Best bike you've ever owned/ridden??!!!

[Brian Watson]

1981 430 CR Husqvarna.. great suspension..even tho still twin shock.. .. and the power was so linear.. still have the bike after 34 years..

[oldmxracer]

'78 CR250 Husqvarna.

[Brian Watson]

I too had a 1978 250 CR.. the "big" gas Girling rear shocks lasted one race meeting before the shafts went blue.. Fox Air Shox straight away..the rear wheel ( Nordisk) rim fell apart and I just barely made the finish line..rode it straight around and onto the trailer...

[MaxPower]

I had a 78 DR370.  420 big bore piston.  Works Performance Shocks, Al Baker fork kit. It was ugly as sin. Heavy as a 2 ton heavy thing, no power after 3000 rpm. Handled horribly.  Stubborn to start. But somehow I had more fun on that bike than any I had ever ridden in my life.

[Photomike666]

A lot of bikes over the years, both owned and ridden...

The 87 RM 250 when it was new was fantastic and my just acquired 87 Honda CR250 is plain awesome - or will be once I rebuild it;

Scariest was the Honda CR450 - shed loads of torque and power, but terrible brakes.

On the road my 2007 ZX10R is just crazy, and I'd love to get my hands on a 2015 model

[morerevsm3]

of the ~ 40 bikes I have owned, road, trail and MX, the most fun bike out of the lot was a road registered YZ175C, wish I still had it

[Paulos]

of the ~ 40 bikes I have owned, road, trail and MX, the most fun bike out of the lot was a road registered YZ175C, wish I still had it

There was a few of these around in qld apparently.  My YZ125 had been converted in the 70's before i took it back to "original "

[Husky500evo]

I too had a 1978 250 CR.. the "big" gas Girling rear shocks lasted one race meeting before the shafts went blue.. Fox Air Shox straight away..the rear wheel ( Nordisk) rim fell apart and I just barely made the finish line..rode it straight around and onto the trailer...

       Watto, I thought that the '78 CR250 and 390 Huskys were the first ones to come out with remote reservoir Ohlins shocks ? I have a set of original gas Girlings from a '77 model CR390 and they are unusual because of the smaller primary springs that are made out of square section steel coils. You hardly ever see these shocks, probably because they weren't very good and got thrown away and replaced by something better. They might become a hard item to find for someone doing a concourse resto, much like the huge '81 Maico GS mufflers that were the first thing to get replaced because they were so heavy.
        As far as the best bike that I have ever owned / ridden goes, it would have to be my newest bike , the Husaberg 570. When comparing bikes to those of a similar era, the '81 Maico 490 would have to be the standout favourite because of the overall handling, power and fun to ride factor.
           

[Brian Watson]

The 250's only had the Girlings.. but they were much bigger in size / shaft than the 75/6/7 issue..the 390's had the Ohlins.. the square wire springs were only on the 77 models..

[Brian Watson]

Cycle mag test from 1978

[skypig]

Most successful race bike: YZ80F ('79) What a great bike. Really got it right that year.
Best MX bike to date: YZ250F (2015) WOW! Even compared to my 2008. (Thanks Sunstate @ CD11)

Bikes I've bought twice: (must be good)
RD350LC (first one written off early on...)
RM125X (first one sold by a teenage me, to fund the next bike.)

Bikes I'm unlikely to ever sell:
Bandit 1200S. Great all rounder, all the better for extensive mods.
KTM525 SX/SMR. 2004 Worthle$$, but so much fun at the recent Supermoto nationals (after a 7 year "rest")
YZ250F. Perfect condition, but never be worth le$$ than it is now. On the wall for the memory's before I'd "give" it away.

Basically, second hand bikes are worth so little, I can't bring myself to sell them. Large shed;filling up...