The Lost Generation

[JETZcorp]

I went straight from the 120 to my 250 Husky when I was 14.  That's a 4x increase in power, a 2x increase in height, a 3x increase in suspension travel, and a 2x increase in top speed, all at once.  As you might imagine, it was some number of years before I ever dared exploring the bike's actual capabilities.

[luthier269]

Hi Mike
 I did'nt know that was you guys. We were coming back from eastbay MX for sunday practice. Good to here you are having your son move up to a 125! Email me your phone# so we can talk.  Bill

[msambuco]

We were out there Friday. We ride at places that have MX and trails since we are mixed with family and MX riders. Google Dirty foot adventures as that is our new favorite place. They are building a new MX track with profesional help so it should turn out good. We will be gone for 6 to 7 months since I have work in the NY area but will be back in time for prime FL riding weather in the fall. Gonna miss the FL summer but WILL be at Unafreakindilla (clean enough mods?) in August. I will send PM with phone and hopefully we can get some rides in together. Josh is totally sold on two strokes and the 125 so it would be great for him to chase one going faster (drafting works in MX too). That reminds me of a great racing story. My best friend raced 125's on a regular basis. I tried a few later but really sucked in that class due to too much time on the big bores. Anyway during this one moto we were both in with pretty bad start position the first bike to pass me was my friend Pat. We were very close in practice but I could not do squat in the 125 races. Well I went into practice mode and everyone Pat passed I also did in the same spot whether there was room or not. Ended up 1st and 2nd. One of the best motos of my life. Followed up in the second moto with a 35th or so but who cares? Pat won.

[ACMX]

Haha thats pretty cool. Attach yourself to the fastest riders fender!

[George]

When I was 15, I moved straight off an 85 to a 250f, and it was proabably a full season untill I was getting the best out of the bike, had the 250f for 2 years, but sold it to get my rm250 in january, I think having the 4 stroke made me appreciate coming back to 2 strokes more than if I never had the 250f, I think I would keep thinking about how good a 4 stroke might be had I not owned it, but I think i learnt to ride on the 85s like most people do on 125s, me and my dad made the bike as snappy and revvy as possible and I had to ride it hard to make it go, was loads of fun screaming that 85. There are still loads of kids getting off an 85 and onto a 125 in england, but then there are the ones getting off a 65 and onto a handa 150f...

[snook620]

Agreed, everyone should learn on a 2 stroke. Riding a 2 stroke teaches you good habits that will always help..... like throttle controll, carrying speed through turns, properly using the clutch, body position, being in the right gear, etc. 4 strokes tend to teach bad habbits

 

[factoryX]

 I think starting out on a 4t is just fine, and if anything it will give you a chance to get comfortable so you have time to learn how to ride a bike and not die in the process. Once you have all that down, go for it lol. For example, I started out riding on a atc200x 4t, and ended up on a Tri-Z 250 2t with nearly 4 times the power with in 2 years.

[ACMX]

Agreed. I learned on a Honda Z-50. If I would have been slapped on a KTM 50 senior pro, I wouldnt have lasted five seconds as a four year old. I then rode a PW50 for half a year, and then got my first race bike. A 97 KX60. awesome bike.

[luthier269]

I think small sized four stroke are fine to learn how to ride. But when you race, moving from a 85 to a 250f is usuallty to big a move, first they are hard to start and they are heavy and are to much power to make your first leap to a full sized bike. Plus when you move up, the classes are no longer divided by age the guy next to you on the starting line could be 26 yrs old and able to handle a 250 better that a 16 yr old. I know some people made the jump to even bigger bikes but from what I have witnessed the 125 was the perfect first leap from a 85 we did it for over 30 years and it worked fine!

[SachsGS]

I started off racing on a Honda XL250 and I would leave the engine wide open,moving the shift lever up or down depending on how much the engine missed.The bike had been lent to me and it was either ride that 290 lb lard bucket or stay home.

[VintageBlueSmoke]

I started out on a 100MX Yamaha but it was too pipey for me then. I was fulling standing up just to get my feet to touch the footpegs and they never touched the ground except when I was running along side of it to stop and start. I eventually got a Maverick (Chinese Honda copy) and then an XR75.

From there I migrated to a series of bigger and bigger Husqvarnas until the late 80's and I never could touch the ground on any of my bikes except my first and second Husqvarnas (125 and 175 respectively) and then I could only touch on them in the 80's! I kept the 125 and 175 as they were the last of the short suspension bikes and no one wanted them. My brother has them now and has restored both of them.

In '89, I left the 500 class and bought a new XR200 so I could trail ride with my new wife. Of course, she didn't progress well as a rider (or as a wife) so I rode with my friends and to keep up I had to pour more and more into it. After the initial investment, I sunk over $10k into it. It was pretty bad ass, lighter than a CR125, more power than an XR250. However, it hand grenaded a week before we were to ship it to the Mauna Kea 200. I moved to a used KX250 at the last minute and rode it for the first time at the Enduro.