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I had one exactly like this XR75 that I’d ride every day after school until the sun went down. 1980-81 in central Georgia. Thanks for showing this to us!
My best friend growing up had a 78 xr80. For most of it's life, it ran with no muffler. I could hear him a mile away. I couldn't keep up with my MX80, but it brings back so many memories. He's passed now, and I love seeing these bikes. Miss you Jayson!! Thanks Ken.
My first bike! I was about the get the CT70 and then saw this! SOLD! I used my paper route and grass cutting money to buy it used at a Honda dealer. I want to say it was $325?? I"m 58 now and talk about memories flooding back...
@@habby2bme1 Yep I used to deliver papers on my CT 70, Finally got a 74 XR75. Great bike. Would love to get another XR75 just to have one. A CT70 not so much. Lol
My first bike. Paid $190.00 in 1986 in Winnipeg. It was immaculate. Was still in mint condition when I sold it 5 or 6 years later. Going to go slam my head against the workbench now. Lol
Back in the 70's, dad had a motorcycle repair shop, working on anything make, from street, dirt, and race. I was 8 when he started me out on a 50 MiniTrail, and was 10 when he rebuilt an XR-75 (around 1976) as an upgrade. I still wish I had it. A few years later, I had done a wheelie from a stop and it fell over, bending the handlebar and denting the tank. I had to pushed it home. One day, when I came home from school (I was about 12 or 13), he had installed a drag bar, a 1 qt(?) fuel tank cylinder in the place of the old tank, a sheet metal seat, no fenders, street tires, solid aluminum struts in place of the rear shocks, WHEELIE BARS, and it ran on NITROMETHANE. He would take me to Sunshine Dragway in Clearwater, FL (1/8-mile track) to race it on test and tune Fridays. I remember running 11.11 with it. We don't have any pictures of it, but he has Super 8 movies of my sisters holding the wheelie bars while I smoked the tire out in front of the house. I was about 15 when he finally got rid of it, having got my license and was riding his Honda 400 to school.
My first motorcycle was the exact same as this... '74 model. Spent hours and hours running through the Arizona deserts as a kid. And yes, I broke the downtube in the same place he was pointing to. Would love to have another to set up in my shop. Right next to my 81 Maico 490.
i had two of these, i had a 1971 xr75 motocross setup, i used to race mine in southwick mass every weeken when i was 14, ran on race gas usually sunoco 260 which back then was 106 octange it was basically stock except the gas, and my dad was a tool and die maker and he redid the carb jets and needle from brass to stainless steel, probably put out 2hp more over the stock ready to race bikes, no baffles just straight tuned pipes, i won a few races with this and although some of the other bikes were yamaha 80s and hodaka super combats, where was even an entry for a bultaco, thats a nice bike . there really wasnt alot you could do to make them faster in the start, but once you got rolling down a straight those 2 stokes didnt have the top end speed compared to these, ran these till the elsnores first came out and when i was 15 i was set on getting a elsnore 125, and i spotted a 69 chevelle ss396 4 spd forsale then for 1800, and bought that instead. best bikes they made for motocross, i have a friend who still has his 1976 honda 250 elsnore, its in greatr shape, he rebuilt the motor twice in it since he owned it, its not all beat up either, he takes on the trails. i'm looking for one to drive around town on. new these were only like 800 or 900 bucks. although the motors were rated at 6.5 hp, with the carb tune and race gas it was closer to 10hp, probably like 9.2 or 9.4hp rules back then said they couldnt exceed 9.5hp rated, we had a factory short block xr75 still in the original box shipped from japan on the block where it would have the stamp xr-75 it was stamped "racing" after i got out of the service in 1984, my dad had sold everything. you ever come across that motor its worth a mint.
I had one! Wore it out, broke the frame beneath the fuel time. Had it bored out with a racing pipe. I still think it is a beautiful dirt bike. Next motorcycle would be a 1976 Honda CR125 Elsinore.
Great memories as a kid. Looking in the magazine of the latest and greatest of the 70s and 80s. Look out America my cousin Wilson Todd twice Australia champ 250s
To funny!! the start of this sounded exactly like my childhood wishing for one of these bikes! rich kid got one! , I had alcoholic parents and I rode a bike with a mongrel engine stuffed in it! The memories …..you guy’s are awesome!!
Opening remarks were spot on and hit home. One of my best friends had an XR-75 in 1974 but my loser alcoholic Dad couldn't even afford to get me the Briggs & Stratton on a $20 frame.
MY friend had the xr75 and I had the suzuki TM75...We raced around a track and my suspension bottomed out as I held the short lead. I crashed and he met my crossbar with his front wheel and bent the shit out of my bars...fun times.
I bought a new 1976 XR 75 FOR $400 brand new back in 76 . Still wish i had if some idiot was going to pay $9k for it . I would of gave him it for a discount price of $4500!! lol!
I was 12-14 and obsessed by this bike. My parents didn’t want me to have a motorbike as there were no local legal places to ride. I bitched and I sulked and bitched.....I saw one hanging in. A second hand shop in 1977 for 200 bucks ...and wanted it badly again...but no. Took me until 30 to get my first bike.
@@obundrick True, I was 44 before I got my first bike, a 1985 Nighthawk 650. Now I can ride it as much as I want , but not as exciting as when you were a kid and we had all kinds of trails to ride on back then. I was motorcycle crazy in the 70's and had all the brochures.
@@Berkner80 my dad owned a motorcycle salvage sometimes I got to ride some cool stuff but 9 times out of ten i could be riding it one day falling in love with it and helping somebody load it the next.but I have raced some pretty cool bikes.my first real race bike was a 85 yz80 lemme tell ya it was clapped I was 11 years old and my very first race ever I got lapped by a girl on a built to the hilt kx 60 and she was really agressive she left me damn near flat on my butt.i never wanted to race again hell my dad was dogging me hard .I rode that 85 for about 6 months it wasn't competitive at all really I could beat 1 or 2 kids that rode rt 100$ or xr 80$ then this kid I raced with he had gotten 2 97 yz 80$ right out of the box and he compound fractured his femur and mom said never again.and my dad got a heck of a deal on one.then I got a pipe and I got pretty decent on better equipment finally got some decent gear I felt pretty confident after a while there was this named John lovell his dad owned a RV dealership he had two of the most tricked out cr80 experts he was a prick however his dad nice as pie but any who after eating his dust for 3 months or so I decided enough is enough.the fastest I had ever been I was smoking him I was trucking I almost had him!!!I hit a kicker on the face of a tabletop I got really front nose high and I bailed tried to land on my feet tore both my ACLS broke both collar bones.i had to be in a wheelchair for 6months I had to wear these bandages that hooked to a cooler to keep the swelling down and last but not least 6 months of physical therapy pretty painful you lose a lot of flexibility when you have2 major knee reconstructions.i sat on the couch for 6 months out of school had to repeat 8th grade.that was in just 2 years of my illustrious racing career motorcycle crazy I was 2 but now I'm 35 I have screwed up my body pretty good.i have weird posture I have broken my right collarbone 3xs my right side at my scapula I get joint pain have to switch positions alot all from riding motorcycles.they can bring alot of joy and they can hurt you.be safe and enjoy your cb 650 knighthawk. My first street bike was a 78 kz 650.
@@obundrick Sounds like you have a lot of experience. Sorry to hear about all your injuries. My dad would take me to look at bikes but no way I would ever get one. I ride ok with my Nighthawk now but I know why my dad did not want me to have one, they are pretty dangerous. I am just a casual rider near my house but get better at it each time I go out. My bike was sitting up for eight years ( dirty carbs) but got it fixed last June. Sitting up so long it did have a few other other problems but all good now. I really like my Nighthawk, a lot of power, but I also have a 1973 Yamaha DT-250 ( the kind another friend of mine had while growing up in the 70's) that is also fun to ride but just on trails, no license for that bike. You already know this but I have learned riding that you have to just have natural reactions when riding, you can't think too much about braking, pulling in the clutch etc., it just needs to be be automatic for you. In my 20's the Nighthawk is the bike I wanted but never got one but I am enjoying it now and I love the shaft drive. When I get real good at it I want to take it down to New Orleans where I grew up and ride around town, think that would be fun. Good luck.
@@Berkner80 I'm glad you got what you wanted.my grandma passed and she owned alot of cattle and land that her and my grampa had bought so my dad inherited a chunk of change and he started his business that was the only reason I got to have fun.rubber side down!!!
I cannot believe I owned a bunch of these 70s XR-75s including this 74 model and they all sold for a few hundred and now they are going for many thousands. It makes me literally sick.