My first dirt bike was a Honda S 90 I converted into a trail bike. In 1967 it was hard to find a real dirt bike. The Japanese companies weren’t making them. (see comments) Honda made the step-through trail bikes and the heavy, road-oriented Scrambler. In 1968 Yamaha came out with the DT-1 “enduro” but by then I had bought a new Bultaco Matador. As much as I love riding a road bike, I love a good trail even more. Today I ride a KTM 450 EXC, which I think of as the spiritual successor to the Matador. Both are what I would call a “woods bike.” With the steep, wooded terrain we have in the foothills of the Cascades, this kind of bike is very useful. They are light weight and have a torquey motor with a good spread of power. Neither one is all that good on a paved road but that is the sacrifice we have to make to get the best performance in the dirt. In the open terrain of Eastern Washington, a motocross bike works well. Combining paved road comfort with dirt road and trail agility in the same bike gives us the popular “dual sport” category of bike. Although other bikes attempted to do this earlier, I think of the DT-1 as the bike that really founded this category.
Filed under: Classic bikes, Dual-Sport, dirt bikes
You must have forgotten HODAKA. Light weight, narrow, Real suspension, tubular frame, high rise exhaust. And the tank! Designed here, made in Japan
Where is my head? How could I forget Hodaka when I was just thinking about them? I still have the 1965 Hodaka literature I got from Kellogg’s Wrecking, our local dealer. I used to hide the brochure behind my text book in class and drool over the tube frame and meaty rear tire. I think I bought the S90 because it was used and more affordable. I should have bought a Hodaka and kept it all these years.
Harry Taylor, the father of Hodaka. I remember, I could keep him in sight ….for a while.