reeds was a good bang for the buck back in the day...and today as well.
4
Tonynz
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8/17/2019 1:06am
str8line wrote:
[img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b3/56/d9/b356d974d279e25930a12c7d54154e18.jpg[/img] Well, maybe not.


Well, maybe not.
I have a brand new pair of them.
str8line
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8/18/2019 2:29pm
str8line wrote:
[img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b3/56/d9/b356d974d279e25930a12c7d54154e18.jpg[/img] Well, maybe not.


Well, maybe not.
Tonynz wrote:
I have a brand new pair of them.

Seriously?! How'd you get them? I saw Bob Hannah race in those and didn't realize at the time how bad they probably were. They just looked so cool, I wanted them. Good thing my dad didn't bite.

The Shop

Tonynz
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8/18/2019 3:36pm
str8line wrote:
[img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b3/56/d9/b356d974d279e25930a12c7d54154e18.jpg[/img] Well, maybe not.


Well, maybe not.
Tonynz wrote:
I have a brand new pair of them.
str8line wrote:
Seriously?! How'd you get them? I saw Bob Hannah race in those and didn't realize at the time how bad they probably were. They just looked...

Seriously?! How'd you get them? I saw Bob Hannah race in those and didn't realize at the time how bad they probably were. They just looked so cool, I wanted them. Good thing my dad didn't bite.
I found them on eBay about 15 years ago. Did not come with the original box.
1
BRX-WRX
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Blue Springs, MO US
8/18/2019 4:29pm
str8line wrote:
[img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b3/56/d9/b356d974d279e25930a12c7d54154e18.jpg[/img] Well, maybe not.


Well, maybe not.
Tonynz wrote:
I have a brand new pair of them.
I had and wore these in 80 & 81 on my 1980 CAN-AM 400. I went thru 2 or 3 more sets of booties tho. I had no complaints with them until I bought a pair of Hi-Points in 82. Then I realized what I was missing.
wwdiii
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League City, TX US
8/19/2019 4:50am
500 Mike wrote:
Long travel suspension revolution starting in 1974. Revolutionized the sport.
This,

I bought a bracket kit for my CZ and installed it my self. . Longer travel made all the difference in the world.

I remember people saying if you have too much travel your bike will ground loop on you.
Forty
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Saint Paul, MN US
8/19/2019 5:19am
In 82 I bought a yz 250 that had a lot of tech changes not found on the 81. Huge year for changes.

Mono cross suspension
Liquid cooled
Power valve
Safety seat


But someone said earlier a good set of handle bars was a great mod that was over due when it arrived.

H4L
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CA US
8/19/2019 6:53am
Agree with OldPro277 that was probably the most advancements seen on a dirt bike in a short amount of time.

For modern era bikes:
EFI with the ability to tune the ECU. I thought the 09-10 450’s owned were pretty advanced. Now owning an 18 with 3 stock different maps to choose from is a very cool feature. The VortexX10 puts it at a even higher level to tune for track & conditions.
PRM31
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Northern, VA US
8/19/2019 7:02am
I agree with the Full Floater rear suspension. In one year the RM125 was completely transformed. I had Öhlins shocks on my ‘80 RM125 and there was still no comparison with the ‘81.
1
Wandell
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Cairo, GA US
8/19/2019 7:42am
I've been around the sport since 1980 so I've seen a ton of changes. It's just about impossible to rank the major improvements I've seen since then. But during the two stroke era (lets say up until 2000) when technology was advancing at an incredibly rapid rate, the list includes:

long travel suspension
single shock, rising rate rear suspension
liquid cooling
power valves
disc brakes
cartridge forks
USD forks

The four stroke era that we are in now is a huge revolution in itself. Since the modern four stroke motocross bikes hit the scene around the turn of the century, technology seems to have slowed down. MX bikes go several years now without a major redesign. No one would have believed this during the 1980's! I'd say the biggest advancements in the modern era are:

four stroke mx bikes as a whole
fuel injection
data acquisition
1
PRM31
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8/19/2019 7:57am
In terms of revolution, I guess I’d say:

80-81 suspension revolution
80-81 water cooling
Fuel injection
Custom engine mapping

1
ga_pike
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Valdosta, GA US
8/19/2019 10:20am
No votes for the Roost Boost?
1
mikec265
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Edinboro, PA US
8/19/2019 10:47am
What about spoke skins, restyle kits, and black rims?
dadofagun
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Satan's Hollow, OK US
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1962nd
8/19/2019 11:27am
If you're old enough to remember..... The safety seat. Coming off an Italjet in late 1980, that little bike had the typical flat saddle with a steel gas tank directly in front of it. The first mass produced ball saver seat made came standard on the all new 1981 YZinger. My 6 year old balls were quite appreciative of the new found "cushion" that graced my new race bike. Funny.... March of 81 at the Astrodome in Houston, Glover's works OW had a safety seat, and Dad and I laughed when we first saw it. Dad said, "See? Even he probably thinks it looks funny, but I betcha he's glad it's there".

The Safety seat....... Saving mens nuts for decades.
1
DEMONDAVE
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Apple Valley, CA US
8/19/2019 12:26pm
ga_pike wrote:
No votes for the Roost Boost?
damn beat me to it , changed the way everyone viewed moto for sure
1
Elbows
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8/19/2019 2:56pm
ga_pike wrote:
No votes for the Roost Boost?
Or how about Yamaha’s awesome BASS system!!! Revolutionary right there!
2
Matt Fisher
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8/19/2019 3:41pm
ga_pike wrote:
No votes for the Roost Boost?
Elbows wrote:
Or how about Yamaha’s awesome BASS system!!! Revolutionary right there!
Yep, right along with their Z spokes.
1
TexasVet
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Springtown, TX US
8/19/2019 4:30pm
And yet, air forks and air shocks were trotted out again. Concepts that were quickly dropped in the late 70's. Didn't

work then or now. And yes, I include Fox Airshox in that group. And while water-cooling did help in slowing the rate of

power fade, you never holed or bent a radiator or heaven forbid had to buy one$$$$$$.


Modern 4-strokes? Stupidly complicated/heavy and expensive. Origional 4-strokes were obsolete because they were

complicated/heavy and expensive and brought back with air forks!
1
speedman
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9/11/2010
Location
Houston, TX US
8/19/2019 4:31pm Edited Date/Time 8/19/2019 4:33pm
Speaking of spokes: straight pull spokes. It's amazing how long it took for manufacturers to put them on production bikes. Maybe they're tougher to do with drum brakes, but still--
motogrady
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WV US
8/19/2019 4:31pm
Old stuff......
Brakes, ya, disc better. Long travel, ya good, electronic ignition, ya, points suck.

New stuff, top heavy, bad. Weight, bad.

Big thing not mentioned......full face helmets.

Gary Bailey first to use them. Before that, roost for dinner,


zehn
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Anchorage, AK US
8/19/2019 4:36pm
TexasVet wrote:
And yet, air forks and air shocks were trotted out again. Concepts that were quickly dropped in the late 70's. Didn't work then or now. And...
And yet, air forks and air shocks were trotted out again. Concepts that were quickly dropped in the late 70's. Didn't

work then or now. And yes, I include Fox Airshox in that group. And while water-cooling did help in slowing the rate of

power fade, you never holed or bent a radiator or heaven forbid had to buy one$$$$$$.


Modern 4-strokes? Stupidly complicated/heavy and expensive. Origional 4-strokes were obsolete because they were

complicated/heavy and expensive and brought back with air forks!
If a SOHC setup is “stupidly complicated/heavy and expensive” then you’re in the wrong sport. Checking valve clearances is just too damn difficult isn’t it?

We race road racers in ARHMA that are more technologically advanced and harder to work on than modern MX bikes.

Modern bikes are more reliable and cheaper to maintain than 2 strokes ever were. Fact.
1
Mr. G
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Riverside, CA US
8/19/2019 5:51pm
zehn wrote:
I still wish the Full Floater was a thing
Me too. Maybe my memory is rosy but I thought it worked incredibly well. The Works bikes had over 13 inches of travel at one point. They were almost stadium trucks
1
TexasVet
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Springtown, TX US
8/19/2019 6:25pm
zehn wrote:
If a SOHC setup is “stupidly complicated/heavy and expensive” then you’re in the wrong sport. Checking valve clearances is just too damn difficult isn’t it? We...
If a SOHC setup is “stupidly complicated/heavy and expensive” then you’re in the wrong sport. Checking valve clearances is just too damn difficult isn’t it?

We race road racers in ARHMA that are more technologically advanced and harder to work on than modern MX bikes.

Modern bikes are more reliable and cheaper to maintain than 2 strokes ever were. Fact.
Well, 2 strokes are about as complicated as a weedeater. But hey, never checked a valve or shimmed anything till

now. My kx500 might go through a piston a year. Rode it every Sunday.

How about a modern 2 stroke. Reliable? FACT! See?

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