Short, light, sweet. i have but only one true love. my Yza. For the time these puppies where on the cutting edge, flat takers ran Disk brakes in 72 but motcross still had to wait a few years, no bling or bullshit just built real light and wound real tight. Motorcross screwed around with all these hair brain idea ( rear shock forks come to mind ) and yet the dirt track bikes just went fast, this one has dual shifts ( L&R paddles) ideas that actually served a purpose, the point came where you had to ride the arse of them because there was no miracle long travel shock coming, it was all skill and determination from there on in, hence why so many died trying to find that 'Ragged edge'. These guy worked with the technology they had and tuned everything, even the frames to get every extra bit of turn and power. The only exotic bits where ceriani, betor and mazzochi forks and suspension that while simple actually did one thing - worked, (and are still some the best forks today, even KTM used them.)
Racing in venues like the Astro dome with 50,000+ people cheering like a gladiators ring, i wish my little bike could talk, i wonder what it has seen for the last 33 years, some time beauty is not how flash or cutting edge something is, it is its moments in life, i believe the best looking bike can also be that which is a success and has done so over many years, its the bike or model that has pumped away for years like the little train that 'thought he could' that gets my vote, a flashy works mx bike might look good on a stand but many are real one hit wonders, one season of success really cant be the yard stick for the best of breed.
This bike rode district 36 and throughout california for over 16 years on both the pro circuit ridden by guys like Randy Mamola, Rodger Slack, Don Bailey, Rusty Davis, Mike and Dave Faria, Mike and Rick Delacy, Rocky robinson, handed down to Only the most serious of sportsmen racers. In 1974, 75 many pro's even ran them with a 360. my exhaust is ex steve ekland short track pipe helped its rider to ama Rookie of the year and onto many ama titles. A tough little bike even running White plates, number 1 or 2 one year, White plate were awarded to the top 20 shorttrackers in California.
Some times beauty is in the eye of the beholder and not everyone likes the flat track look or style, but we also need to give credit to those models that just kept pluggin away for so many years and 'Earned' the right to be known as one of the best.
