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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View Comments
@DeKerr
Sadly no, but it does grace my phone lock screen...
...and my track day company (the one I'm working for in these shots) did use another photo fopr their motorcycle show booth this year:
@Teocalli
Too true!
Kenny Roberts certainly wasn't the first, just as Merckx wasn't the first Hard Man. But Kenny is the reason we ride the way we do today, and a major reason that racing evolved the way it did. He's the reason I'm dragging a knee and elbow in that pic. He's also the reason I had to have that yellow R1. ;)
@Teocalli
Fair response, 'prince of speed' takes it.
Great one, Bretto. Moto riding was a natural progression for me from BMX as MTB hadn't happened yet. I had a couple in high school and then moved on to street bikes. Then I put that shit down for a long time until I saw this baby in the classifieds a few years ago. '85 XR35oR. 4 stroke thumper. My dream bike in high school. I picked it up for a song, rebuilt the top-end, new brakes, cogs, chain, repacked the supertrapp. I mostly use it for reconning graveur routes but will go ditch-bitchin' sometimes with my redneck friends. It's a hoot. I'd put it up there with that MAICO and the IT490. Anyone ever have a Husqvarna? Those give me serious motobone.
There's symmetry here, as Belgium is as integral to the history as motocross as it is to cycling.
Saw this sign outside Gent the week before P-R last year.
Sweet bike Marco!! A friend of mine had an XR like that. Loved the sound of it.
@ChrissyOne
Fair comment, and all the moto guys are hard men (and gals) along with the ProPeleton when it comes to riding when any sane person would be in hospital. However, I love stories of PR such as changing gear by hand after breaking his foot pedal and still winning (if I remember correctly). I did see him ride right at the end of his career but probably more of a guest appearance to be honest on the MV Agusta.
Another firm of Motoman/men? Bordeaux-Paris riders.
No motorcycle should make more noise in db than it displaces in cc.
Little motorcycle just passed that couldn't have been bigger than 40cc but sounded like a hurricane of angry gnats.
@G'rilla
And Harleys are the worst offenders in this regard. Fucking dentists on big-bore fart cannons.