what would be the best pre78 bike to have.

[090]

Take emotion out of it and the VB Montesa was streets ahead of the Jap stuff and most of the other euro's (readily available in Oz). Pretty much the same as the VR in '74.
Gee. Another Honda works bike. Plenty of them about in 1977.....

Not saying they are shit, but I wasn't overly impressed with my '77 250. Mind you I haven't ridden any other pre '78 250...I don't think. Did any articles of the day feel the same?

[Viper65]

Can't go past my 1977 Suzuki RM370B.  Well, some of you do, but you know what I mean...   SD

[huskibul]

Can't go past my 1977 Suzuki RM370B.  Well, some of you do, but you know what I mean...   SD

    I  wouldnt go past an RM 370 either  ;)but i just had to have a husky and a bully in the(short)  mix ! use to ride my brothers 370 A back in the day and loved it

[Nathan S]

So where are all of the RM370s?
I can only ever recall seeing one at a race meeting (young Brad's at the Coffs Nats).

[huskibul]

  Dunno nathan,there werent anywhere near the numbers of them around like the 125 and 250 back then(not in my area anyway),i suppose some models survived the 33 years better than others? maybe theres a few tucked away by restorer/ enthusiasts here and there

[mx250]

I was been only slightly parochial and facetious nominating the VB. I'm surprised of the support for both the 250 and 360.

We'll have to make it a OzVMX/VMX mag project some day to line these bikes up in a current day shoot out.  Different riders and may be a couple of different tracks and/or conditions. Then pronounce a WINNER .

But then again it might spoil all the fun .

[Graeme M]

I have never ridden an RM370, but I do think they are an excellent bike from what I've read and seen. And if I had one, I'd want it to look like this one. Yum!!

[firko]

Graeme.....That's a nice Fox RM but those handwarmers need to go.
Perhaps the reason nobody's picked an RM370 is that despite being pretty damn quick, they were notoriously difficult to ride, they had a power band more like a ported 250 than the grunty open classers of the time. I remember riding a mates bike back in the day after hopping off my VB Monty 250 and Husky Auto, thought it was a bit difficult to keep on the pipe with my minimal riding skills. I rode another a few years ago at a Nepean dirt track and the years hadn't changed anything. Still peaky.

[huskibul]

  Iam with you firko with those hand things  ) your also righton with the 370 top end i rode alongside my older brother at nepean(interclub day wallsend/blacktown ? from memory 76') couldnt keep with the zook at the end of the straight on the bul ,bugger ::)there was another bloke from down there that was also going well on an rm370,Ron Davis?

[firko]

Ron Davis still races vintage dirt track on a very fast TM400 that has a few RN bits and pieces that he's owned since new and was a Northcote Motorcycles sponsored A grader .
His brother owns a matching pair of RH75/RN75 Suzukis but doesn't race them any more.

[huskibul]

 That fox looks choice when you look past the blizzard guards,imo it would look even better with the original tank colours,in my shed any day firko that explains why he was so quick on the 370 that day

[holeshot buddy]

ok it looks like it is decided
the rm370 is the best pre 78 bike

just because i race one doesnt mean i am biased

[Stan S]

ok it looks like it is decided
the rm370 is the best pre 78 bike
just because i race one doesnt mean i am biased

I owned and raced a RM370 in 77 as well as an MC400 Maico. I thought the MC400 was a much  more competitive open class A graders bike than the RM370. But the Suzuki was the start of some great jap open class bikes.

Regards Stan.

[JohnnyO]

I was thinking along the same lines as you Stan. I've just built up an RM370 but after having a ride on Brad's 400 Maico a while back i tend to agree with you.

[firko]

Following up on my previous post where I reckoned that the best bike for pre 78 (or any class for that matter) is the bike that puts a smile on your face, no matter whether it's a potential race winner or not, this is the bike that does it for me. Sure it's an old school British 4 stroke, it's expensive, it has strange ride ergos, parts are hard to get and when you find them, too bloody expensive but there's something very special about them. As a bonus they're quicker than they're supposed to be and I reckon they look sensational.
If I was cashed up and 35 years years old this'd be my choice.........