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Edited Date/Time
10/12/2015 9:09pm
Was talking to Arno Drechsel last night. Arno was a German GP rider who raced for the German Honda importer in 250 GPs.
In 1983 Honda Germany got hold of 1982 factory RC250s from Honda which had been raced by Bailey in 1982. Arno said that when he first got the bikes he went testing and took his 83 production-based race bike for comparison. He said that he rode loads of laps on that bike until he was sure that he couldn't go any faster. He then jumped on the RC250 and immediately went SIX seconds a lap quicker!
Wow!
In 1983 Honda Germany got hold of 1982 factory RC250s from Honda which had been raced by Bailey in 1982. Arno said that when he first got the bikes he went testing and took his 83 production-based race bike for comparison. He said that he rode loads of laps on that bike until he was sure that he couldn't go any faster. He then jumped on the RC250 and immediately went SIX seconds a lap quicker!
Wow!
The Shop
What I find even more amazing than Arno cutting laps 6 seconds quicker on the works bike is that RJ and Glover were beating these bikes on POS 82 YZ250s and 490s, As a vintage guy, the 82 YZ is the only YZ I wouldnt want to own
I wonder if the Honda guys were thinking to themselves as they were riding balls out to keep with these guys "How are they going so fast on those loads?!?"
I find it amazing that they were competitive with the production based bikes. At the time I dont remember it being a big deal in the magazines or to fans. It was a big deal. Bikes are much much closer to the factory equipment today and if a rider was winning with production equipment the race announcers would be screaming it 10x a lap,
Used to see Hansen race his maico in 75 - 76 at Valley cycle park . He was the coolest looking cat on the track. He rode for Socal Motor sport I think it was called and had really cool looking jerseys and matching gear. I think Billy Payne owned the shop ?
The 82 Honda works bikes (all sizes) were very trick and them some. Rick beat Donnie straight-up several times, the bike he raced was a production bike. I know this because I pitted with them (Yamaha) and new Ricks mechanic, Bob Oliver (still at Yamaha, still at the nationals, the engine guy I believe now, supports all the satellite teams). Broc and Scott had full factory bikes, Broc was ran the Simons UDX forks that year. Rick was on-it all year and came real close to taking the title, a little anxious at the last race cost him.
One more time, those 82 Hondas were in my opionion THE coolest works bikes ever. The rear brake linkage to "soften" under braking, the monocoque sub-frame (airbox / everything one-piece). Lots of real cool ideas / technology on those bikes. Not that many of the team riders used the rear brake link system, Sun was the only open riding running it (my rider was in the 500 series that year). Way cool bike, still did not overcome a "way motivated" rider - Rick Johnson. Sixteen years old, did not care about all the tech stuff, just wanted to win ! (very nice guy even at sixteen).
Pit Row
The motor didn't hit very hard on the bottom, it just made nice power that kept pulling hard all the way through, it was fast and very managable.
The brakes were incredible, better then early ptoduction disc, I almost sent myself over the bars with them.
The Two things that really stuck out to me were the power delivery and the brakes.
I tested for Suzuki in the 80s and rode some trick stuff, it was right there feeling wise with anything I rode.
That bike of RJs was far from stock, yamaha went to great lengths and spent a bunch of money on that bike to make it look stock. RJ told me his bike worked much better then what the factory guys were riding that year and it was better then his 83 works bike.
There seems to be a conflict of opinion here where one person says that they were full on works bikes and another person says they are modified production bike and both have ties to the old race team.
Even if they are full blown works bikes Rick and Broc were riding, just look at design between the Honda and Yamaha. The Honda looks like it's from future world and the Yamaha looks like it would be at home on a dairy farm.
The Im a no one. I don't know any former Yamaha riders or mevhanic. but i know what ive read and seŕ as a fan. I never heard any Team racers saying how great their Yamahas were working in any interviews past or recent.
Broc akso beat DB on a production looking Yamaha for a 500 championship. Im only saying I dont think those guys got the props they deserve .
We as old fans were so lucky to witness the greatest time in the history of MX.
In 82 RJ was on a highly modified production bike and Broc was on a works bike.
Point is, Donnie finishing more races doesn't necessarily mean that he would have won them. He was the fastest guy on the fastest bike, but then so was Bailey in '84 on his RC500 against Glover and his air-hammer 490.
Going into the last round in '82, the facts are, RJ needed to just finish marginally ahead of Donnie to win the championship. Maybe people hold onto their versions of how or why because of how special that time was we were blessed to live through .. I know I do.
Incidentally, Yamaha used the success of RJ in '82 to justify their production-based race bike effort starting in '84. Suzuki also raced mostly production-based bikes that year also.
Let's just say that relative to what teams run as "production" bikes now, the Yamaha Rick raced would be considered "stock". Not taking anything away from what the guys a Yamaha did to the bike or time spent. The top of the thread, that Honda was and still is IMO quite bad-ass !
UpTiTe, really appreciate your opinions / post. Much respect for anyone who's done time at the national level, it's seriously hard ! (you would think that only reading Vital post's !) Oh and "a piece of wood" with "3rd" on it - very cool !
1982 - we can all speculate on what the Motocross & Trophee des Nations would have been like if Donnie would have raced. He won the last 250 GP in Sweden before being injured . . .
What a great era those days were! Now we've got, what, 1 or 2 top guys and that's it?
Hannah had some really interesting points (all anti) the production based rule the AMA imposed. I don't think there's ever been any doubt these years were also incredible for the factory bikes, Honda being the King of the Hill in this respect.
And Hansen was the man on a 250 in 82.
Kees van Der Ven- "Does California have Sand"?
Donnie-" I thought swedes were blonde"?
Trophy Girl- ??
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