1987 yzm500

Wow! I find it simply amazing.... that a guy can fall and break his back while he and his bike are suspended overhead in a Paris nightclub.

Oh, and the bike is cool too.
 
I've posted several images of this bike over the years. And I continue wonder where bike development would be today without the AMA production rule.

That's one of the best write-ups I've seen on the old YZM.
 
I saw one of those bikes race at the trophy de nations in 87... funny thing was the rider got stuck in the mud and gave up, leaving the bike lay in the middle of the track the remainder of the moto. every lap Hannah used the bike as a ramp to get a good run up the hill shortly after where the bike was laying..it was pretty neat to watch.. Hannah must have ran over that bike 6 or 7 times
 
Just think -- back then we looked at this bike in the magazines and thought "omg what a BEAST!" Now, it's nothing in weight or HP compared to the "beasts" we all ride.
 
PitRacer said:
Just think -- back then we looked at this bike in the magazines and thought "omg what a BEAST!" Now, it's nothing in weight or HP compared to the "beasts" we all ride.
Click to expand...

Pit, I think this bike weighs less and has more HP than any 4T today. I'll bet. The ONLY reason 500's aren't around anymore is simple economics. I believe the newer 450's are slower, but quicker and easier to ride longer. Up until '07, I hadn't ridden anything BUT a 500 since 1981. When I first rode the CRF450 coming off of all those years of riding a 500, My first impression was, wow what a toad! But I also noticed it revved quicker for the upcoming double right out of the turns, which seem to be the common these days. Slower on long straights, but quicker in short bursts. Where I can hold the throttle open and actually hit the stop on the throttle on a 450, I wouldn't on a 500 or I'd be on my back. By the way, that's actually happened to me down at Coolville during a race, hurt like hell. cracked my tail bone!
 
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, Comic Sans, Sans-serif]A cracked tailbone at Brimstone? Ouch! [/FONT]


[FONT=Comic Sans MS, Comic Sans, Sans-serif]I briefly rode the first factory produced semi light weight thumper, a mid 90's Husaberg. The Berg didn't feel fast but put its' power to the ground. It was too much for me just because it was the most maintenance intensive machine I've ever owned. And a pain to start. If it stalled, forget it![/FONT]

The biggest problem with open class two strokes is that their development really ended in the 80's. Remember the four strokes of the 80's?


The bikes I went fastest on were smaller bore open class two strokes, ATK 406's and a '96 360 Husky. I even discovered one day in '05 that I could go better on my old 360 worn out shock Husky than either of the KTM 520's that I had at the time.

Did anyone ever ride a Noleen 360 kitted YZ 250? That was kind of my dream bike. If I wasn't so involved with jet skis back then, I may have pursued that ride.
 
Hey Mark, Eric Gorr offers a 300 kit for the newer YZ250's, supposed to be pretty sweet. Big bores on both bikes.
 
What, high maintainance and hard starting on the Husaberg? That was before Charlie dialed it in. How about an Eric Gorr 300 kit for your 06 YZ250?
 
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