todays mx trike riders vs. old school legends

[3leggeddog]

looking through some old photos I wonder how myself,and the other modern day mx trike racers would stack up to like Marty Hart,Jimmy White,or even the great coe show.From all the vids,and pics I have seen of the old school legends,I can't help but think,they don't go nearly as big as I do.I can't find a single pic from a guy back in the day jumping a 70' table top.Todays tracks are so much larger due to the progression of the quad,and dirt bike.This causes young guys like my self to step up,and challenge themselves,and thier machines.I know the pro's were some fast dudes on trikes,but the tracks they rode look so lame.I just wonder if I could have hung with them back in the day.

[atctim]

I wish some of these legends would show up at TF........then we may know -

I would guess that today's top trike MX guys (like yourself) would be very competitive to the legends of yesteryear.

[tecat-z]

3leg makes it look so easy. I'd bet he's one of the best anywhere today on a trike. And yes, even when 3wheeler racing was in it's prime. People who haven't seen him are really missing a show. I know Jimmy white was fast on a first gen Tecate. But theres's no way a stock frame would have held up to the BIG stuff if he was as aggressive as Brandon. Very underbuilt for serious MX work. R frames are known for their rugged construction. However, i've heard even they don't stand a chance.:naughty:

[Mosh]

Yeah,dude,I gotta say!!!!

That would be somethin to see.
I know you would be right there at least/very least.If you had the flu, and a sprained ankle.:D
I never seen them run,just pics.
There is a young northerner clickin on your hilss too.He got skillz!

I do know for a fact;
I knows ya gotz da hilclimbin skillz that killz though bro.

You and "slurppie boy".:lol: :beer

I will hold the beer,so they dont get shakin up.:D

[atctim]

Oh - I wanted to throw this in here too - I consider myself an "above Average" trike MX'er - however - that really ain't saying too much - I know myself - and Mosh were really going at it at TF07 - but Old179 - a former pro - schooled us by alot - when reviewing the tape - I bet he beat us by a good 20 seconds to the finish line. And let's just say he is considerably older than us, so how was he when he was our age - However - I would have to imagine that riders like Brandon, and Brian, and Josh would have been running up there with White and Coe and Hart.

[brapp]

well i knot know how good i realyl am but if i coudl get backinto shape i was in abotu 7 or 8 years ago befor ei broke my back i was alot faster than i am now.

[Kintore]

hell yea brandon, i was thinking boot that the other day actually.

I wonder how i would do, I aint blowing coin/working out/ and practicing my ass of for nothing you know! im gunna getch ya! haha

[OZQUAD44]

Bikes, tracks, and methods have changed considerably over the years but there are some things that have not. The human body and soul.

Those blokes that topped things in their day had an edge over their rivals in their day. All things considered I believe that they would rise to the top again.

If your kicking butt today there is a good chance you would have done it back then. The only problem for modern Trike riders is the smaller pool of talent there is out there.

That question is going to be a hard one to answer

[Huffa]

I wish some of these legends would show up at TF........then we may know -

I would guess that today's top trike MX guys (like yourself) would be very competitive to the legends of yesteryear.

That gives me an idea, why don't we get a hold of them and invite them ?

Even if one would show up would be fantastic. They don't even have to bring a trike, I'm sure most there would be more then happy to let one of the legends ride theirs.

We can "sponser" one, if he has to fly from far away, chip in and pay his flight !

5 bucks a member (I'd give 10 at least), to all that are interested, that adds up FAST!

Either that or just up the price of TF tickets to cover flight cost, all just ideas of course.

[cr480r]

This a question that there will never truly be an answer for... Different machines, different tracks, different competitors. etc... You will never know for sure what the old timers could have done with modern machinery on a modern tracks while in their primes... Its the same as trying to compare MX legends like Decoster and Hannah to modern pros like MC or RC... Everyone tends to say that the modern guys are faster, but its purely speculation...

[3leggeddog]

I agree,this is a very difficult question.It's something I have wondered for awhile.Unfortunately i feel myself slipping into the past aswell.I have left my mark on the sport,propelled it to new heights,in a new era of mx.I have proved all i need to to myself.After watching the trike fest tapes i realize it's time to focus on something new.I have picked up a few sponsors this year,and really want to focus on making them happy.


The hardest part of realizing I'm done racing my trike,is watching new guys come up,and wondering if they could have beat me in my prime.I am sure the old pro's go through the same torture.Whether it be denton,white,hart,mcgrath,or carmicheal.


"hell yea brandon, i was thinking boot that the other day actually.

I wonder how i would do, I aint blowing coin/working out/ and practicing my ass of for nothing you know! im gunna getch ya! haha"


i will be hard to beat on the sidelines lil buddy!!I am so glad to see you got that drive Josh.Maybe that'll help me aswell!


i don't want anyone to think I am taking anything away for the old school pro's,them dudes were tough,and fast.

Also thanks for the kind words guys.

[Kintore]

You say that now, give me a couple races and ill spot ya a special ided tea saying youll fire her up!

[Louis Mielke]

So...you're not going to race trikes anymore because you've got nothing left to prove? So...you only raced to prove something? Jeeze man, that kinda changes my perspective on life. I thought you raced trikes cause it was fun and you liked doing it. Now I see it was all some kinda of ruse...I've been living basking in the shadow of a lie...I feel so betrayed...There's nothing to live for anymore...I'm going to jump my bike off a cliff or something.







J/k but seriously whats this all about? You're only gonna run quads now or are you gonna sit around and tell old battle stories with old foggies or something? Whats the deal?

[3leggeddog]

i raced trikes cause it was fun,and something new.then like everything else i felt like i had to prove to myself i could rock it out,and i did.it's not that i won't ever race it again,but i can't devote the time to the trike i did before.the quad is a new challenge.I did the same thing with dirt bikes,raced em till i got decent,and moved onto to something else.

the deal is i am gonna race quads this year on a national level.the major trike events i will be there to race,and support everyone.just steppin back a little.after you ride a fully fox suspended,58 horse monster 450,the little trike feels so inferior.it beats the chit right out of ya,no fun anymore.If i can go 70' on a trike,surely i can go 100' on the quad,lol.

[SWIGIN]

the deal is i am gonna race quads this year on a national level.the major trike events i will be there to race,and support everyone.just steppin back a little.after you ride a fully fox suspended,58 horse monster 450,the little trike feels so inferior.it beats the chit right out of ya,no fun anymore.If i can go 70' on a trike,surely i can go 100' on the quad,lol.



i agree 100%

once you ride a properly set up race quad you cant go back to a trike full time

[max]

4 legged dog is just saying this so when he gets beat he has a excuse.

"o im just taking it easy cause I race quads.":drool: :drool:


Come on dude. You know you had the MCA tea bagging coming!!








To all trike racers out there. The only way you will beat Brandon is if you train atleast twice a week on the track. And do alot of cardio and weight training.. I know this for a fact!!!

[3leggeddog]

thanks doggy...





and the tea bagging i was looknig forward to!!!

[Eric250R]

I agree that it's a hard question, obviously they didn't have the machines or the tracks back then that we have today, but who's to say if those guys would have stepped it up or not. My personal opinion is that most of the big names would have.
On another personal note, I"m sad to hear you won't be running at TF this year. We really enjoyed watching you.

[Red Rider]

I agree that it's a hard question, obviously they didn't have the machines or the tracks back then that we have today,...Well the tracks may have been tamer, but they certainly had the machines. Does everyone forget our trikes are 20+ years old? The only thing they didn't have were all the aftermarket cylinders & trick billet parts choices.

[3leggeddog]

i will be there eric,and i will be racing!I just won't be ridin her every weekend like i did last year.

[KASEY]

its very hard to compare old with new,,,, they were the best at the time,,, there was a much larger pool of riders too,,, back in the early to mid 80's there were alot of FAST ATC riders,, there are not as many now so a good rider just stands out more thats all,,,, when we use to go to the races there were 200 riders,,, even the team honda riders didn't STAND OUT THAT MUCH,,, it was their factory backed machines and the fact that they rode for a living that made the difference,,, there lap times never changed cause they were in perfect condition,,, where as all us working class guys couldn't ride when we had to work to buy parts to race,,,,

[Kintore]

To all trike racers out there. The only way you will beat Brandon is if you train atleast twice a week on the track. And do alot of cardio and weight training.. I know this for a fact!!!



Thats the plan! :w00t:

Cant wait for this season, im going crazy. Got 3 local tracks now to practice at plus the indoor season right now. We shall see :)

[tjsb1]

Wow, this is a fun question. I am an old school racer and I have raced against the likes of Marty Hart and many others.

Now first let me tell you I wasn't slow by any means and I had no problem airing it out. I would double most anything the bikes would, and although we didn't tape any jumps at the tracks, we did at the dunes and 70 feet was pretty common.

That being said let me just relate a story from one race at a local track in Boise Idaho. Marty Hart and Rodney Gentry (on a fourtrax) stopped for a dealer promo and raced a couple races against us locals during the Idaho State Championship Series. We ran the same supercross track as the bikes, but this was inside a TT track so it was not tight, had some natural terrian, and bigger but less straight faced jumps like on todays stadium tracks.

Long story short, we all thought we were bad (as in good). Honestly we could stay on the same lap with Marty, but you could tell he was toying with us. I followed him a couple laps in our heat race doing all I could to stay in sight of him before burning a hole in my piston. I had to watch the main from the side of the track. There was this section of track that was a blast, a series of s-turns, with the last turn dropping off this ledge as you exited the corner. On the bottom of the hill was about a six foot tall jump probably 55 feet from the lip of the drop off. The hot line was to slide the last corner to the outside so you could square off before the lip and preload the trike to scrub air, land on the down hill and set up for the jump. Marty did this for a lap or two (remember the toying part?). So this next lap he enters this section and instead of sliding the first corner to set up for the second one that dropped off the hill, he makes a straight shot at it going inside to inside. This was nuts as there was no way to get set up for the drop off.

He pinned it and never backed off! He sailed off the ledge and landed on the back side of the jump at the base of the hill. He continued to do this the rest of the night. Needless to say he won easily. Could old school riders go big? Back in the day these riders had to ride MX one weekend, shortrack on friday nights, TT the next day, maybe an enduro in the woods the following week, and then throw in the Baja 1000. Tracks like Riverside had straight sections that these guys rode tapped out over 100 MPH (read Mike Coe's posting if you don't believe it).

Could a legend like Marty, Mike, and Jimmy run with todays riders? Most likely. It may not seem like these guys went big in videos of old school racing, but old school tracks were not built for "air". These guys were athletes that trained and practiced as hard as anyone today. They were professionals and would have adapted to what ever was thrown at them. Could a rider of today compare? Again most likely, but with out the fierce competition that existed back then, it would be tough to find a rider today as dedicated to the sport as these guys who sometimes raced 3 or 4 times a week.

Just a thought from a guy who has been there (PS: my last three wheeler race was in 2004 against the quads, I still ride but just for fun now).

[cr480r]

These guys were athletes that trained and practiced as hard as anyone today. They were professionals and would have adapted to what ever was thrown at them...

That is very well put.. I think this proves true in any type of professional racing... Talent is talent... period... The top riders/drivers of any era push the limits of the machines they are/were racing... Without a time machine it is purely speculation as to who could beat who on a even playing field...

[3leggeddog]

this is an awesome thread

[Eric250R]

i will be there eric,and i will be racing!I just won't be ridin her every weekend like i did last year.

Oh, must have misunderstood, but glad to hear it. We'll see you there:w00t:

[Derrick Adams]

I have to say that as a general statement it would seem to me that if your a B class rider on a Quad, you would most likely be a B class rider on a trike as well. I think that skill is skill, regardless of what type of machine your on.

I too, agree that if the technology or tracks of today were back then, you would see the same things from those riders. Either you have it or you don't.

One thing i've learned the hard way over the years is, there's always someone faster. Even the fastest guy gets beat eventually. Thats just how it works.

Now in Brandons case, I personally think he is far more naturally talented on his trike than his quad. I also think that if there were national trike races right now, he would with out a doubt be working toward a sponsorship "PRO" ride and not messing with the quads.

As far as myself, I dont consider myself to be anything other than a casual racer. Judging from this thread, I guess the rest of you think that too. Guess I have a little schoolin to give out this year.

[3leggeddog]

you hit the nail on the head D.

guess you better get out the chalk board this year!!schools about to be in session girls!

[tjsb1]

Derrick brings up a point that may make this tread even more interesting.

[QUOTE]"I have to say that as a general statement it would seem to me that if your a B class rider on a Quad, you would most likely be a B class rider on a trike as well. I think that skill is skill, regardless of what type of machine your on." [/QOUTE]

I think that is somewhat true, but not entirely accurate. An expert on a trike may be able to cross over on quads and be close to the same level but that is not a guarentee. Vice versa, a quad "A" rider would not nessessarly be competitive on the same level on trikes. This was a big debate back in 86 and 87 as sub par (out of the top ten) trike riders crossed over to quads and were very good. Top trike pro's such as Marty and Jimmy made the switch to quads and although competitive didn't win much. Why?

The quads made the playing field much more level and guys with less talent could compete on the quads. It was true at local races as well as nationals. The quad was forgiving and allowed an average rider to be much better. Corner technique wasn't as critical; just ride it hard in, brake, and pin it, the quad let you get away with poor technique.

It is sad because the CPSC was breathing down the neck of the trike manufactures and the quad became the way out for them. They made the switch and the threewheeler legal problems seemed to go away. The treewheeler required more talent to ride, which is also what made it funner to ride. It also made it easier for someone with no clue to ride fast and get hurt really bad. Accidents didn't stop when the threewheelers went away, but the "do gooders" at the CPSC won their victory and moved on to other "dangerous to the consumer" products like lawn darts, remember those evil toys?

[cr480r]

The quads made the playing field much more level and guys with less talent could compete on the quads. It was true at local races as well as nationals. The quad was forgiving and allowed an average rider to be much better. Corner technique wasn't as critical; just ride it hard in, brake, and pin it, the quad let you get away with poor technique.

Great post... This is why I prefer trikes over quads...

[3leggeddog]

that is a good point guys.thats why when i switched to a quad i found immediate success.quads are easy to ride for me.the level of compititon is much greater though.Racin trikes i know who i'm racin,and sometimes that makes it more fun.but i ride less aggressive because they are my friends.on the quad it's war man.i will stuff somebody hard core,and then roost on my way by.it's just a new challenge for me.I did however watch some great trike racing last night at the summit county indoors!!!a full field of trikes,and all my boys bangin it out!it was saaaaweet!

[Kintore]

hell yea B, My new rims and tires are already all scuffed up. me and tim connected and got a lil hairy in there!

Guess we should wait till TF and see if some old schools roll in

[SWIGIN]

iv always said if you can ride a trike fast you'll be real fast on a quad.

it's the guys who say quad sucks and that they are slow that makes me wonder how they climb on a trike without it tipping over before they sit down.