Textbook Bob 'Hurricane' Hannah circa 1977
Before Tomac and Ned, before LeMond and Big Mig, there was Bob Hannah. For a young lad obsessed with motorcycles as well as bicycles, the ‘Hurricane’ was the epitome of style on a bike. His bright yellow Yamaha YZs and matching head-to-toe kit set the bar and inspired me to emulate not only his style on the bike, but off it too. If only I could sport those long, flowing blonde locks now…
Motocross in the 70s and 80s was somewhat how mountain biking in the 90s was. The technology stepped up rapidly, with suspension travel and shock design developments allowing the bikes to corner as well as go like a bat out of hell on the straights. From my first bike, a YZ80B (yellow of course) with its twin coil shocks, drum brakes and steel frame tank to my last one, a Kawasaki KDX250 with Uni-Trak suspension, alloy frame and disc brakes, the difference in performance was more night and day than the 10 or 15 years it actually was. The same could even be said with road bike technology from as recently as the late 90s/early 2000s.
Just as Tomac brought style, flair and function to mountain biking with his fast and flowy riding, skin suits, disc wheels and custom painted helmets, so too did Hannah with plastic boots, body armour and his own range of kit and products. And like Tomac, he could back it up on the track. Every photo in every mag I saw, he just looked fantastic; head always in the perfect position, leg extended in the berms, a bit of turn bar over the jumps. I’d try and ride my YZ and my 20″ Dragster the same way.
Today, there’s a lot of crossover between moto athletes and mountain biking and BMX. The moto helps develop confidence at speed and in the air for most of the top downhillers, and the fitness that comes from pedalling is embraced by many motocross stars. My formative years on two wheels were shaped by a healthy mix of the two, and while I haven’t kicked over a two-stroke for a long time, the skills learned and the parallels between infernal combustion power and legs and lungs still resonates. But mainly it’s just cool to look back at photos of a golden era.
How many here have a moto background, or still ride?
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Talking of freestyle and wheels..........
@Teocalli
That must take such massive balls that I'm struggling with the physics of flight on that one!
Was a wanna be moto enduro rider for a bit in the early 80s, around the same time I started cycling with any seriousness. Hurricane was the man then, but as I recall, Johnny O'Mara was the original motocross-mountain bike crossover hero. At first he took up the mountain bike for fitness, but became a successful MTB racer. And he's still at it as a 50+ Master.
http://racerxonline.com/2006/11/24/where-are-they-now-johnny-omara
http://www.usacycling.org/results/?compid=50872
fabulous -BH was THE MAN during my formative years. Started with fragging Marty Smith (and everyone else) in Florida, then Nationals. Wouldnt say he was the most 'elegant' rider but certainly had buckets of panache. I remember seeing him WFO at the Coliseum approaching the ski jump thru the arches, legs flying and cross body blocked the pillar - ouch. Always 112% at the absolute limit of bike and body. For certain an example of how racing should be done :-)
@Dave R The O-Show shows up regularly at SanDiego MTB races. I know this because whenever he wins, I lose (by a large margin)
@Dave R
@shano92107
Yep, was a bit of a fan of the O Show back then, and when I started mountain biking I saw him in a mag and thought it was pretty cool that he pedalled too.
Danny 'Magoo' Chandler seemed like the craziest mofo around when he hit the scene, just flat-out and on the ragged edge, but if he held it together he was the fastest out there (see his wins in the Motocross/Trophee Des Nations in 82). He was freestle before it was even a word. He came to Australia and rode some Supercrosses, which I was lucky enough to witness... was gutted to hear of his tragic accident a year or two later. And even more shocked to hear he died in 2010, just 50. RIP Magoo.
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@brett
And well padded elbows. I've heard of knees to the pavement but not of elbows. Impressive.
@Bespoke
The pros get even lower. Here's Bradl last weekend.
Haven't read the whole article, skimmed the posts. What is the interweb acronym for that? In English, I think we say, "Strong work, can't be bothered."
Anyhow, I started riding a bike in order to get as close as I could to riding a motorcycle when I was too young to drive. I got hooked on Cycling and my father sold the motorbike he bought me when he saw the damage I could inflict on myself under my own power. No need for a motor, he said.
That said, I think a moto - a proper off-road bike - would be the best way to explore gravel routes and I want one for my VMH and one for me. The sale to the VMH is easy on account of her having lived in Africa for two years with only a moto connecting her to the local village.
And I probably wouldn't kill myself any more quickly than I would otherwise.
Its a statistics play, in the end.
@brett
NO. FUCKING. SHIT.