What era of racing is your favorite? And least favorite?

my favorites gotta be late 90s early 00s. i dont really have a least favorite.

80s is my favorite by far. No least favorite, but the McGrath era didn't excite me all that much much.

Hard to say.

I want to say the late '70s to early '80s because works bikes.

I want to say late '90s and early '00s because the tracks were über technical.

And I want to say the RC-Bubba years because no explanation necessary.

For GP's my favorite era is post 2011. Seeing what the GP riders do outdoors is incredible to me.

No explanation needed

90’s. I started riding in 90/91, racing in ‘92. Amazing time to be in the sport. That said, I was alive (young, but around) for the 80’s and believe that’s at least as great of an era-talent pool was super deep and the early 80’s still had works bikes.

Worst era is anything after the four-strokes, with a couple exceptions due to RC/JS7/Reed.

Favourite era’s

Early to mid 80’s exotica
Anytime The Hurricane or JS7 strapped on boots

Least
McGrath era, not there is anything wrong with him.
Also, due to daycare for two kids, no bike.

I 💯 agree with exactly what you said.

Late 70's and early 80's were awesome because the bikes got better every year and the riders evolved with them. Tracks got better. The racing was tight and turnout was huge. Every kid in the US wanted a motorcycle. And most kids could ride that motorcycle to a nearby field and roost. Supercross between 1977 and 1983 was like two different sports the jumps got so big. Outdoor motos were 45 min. The dudes were warriors even without personal trainers and regimented diets. 500 cc two strokes. Factory works bikes, F1-style. No internet hype, less hype in general. Riders showed their true personalities more without worrying about the consequences, good or bad just because the sport was so much more insulated. The competition was deep and fierce. The Euros were badass and we wanted to show that U.S. riders were just as good. You had to be patient and wait until Cycle News came out to see results from the races, which built up the excitement. Live races were the only way to truly witness the sport since TV footage was grainy and lacking by todays production standards. But there were motocross races everywhere and the starting gates were always full. There were about four channels on TV and mountain biking hadn't even been invented yet. There wasn't much to compete for interest except the major sports, really. Even Nascar wasn't that popular. The public were enthralled by the loud, colorful bikes and the spectacle of it all. Evel Knievel was as popular as Michael Jackson. Moto was huge!

Although... today's pretty damn cool. The riding is incredible and the footage is mind-boggling. Every year it seems like the competition gets deeper. Freeride, hard enduro, MotoGP, trials, rally... everything in the world at our fingertips, so overall it's tough to beat today.

Late 60's, early 70's. It was the pioneer time for a new sport in this country. Everything was an experiment, bikes, tracks, gear. Go to a race and you might see 10 or 12 different brands from all over the world. You could recognize the brand at 100 yards, even if you were color blind. You want to try racing, tape up the headlight and go for it.

Indoor tracks attempted to mimic the outdoors, not vice versa. Being World Champion really meant something regardless where you were from.

late 80's or 90's,,,, Maxima 927 and vp c12 will forever be in my nose. I did like what JPT said though. I was talking to my Uncle about the early 70's and then he brought up where do you believe the first backwards falling starting gate was....Middleboro or Southwick.

Early to mid 2000s. The battles that RC, Stew, and Reed had were incredible. Not to mention all of the money that was in the sport at the time. I'm not a freestyle guy either, but look how big the x games were at that time. Just a neat time. Didn't Reed say it was a half a milly to put the etnies sticker on his helmet??

Nothing beats the 70s ,, favorite era all of the 70s and 2006 to 2020 least favorite 80s and 90s

First off I like it all but I have to say the 80s because that's when I first started following the sport. I kept up on the GPs as well as I could too mostly through MXA but I remember watching a tape delay satellite feed of the 85 French 500 GP which Magoo won. Obviously the present era is the best for being able to watch the sport via TV, stream or however you're doing it.

Mid to late 90s for me. I'm sure there's no doubt a whole heap of nostalgia in this but I honestly believe that not only was the sport better back then, but that generally life/society/human relations were too. Bikes were simply and comparatively cheap. Admission to tracks were cheap and there weren't what felt like 200 riders per session.

Any exposure to the sport e.g seeing some footage on TV, or a glimpse of the new 96 CR 125 dragged through town on the back of a trailer etc felt special, something noteworthy to tell others. Nowadays I need only go onto youtube. We could do things you wouldn't dream of doing now also. I remember club members with bikes riding on disused city owned land (old pits with no housing near), not guys with stolen bikes, I'm talking about proper MX people with jobs just riding around in the evenings after work. No law abiding person wanting to hang on to their bike and/or face criminal charges would even consider doing something like that these days...

And as for the pro scene: I miss the bikes and the gear with their loud styling on the side; 'KX' etc plastered on the rad shroud in big bold colourful lettering. The miss the guys screwing up corners and not being able to make the triple, or the 125 guys struggling to get over it at all. I miss the rawness of machinery and style of riding back then.

Worst era? Really now. To be fair the racing is still good and the depth of talent is great. But from a sheer technique perspective it's almost tiring to watch. The bikes just have so much power (and are so much heavier) that in Supercross at least everything looks so uniform.

James, Chad, Ricky... these guys only cared about winning, second place was first loser.
You could see it meant more to them, the winner would do a full victory lap around the stadium and just soak in the moment.

Favorite has to be the 90s, I grew up to MC, Emig, crusty demons of dirt, teriferma, and just so many characters, good times, and so much pure joy in the sport.

Least favorite is all the time before dirt bikes were invented, those days sucked.

Mid-70s to mid-80s is my favorite, because the technological breakthroughs of the bikes and the technical advancements of the riders were BOTH happening so quickly it almost made your head spin. A close second, though, would be present-day MXGP. The tracks, the riders, the racing, the pageantry - it's just intoxicating to watch. Damn fine time to be a fan..... heck, just to be alive.

For me personally, these are all the golden eras in order.

Chad, James, And Ricky is #1
McGrath era and RJ era tied for # 2
I miss the technical Supercross tracks with steep jumps, landings and whoops of the late mid 90’s to 2000.
I miss outdoor tracks that aren’t groomed to perfection.

RC, Stew, Reed era was pretty amazing but also very limited. Practically no one else won anything during that time, so in a way it was not varied, but at the same time you knew you were watching three of the best riders ever battle week in and week out. In that way it felt like a gift.

Mid to late 90's had more variation in MX although obviously MC dominated indoors once he came around.

Honestly, right now is pretty damn good when you look at the racing itself. In SX there are close to 10 guys who could win on any given weekend and maybe 5 or 6 that are legitimate title contenders. MX, maybe not quite as many, but the racing still delivers and the top five positions are a crapshoot, not unlike the late '80s and early '90s like @hypermoto mentioned.

When it comes to jaw dropping action: Stew anytime he started his 125. I don't care if he was only riding at his house by himself. I could watch that all day long.

Also RC vs Stew outdoors. I felt like I was watching a prophecy come to fruition. It just felt right and, man, it was amazing witness.

For me it was the McGrath, emig, crusty demon days(late 90’s early 2000’s). Bikes where cool, gear was cool, free riding with the top pros, lake Havasu, box vans, good punk rock.. Full gates at whatever race you went too and pros went to local races... $25 race fees and 3rd class free.. and 2 stroke everywhere!!!! The MOTO scene/ vibes where awesome

mid 70's to late 80'S..

Late 70's team Yamaha, early to mid 80's team Honda..

Carmichael, Stewart and Reed era, all 3 dudes would kill for a win and never settled on 2nd place, I hope to see something like that in the fuure.

Pretty hard to beat the RC4, JS7, CR22 era, agreed.
McGrath vs Emig ‘96/97 was great too.

The era that left the biggest impression on me however, was O’Mara/Barnett/Ward of ‘82/83/84 (Barnett in two-fiddys in 84), absolutely loved the Brand identification of that era

90s-00s. Amatuer racing was insane. Professional racing was awesome with the big 3 killing eachother every race.

Ward vs Johnson era
Early Dungey vs Villo when JS7 and CR22 were still relevant

The racing in past 3 years has been as good as ever and the field has been healthier longer. I watched Webb pass Roczen in the last turn after coming from back in the pack. How many times has that ever happened?

Worst was McGrath era then Carmichael. Just boring as hell and always knew who was going to win.

81 to 85 O Mara, Bailey, Barnett era. Don’t really have a least favorite.

That picture of Carmichael, Stewart, and Reed at their peaks was something I don't know if Moto will ever recreate. Those three elevated the sport; Carmichael with the absolute dedication to just not lose, Stewart with raw abilities and speed that at times didn't make sense, and Reed to always surprisingly meet the challenges of both of his rivals. Those three flat out hate to lose.