The 1984 AMA 125/250/500 National Motocross at Saddleback

[miketheoldmxr]

Let's not forget the announcer. None other than the one and only Larry Huffman.

[chevypower406]

all you see is a big dust cloud at the beginning

[BonnieDoll99]

The utility pole on the uphill levels in frame 2 and at 4:39-5:00 and at 7:15 is still there. And yes, Google Earth it - pretty cool. Cross streets are Santiago Cyn Road and 241/261 connector. The best part is that the land is undeveloped other than the toll roads. Also, the soap box derby track is faintly still there too but on other side of 241 near Irvine Park. The TT track unfortunately is gone. Good times and great memories. Keep posting your videos and pics!

[MAKEUSICK2]

Look how slick that track was! You had to know how to ride a bike back then. Throttle control with light switch motors.

[drummer25664]

the track is still there ,, google earth it and you can see the out line of it ,

I was at this event ,, the camera here doesnt do the up hill suicide doubles justice, you dont realize how much air they got, and Omara was the only 125 rider to do them

[drummer25664]

the track is still there ,, google earth it and you can see the out line of it ,

[j4m35ac]

I hate AMA they destroyed the glory of 2 strokes

2 strokes now have to compete with 4 strokes over 100cc larger

Tell me how that adds up?

[opticXdragon]

@j4m35ac they have difrferent power curves

a 250f matches to a 125 2 stroke

[spruland]

holy dusty airfilter batman!!

[The2fiddyridah]

Cool as vid. real old school

[stilemancio99]

FANTASTIC

[btbierman]

those where the days..

[thedeem0N]

yeah, I think they should run 3 or 4 pro classes NOW...right now it's mainly 250F & 450F. but I think they should make it open under 250cc (where anyone w/ an ama pro license can enter pit bikes, play bikes, 125's, 85's, 150F's, etc...), or Open 2-Stroke, or open modified class where it's like any bike that passes tech could enter, just nothing too crazy...no Nitrous Oxide or Nitro Methane, or modified mx bike frames with 1100cc street bike engines...

[MrSkippersam]

Where is the great Riggi starting gate? It was a fantastic way to keep bikes from jumping the start

[fristytron]

i like this porn-movie background music

[quadGOD12953]

1:52...that dude launched of that step down

[motokev]

man, what a great video

[Pik4Joel]

I built houses here in 1999. Very sad because I attended Russ Darnell MX school at Saddleback. Brock Glover used to give us helpful hints... The best was to follow entry road way beyond this area and hunker down in the bogs - light it up, steal a few beers from dad's cooler, and go on awesome trail rides. The TT track was way cool... Part of the reason I stopped ridin was because of the demise of places like this.

[socafan22]

what did suzuki run in the 500 class, honda had the cr500, kawasaki had the Kx500, yamaha had the Yz490, im not sure about suzuki, did they make an Rm500?

[SkeeboDa1]

@socafan22 yep, I might be wrong but I think they were the first manufacture of the big four to drop the open bike. The good ole days for sure...

[onefugowie]

@socafan22 they did have a RM 500 you can Google it and take a look at it..my brother was racing one in 85 i had a YZ 490

[djn00nan]

the bikes werent half as advanced as todays, yet theyre jumps are still as narly, and their track doesnt look like its been bladed 50 times lol. i wish i had enough balls to ride the way these guys do

[onefugowie]

now...at 1:23 if that was a piece of shit four stroke..he would still be there kicking the shit out of it to get it to restart......two stroke's were the days..i cant stand to hear those Farting four strokes at races's

[SkeeboDa1]

@onefugowie I feel you man.... bring back the 2 strokes!!!!

[toxsickdog]

I was at this race, I spent most of the day at the big uphill double.

the 83 race was better, & 81 better still, when Hannah showed Howerton how to ride.

epic racing. hot days were dusty blue groove conditions & cloudy damp days had

sticky adobe. busted a collar bone on that tough ass track.

[Rubeosky]

Some of the best MX ever happened on this track. Also some of the most tragic events too. This was outdoor racing when it was fought between men.

[jmackenroth]

Thank you for sharing this video. I have read about this race for many years.

[GiulianoGullini]

Awesome video!

[Jasong9573]

These guys hauled ass back then. Man, the 80's were so great for MX. Works bikes! Plus, the bikes were changing so fast and all very different each year with suspension, looks, etc. Now, they are all the same...even the shock linkage!

[motored911]

thanks for putting this up. most of us east-coasters only got to enjoy saddleback through magazine pictures!. now RE-OPEN the damn place already!. doesn't california need some dollars!!

[kjj0506]

Such great footage! Thanks for posting this and taking me back to when I was riding my XR80 as hard and fast as it would go while I pretended I was one of these motocross legends. Fun memories!

[MMACHMP]

I was at this race it was awesome and I was lucky to live so close to Saddleback as a kid and grow up racing at this place it was amazing. I was there in 1981 too and saw that epic Hannah VS Howerton. did you see the Cagiva with Ron Turner pull holeshot in 125 class? it was really a 200cc cheater bike

[721th]

Many times, fun bikes. They are really impressive in the hands of a pro

[721th]

Sure they were faster, they were 500cc two strokes. a 450cc four stroke only makes about 1-2 hp more than a 250 cc two stroke

[BobiusBrown]

@721th

Ever tried to ride a 500cc 2stroke??

[ahsure]

Is it just me or does it seem like bikes were faster back then?

[racerace]

Sweet!

[jamz50]

Honda and Kawasaki had a huge equipment advantage at this time.....bring back the works bikes of of my youth!

[dprague]

2 stroke heaven!

[Ireg2post1]

When bikes were bikes and men were men!

[captainjakeman66]

I raced here AMA in 74. It's not Supercross, it was Motocross.

[socafan22]

its good to watch old 2 strokes races, fast paced and it sounds great

[racerace]

Forgot to write - we'll have a little video interview with Mr. Hannah, probably coming around the first of the year. You'll like it ... I hope! : )

[dink65]

Cool video. Brings back memories. What happened to your rear wheel here? Is this the race that you feel cost you the title?

[dink65]

Nevermind, you won the 250 title in 84. I think it was an issue in Colorado (1983?) that cost you that title.

[racerace]

Thanks!

[Allanlegacy43]

I raced in the 80's, came close to pro, Bob Hannah was like a god to me, the absolute best.

[ktm3009v]

Awesome video. The boys back then could smoke a track. I watched Omara and Ward battle, Bailey win, Danny Chandler crash and Johnson wrap up the championship in 1984 at Washougal. What a day and weekend that was. They were fast and Johnson seemed insane.

[lauritzen2]

this is so cool:) I love old footage of dirtbikes, I was one year old when this was filmed:)

[zdburt996]

my dad used to race with bailey back in the 80s with my dads kx500

[racerace]

And on two-strokes! Nice! : )

[imrpowers]

Never knew people in 84 went so fast.

[racerace]

Thanks everyone! Those were some great times! : )

[motocycoplumber]

Thats a really great video I was there with my mom and dad I was about 10 years old at minute 6:40 when johnson overshot the corner. My dad helped pick up the bike. At the time my father was rick johnsons sponsor and my father also built that bike. That bike was later given to a good friend of the family and is at the speedway in costa mesa hidden away . Something like a video of this kind is a chance to see my past and I cant thank you enouph many many thanks!....Kenny Clark

[Zollstock85]

Yeah,nice Time with the best Moto Cross Driver at the 80.

I`m missed too.

[CR250R40]

My [then] 1982 CR250R "ran like a rabid pitbull and handled like a hammock." Would have it any other way.

It's great video like this video that fills the void of riding. A spinal injury stopped my riding in 1985. With some imagination/memories I still ride in my world of yesteryear.

[CR250R40]

Thanks again for posting -- sweet video. Great memories. I MISS TWO-STROKES!! Loved the toggle-switch power, their sweet distinctive sound.

Bikes of the '80s look menacing, powerful, stout, and if I may say sexy! Big suspension, visible linkage, gnarly works plastic and gear -- all make a fantastic machine.

[racerace]

Love the two stroke sound!

[Xy2kBloodX]

awesome riding, much more toupher rider back then with the ol 2 strokes than it is now, with all this 4 stroke bullshit taking over.-

[pajamaha]

4:40 is this the infamous magoo double??? I have a production '84 yz250 w/ohlins rear shock like johnson is riding. It can hang with modern bikes on the track...Great suspension, plenty of power and the drum brakes work excellent...

[racerace]

awesome bike!

[alpinejerr]

wow,RJ could really rip it up!

[racerace]

good ole RJ!

[cr500pilot]

So much better than 450 supercross racing.Dig that suicide mountain uphill jump.4 stroke riders dont know how easy they have it today

[racerace]

hahaha so true

[toxsickdog]

Saddleback was a nasty track when it

got sun baked, especially when the watertruck guy was slackin;.

too much water was nasty too, sticky adobe, But when the conditions were just right, Oh boy what a Track It was.

[racerace]

You ride there often? Good job painting a picture of the track. Thats how i remember it as well

[chaltaro]

Wow,great 80s

[racerace]

haha love the 80s

[pressrolls]

Id give this vid 6 stars if I could.

[racerace]

aww thank you!

[frankmorris5]

I remember every turn on that course. Used to ride my CZ there in the late 70s. It's still there but the weeds have overtaken it and you can barely make out the track. Jim West was killed there racing and Roger DeCoster crashed and "died" for a few minutes but was saved.

[racerace]

RD is the man

[kxmade]

Yah love whatchin the power of the 500cc im 140pnds,had two of them kxs long live big 2 strokes

[mrieddie]

Ahh 1984 in Orange..good times!

[holeshot413]

Awesome video. I grew up riding and racing there and to every nationl they had. Be cool if anyone could find a viedo of the Escape Country National that was on the grass track!!!

[41hauls]

tremendous shots,very good,i remember watching the mini race of champions where my friend from Canada got 10th in 1980 . they raced a diff track at Saddleback)i saw the Magoo double Jump that day when the local pros were racing and ill never forget seeing a guy named Pete Snorteland rip it up.

THANX!!

[41hauls]

hey look ,its the other GOAT......Breker!!

[racerace]

Hey thank you for the comment!

[ILTSYC]

That was awsome and thanks for sharing it. IMO these guys couldn't stay on the same lap as Ricky Charmichael on todays tracks.

Its hard to find anything on saddleback. I couldn't tell if the guy did an endo on that big stepup or what.

[OsamaBinLadenx]

you dont know shit about motocross if you dont think those guys could hang with carmiacheal, in fact, ricky johnson in his prime would smoke carmicheal. go back to cartoons you idiot noob

[rainmanx63]

No one cares about your opinion. Because you don't know what you are talking about. Ricky Charmichael himself would laugh in your face for such a stupid comment.

[Oddwun]

Carmichael is great but so are these guys. The difference is outside of Bubba once in a while, Carmichael never had to worry about the competition, he was never pushed or challenged. These guys were beating the crap out of each other week in and week out because there were so many great riders all at once.

[racerace]

very true

[Atheistprimate]

2:51 #445 is "Radical" Ron Tuner on a Cagiva 125, surprising to see him out run Johnny O'mara on the factory Honda to the first turn.

Great stuff.

[Atheistprimate]

*Ron Turner

[MMACHMP]

thats because his Cagiva 125 was really a 200cc cheater bike I raced against him a lot in Socal and ended his win streak at Ascot park I think he won like 100 races in a row there

[Atheistprimate]

Thank you for posting this, with out question 1984 had the most depth of talent the sport ever saw.

Ten or more guys where capable of winning on any given weekend.

[racerace]

sure was a great year

[CR250R40]

Thank you! THANK YOU!! T-H-A-N-K Y-O-U!!! Very appreciative for such fantastic video. Thanks for the smiles

[racerace]

your so welcome!

[ruymxsx7]

hola, bbbuuufffff thanks from spain i remenber the big jump in the hill in photos, this is the firts time i see in video and R.J. ¨bad-boy¨ very young with yamaha yellow, 5 stars. gracias

[racerace]

Your welcome. thank you for the nice words

[racerace]

Thanks for the messages!

Yeah, if you drive by the track, you can still see it today ... it's behind a chain link fence.

[Mclaw71]

i read bout this track @ a magazine too bad its no longer around...imagine the 450s jumping suicide mountain!

[gregggiddens]

Cool stuff :)

[rocknrollheath]

I was not even born when this race happened but, I love learning about the history of the sport.

[honda39]

Thanks for posting this video. It brought back some fond memories.