I see no one has asked which is the best 500 class EVO bike yet.
Ok kev I will play YZ 465 H
although really its the YZ 465G as the cut off should be 1980 at the latest . 1980 linkage bikes were readily available to the punters, and by 1981 almost all the manufacturers had linkage bikes available to the public .
The obvious exceptions being Maico, Yamaha and husky . The Evo class if you compare it with athletics is a bit like the special Olympics . They ban bikes that were fit and able in the day and cater for the disabled or handicapped if you like ie the 81 Maico.
The only reason our disabled friend shines so brightly in evo is that the able bodied runners from the 1981 era are excluded due to the fact that they are considered advanced ( able bodied ).
The 81 Maico in the day was old hat , yes its a great handling bike ( for a twin shock ) but in the day it was old technology and when the track got rough they were getting cleaned up in open races by RM 125Xs ( in Europe, don't know about here )
The Evo class was built to cater for these disabled dinosaurs , but a YZ 465G will still give them a good run .
Going on the form that allows 81 Maicos into EVO , ole mate should really be able to buy and race a 1981 RM 125X in Evo 125 , then you can hear them all say "where the fluck did he go