I had a few bikes and an ATV as a kid. Spent a lot of my free time bombing through the woods or down the train tracks. I knew all the local spots. I got out of them around the time I got my license and got into cars, but I had been contemplating getting another ATV for a while. So last Fall I bought a worn but running 2001 Yamaha Warrior to fix up over the Winter. I'll spare you all the details but I got it together and have been cruising the woods behind my neighborhood since March or so. Any of you guys still ride? Pics if you care: https://imgur.com/a/yKEzIfK
The 'ol TL125 is going up for sale. My son rode it a lot when he was a kid. Also pictured is one of the Chevy's support vehicles, my 90cc pit bike.
Had a Suzuki TS185, RM 125 and RM370 back in the day. Haven’t been on a dirt bike in quite a few years, since before I had both hips replaced. If I rode like a normal person I’d be all right. However I have Righthanditis which causes my right hand to go full throttle. My oldest son had a YZ426 - that thing scared the **** out of me , yep I crashed it also. I’ve been looking for a small 125 or so enduro for a decent price just to ride around our gravel roads and trails. Nothing crazy Dan
Denny I think those things tried to kill everyone who rode one. I ran myself over with a buddies, I was lucky nothing broken except my pride. They were wicked fast. Three wheelers were in their own league of crazy, my wife broke her collar bone on one or more correctly off of one. Dan
I started in '73 with one of these, torquee street/trail bike. Took my MC licence test on it. Then, a bunch us bought these. Hella fun for woods & back roads: Next was this. Waay faster than the Tri-Sport. Zero suspension, added a DG pipe, clutch kit, & jetted. It beat the **** outa me. By this time 4wheelers were becoming a thing so this 230 Suk.: Then this 250X: Had a lotta fun playing in the dirt back then. Most of my toys were street related since. In '22 I sold the last Harley and picked up a used Kaw Teryx SXS, just the ticket for an old fart to putt around in. I lived in a T like this :
Recently saw these 007 movie pieces in DC. The taxi may be a little off for this thread but some may like it.
Forgot I had one of these at some point too, probably mid '80s. Talk about a torque monster! It knocked my **** in the dirt a few times, thankfully it was dirt and not asphalt!
Kind of related. I raced shifterkarts in the 80's, all Honda CR125 engines from the mid 70's, had six speed gearbox, had a sprint kart, ran on dirt, street raced (legally) and roadraced at PIR (home track), Seattle, Westwood B.C. and Laguna Seca, also tried two different RR (laydown) karts, not nearly as versatile as the sprint kart or as much fun. I thought I would try the 250 cl*** with the sprint ch***is because a friend had one with a real Bultaco Astro flattrack engine, I didn't know it at the time, it was a 360(CHEATER). The thing was a monster, had a ton of compression, it took two guys to lift and bump start it with him sitting in it. I bought a clapped out 1974 CR 250 from a kid at work, the thing was barely rideable as they had a "light switch" powerband, decided to stay with the 125, most fun I ever had.
I got into dirt-oval karting around '75. Hornet ch***is with a Mac 91. Hauled it in the back of my Vega GT wagon. One of the funnest summers on record! A guy finally sent his motor to RC Engineering in Cali, and obsoleted everyone else to the tune of $1500. I got out. Always wanted to do a shifter kart, but it wasn't a thing in our area. Sounds like you had a blast!
Hahaha ............. "possessed" is the appropriate description . My ribs ache just thinking about it [from the amount of times it spat me off] They also teach you "Don't put your feet down" [a habit I got from playing with speedway bikes] The problem with these nowadays is the value. I would like to convert one into a sand bike [like an aggressive Honda "Fat Cat"] Here is an ATC 250R conversion [kit] that was available years ago It is "get hurt while having fun"
It was the guys that I raced karts with that got me into the three wheeler gig, except I had never owned one and they suggested something more "entry level"............yeah, right. About getting ones' foot run over with a three wheeler............pain is the best teacher.
That sounds similar to me swapping my J.A.P speedway bike for an "entry level" H1 Kwaka [I was 14 then]
A buddy showed up one day at our riding spot with a new ATC250R. The whole gang took a test ride. Damn, that was addicting! Power to weight was neck snapping! Good way to get in over your head in a hurry!
We took ours to Pismo Beach about 1984, the dunes there are formed quite different compared to Oregons' dunes, did not know what was on the other side of the peak, scared the **** out of this newbie, my wife says "let's take it to the beach", now she had never been on one of these things, I'll dig up a photo showing her pulling a wheelie right out of the gate, not sure who was scared the most, me or her.
The Guy I swapped the H1 with was told by his parents to get rid of it! It was in 1975 and the bike was quite new [I would've loved to have seen the expression on his parents faces when he showed up with a Methanol Burning Speedway bike] I wasn't allowed to ride it until I got my license [which was 15 years old] but I used to sneak out when my parents weren't around. The cops had a word in my dad's ear and I had to get rid of it. This send me down the road of a lifetime of debauchery and "Wheeling and Dealing" [So I can blame the legal system for this ] The ATC 250R is the ultimate "Hold My Beer" trike. You get hurt but want to get back on ,and harness the beast. Injuries heal ........... But glory lasts forever
Hello, We haven’t owned a pickup truck since our son was one year old. The third seat was between us and it was rather crowded. So, we got a station wagon and move our son to the back. But, not having a pickup like the 65 El Camino has/had its drawbacks. We put in our desert racing motorcycles in the back, the Harley Sportster when it needed to get some factory work done at the dealer’s shop. We knew the value of a pickup. But, since then things crop up that brings us back to getting a pickup again. My wife has thoughts of a 500 hp Raptor truck for her daily driver and gardening “things” transporter. Greeves sticker in rear window... On our road trips, everywhere we got the chance, we rented an ATV to ride around on desert areas and forested places. But, those were spur of the moment activities. But, a new pickup would definitely get our motor running and a new ATV in the back. That is pushed to the back burner for now… but, one year my wife and I took a vacation down in Mazatlan, Mexico. It is a destination spot for a lot of sailing vessels and the port is a good one. The waters out in front are relatively calm, as long as no hurricanes or tropical storms are in the vicinity. Back in the early 60s, my brother and his friends went to surf the large waves that came in from a hovering tropical storm about 50 miles off the coastline. The overhead waves had lots of power. When my wife and I were there, it was hot and sunny with no storms within 500 miles of the beach side resort town. When we traveled to Baja, Mexico almost every year in the early 2000s, it was safe to fly in stay in a resort hotel and travel around the city with their scary taxi drivers. The nice thing is if a taxi driver takes you to a far away place for a day’s worth of traveling, then he waits, as he knows you have to come back to your resort. The one time we decided to go to a place called Stone Island for a day. It is across the big bay harbor area and is not actually an island. It is a long coastal peninsula. The beach is quite long and we wanted to see this inland lagoon about 14 miles away. We had a full tank of gas in our rental 4 wheeled Honda Quad. As we tooled along the water’s edge, it was a nice way to cool off. But the beach was long and the horizon just called us to keep going. Jnaki After a while, we were the only folks on the beach and it was like being free on a tropical island. We were able to go deep into the small sandy dunes or stay on the hard pack ,lapping water sand area as we kept going South. I figured we were going about 10 miles when up ahead the sandy shoreline looked totally empty. Except for one single guy dressed in green Army fatigues and a cap. He also carried an M-16 rifle across his chest in a port of arms position. No one else was on the beach and as we approached, he stood solid in his stance. He finally raised his hand with a halt sign and pointed back toward the harbor 10 + miles back. No other words were necessary. What was he guarding? No one else was on the beach, although several miles farther south was a public resort. So, without arguing or questioning him, we knew the M-16 was nothing to take lightly. So, we turned around and went back 10+ miles back to the harbor. The 4 wheel Honda Quad ran fine and handled the soft sand, as well as the hard packed wet sandy area. The only thing I remembered our friends telling us not to do was to turn sharply and quickly. Why? 4 wheels seemed pretty stable. They all mentioned that despite 4 wheels, the tires will dig in and the steering will turn sharply, pitching the rider (+ p***enger) over the top. So, sharp turns on the small sandy dunes was not happening, but the fun was still there going up and over the little dunes. (Splashing in the shallow waters at speed was great, but one had to keep the revs up so as not to get wet and have the motor die) Note: We have not been back to that portion of mainland Mexico as it is right in the middle of the hot box of the bad guys’ home court. Danger lurks around every empty space and dark corners... YRMV Note 2: If we had a Raptor truck, we would have our ATV for desert fun. There is no place legally to ride on the beach and Mexico is no longer in play. Parts of Pismo Beach is handy, but too far away and crowded. But, come to think about it, the truck would not fit inside of our small garage... YIKES!
The Jalopy Journal
